What a great thread tarankyle!Hope you have a blast,As for snack foods I tried to think what we'd use at home and add in a 'treat holiday factor'.So with mr and the two boys I figure a big bag of chippes per day was a good idea. We had yumo snacks tucked away for new year etc etc.
My best idea is to write down your days and figure in any extras. eg" sitting around with nibbles on NYE and then factor in meals and be precise. eg: on day 10, sausages and no fresh stuff left so Craigs bean salad and .etc etcc
fisher,
Nov 10, 10:44am
So many ideas racing around.ring second hand shops for "toastie sandwich maker" make toasties with the kids. Dont be daunted just because your camping.You do EXACTLY the same things as cooking at home. As far as cooker is concerned get one of the single burner canister cookers for about 30 bucks. Takes a can of gas similar to a fly spray can and last a long time. Just use a pot for boiling water. or if you think you are going camping again in the future, buy a whistling kettle .about 18 bucks I think. My biggest hint for you. Plan plan plan.your menu what you need for each day then add extras you think may be needed. Can you pick up real fresh veges on the way from roadside stalls. last longer and lots of summer fruit. watermelons. sweetcorn on cob.strawberries and the like all at their best and good prices after xmas. have a good time. It's one thing the kids will remember forever. Oh one last thing. insect repellent. fly spray. suntan lotion. Bic lighter
elliehen,
Nov 10, 11:11am
And for parents who can't get to exotic camping spots, remember that young kids also love stay-at-home-camps, with a tent in the back yard and some of the fun food above :)
icemaiden001,
Nov 10, 3:10pm
Your lucky all the doc campsites up here are NO Open Fires . Full stop . Gas / covered bbq's only . Not allowed generators either as apparently the are too noisy ! :)
cgvl,
Nov 10, 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 10, 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 11, 1:07am
that is a great idea, hadn't thought of that, thanks :-)
coolnzmum,
Nov 11, 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 11, 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!
charlieb2,
Nov 11, 2:55am
check again before you go. we thought we were ok too! lol
charlieb2,
Nov 11, 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 11, 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 11, 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 11, 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 11, 3:23am
Jiffy Irons are great for on the fire too. Nothing beats toasted sandwiches fresh off the fire. Whoops, just saw this was mentioned back at #33.
charlieb2,
Nov 11, 3:37am
add in marshmellows!
tarankyle,
Nov 11, 5:06am
thats a great idea :-)what is "crispy batter mix" though!
winnie231,
Nov 11, 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 11, 9:44am
If you don't want to contend with eggs, you can use 1 cup self raising flour, 1/4-1/3 cup castor sugar, 2 tbsp custard powder. Put that in the bottle and add water to make into a batter and you have camping pikelets without egg etc.
that would be soo nice if we didn't have the kids lolmanaged to pick up a new solor shower today for $12.95 from the plastic box & while I was there found a unbrella stand for $2.50 :-)
trading_gibsons,
Nov 12, 11:58pm
Sorry it has taken so long to get back a couple of very long work days-
In the Edmonds Cookbook
Crisp Batter;
1/4 cup cornflour 1/2 cup plain flour 1 tspn baking powder 1/4 tspn salt 1/2 cup milk (this is were you would put in 1/10th cup milk powder)
mix all ingredients then just add water until right consistency aprox 1/2 cup.
cgvl,
Nov 13, 10:43am
oh while I think of it. Sunny's as its called here or one of those $2 type shops have camping gear. i have picked up the egg carriers and a couple of other things for a lot less than what I would have paid at the camping specialist stores. If you have a pot with a steamer, or a large pot that will fit a metal colander in, (so it works like a steamer), take this as a way to cook vegies, potatoes and root vege in bottom and peas or similar on top.
liamjosh,
Nov 15, 12:45am
Great idea, think we need to invest in a second one.Just out of interest, where do you purchase a chilly bin that works for longer and roughly how much is it worth!
charlieb2,
Nov 15, 1:12am
liamjosh we got ours from Smith City.Cant remember how much. not particularly cheap though. (mind you chilly bins arent) think under $200)
Oh and I've just remembered Warehouse has them sometimes too.
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