these are all great ideas thanks :-)I have started making a list of things we will need to take with is from this thread along with what I have thought of already.
cgvl,
Nov 9, 10:16pm
take a large plastic bowl and pump soap, fill bowl with some warm water, place soap next to it and a hand towel. Great for washing hands in, saves on trips to bathroom and someone forgetting to bring back the soap. Kiwi camping on their website have a list of camping stuff ..... what you need or may need. There are a couple of others I have found too but they aren't NZ ones.
charlieb2,
Nov 9, 11:39pm
ooh my tip for the day, following on from what fisher said about boiling your kettle.When you boil it to make a cuppa.. pour any spare hot water into a thermos flask.Then you arent wasting the hot water and gas you've used.. and have hot water on hand for another cuppa OR doing the dishes, having a wash etc
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 1:07am
that is a great idea, hadn't thought of that, thanks :-)
coolnzmum,
Nov 10, 1:25am
Took all our kids camping when they were younger, then invested in a caravan once we were down to one at home.Then grandson came to live with us so we decided to sell caravan and go back to camping again so he got the camping experiences all his aunties and uncles had.However we decided we would invest in a good size tent and have all the equipment so we didn't have to be too hard done by, had done our share of sleeping on hard ground.So now we have a trailer to pack it all in and include airbed on frame so we are sleeping off the floor, fridge, freezer, variety of cooking methods, plenty of plastic containers to store it all in through the year.
charlieb2,
Nov 10, 1:51am
Good on you Lianne... I know that in the future your grandson will appreciate the experience.Thats one of the reasons we got set up to camp. With two boys... its a great experience for them.
We went on our first MAJOR camp last year with fairly basic equipment.The last night of the camp we all sat down together and said what we thought we'd need to make it BETTER next time.We've sorted beds out.(first night last year, our airbed went down and so did the youngests, we had to make an emergency dash into Oamaru about 1.5 hours away!!)Have STORAGE cupboards now.Really looking forward to our next trip
Have got a few good ideas from this thread too!
cgvl,
Nov 10, 2:24am
not food but a tip I got off TM: Those solar lights that you can buy are great for marking the entrance to the tent and any guy ropes at night. Saves tripping over them on a dark night especially if like us you camp away from the main camping places.
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 2:45am
yeah I have been looking on here for sola lights etc. Gonna go to the plastic box tomorrow as they have solar showers on special for $12.99 :-)The kids are getting there own torches in there santa sacks & the new tent we brought over the weekend has a hook in the main room that we can hang a lantern from also.
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 2:46am
we have checked out all the air beds already & there are deff no leaks thank goodness lol
charlieb2,
Nov 10, 2:55am
check again before you go...... we thought we were ok too!! lol
charlieb2,
Nov 10, 2:56am
tarankyle, if you havent got the kids torches yet, instead of 'normal' torches have a look at the miner head lamp types.. they are great cos they leave your hands free... and the kids think they are cooooool!
gazza1234,
Nov 10, 3:10am
For safety, in case of fire we keep a pocket knife beside the bed because you can't just jump out a window and tend to be blocked from an exit. Mrs Gazza
winnie231,
Nov 10, 3:13am
Don't forget to pack a brush & pan - essential for keeping the tent floor clean (less risk of damage from stones, etc) but also ... we found the brush brilliant for doing sandy feet with!
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 3:14am
I have already brought them one of those ones that you recharge with a handle that is attached to them.Yeah we have people staying in a couple of weeks so will be using the air beds again then, I deff do not want to be sleeping on the hard ground lol
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 3:15am
that is on my list already. My partner is going to problay go nuts with the amount of stuff we are taking lol lucky we have a trailer lol
cookessentials,
Nov 10, 3:16am
A good old cast iron Dutch oven is a great piece of cookware to have for camping and great for soups and camp fire casseroles, bean stews etc.
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 3:22am
As far as I know the only thing we will be having to cook on is one of those charcole bbq's that a friend is bringing. I don't think we are allowled fires. Just been told of a nice desert to do for the kids, chocolate bananas. Open one side of the banana, cover with choc buttons, close up & bbq a min or so each side. When you open it up the choc has melted all over the banana. Sounds yummy :-)
gazza1234,
Nov 10, 3:23am
Jiffy Irons are great for on the fire too. Nothing beats toasted sandwiches fresh off the fire.
trading_gibsons,
Nov 10, 3:28am
Make up dry mixes with the right amount of milk powder that just need water added: pancake mix - add egg & water cheese sauce mix - add cheese & water (for pasta) chrispy batter mix - add water.
charlieb2,
Nov 10, 3:37am
add in marshmellows!!!
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 5:06am
thats a great idea :-)what is "crispy batter mix" though?
cgvl,
Nov 10, 6:27am
you can make your own Milo too, can then have the sweetness or not that you prefer, same with instant coffee. Milo mix is 1 tsp cocoa, 1Tbsp milk powder and 1-2tsps sugar per person. mix well and store in an airtight container. Just add hot water. Do the same with coffee. Saves having to worry about your milk supply. Frypan scones or damper: 2 cups self raising flour (or flour with baking powder addes), pinch salt, ¼cup milk powder. Just add water and butter/oil/marge or cheese. Flatten into a round to fit your frypan and cook gently over a medium heat, turn over and cook other side. or you can put on top of a stew/casserole. Add herbs if you like or 1tsp sugar and some dried fruit ie raisins/dates/apricots for a sweeter version.
tarankyle,
Nov 10, 6:37am
cgvl thats a great idea thanks :-)I have some milk powder I found in the pantry that I will take with us incase we run out of fresh milk.
winnie231,
Nov 10, 7:09am
Not sure about the crispy batter but adding to the tip about pancake mix - put it in a clean, dry 2lt milk bottle. Easy as to add an egg & some liquid (water,milk or beer) and shake the hell out of it :) The kids love 'helping' with this job!
dwebble,
Nov 10, 8:05am
I use the bbq for everything I cook when camping. We take a chilly bin for our meat etc. We make sure our meat is all frozen and then wrap them up tight in paper, and stick in a rubbish bag that goes onto a bed of ice and then another bag of ice is scattered on top. This way the meat stays really chilled and takes like 3 days to even just thaw and we work from the outside in.
As for cooking on the bbq, I make pizza and bread buns etc on the bbq along with everything else I need. If we are cooking things like pasta or veg we just chuck pots with lids on and boil things. No worries. Stir fries, wraps, meat patties and homemade burger buns, you name it! No power, no generators nothing, just the good old bbq. Oh, and if it rains, I hand wash the clothes etc, and use the bbq lid to dry things while I am cooking bread inside etc
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