The Camping Thread #2

Thanks for the info Miss S - the Ampfibian is now installed but Dad still has me going to check on the van again next week to check the battery.

Do you know if your DH has any experience in putting in a power socket into a garage in a body corp building - the garage has a light but no socket, I want to see if I can get a socket put in but not sure how to approach it with the BodyCorp - I assume that there are no sockets because the BC then only has to pay for the electricity used in the lights in them and not to any devices people might plug in (the garages are all separate to the properties) - not sure if is better to get a quote and then approach BC or vice versa.

We are off camping with mum and dad, and my sister and her partner who are over from England to Litchfield National Park in the NT for a week in July - we will be flying up (the others doing a trek through the centre) and hiring a car when we get there. I think we will only have to take bedding, as can fit in the camper trailer - anyone any experiences of flying with camping stuff? I think our normal luggage will be covered by the hand luggage allowance (4 x 10KG) so then maybe only need another 20KG??? to get the stretchers and sleeping bags up there?

Can I ask if you're flying tiger & if you're flying into alice springs (could be darwin, just guessing)?

Only ask because I know the limits on tiger ;)

They released a statement today on their Facebook page that they're canning flights too & from alice from july 22.

Thought you may need to know, JIC...

No would be Jetstar as flying into Darwin, Tiger don't do direct from Melbourne to Darwin (seems only Brisbane Darwin) - so only option Jetstar or Virgin. Flight times are shocking - arrive Darwin 01:00AM and leave Darwin 02:00AM - but that seems fairly standard for Darwin (must be something to do with flight paths and international flights or something).

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Yep. Very similar to tiger. Just checking, because a lot of people have already booked flights & holidays & they're now being cancelled :/ they're not happy.

Our tiger perth/syd flights are 2am leave & I think 11.50 pm for return.

I did the 10kg limit when I went home alone for a week. You should be ok with that for clothes. I had DD1's school back pack full & a hand bag with 3 drinks & other bits & pieces. Came in just under. That was with shampoo & cond too. Use your scales & try to keep under though. Coz they charge you by the kg if you go over.

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Thanks for the info Miss S - the Ampfibian is now installed but Dad still has me going to check on the van again next week to check the battery.

Do you know if your DH has any experience in putting in a power socket into a garage in a body corp building - the garage has a light but no socket, I want to see if I can get a socket put in but not sure how to approach it with the BodyCorp - I assume that there are no sockets because the BC then only has to pay for the electricity used in the lights in them and not to any devices people might plug in (the garages are all separate to the properties) - not sure if is better to get a quote and then approach BC or vice versa.

We are off camping with mum and dad, and my sister and her partner who are over from England to Litchfield National Park in the NT for a week in July - we will be flying up (the others doing a trek through the centre) and hiring a car when we get there. I think we will only have to take bedding, as can fit in the camper trailer - anyone any experiences of flying with camping stuff? I think our normal luggage will be covered by the hand luggage allowance (4 x 10KG) so then maybe only need another 20KG??? to get the stretchers and sleeping bags up there?

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He has put in power sockets in body corp situations before, each one is different. If the body corp is paying the bill, then you'd have to run it past them. There's no harm in getting a quote before asking them though because then you can go to them with all of the information. HTH.

We just had a lazy weekend in Anglesea. Had a bit of a drive along the Great Ocean Road, walks on the beach, sitting around watching the kids and dogs play. The caravan park was great, huge park, lots of permanent sites. There is a part that is just for campers with dogs, it was a bush setting and we loved it. They were quiet so we could pick any site we wanted. We could hear the ocean from inside the van, just loved it and I'm feeling really sad to be home again. I haven't really felt like this after a trip before. We haven't camped with the dogs since Jan last year and it was nice to have them with us again. They had a good run around on the beach. Now that DD2 is a bit older, it was just easy.

Well off this weekend to somewhere just over the SA border. Hoping it will be good, going with the 4wd club and it is private site with facilities and we get to take the dog. Not sure how she will go on a 4 hour drive (poor thing gets anxiety), but she should be good once we get her to the site.

Buying more things for camping, amazing the little things that need to be picked up to make life a bit easier. Trying to reduce the size of what we take. Our current tent is just not suitable for our style of camping now, we may get a new one, but then we are aiming to buy a camper trailer, so not sure if it will be a waste of money to get a new tent for a year.

Have a great trip Astrid.

This thread has reminded me I need to sort what equipment we need for Litchfield which is in about 6 weeks.

We're debating how old (and how far along with TT) we want the boys to be before we go camping.

We like the Grampians.

And Cathedral.

Why peanutter?
We have been taking the boys at every stage. And they each have their advantages and disadvantages.

We went camping while toilet training, we had a potty and then a porta toilet. It was fine as they are away from their normal environment and did really well.

I think TT is perfect time - DS is still TT - and does much better when camping, mainly I think because likes peeing outdoors more than using a potty, and is all part of the novelty thing.

Toilet training and camping is a great mix. Especially for boys, who like to wee on all the things lol.

Don't think we had to deal with TT'ing and camping. The only thing I found is that with little ones you can spend a most of your day going back and forth from the camp site to the toilet. Can get pretty tiring and boring.

Had a pretty good weekend at Naracoorte. We did some actual 4wd'ing over a specialist course. DH had a ball, I was not that interested, I just need to know some basics for other trips. Had a great time at the Fossil caves, well worth it if you are in the area. The museum is awesome with it animal recreations.

Got our kit working better this time, but we are so drooling over a camper trailer. Just watching the others get ready so quickly made us jealous ;)

Well, we are getting a campertrailer. Went to an expo and got to see a lot of them, but ended up getting the one we looked at first. Basically it set the standard and it was hard for others to beat. Getting pretty much everything with it, fridge, battery system, solar panels, great kitchen, awnings decent mattress.

Dh had been asking for my opinion for ages on them, but I kept on saying that I could really say till I saw a number of different brands. Spending more that we had planned, but when we saw the cheaper one, we realised that it would cost us more in the long run.

Also picked up a vacuum sealer that I was not expecting to get.

Sounds great Astrid, I love my parents one (as long as I don't have to reverse it :-)).

Fingers crossed I wont be doing any of the driving. Driving the 4wd is hard enough with DH barking instructions about how I use the gears, let alone me driving with the camper trailer and trying to reverse it ;)

How exciting Astrid!! I was ok driving our camper just not in reverse, not keen in peak hour traffic either.

So last time we went camping I had a Wanderer compact Camper Stretcher from BCF - tonight I went to put it up because I want DH to try it to see if he will be ok on another one, and can't seem to bend the legs enough to get them in the holes - it looks impossible but I have used it so we must have done it (I googled instructions but obviously they are so simple there are none) so are we just being weak??? Any ideas?


Am a bit sad our Litchfield NP/Darwin adventures are going to be restricted somewhat by my foot (I broke heel bone and am in a camwalker boot) and may still have to be in it for holiday, or if not foot might be quite weak still - but hey ho not a lot can be done about that. Mum and Dad have just left our place to pick up my sister and her partner and then they set off on their mammoth drive on Tuesday - I think we will meet them in Litchfield 2 weeks tomorrow.

Picked up our camper trailer yesterday :happydance:
Easy enough to set-up, but I think will take some trial and error to get the packing right. We want to have has much as possible stored in the trailer, so all we need to do is pack our clothes, fresh food and some mummy & daddy refreshments ;)

We had originally been buying a few things based on still using the tent, so we know have to rethink those, whether they can still be used or if we are better off passing them on.
Been measuring up what we can to see what will fit in the kitchen set-up.

Yay Astrid! We kept everything in our camper including sauces, herbs snd spices, sunscreens and basic meds like Panadol we just checked the dates each time we went out. Have fun setting it up. Kmart has lots of funky cheap stuff to fit out the kitchen.

Exciting Astrid! I also keep everything in the camper so it's just a case of packing your clothes and going. After each trip I put all the cutlery, saucepans, plates etc through the dishwasher so they're all fresh for the next time. It will only take a trip or two to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

Very exciting Astrid. Mum and Dad keep all their supplies in theirs - it has quite a reasonable storage space. They keep their bedding on the bed ready to go, and clothes underneath the bed.

Had a great time in Litchfield - my foot was out of its camwalker boot and didn't really restrict me too much, was just a bit slower than otherwise. Swimming in all the waterholes was good for it, but just had to be a bit cautious on uneven surfaces. We camped at Florence Falls campsite - it had lovely big sites and pretty cheap as is National Park, it had proper toilets and running hot water (of a fashion - although I didn't use it - I am not much of a washer when camping :-)) Weather was lovely and hot, and slept with just the flyscreen up in the trailer awning and only a couple of hours each night needed a sleeping bag - I didn't spy any animals during the night but could hear all sorts outside and so nice going to sleep looking up at the stars and waking with the dawn.

DH's back really doesn't do well on the camp beds so next trip at Christmas, I think we will have to get mum and dad to let us sleep in the camper trailer bed (which is just like a normal bed) for a few nights. Not sure where we are going yet but away over Christmas somewhere in VIC, kids like sand so probably beach, last year we did Barwon Heads - any suggestions?

As we all were fine fitting in the camper trailer we won't bother with a tent this Christmas but wouldn't mind one of those gazebo type things (Oztrail??) just to give us more shelter from sun/rain for sitting out - anyone any experience suggestions?

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As we all were fine fitting in the camper trailer we won't bother with a tent this Christmas but wouldn't mind one of those gazebo type things (Oztrail??) just to give us more shelter from sun/rain for sitting out - anyone any experience suggestions?

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Can you get an extra/extended awning for the camper trailer? That might be useful, unless you want a gazebo to use at other times.

Well, we finally got to camp in the camper trailer. Went really well, much less stressful not having to track down and pack everything. The trip was more comfortable as we did not need to pack stuff around us. Quite good to set-up, even though I forgot how to do some of it. Just needed to keep on reminding to DH to be clear with instructions.

We did have an oops on packup, DH left his phone on the bed :lol: so we had to open it all up again when we got home. DD2 sooked about her bunk as she was jealous about our bed.

Planning our next trip and a big one around Christmas. Need to get a porta potty so we can go to more sites. Got to get away from those campers who have the generator going late at night so they can watch TV in the caravan. Can understand the grey nomads doing that, but not the weekenders and these days the solar/battery tech is so much better, so I really wonder why there is a need for a generator.

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Can you get an extra/extended awning for the camper trailer? That might be useful, unless you want a gazebo to use at other times.

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I think we already have all the awnings can have on the trailer. I was thinking the gazebo useful because can move it about and sometimes have found that the awning on the side of the camper is facing into the sun/wind and it isn't that easy to move it all the time once the awnings are all up - whereas the gazebo could move about. Dad reckons is cheaper to get one of those complete with fly screen sides than a fly screen side for the camper trailer awning. I think we might use it at other times.

We are staying at Wye River on Great Ocean Road over Christmas apparently, and the week before mum and dad are taking the kids there for the week too - is called "Gramping" apparently :-)

Glad you had a good trip Astrid - I find it pretty fascinating how the camper trailers fit everything in, and all the little spaces having different uses etc.

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We are staying at Wye River on Great Ocean Road over Christmas apparently, and the week before mum and dad are taking the kids there for the week too - is called "Gramping" apparently :-)

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Ah, you will be the other end of the GOR than where we live.

Parks Victoria charging so much for sites now is a real problem, prices us out of a lot of sites. Don't mind paying a bit for a few facilities, but some of these are more than caravan parks.

Back from a 3 night trip. Managed to find a free site with no-one at it. Pretty basic, drop toilet, river, fire pit. A fair bit of wild life. Got to see an Emu with chicks!
Such a contrast to our first site which was so crowed and noisy. It was weird to just have no-one around as far as you could see (well that it a bit like home really, just without all the home distractions and less drive by traffic).

Refining the set-up more. Must by the girls new sleeping bags (if I have not already said that). Must also look up more one pot meals and take notes of how they work out, what needs to be tweaked so we can meal plan better.

Can anyone recommend good thermal mugs for camping? We have a couple that we got as freebies and they are not that great to actually drink out of. Want stainless steel, able to fit in cup holder.

It is the Great Aussie Camp Out on Sat night - we are going to do something if not camping (we have no garden - or a tent but can borrow a tent) - just go to my favorite bit of woods up the road in the dark and sit round and sing songs and have marshmellows - just me and the kids I think :-) - is anyone else doing anything?

Did not know about the Great Aussie Camp out, so no, not doing anything.

There is a camp coming up for the users of our brand of camper trailer. Sadly not going, huge drive to get there, plus DH seemed to not get the concept of 'tell me the actual dates' , so I got confused and thought it was Oct, which it isn't so said we are not going. If I have known it was November, we could have gone. :wall:

Due to the power of facebook - the kids and I are now going with a friend and her daughter camping at Warburton for the Great Aussie Camp Out - we only decided this morning :-) but I love last minute adventures.

I ended up paying the $7.50 for the wikicamps app over the weekend. Was worth the money. I had the free trial, but didn't really need it since that ran out.
We headed to albany with mum & dad's second caravan on friday, but got there too late. We were headed to cosy corner, a free campsite on the beach, but it was dinner time, & too dark to play park the caravan. And still had 30 kms to go.
So I downloaded wiki, found a drive through rest area just off the main road & we stayed there the first night.

Headed to cosy the next morning. Got there & the grey nomads had taken over, there was no where, so good old wiki showed us Torbay Inlet. 5 kms back towards town & no one else there. Wasn't on the beach, but was still an awesome spot.

My first caravanning adventure & we survived. Even got the fridge running on gas by myself :) unhooked & hooked it up again for my trip to town.

Feeling like I can take on the world lol. But I'm not a fan of towing that big thing around all the time. Good for space, not much good for driving through a city :/

Kids are with mum and dad at Wye River - having a great time apparently - I was there for the weekend - was great but got bitten alot - anyone any good ideas for keeping away biting insects - as DH and I are back there for Christmas on Sat. One on my palm is so itchy and has a great long red trail going down my wrist for about 12cm.

We have Bushmans, don't know it is anygood yet, but it is one we see a lot on the 4wd shows DH watches.
Some friends swear by the clicky thing that use on the bite. We still have to get one to see how it works.
You will probably find though it want be so bad the next trip as those bites won't be 'new' to your body and your body will handle them better. Well that is my experience.

Trying to decide where to go after Christmas. Not easy. Would have been great to travel with some friends, but they are going the week after we have planned. Might head in a direction where we get to catch up with some old friends as a bonus.

We used bush mans in the past but I make my own now as dd2 comes out in huge welts from mozzies snd I don't like using it all the time. It's made with essential oils, chamomile, geranium, lavender and tea tree oil in sorbelene has worked really well for us.

We use Bushmans and have never had any issues. My brother has a little contraption to deter mozzies. I think it's called a Thermocell??

We caravanned it down to the south coast for Christmas. 6 nights at Millers Point, Bremer Bay, WA. Was amazing, other than our little dog finding a still alive, run over tiger snake on Christmas morning :(

We had the generator, so was awesome to be able to run the fridges & have music & lights at night. Fridge in the van I'm using is gas & I was taking it on our next trip just for that reason, but it's playing up, even on power, so don't think there's much point lugging the van around, using almost twice the fuel to not be able to run the fridge. Back to the tent & esky's I think. I'm not a fan of towing it anyway.

But I do have a question for those of you who are in the know with caravan's etc? The van needs a 15amp cord & plug. I have a 20m 10amp for my tent, which I've used at caravan parks. Mum & dad have been carting caravans around for years, but dad's at work, so can't ask him. Can you get a cord with a 15amp one end, 10amp the other? Or are caravan parks set up for 15amp? I was loaned a 15amp to plug in & test out the fridge, but I can't plug it into my outside plug on the house.

We plugged our van in at other peoples houses & sheds quite a bit when we were kids, I'm assuming they didn't all have 15amp points on the ready? It's possible dad changed the end of the cord of course, but can you buy them that way? I'm not about to go playing with power cords.

We're off to Margaret River, a well known winery region in WA. Staying on a camp ground at a working shearing farm, 10kms from MR. I might pack all the camping gear in the trailer & take it. I like to have space in the car. And I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to see if I can pick up a second hand bar fridge somewhere to use... One day I will afford an engel ;)

Not in the know - but we had the exact issue with the power with mum and dad's camper trailer and were totally unaware of it until we came to try plug it in at a house. It needs a 15amp but our friend only has 10amps as most houses do (most caravan places are set up for 15 amp). You can not legally amend the cord but people do, do it. We didn't do that because at a friends house and wouldn't want to risk it. Some people have 15amp sockets put in their houses. In the end we ended up buying a device called Ampfibian which is a way to convert from 10 to 15 - it was a bit expensive ($250) but they have released a smaller one recently that is less pricey and can use indoors - whereas the one we have is weatherproof etc.

Dad was annoyed as no one had mentioned this issue when he bought the camper trailer they said just plug it in.

~clover~ we had someone we knew who was handy electrically convert a regular extension cord (that plugged into the house) into a dual ended cord. The parts can be bought at Bunnings I think.

Mum will talk to dad about it, he can change my cord if it's safe enough. I've seen him change a few as a kid for whatever reason. Good to know parks are set up that way though. I guessed they would be. It's good to know that about camper trailers too, I was wondering as I plan to get one in the future.

Have the fridge plugged in on its own to my cord. Will see how it's going in the morning & weather it's actually worth taking the van. Best check with the park too I guess. I'm booked for a tent, best see if I even can change to a van site if the plugs are different ;)

Yep, your dad should be able to do it no probs.
My hubby just made a duel ended extension, that is only about 1 mtr long. That way we plug it onto the end of our regular extension if and when we need it.
Clover, with gas fridges, there are a couple of things I have found that improve them greatly.
1. Make sure the fridge (and therefore your van) is level.
2. Make sure that the vent for the exhaust is clear and that nothing is leaning against it. I have actually taken the external cover off ours. Also our van door opens and folds back over then vent, so I just make sure that the door isn't hooked back over the vent all day.
3. They struggle to cool a lot of stuff at once. So don't get to where you are going and then go buy a heap of groceries and put them all in. I try and buy a couple of days worth of meat before we go and pre freeze it at home, and I try not to buy bottles of warm drink and put them in.
4. We use an esky with ice for drinks/snacks that the kids need to access constantly. I just put the days allocated snacks in there. It's keeps them out of the van during the day and I know that all of my "good" food doesn't warm up.
Gas fridges can be great, but they do take a little bit of pre planning.

We are now in Daylesford in Victoria. My sister lives here and we are in her backyard.
We arrived in Yarawonga and camped by the Murray the Tuesday before Xmas and stayed there for a week, but with the predicted high temps today and Tomoz, we headed for the hills for a drop in temp (just hope we don't get any fires!)
Then on Sunday, we are off to the melb zoo and then down to the morning ton peninsula to visit some friends for a few days. We head back to Qld later nxt week.
Not looking forward to going back to the heat :/ it has been lovely down here.