I GO CAMPING WITH MY CAT!

 

YOU DON'T NEED FRIENDS TO GO CAMPING

I am someone who hasn’t got many friends. But the ones I do have are either “busy”, working or have families to attend too.

So what do you do on extended days off.. GO CAMPING and for me.. It’s with my CAT!!

I much prefer to go to a campground and have power – but I am set up so I can go without power which is just as fun!

Also as I take my cat – most campgrounds don't allow pets. You must check before you book or arrive. It’s a long drive to be disappointed.

The best times to go camping is during the week and non school holidays. Everyday I'm surrounded by people. So not being around people is the BEST!!

I like to go camping for at least 4 nights. Short stays for a long weekend are ok too.. But think of the travelling time. You don't want to spend half of your days off driving.

Now I drive a Mazda 3 and everything I need  to go away with – fits in there.. to the brim.

Pack your clothes in a medium suitcase.. Yeah a bag might sound simpler – But I find packing your car is like playing Tetris ( I do actually call it Car Tetris) so having a bag which is squarish and ridged helps in fitting everything in. Don't take your good clothes – they will get dirty and being daggy and comfortable is awesome - noone cares what you look like when camping! I wear joggers when setting up and taking down – just better than thongs during this time.

Just because I go alone – doesn’t mean I have to go without things or that I have to rough it.. I “rough” it. I sleep on a blow up lilo on the ground.

Now the things you will need to go for my way of camping are as follows..

I have a decent size tent.. Space is your friend. It’s a 6 person tent. And I love it. It’s simple to put up and take down (this is handy if rain decides to come on home time day) But really you don't want to fuck around trying to put up a mansion in the heat, rain or dark.. Which we’ll talk about later.

Now you can never have enough tent pegs! You’ll lose a few each time.. You can just buy more. But always have too many than not enough - trust me.

Tarps are friends! Bit tricky putting up when on your own – but by the second trip away you’ll have it down pat.  I have one as my Outdoor Area and one dropped down the side to make a wall for my kitchen area. I join these together with clamps – Another item you can never get enough of. Good ones too. Plastic ones are ok but metal ones hold on better. Also don't buy really cheap ones. Medium to higher priced tarps will save you buying a new one after each trip away. Spares are good too if you want some privacy.

My Outdoor Area is held up with 6 adjustable tent poles. The aluminium ones are the best – but are a bit more expensive. The tarp for this is about 6mx4m in size which is a great size for my gear to be covered.

Now rope and peg as much as possible – might be an over kill but you never know when the wind might pick up.

Under my Outdoor Area I have shade cloth as my flooring. Lets the sand through and feel nice on the tootees. And its light weight. Some people have foam matting.. that’s ok as well.. But they take up space – which in a non 4wd is limited. I also take a broom and sweep up every morning. Just makes the place tidier.

Now you can never have enough stuff!

I have 2 gas cookers (one might stop working). You’ll use around 1 gas can a day.. So take at least another 2 packs of 4 as spares. Full draw of cutlery and cooking utensils. These days things are made super small – like tongs and graters. I have a wicked gas kettle – its aqua in colour and I love it. Pretty much everything I have is either purple, pink or blue.  

I have 2 tables – one for kitchen and one for eating at. 2 chairs just cos I can. One is a reclining one.. Its great!

Don't forget lighting. Torches, fairy lights and led lights you can get off eBay for $5. Candles are crap and don't emit much light.

Things to NEVER forget...

Matches/lighters. Mozzie coils and spray – the extra strength stuff.. believe me you’ll need it! And poop paper.

Things you might not need but I take anyway..

Hot water bottle. Fan heater if you have a powered site (don't be silly and leave on when away from it – you’ll burn down your tent!!)

You can essentially pack everything that you would use when at home. Just on a smaller scale. Which I do.

I don't go without anything!! FACT!  I have a list of things that I need to pack each time and things that are all ready packed and just need to put in the car. I am so well organised – I could leave right now.. Just would need to go to Woolies for food and ice.

Now food. Take whatever you want! Lots of treats for me lol things I don't normally eat when at home – like pistachio nuts and crisps. Get a decent size icebox/esky/chillybin – mines 50ltrs which is good for me. But everything in snap lock bags. Salad stuffs, bacon, cold meats, cheese etc. Also good quality snap lock containers so shit doesn’t spill out.Long life milk is ok – but I find the cartons go soggy so I just get plastic bottled milk and top it up with the LL stuff.

Once again there is nothing you can’t take away with you that you don't have at home. I see people having 2 min noodles and packet pasta.. Every day I have banana pancakes with maple syrup and loads of bacon with a side of baked beans. Maybe I’ll have a Chicken or ham salad wraps and then I'm having steak with garlic mash and sautéed garlic mushrooms for dinner. For snacks I’ll have biccies n cheese with a dip. And desert I’ll have an amazing tropical fruit salad I pre made bulk loads of the night before I went away.

Don't forget the tea and coffee!

I never get bored! There is so much to see and do and even of you don't want to do anything.. Nights do get lonely. I take my iPad and a radio. Even magazines to do the find-a-word.

Don't forget the cameras! You can never take enough photos and selfies. Snap away!

I bet your wondering about the cat.. Well the first time I took her I wasn’t worried at all. I knew she loved the car and going “tar tars” so that’s no biggy. However I was wondering how she would like being inside a tent. I took her cat cage as well as having the car open to be unpacked – I couldn’t risk her running away!  She is an indoor cat only, that’s not a problem.  I decided to go somewhere not too far from home so if she freaked out – I could pack up quickly. WELL... She LOVED IT!! She rolled around the empty tent like she had just won lotto! It was a relief. She’s such a good girl.

She has her own toilet and food stuff.. Nothing out of the ordinary. I do take her lead with her so she can come out of the tent for some grass. But she’s just happy watching the birdies from the inside and cat chattering away at them.

My advice with taking a cat camping.. Is making sure they like the car!! 

 

 

 

 

So your days off are coming to an end L The ice in the esky is all water now and all the good food has been eaten..

The day/night before home time.. pack as much crap away as possible. Especially if you have to leave hell early to get back to work Monday morning.

My final and probably most important advice is DO NOT EVER set up in the dark. You want to get to your spot as early as possible. Find a good area with a nice view and away from people. I’ve seen so many people arrive on dusk or later trying to set up a tent which has never been unpacked from its original packaging and their lights are packed away or it starts to rain. This will make your first night and will probably ruin your trip away.

I can’t wait to my next camping trip away with my little fur baby.. I hope my tips and advice helps you get away from all of the hustle & bustle

 MeowMeowPanda