I spent my 55th birthday weekend at a campsite by Coogee Beach, which is 10 minutes’ drive from famous Fremantle. Australia’s camp and caravan parks are famous for their proximity to beautiful nature areas and our camp ground was right by the sea, a short two minutes’ stroll across sand dunes to the beach, where I took a morning dip in the cool turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean to stave off the 30 deg C heat.

Dinner was a simple meal of chicken and rice savoured in our camp lounge, where the gazebo we had put up provided shelter, while its mesh walls let in the evening air. After dinner, we walked to the beach for sunset and came back for dessert. As we reclined in our camp chairs sipping tea, I gazed up at the stars in the night sky, the ocean’s roar a heartbeat away.