Why, why, why Whyalla?

Oh Whyalla! What sort of greeting is this? Here we are such loyal spruikers of your beauty and seaside offerings. Yes people are frequently shocked to hear us rant on with glowing praise for you- but our two previous visits provided wonderful memories of sunny days, breakfast in the warm waters at high tide, crab hunting followed by dinner to fill the bellies of the glutinous. I am a bit suspicious that your unfriendly reaction to our arrival was ploy to get us out of town and leave the crabs to the locals.

The boys hit the beach immediately and started out into the low tide shallows to explore, I wondered up the the shower block with Campbell while Eric leisurely unpacked the trailer while stopping to admire the view and watch the boys in their explorations. A lovely start...until the wind was switched on...set to full power!! All of the boys scurried to the safety of the car while we fought against the wind to get the tent up. Helpful neighbours rushed over to hold the tent down as the wind attempted to lift it into the air. With sand lashing at our legs and eyes we somehow managed to get pegs in and construct something that vaguely resembled our tent. Then our kindly neighbours realised that their awning was about to bend in the ferocious wind and we had to rush to their aid. The poor lady was lifted off her feet  as she tried to hold the frame in place before it buckled.

When we finally joined the boys in the safety of the car our faces were caked with sand, our ears, noses, mouths and eyes were full of sand and we were bitterly disappointed with you Whyalla- this is not how we remembered you!!

Proudly stands our tent, despite your efforts, and we have not been discouraged! We enjoyed our feast of crabs tonight and Eric & Joe had a wonderful time finding them in the sunny, warm afternoon low tides. HA!! The wind is persistent. The tent is full of sand- everywhere!! We can't cook or eat outside, but the camp kitchen serves us well. We will remain grateful that while the wind billows through our tent and flaps and slaps all night, the frequent threat of rain is quickly blown away. Oh no- you will not dampen our spirits! In fact we are looking forward to our crab dinner again tomorrow night! 

The sand caked effect.

I did the first stint as the Wet'n'wild ride operator, but of course there is no photographic evidence of this. Trust me- I was very exciting and Campbell managed to fit into the boat too for my shift.

Camping with Campbell.

Campbell's first camping trip was to Jervis Bay. We camped at Caves Beach which only has cold showers and no vehicle access. Everything had to be carried up and down the hill between the car park and the camp ground. He was still little enough to be carried in a baby backpack, and also so little that he still woke for a bottle in the middle of the night. We had a pot of Milton (sterilising solution) and a thermos ready beside the blow up mattress.
On a side note we also went away camping when I was 23 weeks pregnant! Thank goodness we hadn't planned to go two weeks later- Campbell arrived when I was only 25 weeks.
So camping is in his blood now but of course he loves nothing better than staying in a MOTEL!!!
I won't pretend that camping is at all easy. In fact I know lots of people who think camping with 3 able bodied children is completely insane (or in fact even without children). Camping is an acquired taste and we love it. The truth is it is the only way that we can afford to holiday for the entire summer school holiday break.
I saw in a documentary recently that couples who share adrenalin pumping experiences together have better relationships. You know, something that is maybe a bit risky, exciting and scary all at once. Some couples might do a triathlon together, or try sky diving....we hitch up the camper trailer, put the three kids in the back seat, the wheelchair in the boot and head off across the Nullarbor!! That's the adrenalin that keeps our relationship strong in the face of regular hiccups, hardships, and while raising a child with cerebral palsy, autism and a vision impairment.
With a bit of very precious encouragement from a special friend, I thought that maybe some of the things we have experienced on our adventures may be helpful to other families. Maybe other people would like to hear about more than the happy overview of each day of our journey. Perhaps knowing where to find wheelchair access is helpful!!! YES!! It most certainly would be. If you have a child (or you're caring for an adult) with continence issues accessible bathrooms are fairly necessary.

We intend to continue our journeys around the country for many years to come, but with that we know we will continue to face new difficulties. Each trip has posed issues that stem from Campbell's autism or physical disabilities (or both) and this will always be the case. Maybe we could help to make it easier for others who have the same desire to camp across the country (there must be someone else as crazy as us out there) by talking more openly about the problems we faced and addressed.

Thank you to that very kind friend of mine who planted that seed and kept me awake with words bouncing around in my head. I will thoroughly enjoy reflecting on our amazing experiences and sharing some of our methods for maintaining sanity on long road trips with 3 bored kids in the back seat.