Aboriginal sacred site. This skull like granite cave contains ancient rock art.

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There are many variations of the ideal camp depending on each persons capabilities and expectations. Some cannot contemplate the thought of rationing water in a desert environment by denying a hot shower in favour of a small basin and a wash cloth. For others, a fully fitted camper-trailer with all the mod-cons is a prerequisite to a period of camping in the bush. Folks who fit into these categories should consider staying in a regional centre and ranging out from this base each day. There are no luxuries for them in the bush: no power poles, no running water and last but not least, few toilet facilities. If you have the means to supply your own power and a large capacity of water storage, then it is possible to take the kithen sink with you.

I have a very different set of needs in the bush. There is no power, running water or toilet facilities yet I am highly mobile: my camp takes an hour or less to pull down and load. Then I am away to prospect further afield with no delay, little baggage and no trailer to slow me down.

My camps are simple. A cooking fire and a place to pitch a tent if I intend to stay a few days. Otherwise, a swag on the ground under a tarp roof to keep the frosts of the desert off. A folding table and chair, a 3-LED headlamp to stop me tripping over things at night and my cooking gear. If flies or mossies are a problem, I will light multiple mossie coils. The water and main tuckerbox always stays on the ute.

My bath is a basin of warm water, about a gallon if I am flush with water. Less if I am not sure of my supply. You start from the head: wash your hair, face and upper body: catching all the run-off by standing in the basin. Shave and finish the rest progressively until you reach your feet. I sit and soak sore feet in the accumulated fats and oils and soap of the earlier wash with a little Dettol antiseptic added: I maintain my toenails and finish off with an anti-fungucide powder between the toes when my feet are dry. Jobs done very efficiently . . . next tub maybe three day's away.

So maybe some of you are horrified at this process. I guess ex-service people would be less so. The minimalist approach is to keep yourself clean and your skin pores open. Look after your feet and your eyes with scrupulous care. These are the ways to save water and maintain cleanliness. A gallon of drinking water will only keep you alive for a day of doing absolutely nothing in desert shade. In general, you can't hook-up a bush-shower and splash away happily unless you have an absolute, renewable water supply.

I carry 100 litres (20 gallons) for a three week trip in hot weather. If something happens to the radiator of your car, this amount of water will barely get you back to the main road where you may have a chance of getting help. Australian desert country in the summer months is a hard place and unforgiving of slipshod trip preparation especially if something goes wrong. I carry 204 litres (44 gallons) for a major cross-country journey, which is twice the amount of fuel I have: what I am saying by this is . . . you can't drink fuel so, make sure you have enough water.

Picking a camp site: One standard rule in Australia is that you never camp in dry creek beds. Even though the sand is dry and just like a beach. These dry creeks commonly turn into a river without a single drop of rain falling in your area. It is what happens a hundred miles away that causes flash-floods: the water races along the creek beds as a wall of water because very little is lost along the way. Most of our creek beds have water just below the surface if you dig. This shallow water means the absorption rate of new water is low: it cannot sink into the sands and instead races towards the lowest geographic point which is where the unwitting camper comes into the equation. Don't do it. Camp up on the creek bank or move further inland if the surrounding area is too steep. This policy will hold you in good stead when you camp in the far north . . . croc's.

Never camp under big-ole trees. Thunderstorms can spring-up with fearsome lightning strikes into mineralised ground so you wouldn't want to be under a biggish tree. Gum tree branches are prone to suddenly snapping off for no reason. These events are a known killer of the unwary. Pick your camp spot with care and look at what's hanging over you. Quite a few campers die or are injured from this cause every year throughout Australia.

Campfires: Everyone loves a campfire, don't they? Campfires offer a primeval comfort, but they are dangerous when the wind picks up. Sparks can travel a considerable distance and not only will they burn tiny holes in a tent, they can start spot-fires around your camp risking your stores equipment and even cars. When the wind picks-up, the fire should go down, better and safer to start it afresh in the morning. These times I use a small, aerossol , canned-gas stove.

Cooking: There are so many proprietary campfire cooking systems available that it would take too long to deal properly with them all. Just placing your pots and pans directly on the coals is fine for most things: you can regulate the heat by using a spade full of hot-coals or hot sand away from the main fire whichever is appropriate to your needs. I prefer this method because it reduces the need for heavy steel plate products.

Wild Goats are easy prey throughout the Goldfields. . . . . . . .

The main requirement for this style of direct heat cooking are thick based pans. Ideally, caste iron works best. Because caste-iron is heavy, attention should be given to select those that have good quality fittings for ease of handling. A large frypan, capable of frying a full-size fish or bacon and eggs for two or three is desirable. A strong water boiler is a must for washing and tea making. It should have a gallon capacity and be used as a resource by dipping required amounts of boiling water as needed. A smaller 'billy' is good for a quick brew-up beside the road. I would urge you to consider two camp-ovens. One large for bread making and for feeding larger groups with 'hot-pot' style meals, the second smaller for individual casseroles and such like. One large saucepan for spuds and other vegetable and a small one for dehydrated peas and beans, etc. These can be purchased from an OP-Shop for negligible amount.

Tools: Long handled tongs are brilliant for working around an open fire. They distance your hands from radiant heat and can be used for fishing-out spuds from the embers. Egg-slice, stainless is best. Wooden stirrer spoon, Garlic squeezer; tin-opener, a carving fork (op-shop) is very useful. A good chefs knife and cutting board will make it easy to prepare food. A knife sharpening steel is a good thing to have too. A bamboo noodle strainer on a long handle is very useful for fishing vege's out of water. That's about it unless you have a favourite device you cannot do without.

Washing-up: A plastic bucket or square, plastic bowl is fine. Coarse SS scourer and ordinary soap pads are all you will need. Plastic foam or similar sponges can harbour bacteria. These are useful as long as you keep them clean by not introducing polluted water to food. A washing-up brush will be appreciated when you get the hang of it. They keep your hands clear of hot water and mono-filements do not absorb pollutants. A super-cloth makes a good tea-towel. Desert air will quickly dry excess water so the super-cloth is usually enough to get the major wet off. A good detergent needs to be workable in hard and soft water.

Storing dirty pots: One of the difficulties of cooking directly on a fire is the dirty pots and pans. I use a simple technique that has few issues. Wash your pots and place then back on the heat for a moment. When they are completely devoid of water, I remove them and give them time to cool before placing them inside plastic shopping bags. They can be put into a hessian bag if you need to be sure they will not blacken your car. If particularly harsh cleaning has taken place, spray or wipe them with some cooking oil.

The Tucker-box:: There is some history about the Australian bushman's Tucker-box. It probably started as a seaman's chest during the early day's, I don't really know, but the purpose was to keep foodstuffs in a protected place that was easy to move as required. It is generally insect proof and water resistant. Today, there are plastic-fantastic versions that will do the job. They can be lined with insulation and should be capable of being used as a seat. My tucker-box carries a months supply of foods; mostly pasta, noodles, fish, dry-soups, flour, etc. I carry cans . . . baked-beans and diced tomato's, etc, as a base in a seperate container.

Drinking water: Better you get used to tepid water or dig a hole in a shady area for the storage of drinking water containers when base camping. Everything gets hot during the Australian summer and the tradditional water-bag, which used to be the standby way of getting a cool drink, loses so much water from evaporation that it is not worthwhile. I usually have a small container that I leave out overnight. This will be used for a cool drink during the day and the coolness is maintained with a wet cloth wrapped around it during the day. It's hard to stay cool folks.

Icebox: a large sized (70lt) Esky chest style cooler will take 15 Kilo of ice but leave little room for foodstuff; (3 bags @ 5K ea . . . more if you want cold water only). 15 kilo of crushed-ice will last about three days if you protect it from direct heat. Just enough to allow a few fresh feeds and a cold drink or three. I prefer to use block ice and the best I can do for cooling is around a week with three blocks. I have tried CO2 (dry-ice) but it is super expensive. You lose a lot of 'cooling' each time you open the box with either material. block ice is by far the best. I keep the drain plug dripping and collect the melt - water. I have also used those foam-foil auto-windscreen protectors as added insulation around the outside.

I hear good and bad things about Hi-Tech refridgeration. The cost of several thousands of dollars for a serious solution, is incomprehensible to me. Other sites deal far better than I would with info on this subject.

. . . . . ..Go here for an expanded tuckerbox list.

 

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