On the weekend of 20-22nd October our sixth annual Nowanup Family Camp took place for families of children in K6 and Classes 1 & 2.  Besides it being another amazing weekend of being on Country together in community, this year our camp finished with an extra special touch with the arrival on the Sunday morning of the crew from the ABC Back Roads television series to film our children dancing ‘Nyambi’-style, ‘kicking up the dust’.  We were honoured to have all three senior Elders of the Eades family in attendance, Pop Aden, Nan Eliza and Pop Euey, as well as Eliza’s daughter Aunty Lynette Bolton.

Families arrived and set up camp on the Friday afternoon and, after a delicious dinner, Pop Euey performed a smoking ceremony and the children finished the evening by listening to the Djoondal Spirit Woman story from Uncle Noel Nannup’s Carers of Everything story-cycle.  On Saturday morning after breakfast we listened to the next instalment of the story-cycle, ‘When the Sea Level Rose’, and then we travelled a few kilometres up the road in convoy to see and learn about a live Gnow (mallee fowl) nest at Monjibup Reserve.  When we returned to camp we broke into groups to do different activities.  Some chose to do woodcraft activities, others made Purrung (broombush) brooms, while another group went out to the Meeting Place to create an amazing piece of sand art.  Koa and Noah’s dad Aaron, who is a very skilled artist of Yamatji descent, managed to transform a few random bags of coloured sand into a beautiful design. The Nowanup magic was definitely at work.

After lunch we had some downtime and some parents took their children for a dip in the dam to cool off.  Mid-afternoon we had a wonderful dance workshop with Aunty Lynette.  As well as learning some traditional boys and girls dance moves, the children all learned how to Nyambi.  In the evening after dinner we heard the next instalment of the Carers story-cycle by the campfire, ‘The Coming of the Colours’, before the very tired children were taken off to their camps.
Sunday morning after breakfast we had the final part of the Carers story-cycle, then while we were waiting for the arrival of the ABC crew, Aunty Lynette painted up the children who were keen to dance.  When the crew finally arrived, we made our way out to the Meeting Place, and everything fell into place as we concluded our camp with a very special singalong and dance ceremony against the backdrop of Koi Kyenunu-ruff/Stirling Ranges, all documented by the Back Roads crew.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend full of magic.  The Elders commented how much it took them back to their own childhoods on the Gnowangerup Reserve.  As one of our parents was heard to comment as the children all played happily together and parents and Elders watched on yarning, ‘This is how we should be living all the time.’