One of my greatest enjoyments is getting out into remote areas and far away from other people; there's something quite special about being the only two people for hundreds of miles which makes a person feel small when compared to the vast expanse of planet that spreads in every direction. I like the challenge of it, the skills it requires and the freedom it offers.
Australia can be a brutal and unforgiving place when one gets away from the populated places; there's deadly creatures, extreme terrain and weather and hundreds and thousands of miles of nothingness - meaning no people and support.
One needs to be prepared and have the skills and equipment (and the courage) to venture out there and I've worked towards being that guy so nowadays I feel comfortable and capable in the wilderness...I had to start somewhere though, it doesn't just happen, and when I first started doing this as a younger chap it was in a very basic way - but a lot of fun too.
Sometimes I had a tent, other times my swag and sometimes just the stars overhead and thin bedroll beneath me, but on each occasion I had fun, learned a little more, gained additional confidence and valuable skills; I also started to build up a good deal of equipment.
I wrote a post recently about looking at buying a new truck (4x4) and an off-road caravan to go with it.
I'll end up getting a set up that is very comfortable and which is suited to my needs at this stage of my life, plus very costly - fun isn't cheap sometimes. In that post I talk about sleeping on the ground and basic camping - I've done a lot of that especially in the early days - and I thought I'd share a few images.
I like simple things and sometimes it's the simplicity of the set up that brings greater enjoyment; it's a challenge, obstacles must be overcome be it packing light, space constraints in the vehicle or backpack, food and water, hunting, navigation, shelter, safety and many other things...putting myself in situations that require such problem-solving has taught me many things and I've enjoyed the process.
I've been fortunate to have travelled all over the world and loved it but my travels within Australia have also brought amazing experiences and skills with the most basic of camp set-ups usually teaching me the most.
I'm the guy who can walk off into the wilderness with little in the way of equipment and survive, or have the best chance of surviving at least, something I'm quite proud of. Basic set-ups are ok by me, a bedroll under the stars for instance, and I still do it now and then especially on hunting trips with a mate or two but...yeah, some comfort is nice too.
Have you had any camping experiences you want to share? Either do so in the comments or do so in a post within the outdoors and more community.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
It's all about contrast.
Rough it a while and enjoy the simplicity. Come home and enjoy the comfort.
Exactly right, it makes one appreciate the comforts of home a lot more I think. It's incredible how difficult the easiest things are to do when out in the wilderness without the creature comforts. To think that that's how they used to do it back in the day...a far cry from the luxurious lives we all live today.
You nailed it. What better and more accessible way to develop some survival skills, have fun and enjoy our planet. There are places as easy to stay at as a motel and always camping friends to take you with them on an adventure.
I started out with a $20 tent and a case of beer decades ago. September last, I joined a crew miles off in the bush and canoed 3 lakes in to an even more remote site. A huge leap from start til now but I bet I could bring a noobie with me in the front of the canoe and have them do just fine with the supplies I had.
I take for granted that I am in an area without a wilderness trying in unison to kill me like it is in Oz! I am in a province with 35000 sq miles of provincial park, and way more crown land on top of that. Gotta get out more and it is a skill and experience that connects us.
I think there a certain connection that comes through camping and the basic act of subsistence - a connection with the planet, those we have with us and ourselves. It strips away most of the complexities society dictates.
Your $20 tent sounds familiar to my early days, cheap equipment and not much of it but loads of fun. I know so many people don't like camping, some due to bad experiences, but I feel glad to be one who is good at it and enjoys it.
Happy camping!
My first camping experience was my only one. Nine inebriated persons and yours truly in a 4-man tent in a very muddy field in Ballisodare in 1978. Suffice to say I was up at 5am washing the puke out of my hair under a cold tap and heading off to catch the train back to Dublin and civilisation.
If ones first camping trip is terrible it's unlikely it will be repeated.
I've had some bad ones as well, but I love camping, being out there in the wilderness, for many reasons and the challenge is one of them.
Maybe you'll give it another try, maybe not, either way you have a stpry to tell I guess, and that's something.
I have had a few stinkers. Motorcycle rides too where it was cold rain the whole time.
But the epic ones win out in the end.
Motorcycles and Camping have been a crossover hobby that blends nicely. Nearly twenty years gone by since this photo of motorcycles campside.
We have to take the bad with the good and while the bad can be fucken bad at the time. We can often look back on them and value the story, have a laugh and all.
You are really a man of the wilds! I used to go to such places with my family when we were all younger but as spending time in nature became a lot rarer for each of us, so did the brave decreased, lol! Nice camping setup tho! I dream of the day when I'll own one of these little cars with a tent within!
Yep, like a gorilla in the mist....without the mist...or withing being a gorilla at all. Lol.
Do you like camping? I guess the answer is yes...so what do you like about it?
Haha!
I do love camping! I used to go camping pretty often a few years ago and even spend 1-2 weeks completely disconnected from technology but only with my tent in the mountains! I love the freedom it gives and how you can have pretty much everything you need offered from nature. Too bad this is happening a lot rarer lately :( I miss those feelings!
Start off small, find you enjoy it. Over the years it grows into a larger rig to suit your needs. Went from a two man tent (not the modern ones) could stand upright within, onto a two bedroom tent, extended an indoor kitchen for rainy days!
Trailer, children pots and pans, we eventually sold the rig to people we knew, they went fishing along the coast when their family was young, ours a wee bit older.
I think it's nice to recall back to the basic set-ups we had and those more simple days which (for me at least) have brought so much enjoyment. I've had some terrible camping experiences with weather and equipment failure and while they sucked at the time I look back now and remember them fondly. I assume the same for you.
Many very strange events happened during years of camping.
Learned to listen to your intuition in some cases, once we left a couple of days early, saved our whole rig, many lost caravans and tents due to weather.
Definitely an experience not to be missed, nor forgotten in a hurry!
One is able to get more in tune with nature when away from cities and technology or so I believe.
Phone only with me through day indoors, not near me during the night, outdoors never!
✅🐸
Always switch off from crazy! Have to.....
I had my first camping experience in the Akkaya region of Turkey. What I learned at the camp actually shows the skills that show what a person can do when he is in a difficult situation alone. Camping in nature tells me about freedom and the joy of living on roads whose routes I don't know. I attribute the fact that you lived in that region without fear of wild animals and difficult conditions to the courage of your freedom.
Australia is a very dangerous place as far as deadly animals go, but with some understanding of how they behave and how to deal with it a person can be reasonably safe. I hope you get to do loads of camping, it's good for the soul.
Reading these articles, I realize that I still have a lot to learn about survival skills, but I like learning what you share.
When I was a child, I was lucky to go camping several times with my dad (being a pilot, he liked to practice these skills and for us to learn too).
I miss those days, my brothers, my dad, a campfire, and the stars - what memories. I learned something from those camping trips, but I have never practiced them again.
It's cool that you got to go camping with your brother's and dad, that's something I've actually never done. My dad wasn't into it and I don't think my brother's have ever been camping,
I'm going to write a post tomorrow about our recent trip. I've done my fair share of posts about camping over the years. I don't think I have used the outdoors and more community though. I am going to have to check that out a little more. We have some pretty remote places to camp here in Michigan, but most of the state parks are more accessible and can be a bit crowded at times.
The outdoors and more community is one of mine, one I created to share my own stuff into and then others started using it. In fact, the same happened with the weekend experiences community also...I set them up for me primarily.
Anyway, I like remote camping, hundreds of kilometres from anyone; I like the challenge, the way my skills matter out there and, of course, the lack of people.
I will have to start using it a bit more as most of my summer is spent outdoors. I was going to throw my post yesterday in the weekend community, but I realized some of my photos were not necessarily original due to them being screenshots, so I held off.
Oh yeah, screenshots aren't really the thing, looking for genuine experiences in nature.
Flip side to the city coin for balance.
It most all sounds good, with nature being the healer as she is, but sleeping on the ground and critters and....not as appealing to me now.
In the day though, all good ... at night, I wanna go IN... and close the door! 😊
I did a post a few days ago about looking for a new caravan which is all about having some more comfort. I have an off-road camper trailer currently, so no sleeping on the ground...but even more comfort is desired.
So, I agree with the ground-sleeping although I still do it from time to time. So far no deadly snakes have come visiting.
I think my first camping experience was in school, on the big field. It was pretty exciting and fun since I had my friends with me, but sleeping was horrible. There were a lot of rocks where we set up, and my sleeping bag wasn't thick enough, so I had a hard time sleeping. After that, I never really got a chance to go out camping again.
Is there a reason you've not camped since or is it down to lack of opportunity.
Lack of opportunity is part of it, but I'm also mostly an indoors guy. I don't usually venture out and go hiking. I'm pretty comfortable staying at home.
Ah ok, yeah being an indoors sort of person would inhibit your camping opportunities.
I myself like this kind of environment very much. When we go on a long journey in the car, there are two friends, then we go there and cook our favorite food in a place with a beautiful scenic view in the middle of the mountains. There are many difficulties inside city life now so by going here we start enjoying a life again.
I think it's a nice place to feel more relaxed and in tune with the planet (nature) which I believe has positive effects on one's physical and emotional wellbeing.
Reading you and even before doing it, I know that I still have a lot to learn, too much, but I love to do it. Especially on survival issues.
I did have two camping experiences but I didn't go alone but with a small group, many years ago and it was great, with a tent, sleeping almost on the ground, admiring the stars and making my own food in nature.
I also like to keep it simple, I find a lot of satisfaction in it. Just me and nature, no big things. I learn to listen to it.
I like photography very much! They are great!
Thank, I appreciate the comment on the photography.
Do you like camping and if so which aspects of it, and if not why?
Yes, I like camping! I love the preparations, nature, doing what is necessary with little, using my wits, but above all being in contact with the earth and the silence, I love the silence! I also love the possibility to explore the surroundings.
Seems like legitimate things to like. ✅
And I like that more and more! Away from people!
People suck mostly.
I know, and they are everywhere.
The only camping I ever did was way back in high school, on an excursion to a place called Ikosi. It was a strange place with huge caves and rocks and I found it very unsettling.
I also regard it as not safe, to do that in my country.
I loved your grill and whatever food was in there.. 😊
Yes I understand that it may not be safe to camp in some countries, fortunately Australia is a generally safe place.
This is real fun🥰. I love the narrative. But I must learn to be courageous and fearless before I could embark on such camping adventure like this. Or maybe it's not a female stuff.
Well, my partner comes along with me, she's female, so I guess it's something any of the two genders can do.
Camping sounds fun. You are so lucky to have this wealth of experience in your vault.
Where I'm from, camping alone is not advised neither is it encouraged due to the rate of insecurity.
Love the camp fire set up by the way.
Yeah, Australia is a pretty safe country, especially out in the wilderness where there's few (if any) people around. It pays to have skills too.
👍
Maybe because you have lots of experience that you've managed to survive in a remote area like you recently traveled. Great job.😊
I have some yeah, it brings a certain confidence when operating in the wilderness.
I wonder if you experienced encountering a wild animal too?
There's always wild animals, they like me though so I've not been eaten yet.
Hahaha,it seems like you are the male version of snow white.😁
This is one of the strangest comments I've ever received.
Apologies. 😊 It's just that I like watching Disney. 😊
Remote areas are always soothing places to be there unless wild animals are there. I can understand how it feels to be away from people amd enjoying the company of your loved ones.
No extra noise, no one to bother only serene surroundings. Pure relaxation 👍
There's loads of wild animals here, deadly ones, but that adds to the adventure.
I have seen your blogs about hunting and shooting. For you, it's an adventure but for me it's the scariest thing to face any deadly animal 😅
Lol...yep, most non-Australians say that. Many Australians too actually.
Nice camping, finding ourselves in a situation and seeing that we get over it, shows how equipped we are, and most times, I think about it like, what would be life without constraints to solved, I know it gets tough sometimes, but they're a lot of fun knowing that we do it ourselves, simple thing's bring enjoyment, having that mile away from too much noise is nice as well, you do good for taking time to prepare and knowing of the things you will need in the camping.
I am seeing a roasted plantain near a pot, wow! There was so much meal in this camping 😊
Nah man, not plantain, we don't have them here and if we did it's not something I'd be eating.
My experience with camping is insignificant 😃 but precisely because I almost didn't have it, those few trips left me with great stories to remember.
It would be too long for a comment, so I will make a post soon 🙂
Some of my most enjoyable moments were while I was camping.
Camping is a very healthy exercise and I love it especially, because you can be in the midst of the expanse of Nature and appreciate how awesome everything is.
Nature is pretty col. Have you a lot camping and if so what part do you like the most, what part of the least and what challenges have you faced whilst camping?
Last Christmas I discovered a paradise in a Bay in my country, and I don't mean its crystal clear waters, its white sand, its crowd of palm trees, its strong but generally noble waves, what I discovered that time when we camped has to do with arriving at the beach on December 25 before 7 am and finding it already raked, clean, with its active people without a moody face, is camping there and returning to my house without traumas, love that moment Galen.
Finding Paradise...well then, it doesn't get much better than that!
Your camping experience have really taught you a good experience of independence and self survival...I have never gone camping before, but I would love to maybe when I am in Europe or North America. Because here in Africa the bushes aren't that friendly. No one goes for camping here 😅. I guess I am missing alot.
Yes, I've heard it can be unsafe to go camping in certain parts of Africa.
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