Summer Camp

My Experience

I'd been working on Home and Away since episode 001 and after 1,040 half-hour adventures, I decided it was time to call it quits. In May 1992 I packed my beach bag and drove out of Summer Bay.

I had been feeling restless for about 12 months but didn't know what to do about it: where does one go when one realizes ones life-long ambition at age 22? I felt there had to be more to it … but quite what escaped me. I remember reading an ad. for an Australian based agency that specialized in placing staff in the American Summer Camps. They advertised "the summer of your life" - that was me … I was sold. I filled out my forms, attended the interviews, quit my job, sold my car, purchased a back-pack and some casual clothes (hmmm…) and headed off to some un-heard of place high in the Mountains of North Carolina, USA to begin the "summer of my life!"

There is no doubt that when I first arrived at Eagle's Nest Camp in the Pisgah Forest NC, I was a lost soul in search of an explanation. I have always believed there is a reason for all this … but I was damned if I could fathom it! I also believe we are never presented with queries without the means to find the answers ... although sometimes we have to work hard at finding them. I couldn't explain this that's for sure. In April 1992 I was driving a convertible sports car, wearing designer clothes and working 70 hours a week designing one of Australia's most successful Television shows ever - my dream since I could walk. By June I was getting around in the same shorts every day, sleeping in a narrow bunk in a cabin full of rambunctious teenaged boys … and I'd never been happier!

That first summer at Eagle's Nest Camp I met and learned to love a lot of wonderful people … not the least of whom was me! I often think about my old ENC pals and smile when I think of the support and strength they continue to give me to this day - they've probably all graduated from University by now I guess. I still speak with a few of them.

Summer Camp is by no means a relaxing way to spend Australia's winter months: if you're looking to put your feet up, book Club Med. However if you want an experience that is not only rewarding both physically and mentally then I'd suggest you look into becoming a summer Camp Counsellor. One comment I hear a lot is "I don't have any special skills to offer" … my reaction is Don't sell yourself short! We all have our own special skills, be they a particular sport, Arts or Drama or just a love of mankind and wanting to share that with today's youth. I find in our society today a lot of kids want for very little … except perhaps a bit of your time and attention. I was so used to working extraordinary hours and having money (not to mention Sydney's wonderful shops and restaurants in which to spend it) that it was amazing to discover with no shops and little income all I really had to give was myself and my time. Ironically that investment proved to be priceless, because now almost a decade later I am still reaping the rewards.

We hiked and built camp fires and sat up all night eating smores and toasted marshmallows telling ghostly stories and discussing our woes: we had theme nights and camp-wide games, talent shows and produced one of the most amazing productions of "Carousel" I have ever seen. We painted and swam, rode the horses through the forest and inner tubes down the river, we climbed mountains and ate wild apples. Our cabin would sit up in bed (in the dark) at nights chatting about an amazing variety of topics - all of which were suggested by the boys and all of which meant something to them. We all got a lot out of those Cabin Tree Tops conversations!

I returned to Eagle's Nest for a further two summers in 1993 and 1995 - I wish I could go back every year. I remember one of our cabin conversations on the final day in 1992 when I had asked the boys, one by one, what was their greatest surprise over the past summer. One camper looked at me, smiled and said "You!" I was puzzled and he explained: " When my mom first dropped me off here you greeted us in your hiking boots, cut off shorts and camp T-shirt - I thought you were the ultimate mountain man. Last night someone told me you have a red sports car, a cell phone and you live in the city back in Australia! Is that true?" I had to admit I'd been found out - and that truly surprised him. It surprised me too: for that boy had met me without all the trappings of my city lifestyle - he'd come to know me and like me for just me! I realized I don't need a nice car or fancy clothes: I don't have to pretend to be anything I'm not - those kids liked me even when I was wearing hiking boots and cut-off shorts! Wow!

There are no "masks" at camp, no pretenses. We feel no pressure to perform or to be anything we're not. There is a constant atmosphere of understanding and acceptance - what a better place this world would be if it were all like Summer Camp!