Why go camping?

To my Dad,

I love you to bits but I know you don't understand the point of camping when you have all the wonders of modern resources at your finger tips at home. So I thought I'd have a go at explaining it to you.

When I'm camping, I have time to teach my children to cook. They are also keen to learn as they are not being distracted by mine craft or any other game.

I have time to explain the point of manners.

I have time to teach them how to light a fire without lighter blocks, or other accelerants.

I have time to discus history when a topic arises. To discuss the differences between life today and how things were 30 to100 years ago. Concepts such as birth control, the normal size of a family, working in a safe environment, the introduction of cars, TV, the Internet. 100 years ago it was normal for many children to die before they were 5 years old. They find these ideas bizarre, totally foreign. Yet it was only 2-5 generations ago.

I also feel that I have time to play with my kids. We played desert cricket today, and we played snakes and ladders (I got my 8 yr old son to calculate his next move from the square he was on plus the number on the dice without looking at the board).

I can enjoy sitting around a camp fire without feeling I'm missing something on TV.

I can enjoy watching the sun set and sun rise as I can see the horizon, and I have not stayed up too late watching TV to see the sun rise.

There is always something special you don't get to see in every day life.

Tonight there was a flock of green budgies swirling across the sky, and chirping their specific song.

The kids are out late enough to see the first stars rising in the sky. They now know that Venus and Jupiter are the first two stars you can see in the early evening sky. They can also find the southern cross.

Tonight we are in a section of the desert that has a forest of 4m high trees that are over a century old, but there is also so much dead wood around we feel comfortable having a great fire.

There are always special moments whether they are down to nature, family, or friends - new or old.

I know my Dad is part of half the population that don't get the point of camping, which is why I've posted these comments on a public forum, with the rest of our blog.

Lots of love,
Jacqui Fussell