Gould's Bay IP

Schools out. Summer holidays for about 6 weeks. That means we are going to the house on the river. We are all very excited, my sisters and I.
The night before we are ecstatic, chattering all at once. We will be leaving very early in the morning before sunrise, so Mum decides to give us all ¼ of a sea-sick pill to see if we can get a bit of sleep before the big day. We are told they make you sleepy, so we get sleepy and go quietly to bed. Clever Mum.
She is busy packing: swimsuits, gumboots, trousers and shirts and of course hats against the merciless sun.

Holidays are the best time because we get to go to Gould’s Bay on the Hawkesbury River. There are no roads, no cars, no shops and the only way to get there is by way of a small ferry which sails the river with passengers to set down and pick up, groceries from the little shop in Brooklyn where we catch the ferry and then the mail. The captain of the ferry is called Cook, something we don’t relate to until we are much older. He is usually drunk. It takes a day to get to Brooklyn and we sail at night. I remember once, late at night, the ferry ran aground on a sand bank and it took hours until the tide shifted the boat.

Mum’s borrowed a Mini to take us the long drive to the river. Early next morning we are ready long before she is. There isn’t much we can do to help as the suitcases are very heavy. She has bought food too. Mum packs the car, the largest suitcase on the roof and the smaller ones in the trunk.

We set off, all of us in high spirits, especially Mum, we would all sing on the road. You see we would all behave very well at Gould’s Bay, we would never argue or fight and we always knew how to spend our time. Playing around the house, talking to the goats and patting them. Not straying too far from the house and Mum as the bush is teaming with all sorts of venomous creatures and anyway we wanted to feel secure and being close to Mum was the best way.

Mum would take us to the river every holiday she could get the opportunity. She loved it too. She would read a lot of books. So did we. My first one being The Wind in the Willows. Sometimes a lot of other grown-ups would meet us at the ferry and would come along to stay for a few weeks as well. We would take mud baths in the swamp. This was only during the summer because in the winter hols it could be very cold, freezing sometimes. We’d bathe in the river too, hanging on to the jetty as there were whirlpools further out.

No passports needed, no school books, everything was going to be fun, although if it was very very hot then it would be a bit dangerous but Mum took care of us so we kids weren’t worried at all. Never gave it a thought. Once, during a heat wave, the temperature was way over 100, she put us all in a creek pool behind the house and served us cordial and told us to stay put until she said so.

I used to look forward to these holidays long beforehand. I was never ever disappointed.
You see Mum would carry through with the holiday plans come hell or high water. Once we even drove through a bushfire with flames licking the roof of the car.

These holidays were heaven on earth for us- to get away from the city grime and hubbub and the thoughtlessness. Just the birds and animals of the bush, the fine weather , the starlit nights and peace between us all.