The Camping Thread

Enjoy your trip SJ, we had a ball on ours. PRMG we spent $950 on petrol for a three week trip to the Gold Coast, in a Hyundai Santa Fe petrol V8, I next car will be a diesel! Still cheaper than flights and a hire car for 5 of us.

Sj your trip sounds awesome hun! How long do you think you will be gone for?? I can't wait to do a mega trip but happy to do a week over summer, Warburton at Labour Day and thinking of heading to Mildura for Easter now!

Thanks guys!

Tan, should be about 3 weeks.
We are getting excited, but a bit disappointed that we are sticking to caravan parks this year... But with Aurora so young we just want to play it safe this time.
Short trips can still be awesome Tan, we have had some brilliant short breaks (though not enough)

We have decided to leave the dog behind this year too, so we have to sort a house sitter out, which is proving problematic... We are all set and they when they found out we didn't have foxtel they decided against it :rolleyes:


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Tan - Short trips are great! We've worked out that this year we have been away for 27 days. Almost a full four weeks of annual leave :lol: But we do take a week in March, this year we went to Adelaide, next year we'll be doing the same.

BR - $950! Yeowch!

SJ - Are kennels an option for your dog? Thanks for the info on the eggshell mattress. Turns out my mum has one unused, so we'll grab hers.

Hi to everyone else!

Well our trip was okay. It bucked down on Friday night and a lot of Saturday, but we were able to get outdoors for a fair bit of it. Sunday was a gorgeous day and we were able to sit outside and have dinner. Naturally my family left on Sunday, so they couldn't enjoy that weather. There were some people staying next to us with two very large and noisy shepherds. First night they woke me up around 8 times. Day two, the woman decided she would just let them out. She opened the gate to their site and expected them to just walk to the car. As if!! Dogs out of their comfort zone and all that! I was walking our two back from a dog run and I suddenly had a 45kg shepherd running at me full pelt. Bloody scary! I think I wet my pants. Something caught it's eye and it diverted away from me but I was shaking like a leaf. Then I came across the male owner who was just strolling along after it and I got so angry, so my mouth flew. It makes me so mad, that there are so many places that don't allow dogs because people with dogs can be stupid and irresponsible. I'm just thankful that DD wasn't with me and the dog got distracted. There's no way I could have defended my two dogs against it. The people after that resorted to giving me dirty looks, or staring at us. Made it uncomfortable especially when we hadn't done anything wrong and they were in their late 50s or so. Maybe they were annoyed that our dogs are quiet. Who knows. I was actually glad to drive out of the park yesterday.

The camper held up, but when we got home, we stripped it out so it's ready to hit the mechanics. We're not going away until March now, so we figure the mechanic should be somewhat quiet after Christmas when most people are away.

Off to Invy tomorrow for 7 nights! Wooot! I love this thread, I always come back and use the checklist. Hope everyone is well and staying cool!

Have a great time, Tan! Looks like you're going to have some sensational weather. We went to Anglesea yesterday, just for the day, and the temperature of the ocean was perfect. Enjoy!

I must say this is one of the things that I really love about BB. I think of something I want to know/learn/find out about and low and behold there is a thread with fabulous people to help me out :lol:

We are planning on a little camping trip with DS and some other friends in early March so will be looking for some info and tips. I haven't been camping that much before but DH did a lot of camping when he was young and in his early 20s in UK. He was in scouts and also did a lot of more extreme camping in venture scouts. I define it as extreme camping when you wake up to find ice in the inside of your tents (thats what a night on Dartmore does to you). His gear will sustain a force 10 gale and minus 10 so pretty out there!

We are now doing some research into what new equipment we will need to get when it is no longer just the two of us. Tents will definitely need to be changed to make sure there will be room for DS :D. Any recommendations on what we should start off with. At first we will probably only going for weekends so will stick fairly close to Sydney and will go to someplace that has facilities. We probably don't want to spend heaps of money on a tent today until we work out how it goes with DS. (I'd hate to spend money buying a top of the range tent only to find that it was a disaster and a waste of money). Does anyone have any comments on the Huntsman brand?.

Any other tips ideas of what we need to think of when camping with littlies will be mucho appreciated.

Thanks NW3 x

We have not been away yet, but DH has been keen for a long time and I bought a tent at Christmas for him on recomendations from a friend its a 10 man tent from kmart. Was $170, hopefully get to use it soon but need to get other stuff first.

I have never been a camper, went on a few school camping trips including a central Australia one that was awesome, but need toilet and shower could not cope without a flushing toilet!

Sorry, leaned on the iPad and posted accidentally!



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Ok, dp is looking for a new tent. He wants a black wolf turbo twin ideally? Has anyone got or had one of these?

Now we're 3 - The first time we camped with DD was in our tent an we took her and our two dogs. We have a two room tent and the dogs sleep in the front bit and we slept in the back. We took the portacot for DD, set up a single camp stretcher for me beside her and DH slept on the air mattress on the floor beside me. As far as camping equipment goes, we didn't actually buy anything else to accommodate DD. Our plastic storage tub that we carry our cooking stuff in, once washed out was used as a bath.

feeb - Our tent is a kmart one. We got it about seven years ago and its easy to set up. We bought those rubber interlocking mats for the floor to make it a bit softer underfoot. I need a toilet and shower nearby, I'm not a bush camper, more a caravan park camper :ROFL: I don't care how basic the amenities are, as long as they have them!

Nai - I haven't seen the wolf turbo, not much help to you.

We are counting the days until our Adelaide trip now, can't believe it's been almost a year. We are HANGING for the break. The camper is off getting the roof winch sorted and new brakes. Our garage is a disaster zone. The camper had to be emptied so everything is in piles in the garage. I can't believe how much we have in it.

Ahhh thanks for tip on getting interlocking floor things will tell DH.

Just bought the kids camping chairs in katmandu! DS1 has always sat on the same kids chairs in there and they had them half price at $24.95 I had to buy 2. They are really cool and will last them as holds up to 80kg!!

Now We're 3 - The list on the first page of this thread is ace for remembering what to take with you! We got a 3 room tent from Kathmandu - it wasn't very expensive but nice and huge, but THE best thing we invested in was Dune 4x4 mattresses. They don't roll up small though so you need the space to take them with you but they are awesome. Not sore hips/backs when you wake up with those things!!! We have a camper van now so tend to keep everything we need all the time in there. If you are planning on going regularly getting some large plastic tubs and stocking up on things you need for camping and leaving them in there is a good idea.

Nai - I really don't know hun - might be worth trawling some of the camping forums for a review??

PRMG - I have so much stuff in there that DH keeps forgetting to take out and the kids think it's Christmas whenever we go away because of all the toys that are left in there each time!!

Our week away was So fabulous that we have decided to move there :rofl: Next trip is a long weekend coming up in March and going to Warburton with a few friends. Should be super fun!!

I love that you're moving there Tan! DH wanted to move to West Beach in Adelaide after last year's trip, lol! Wonder how he'll feel going back this year, if it will ease the want to move there, or just satisfy a craving. We're going for 10 days this time, cannot wait.

Money is always tight here being on one income. We put all our gold coins in a jar, and that pays for our trips away. It's the best! Plus we're Big 4 members, and family know to get DH Big 4 vouchers for his birthday and Christmas. It's the best gift!

Thanks, most of he reviews are good. Just want to make sure we get the right one!

We went camping at Southend in sa a Xmas and it was beautiful. I think it will be an annual event. We stay at west beach when we go to Adelaide but usually in a townhouse. We will probably camp from now on if we get this tent!

Hi girls

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. We've had most of the stuff that we will need already but just need to get a new tent and something for DH and I and DS to sleep on. We have something like a Dune 4x4 but while it is THE most comfortable thing to sleep on is just huge and quite difficult to deflate. It is one of those self inflating matresses but ends up being as deep as your home matress. I think we will have to get something a little bit more transportable for our first few trips. Once we've done a few camping trips and worked out how often we will go on them we might investigate getting something a bit more substantial than a blow up.

Does anyone have any opinions on the Huntsman brand tent?. We have seen a four room one on line which is on sale for $189 normally $360. It has three bedrooms with a central area. While the three bedrooms is a bit of overkill we reckoned it would work well for keeping central area clear for DS to play in when he is not outside. Had heard about the ones from Kmart but friends of our have one and since they got it their fly sheet is touching the inner which was causing it to leak. Has anyone else had the same problem with theirs if a Kmart variety. Will also have a look at Katmandu as they've a sale on at present. I like the idea of the little camping chairs for DS I know he'd LOVE it. They've also got these cute as little air sofas which we might get instead.

Also can anyone recommend either good website to find camping grounds we can go to or else good book that will list camping grounds. We're planning on going in March with two other families who have littlies same age as DS. Preferably we would like one within hour and halfs drive of Sydney (we're on Northern Beaches) and one of my friends DH really wants to be able to light a fire (know that this won't always be possible if fire bans are in place but don't think this has happened so far this summer!).

Soo looking forward to going camping again. Its been years since we've done it!

Nai - We're going to West Beach at the start of March. We stay at Adelaide Shores. Stayed there last year and fell in love with the place so we booked again for this year. Can't wait!

Now we're 3 - No idea on the Huntsman tent, sorry. Our Kmart tent would be pushing eight years old and we haven't had any issues with it at all. Last time we used it, it rained 50mm overnight and no water came in anywhere. One side was coated in mud - we were staying on an incline and with so much rain it pushed the mud down towards us, but the tent held up beautifully. Have no complaints. A great book with camping grounds (I think Trish recommended it to me) is the Camps Australia Wide. It covers sites from no cost upwards, right across Australia. The book costs around $60, but with the money you end up saving, it's worth it. A couple of caravan parks we've stayed in here in Vic have had fire pits available, provided you bring your own firewood. Both parks weren't part of a chain though.

Well we finally got word back on our camper...gulp. Going to cost a lot to fix the winder. They've had it for two weeks and have done all sorts of research on what will keep the roof up, finally coming across a part that will work. Turns out either the roof or the lift bars aren't perfectly aligned, which was causing the winch to break down. They're going to fix all of it so it doesn't happen again, and give us a 12 month warranty. We're expecting this is the worst of it now, so once it's repaired, we'll be fine.

We are avid campers too. We've just bitten the bullet and bought ourselves a 4x4 and camper trailer. Does anyone else here own one? I've found it quite hard to put up compared to some of the ones we looked at when we were shopping around, but then I am only 5ft. lol.