Camping tips to get you started

Before you leave home • Plan your trip. When you’re just starting out,

choose a campground close to home with cooking facilities and toilets to make your trip easier. You can research campgrounds in parks and reserves at www.parkstay.dpaw.wa.gov.au.

• Check the weather forecast and current road maps.

• Plan to arrive and set up before dark. • Practice pitching your tent before you leave

home to become familiar with your equipment.

Choose a camp site • When choosing a camp site, look up to check

for shade options and potential branches that could fall. Look down on the ground for rocks, sticks and nuts that would make sleeping uncomfortable, and avoid ant nests and trails.

• If you have young kids, avoid camping too close to a water body and teach your kids how to stay safe around the campground.

Pitching your tent • Stow all bags and any spare guy ropes or pegs in

the main tent bag so you don’t loose them. • Take a hammer/mallet to help you put pegs in,

and drive them in at a 45 degree angle to make sure they stay fixed.

• If your tent canvas is wet, don’t touch it from the inside as it may leak. Open up wet tents at home to dry them out to avoid mildew.

Sleeping bags and mats • Choose an appropriate sleeping bag for the

season. • Use a sleeping bag liner or sheet to increase

the performance of your sleeping bag. You can buy these or make one by stitching the side and bottom of a single sheet.

• Buy a good sleeping mat – generally the more you pay, the more comfortable you will be. Foam floor tiles under your sleeping mat can add comfort.

What to wear • Make sure you dress appropriately for weather

conditions and to avoid insects. • Take layers of clothing – remember it can get

very cold at night, even in summer. It’s easier to regulate your body temperature with a number of thin layers rather than one or two thick layers.

What to eat • Treat camping like an extended BBQ – take food

that is easy to cook over a fire or camp stove. • Food left out will attract animals and insects –

make sure your food is securely stored in plastic tubs or containers. Put rubbish and food scraps in a garbage bag and store it in the car at night to keep creatures out.

• Take your own water – most campgrounds don’t supply water.

• Where water is supplied check if it needs to be treated by boiling, filtering or chemical treatment.

Campfires • Always check the fire danger ratings and total fire

bans at www.dfes.wa.gov.au. You also need to check local restrictions for fire and use of cooking stoves at the campground you plan to stay at – ask the relevant local government or a ranger.

• Clear a sufficient area of flammable materials to ensure no sparks, glowing embers or spilled fuel could start a fire. This should be a few metres in hot and dry conditions.

• If you have access to a fire ring, always use it to reduce the risk of fire escaping and to limit scarring in the camp site.

• Always completely extinguish your campfire before you leave.

• Use common sense – if it’s hot and windy don’t light a fire.

• Teach kids how to behave around campfires. • If you can’t have a campfire due to fire

restrictions, get the kids to put their torches into the fire pit to shine the light up and pretend to toast the marshmallows! They still love them this way and this creates the opportunity for that all-important fire-side chat.

Continued...

Camping tips to get you started (continued)

Cooking with gas • LPG-powered camping stoves are the most

common camping stoves and come in a range of sizes. Check with your local outdoor store to find a camping stove that best suits your needs.

• Make sure your equipment (stove and gas bottle) is well maintained and the gas bottle is stored in a place it can’t get too hot.

• Clear the cooking area of anything flammable.

Leave No Trace • Always follow the seven Leave No Trace

principles found at www.lnt.org.au: › Plan ahead and prepare › Travel and camp on durable surfaces › Dispose of waste properly › Leave what you find › Minimise campfire impacts › Respect wildlife › Be considerate of your hosts

and other visitors

Other tips • Teach kids how to stay safe around the camp

site and in the bush. Give everyone a job and work as a team to set up and pack up camp.

• Set up a treasure hunt to introduce the kids to the bush. For example, see if they can find a feather, something soft, hard, round, straight, green and beautiful.

• Set up a hand washing station using a bucket of water and have soap and a towel handy so that everyone can maintain good hygiene.

• Keep your esky cool with block ice by filling two litre milk bottles (the square shape fits best in the esky). This ensures that the contents of your esky stay dry and will provide you with another supply of drinking water when the ice melts.

• Shine a torch into an empty plastic container to create a lantern.

• Use an old shade sail or foam mats as a door mat at the entrance to your tent to help keep dirt outside. These surfaces are easy to sweep and are useful for putting shoes off and on. Take a dustpan and brush to sweep out and off the tent as you pack up.

• Take good maps and know how to use them. There is limited or no phone reception in many parks and reserves.

• Be prepared! Take a first aid kit, matches, knife, torch and adequate food and water if venturing out into the bush. Let someone know when you expect to return.

• Set up a plastic tub with essential camping bits and bobs such as detergent and a scourer, pegs and a rope for a drying line, insect repellent, matches, paper towel, small containers of spices for cooking... you’ll develop your own tips the more you give it a go. The more often you camp, the quicker and easier you’ll find the planning and pack up process.

Go on, get camping!

dpaw.wa.gov.au

This information is current at May 2015. This publication is available in other formats on request.

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Photo – Pemberton Discovery Tours