As we enter the last leg of summer, our days spent soaking up the sun will lessen. Thankfully, there’s still a month of guaranteed sunshine, and what better way to spend it than in the great outdoors?
I recently enjoyed all of Mother Nature’s goodness in a weekend-long, traditional tent camp at Tweede Tol (It’s in the middle of nowhere about 20km outside of Wellington on Baine’s Kloof Pass).
Unfortunately, being amateur campers, we ended up lacking vital camping necessities – like lanterns. Despite having packed everything but the kitchen sink; we never considered the fact that our only source of energy would be sunlight and firelight.
The lack of electricity put an interesting spin on the weekend’s activities. Having ‘left the world behind’, we reveled in traditional camp fire banter. One of the topics discussed was what to bring on a camp, and we concurred that it takes intricate planning for outdoorsy activities to run seamlessly.
Here’s a list of a things that you will need (so much for travelling light!):
Shelter:
• Tent
• Extra pegs for your tent
• Repair kit for your tent
Bedding:
• Sleeping bag (or a sheet and blanket)
• Pillow
• Air mattress
• Air pump (We used one that can be connected to your car’s cigarette lighter, which makes light work of pumping up your mattress.)
Use a checklist when planning a camping trip, and layout all the items before packing to ensure that you haven’t missed anything.
Cooking:
• Large container of drinking water (preferably iced so that it will stay cooler for longer.)
• Matches/Lighter
• Charcoal/firewood
• Fire starters
• Braai grid
• Crockery and cutlery
• Mugs and glasses (Stainless steel would be best)
• Containers for food storage
Miscellaneous:
• Hat
• Socks
• Shower shoes/Flip Flops
• Toilet paper
• Sunscreen
• Lantern
• Torch with extra batteries
• First Aid kit
• Maps/Directions
• Fully charged camera batteries, and spares
Despite not being thoroughly prepared for our bushwhacking weekend, it was loads of fun. So, cheers to Mother Nature and the century (maybe millennium) old discovery of fire!
Happy Camping.
