Some of my grandchildren attend Wagga Public School.

The Year Six group has just returned from three days in Canberra with wonderful stories.

Sometimes parents are tempted to ask why they paid good money if the most exciting episode is reported as “Winning the tidiest room” competition!

It is the camaraderie and social experiences as well as visiting Parliament House that are an important part of growing into a good citizen.

At our house, Mrs Neilson received the credit for organising that one, and Mrs Stewart received lavish praise for organising the Lake Hume Year 4 excursion.

Experiencing being away from home in a setting that makes the great outdoors and exercise a lot of fun is just right.

Yes, our grandson reported in great detail the features of the bus, but nothing beat the fun of the flying fox.

The return of Mungo Man to Lake Mungo last week was one those events that brought back memories to me from excursions past.

I hope also that the hundreds of local children, and many parents, who went with me on these excursions, noted this significant event.

I chose Lake Mungo as a venue after attending an Education Department course for Aboriginal parents at Mungo in about 1986.

We had speakers present the story of Mungo Man at the actual dig-site.

The Walls of China and the incredibly high and sharp sand dunes said to me that this had to be an exciting place for a school camp.

The majesty of this now-dry lake that teemed with fish when Mungo Man was alive was not lost on our hikers.

On several of these occasions when an Aboriginal ranger happened to be on duty we were able to hear the Aboriginal history first-hand.

Before each trip, my wife Cheryl and I would visit Lake Mungo, staying at the now-four star Mungo Lodge, because each year we knew the desert landscape would be different.

Even the animals could be different - one year shingleback lizards everywhere, another year it would be eagles and hawks.

These excursions were always in winter, so we didn’t ever see snakes but it was never hard to find a skin!

I’m obviously telling you this story in great detail because I hope that when you are next contemplating a cool-weather “family excursion”, you’ll decide to do something really different, and head to Mungo National Park.

A good start is to visit www.visitmungo.com.au and www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/mungo-national-park. The pictures alone will make you curious.

You will need to stay at least one night, preferably a lot more. Choose the full moon. The moon rising in the desert looks like nothing you will see in Wagga. Our excursions were a week long, allowing us time be at The Walls of China to watch the sun rising. Standing in the freezing dawn air may not be your idea of fun, but the sunrise at Mungo always had the crowd sighing in wonder.

I trust that many of our junior campers will take their their own children to this World Heritage sacred site.