brissybee

Take money for a hotel. I went camping once.

DadAgain

I have camped in Australia 3 times. It took a while before I got it right:

Trip 1:
Mid-January on Moreton Island (just off Brisbane). 2 of us had a small 2 man tent we we erected in a sweet shady spot under some trees just off the beach and safely away from the huge 'tent city' contructions of locals with their 4WDs (we were pedestrian passengers on the ferry). We spent day swimming in the crystal clear water and didnt panic MUCH when we first saw a fin break the water and head toward us (it was, much to our relief a dolphin come to say hello and swim with us for a while). We were generally lolling about doing nothing.

In the night however, it was HOT.. I mean seriously HOT. The tent was dripping with our sweat and I couldnt hack it - so I got out of the tent and went for a stroll to the shower block. I stumbled around in the dark, flicked on the shower so I could get a burst of cooling water and THEN noticed the irritated looking black snake coiled up on the concrete floor of the the shower.

Obviously I decided against showering and walked (much slower and more carefully) back to the tent. The rest of the weekend was uneventful - but my overriding impression was that January was clearly a stupid time of year to camp. RULE 1- Dont camp when its hot.
Trip2:
Again the 2 of us in our 2 man tent, this time in July. We decided to head up to the hills of the Bunya Mountains (~3 hrs NW of Brisbane).
We found a spot with a fantastic view off the range and over the surrounding hinterland. We had every blanket and doona we could get our hands on and were prepared for a snuggly night.

The night was cold. It wasnt particularly windy as I recall - but lying there in our sleeping bags, wearing 4 layers including big fleeces, covered by a wall of doonas from home it was still bitterly cold. (and I've been camping in some fierce cold conditions high up near the snow line in the Andes so I *know* cold).

As soon as there was light, we were awake. We're not sure whether we slept at all - it was too cold - so as soon as the early morning 'crazy blue-ness' crept above the horizon, we packed up and went for a brisk march around a track to try and warm up. It wasnt succesful - we abandonned our trip and drove down off the mountain to the nearest McD's in Kingaroy for breakfast as soon as they opened. Note: Dont camp on a mountain in winter.... even in this 'mild' climate - its shit. RULE 2 - Dont camp when its cold.

Trip3:
The kids, parents-in-law, sister-in-law+family + other friends on the coast in May - we had 14 in all across 4 large tents with all the bells and whistles... plenty of food (it was like a 3 day non-stop BBQ) plenty of red wine (no need to keep it cool), and nothing much to do excepot let the kids run around doing their energetic thing....
Fantastic until the fever hit me, the vomitting started (seriously not connected to the red wine thing either) and the shivers kicked in. Everyone else seemed to have fun - but I had day of utter misery. RULE 3 - Dont camp when you're sick.



Oddly enough, despite this I'm keen to try and camp again some time soon... I just need to find a time when we have a weekend without work/school/social commitments - and this year seems to be all booked up already... perhaps 2012?...

moneypenny20

I think someone's trying to tell you something - ie don't go camping, daft exercise.

purple rain

For sale Tent, never used.............................................. ...

purple rain

Where do you get the kids from?????

moneypenny20

Have mine.

irishbloo

You forgot the kitchen sink.

irishbloo

No yours are busy that weekend.Have mine.They love camping.

purple rain

Think we will find it hard enough to look after ourselves, but thanks for the offers

irishbloo

I could have done you a special deal.You take one and you get the other one free.Another time....

purple rain

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm perhaps......

moneypenny20

Take her's and you can have mine for free. Sounds like a deal

Sherlock Holmes

And if you ever get the fire going, you'll probably need an extinguisher at some point.

purple rain

No camp fire, restrictions in place

Grayling

The most useful thing, I have found, is a spare tarpaulin plus some extra tent poles and guy ropes.

You can use it for shade to sit under but also to shade your tent which can turn into an oven on a hot day