OK.
- So you got your Hilux, your rooftop tent, and everything necessary
for the vehicle, most of which you don’t really need –
but to late you have paid for it.
Now
comes the next step buying the camping gear. This can be a “VERY
EXPENSIVE” step if you do not “hou kop”. Head
for the camper suppliers and the sales guys rub there hands in glee
– “Here comes another sucker.”
Before
you set foot in any ‘Outdoor Centre’ or ‘Camping
Shop’ think carefully what you need. Think! What is the difference
to living at home to camping?
Lets
go through the basics:
1. Bedding: You can buy expensive down sleeping bags or take your
sheets and duvet that you use at home. If camping in sub-zero temperatures
you will also need that warm fluffy blanket that you have in the
linen cupboard.
2.
Clothing: No discussion needed, what ever you decide to take it
is too much; especially the ladies. Be prepared for wet conditions.
Camping is fun when it is dry but lousy if it rains. Buy a 3-man
dome tent, which you can use if it rains; at least it is a shelter
to sit in and eat in.
3.
The kitchen: In spite of what the camping salesman shows you, everything
you need you have at home.
4.
Camping furniture: Once again most of what you need you have at
home; folding table and chairs, a gas cooker, pots and pans, etc,
A word of advice: avoid plastic chairs if you are going to camp
in very cold conditions. Plastic gets brittle in the cold and easily
breaks.
Before
you rush off and spend mega bucks do a few short camping trips and
see how it goes, then decide what you need. Camping should be easy
and fun with ‘easy’ been the operative word. If it takes
more than 30 minutes to set up, or break camp, you are doing it
all wrong.
If
you are the ‘sometimes’ weekend camper you do not need
12v fridges, sand ladders, winches, jerry cans and all the paraphernalia
that the 4x4 magazines tell you are necessities. However if you
are a new camper deciding on an extended overland trip get advise
on what you really need; anything else is extra weight and a waste
of money.
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