5 Questions for the Outdoor Family – The Campbell's

Jan 8

How are you New Year Resolutions going so far?? I'm hoping this next 'Outdoor Mumma' might inspire you to keep going OR at least get you started.

**Beth and her beautiful tribe: four boys – an 8yr old, twins who are 6yr & a 4 yr old**

This mum of 4 very young 'uns, whose hubby takes off for weeks at a time (FIFO), decided to become more active and write a blog about it too. Only recently she competed in her first Enduro adventurethon – a 5km paddle, 2km beach run, 4km paddle, 22km steep mountain bike ride, and a 8-10km trail run - not bad for a mum that couldn't kayak until only a few weeks prior to the event (read more HERE). How does she do it?? I'll let Beth tell you how...

Quick Bio:

"I was born and bred on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. I grew up on a dairy farm and as such we were exposed to outdoor activities from an early age, we would feed the calves, milk cows, help with the farm duties, ride horses, and drive tractors. All of these things were just a normal part of our childhood.

As you can imagine that gave us a great deal of freedom to roam and explore, be independent, make mistakes and develop a healthy dose of common sense and risk awareness. My sisters and I were also involved in a lot of sports as well so we were always quite active.

It wasn’t much of a stretch for me to look for a career with some connection to physical activity and not surprisingly I ended up studying Exercise Science and Rehabilitation in Wollongong, NSW. I ended up working in exercise rehabilitation studios using exercise to manage back, knee, shoulder problems and a whole range of other chronic conditions.

Eventually I ended up in more office based work coordinating rehabilitation for injured workers and more recently injured soldiers in the Australian Defence Force.

Despite a blur of pregnancies, breastfeeding, sleepless nights, & bad food choices Beth was able to turn it all around because she didn’t want to be that person, that mum that sat on the sidelines of life.

In this time I also had 4 children in under 4 years which has been an adventure in itself.

Over the past 12 months my husband has taken on a Fly In/Fly Out position based in Perth so we packed up the kids and headed over to the other side of the country where our adventures continue!"

1. What have been some of your ‘Coolest’ Adventures (Before Kids).

"A quick summary of my ‘coolest’ adventures include the following:

Camping at the Russell River after hiking from the base of Mt Bartle Frere through dense and basically uncharted rainforest. It has become a bit of a family challenge now to get back there again. My father has made the trip a couple of times but since Cyclone Larry and Yasi the trail has become unrecognizable and overgrown, and we have yet to be successful in reaching the river since.
Riding an elephant in Bangkok
Swimming with the manta rays in the Cayman Islands in the Carribean.
I have skydived in Cairns
And bungee jumped and hiked glaciers in New Zealand.
My sisters and I even took our Dad hot air ballooning for his 50th birthday."

The Campbell's Elephant Riding @adventuremumma.jpg

The Campbell's Bungy Jumping @adventuremumma.jpg

The Campbell's - Hot Air Ballooning @adventuremumma.jpg

2. What have been some of your standout ‘Special’ Moments you’ve shared with your children.

"One of my favourite moments so far included our first extended family camping trip to Emu Park in Central Queensland. It took a lot of preparation to coordinate all the different families, then an 8 hour drive because that was half way between the families. But that was all part of the adventure. The kids thought it was great to get up while it was still dark, in their pyjamas for a 4.30am getaway. Theory was that we would get a good part of the drive out of the way while they were still sleeping and then stop for breakfast. Never quite worked out that way, little buggers never went back to sleep because they were too excited.

Beach camping with family is just amazing. Early mornings searching the beach, body boarding, playing at the park, fishing, crafty lunch breaks at the campsite, sunsets (and often lots of sunrises too depending who was on early shift) bonfires on the beach, toasting marshmallows, and going to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing are just amazing memories for them and us.

**Emu Park fun with Beth’s extended family**

I love that I get to see their love of the outdoors developing and that I get to see their faces as they see the next unexpected surprise on some day trip we are taking.

You can read about my favourite two adventures in the west here:

John Forrest National Park and the Troll Tunnel…A Picture Story

Lesmurdie Falls – Why all kids should get outside and explore!

3. What TIPS can you offer to families who want to do MORE with their children.

"Start small – half day trips (drop into your local visitor centre for ideas) and camping trips closer to home. Set yourself up to succeed early on. Once you have found the joy in it the easier it will be to weather the bad trips.Don’t expect it all to be happiness and sunshine.

**Just flying a kite on the beach is a great activity for the kids**

It can be exhausting, things can go wrong, kids will whinge and complain, but at the end of the day the good and amazing things will never be forgotten and the bad stuff will become stories that you laugh and joke about for years to come!"

4. What things would you still LIKE to experience with your children (a bucket list)?

"So many things that I would like to do with the kids and I love to keep plugging away at all the natural wonders in my current backyard, but…I would love to take the kids on a mountainbiking/camping trek when they are older. Take 3-4 days and explore some amazing trails, think Munda Biddi Trail in WA or Te Aroha trek in New Zealand. I would also love to do a volunteering experience with the kids and hubby in Vietnam or Cambodia."

**For the moment Beth’s happy exploring her backyard in WA**

5. Where can we find you?

"You can find me blogging about all my experiences on The Exercise Hitlist website:

Click HERE - The Excercise HitlistI also have an informal Facebook page where I share anything health and fitness related, talk family and FIFO woes, update on my travels and current fitness fun, and always, always, have a bit of a laugh.

Check out my Facebook Page HERE Finally, I also have a little play around on Instagram (#theexercisehitlist ) - Click HERE for the link " AND Beth's motto??

Just get outside and have fun!

Wonderful!! Now what do you think??

Are you and your family an 'Outdoor Family'? Tell me some of the things you really enjoy doing as a family. Would you like to be featured (or know somebody who should be featured) on this blog?

If you wish to comment and you're NOT on Facebook try out my new 'spot' on the right hand corner of this page.......I would love to hear your thoughts!!!