Places of the Heart

Whether she’s in outback Australia or on safari in Africa, the acclaimed musician is most at home singing songs by a camp fire.

Kasey Chambers’ most memorable travel tales

1970s | Australia

NULLARBOR PLAIN

My dad was a professional fox hunter and when I was about three weeks old he packed up the family and moved us to live on the Nullarbor Plain.

We lived in our car and travelled around the Nullarbor during the winter months until I was about 10. Dad hunted our food and Mum cooked over the fire. I did my schooling by correspondence. During the summer, home was a little fishing village in South Australia called Southend.

I think music became a big part of my life because we lived in such a remote area, where there was no other form of entertainment. I grew up singing around a camp fire – literally, because we didn’t live in a house! We spent our time playing songs and singing together as a family.

At the time I thought everyone lived like that. It wasn’t until I was in high school and began travelling that I started to realise my childhood was unique. I still think of the Australian outback as my home, my backyard.

1990s | Australia

NORFOLK ISLAND

I first went to Norfolk Island in my late teens with our family group, the Dead Ringer Band. My mum, dad, brother and I travelled around Australia performing music together and we were booked to play at a country music festival on the island.

Right away, I fell in love with the place and the people. It’s very laid-back, almost like stepping back in time. It’s a simple kind of life; I ended up living there part-time for the next few years.

I was writing a lot of music and I decided to record my first solo album, The Captain, on Norfolk. The title song is about an island local. There aren’t any recording studios there so my brother, Nash, and I flew a whole lot of studio gear over – we’re talking 20 years ago when it wasn’t as easy as just taking a laptop!

Obviously Norfolk Island is a beautiful place but I visit plenty of beautiful places on tour; the special spots worm their way into your heart and soul without you even noticing.

1997 | Africa

ZAMBIA

My mum was going through a divorce and we decided we’d tick Africa off our bucket list.

The landscape is similar to outback Australia and I felt connected to the music, even though it’s a long way from the music I play and grew up on.

We spent about seven weeks on this really low-budget safari, staying in two-person tents. I had a guitar and became the entertainment, sitting around camp fires playing my songs.

It was quite a few years before I visited again but I ended up volunteering at a school called Our Rainbow House. It’s tiny and there are only 51 students but it’s a special place. Now I’m their ambassador and travel there whenever I can, a couple of times a year.

Those kids are like my second family. I’ve taken my mum to volunteer and I can’t wait to take my own three children.