Gathering family together for a camping trip produces bonding, mateship, friendship and all kinds of good stuff among the stresses of heat, flies, spinifex and the close proximity of a tent.
In a place like Karratha, where few have spent their lives and live with family generations, your friends become your family. Connecting with people through workplaces, clubs, churches and hobbies is paramount to staying sane so far from home.
We organised a church camp to bring the congregation together - combining 'Pilbara family' and hobbies. To give people time to connect with those they wouldn't normally connect with. The thing about the Pilbara is that most people are transient - here for many reasons but connected by a commitment to the place for a time. A camping trip is one way to give people one weekend of family fun - to know they have friends and a network even when most of us come from so far away.
We are blessed in our church members, to have some community strongholds who have been here for a lot longer than most. The true locals who have seen this town grow and change, but can bring us back to the reality of the landscape that just goes through cycles. These people shared with us the camping spot on their station, provided us with directions on a 'mud map' to find the best camping spot for fun that had easy access.
We followed a dirt road, spied the 'chocolate topped mountains' as they have been described by a dear friend, turned off the road to a grassed area by a waterhole. The sun had taken more than its fair share of the water, but the mud, the water, the walking, the photos and the stillness still had attraction enough to inspire people and help them connect.
JRR Tolkein once said through his writings: "The road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone and I must follow if I can". Follow the road, follow the mud map, you may be surprised where it takes you - friendship, connection, love, acceptance and family away from home.
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