I promised more pictures of our camping set-up on the farm so here it is. With the aim of keeping it real, I'm going to show it all. It is not fancy and it's certainly not a glamorous camping set up but it is enough. As with most industries, the camping and off-road industry are full of beautiful fancy things you can spend an absolute fortune on. Clearly, we do not have them but our camp is neat, clean and tidy and it provides us with all our basic needs.
We have an old hand-me-down BBQ which cooks beautifully. It has a good quality heavy plate on it and the heat is distributed really evenly. We have a little gas burner on which we can put pots and where we boil our water.
Grant salvaged some free pallets which act as a deck that allow us to keep the camp clean and help to keep the dust down.
The boys are sleeping in tents on swags for now. The old canvas one is from when Grant was a kid, but its in great condition. They quite enjoy their camping adventure and we have outdoor solar lights so they can find their way in the night if they need too. We also let the dogs free range which helps them feel more secure. Ronnie the Border Collie often sleeps between their tents.
We fill several 20L canisters of town water every day or two as needed for drinking water. We also have a couple of 1000L totes that have been filled from the river which provide us with water for washing, bathing the toilet and everything else.
Who needs a gym when your hauling water and doing the washing by hand, yes?
Washing is done by a combination of hand washing and using the laundromat. When its sunny things dry quickly out here so currently I am doing it by hand as it saves the hassle of taking it all to town.
We have a chemical camping toilet for now, though when we set up the yurt we will build a composting toilet. This is clean and easy though. We do have a camping shower to set up but need to clad this back wall in iron before we put it in place. For now, we are boiling water in the kettle and washing by standing on pallets with a bucket and a scoop. Its basic but we get perfectly clean!
The inside of the caravan is comfortable, bright and cheerful. We have a little gas fridge which works well though it is small. We compensate for this by going to the shops every couple of days for milk/bread/meat. We have enough space in the top cupboards for our dry goods and meals are simple but tasty. BBQ and salads, pasta, risotto, stir fry, eggs, and pancakes are currently our go-to meals. Fruit, crackers, and yogurt are quick and easy snacks.
We have a small solar panel that runs a 12v fan, lights and charging devices so most days when it gets hot we go for a swim in our beautiful river or Henry and I head to the local library to enjoy some books, free wi-fi, and air conditioning. So much luxury!
I am SO looking forward to the yurt being set up and having a little more space. It arrives here on the 8th now, sooner than expected. I'm keeping an eye out on gumtree for second-hand kitchens and other bits and bobs we are going to need. Grant is thinking about the deck he is going to need to build to sit it on.
I look forward to having a chance to write a good long nattery post soon. Henry starts school tomorrow and as much as I will miss him daily, after the chaos and challenges of the last couple of weeks I'm looking forward to a little more headspace.
I hope this finds you well.
Much love,
Emma
xx
