Tag: camping

At the end of the day, nothing much beats pulling into your favourite campsite and getting set up for a few days of R&R away from the worries of the world. Camping is what we all love, it’s a way of life and an activity we aim to spend as much time as possible doing. Here are 5 accessories  we have found that we wouldn’t leave home without when it comes to spending quality time out bush.

SOLAR BLANKET

Forget the generator and the jerry of fuel; simply chuck a solar blanket on the bonnet of the 4WD and walk away. Even on days of partial cloud you’ll still be pumping in more than enough current to keep your batteries topped up and your beers cold. The ease with which modern solar blankets operate means that despite the initial cost of getting into one, you will simply not look back. No noise, no fuel and no fuss. They can be easily moved to capture the most sun, fold away into a small space and can be setup and operating in minutes.

LED LIGHTING

The old kero lantern is a museum piece these days thanks to LED lights. When it comes to bang for buck, you cannot beat the light output of modern LEDs. Strips lights can be mounted just about anywhere, meaning you can get really creative with your placement and they pull minimal current from your batteries.

JAFFLE IRON

Don’t laugh; the entire 4WD Action crew have their own personal jaffle iron and it gets used from breakfast through to dinner. The older they get the better they work and you can use them just as effectively on the gas cooker as you can over coals. A ham and cheese toasty is the bomb but getting creative is where it’s at. Favourites of ours are asparagus, ham and cheese, grab a can of chilli stew and add tasty cheese for a taste explosion or get fancy to impress that special someone with brie, smoked salmon and capers….yes indeed, nothing is as downright useful as a waffle iron around the camp.

STRETCHER BED

Your trusty old swag has always been a comfortable respite at the end of the day but the first time you roll it out on a stretcher bed and crawl in, you’ll wonder how you existed without one. It gives you a place to sit and take off your boots (not to mention a place to place your boot under), it gets you up off rough, stoney ground, it allows you to have a level bed on any terrain and as a complete bonus it keeps your swag clean of mud or sand making rolling it up a breeze. Trust us, nothing will transform your night’s sleep like a simple stretcher bed.

AWNING WALLS

Most of us have at least one vehicle awning bolted to the roof rack of our 4WDs and for good reason, they keep us out bush and in comfort rain, hail or shine. However, a simple square of canvas with velcro tags that attaches to your awning and runs out at a 45 degree angle to the ground transforms your liveable area substantially. It protects from wind and rain, gives you more area and creates space for swags out of the weather. They are cheap as chips so for the ultimate awning set-up, grab three and run two off the sides and a third off the front. You now have a huge covered area that will transform your awning into a palace.