By Today is World Mental Health day and I have been gifted a day off, so has the whole company. I don’t think the company realised how much I needed this day off, but let’s just say it was welcomed!
Life here in Sydney is good. The kids just had two weeks off and term 4 started yesterday. We had a great school holiday although both Soren and I were working all the way through. There are so many awesome activities for the kids during school holidays, and they did a LEGO masters competition, parkour lessons, intensive gymnastics course (for Carla) and playdates.
We went camping over the recent long weekend, and we were all beyond excited for the first camping trip of the season. It was a bush camp with no electricity, and being set in Bungonia National park, there were great hikes all around us. We spent the first day just playing and hanging out at the campsite. Card games and numerous rounds of scavenger hunts around the area pretty much filled up our whole day. The kids had brought this game where you draw random cards and then start searching for all the items with your teammate. It was so much fun and got quite competitive.
On the morning of our second day it was scorching hot (35+ oC), but we had already decided to go on a hike that day in the area, so we set out. The kids didn’t love us, but they warmed up to the idea as we got underway. It was a 3 hour loop from the campsite and it took us past all the amazing lookouts in the park.
About two hours in, and just after the last photo above was taken, we were met by a bush ranger who informed us of a bushfire in the area, he asked us to go back to the campsite through the main road, not the track. The kids were absolutely amazing, this is the first time we’ve ever been near a bushfire like this, and although pretty uncomfortable they stayed calm and walked back. When we got back to the camp we packed up and left a day early with the other campers. Although, as we were packing up, Soren realised that our rental car couldn’t start… yep…. the battery was dead, we were in the bush and there was an out of control bushfire nearby. It’s one of those moments where the brain just goes into survival mode and switches to ‘on-task’. Thankfully, not everyone had left yet, and someone had a battery jump starter. Off we went! And pretty fast after that! (Just FYI – the bushfire later got under control and never reached the campsite).
Carla had lots of questions, and had a little cry when we came home, but it wasn’t really until Gustavs first day back at school that I realised he also put a lot of thought into the experience. This was his drawing of what he disliked about the school holidays:
Australia is looking toward a hot and dry summer, and more bushfires will inevitably happen unfortunately. This experience will not change our camping plans, but I’ve learned two important things, always check online for any bushfires, and never ever go to the bush again without a mobile jump starter pack!
We have now lived in Australia more than 5 years, and I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. I will say this to anyone who wants to listen, but my life passion is adventure, and I really dislike the hamster wheel. And yet, it is so easy to get caught up in the latter, and have way too little of the former. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the kids are probably more Aussie than Danish at this point, I will always be on an adventure here. I will never stop appreciating the small things like the palm trees in our backyard, the amazing view of our beautiful city every time I walk out the door, the friendships we make, the experiences we have. I must be getting old and coming to terms with knowing that adventure can also happen on a smaller scale 🙂
The view from the end of our street on the way to school and work (I’ve probably shared this before, but love the view so much it never gets old):
And a few (failed) attempts of getting a nice 5 year in Australia anniversary photo of the fam back in August.
So long everyone – stay safe out there!
GoCargus 