Our camping trip

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Last Saturday I decided I wanted to take Braiden camping for a night to see how he would like it.He likes the outdoors and every time we go on picnics or outings he just loves it.So I organized with a friend of mine to take his two children aged 10 and 7 ,and Braiden and myself.

We went to a local National Park called Bents Basin in the south west of Sydney.He arrived on the Friday afternoon and set up the camp site.He is an experienced camper who camps with his family every other weekend,and it shows.When we arrived I was expecting a small tent with an open fire.Instead he had a three room tent,outdoor furnishings,along with sink, gas cook top,fridge and well what would be a camping trip these days without your dvd player.

Braiden and I arrived on Saturday about lunch time.Immediately when we got there Braiden started having a good time.I could see it in his smile.Playing with his friends and generally running a muck.

We took the boys for a walk around the lake,over huge rocks which Braiden took delight in climbing himself(with a little help from me).He got to throw rocks in the lake which he absolutely loves to do,he like to hear the noise they make when they hit the water,KA PLUNK.

Around 4 o'clock the boys started to gather up kindling for the fire,they would walk off into the bush,not to far from us,but far enough so when they came back Braiden would exclaim " look daddy fire wood".He was so proud of himself he was having a great time.

Around 5.30 we started dinner,which was of course a BBQ,steak and sausages,however I had bought along some rice that my wife had prepared for Braiden just in case.The kids ate up dinner and then started to prepare for the lighting of the camp fire which was what they were looking forward to,Once it was started they sat around the fire stocking it with timbers and getting it quite hot .They loved this,Braiden would stick a long piece of twig in there catch it on fire and then say to me "look daddy fire".

By 8 o'clock Braiden was buggered,he wanted to go to bed.He was looking forward to sleeping on the air beds along with the sleeping bags,so I put him in the tent with a little torch to see how he would go.10 minutes later he was asleep.

One of the ideas about camping at this site was its only 20 minutes from home,just in case there was a problem,this would be the first night Braiden had spent away from his mother and we were concerned about him not wanting to stay.Well around midnight he woke up and was looking for mum,cuddle mum,cuddle mum,this is what he was saying.I was able to comfort him for a while,keep in mind it was freezing by this time and pitch black as well as quiet as a church,the only thing that could be heard was braidens cries for mum,and they started to get louder.By 3 o'clock in the morning I asked him did he want to go to mummy,and he said yes.So I packed up most of his stuff and got into the car and made a b line for home.

It was funny, as soon as we got out of the park through the gates Braiden said to me "oh thanks daddy".We arrived home about 3.30 min the morning,the first thing he did was go to mum and give her a cuddle,he then proceeded to tell her about everything he did that day,it was funny he was so excited to tell her about his deeds for the day.He had a ball.

Even though we left early he had a great time,and I wasn't so disappointed that we had to leave in the middle of the night,the main thing was Braiden had a go and really enjoyed himself.I've got to say this hasn't put me off taking him again,I am looking forward to our next father son trip.....