Bush CampingThe weather is starting to cool down now and most people think having a Caravan /RV is mainly for the summer months but personally I look forward to the winter months as it allows for bush/free camping adventures.

We have found some lovely spots to duck away for the weekend with friends or family and enjoy some drinks, a warm fire, cooking of some marsh mellows and some beautiful and different scenery.

If you have kids they love it as well as it gives them a chance to get back to nature and play in the great outdoors with little or nothing for them to do but use their imaginations and play in nature as most of them don’t get to do this in our normal everyday lives anymore.

There are a couple of tips that can make camping in the cold weather more comfortable in your Caravan/RV.

  • Make sure you pack enough warm clothes, socks and blankets – nothing worse than being cold and not being able to get warm.
  • Make sure you pack the marsh mellows and make time to look for perfect marsh mellow sticks for roasting on the fire. – I actually saw the other day that you can buy forks from Kmart especially for roasting marsh mellows – I am going to look into these.
  • Look at getting a fire pit, that way if you are allowed a fire and the bush camping doesn’t supply a fire pit, you can safely have a fire without worrying about it getting out of control and easier to put out etc.
  • Wood for your fire– either get some before you leave or most bush camping facilities sell firewood or there are roadside spots on the way to these places to buy firewood.
  • Setup solar for free camping – this allows you to go off the grid and camp on unpowered sites comfortably for a few days.  The solar is usually enough to run tv’s lights etc but wont be enough for air-conditioner or heating etc.
  • Perhaps look at an additional battery to backup the solar – depending on what solar system and the size that is installed and the sort of weather you have it might not be necessary but always a good idea to have a backup. – a generator is another idea to backup power however in some areas these aren’t permitted and can be an expense up front as well as having to carry additional fuel for this.
  • Consider satellite (if you cant live without tv) – this is great if you are unfortunate enough to get some bad weather and need something to do or give the kids to do for a little while in the rain.
  • Make sure when your choosing a camp spot if you do have satellite and solar that you choose somewhere away from trees and electricity lines.
  • If you plan to travel in the middle of winter or plan to travel in really cold areas of Australia perhaps consider a diesel or gas heater fitted to the caravan.  This allows you to heat the van/rv on unpowered sites without the use of generators – as sometimes these are not permitted.

 

Just because the weather is cooler doesn’t mean your caravan has to sit idle for months on end.  Consider looking at setting yourself up for some free camping and experience back to basics peace and quiet.  The scenery and relaxation of it is well worth it!

Happy camping everyone!IMG_4361