Camping at the Beach/Camping list

Last New year we decided that our whole family (twenty three of us) would see the New Year in at the beach.  We all bought camping equipment, a porta potty (which we didn't use - the loo ended up being wherever you wanted it to be in the sand dunes).  When we planned our trip we didn't realise that it would be 42 degrees that day which is 108 Fahrenheit.  It didn't even cool down over night and was the most excruciating experience of my life.  To get to the ocean the children had to cross back and forth across the four wheel drive track, which made me as a Grandparent rather uptight, as cars sped through past our site quite regularly leaving Granny screaming at children to look out for cars.  Walking through soft beach sand for 24 hours causes muscles unaccustomed to the exercise to cramp and by the end you are wondering if your bladder couldn't just be obliging and hang on till you get home, another walk to the sand dunes seems just too daunting.

I love being organised, so was completely miffed when, after weeks of careful packing and planning for the big camp out, my strategically arranged car was thrown into chaos.  All of us didn't have four wheel drives, so had to pile in together to get to our chosen site, and pile in we did, along with all the extra stuff from the pile- ers, resulting in my neatly arranged camping gear being buried under a mountain of hitchhikers extras never to be seen again till we arrived home.  Everyone was too hot and bothered to bother.  Unpacking never happened, I could never reach my stuff, so I just gave up.  I have however, left the list here for those of you who are able to go camping without any intruders disorganising you.  Please let me know how it turns out!!

My husband who isn't well and wasn't fairing too well in the heat collapsed into bed early. I use the term bed loosely, as our half blown up mattress felt like we were sleeping on a hot marshmallow which kept sliding down the hill the tent was erected on and banging us into the tent exit. The man was out cold so there was no question of fixing the situation, I just had to survive the night.

Even though the experience left me feeling like I had been tortured and thanking The Good Lord for my air conditioned home, the children had a wonderful time, so I at least felt it had been worth the huge effort to get there for the memories we created.  It has made me realise what a pamper baby I am, and has me looking at things with new eyes. War movies take on new meaning as I feel for soldiers in salty water soaked full combat gear tromping up beaches feeling hot and uncomfortable and how horrible it would have been living in squalid fox holes with no facilities for weeks on end.  There has risen in me a new appreciation for the terrible conditions so many people around the world live in. I recently listened to a young man from India who has been educated by the wonderful sponsorship of Compassion, as he explained that the Community he comes from has about 10,000 people and just 2 toilets to service them all.  The house they live in is a tiny room for his three family members, with sewerage tainted water coming in on the floor every time there is a huge downpour of rain.

Western Australia is a great place to live, and although there are street people here and homeless, there are structures in place to give Assistance for those that need it, which isn't always the case in many countries. We really are very blessed.

It turned out we weren't meant to be camping on the beach and were asked to move by the ranger (luckily just as we were packing up to go home)  Mind you if he had come earlier we might have had to go to some Camp site that had electricity and toilets as well as running water.  Boy would that have been terrible!  Rangers must be like policeman, there is never one around when you need one.

CAMPING LIST

Camp table with hooks for tea towels

Paper towels

Clothes pegs

Ash pan & brush

Mat

Cling wrap/foil

Salt/pepper/seasoning

Thermos

Hammer

stove

Soap on tap

Frozen milk bottles

Food Cover large

Garb Bags

Cubes-Planks-storage

Bowls/dish liquid/ rubber gloves

Sponge, dish cloth/scourer

Barbecue wipes

Cutlery Utensils / caddy / plates / sauces etc, tongs/scissors

Spray oil or olive oil

Cups/mugs/paper

Can opener

Cutting board

frypan

Picnic basket

Plates/paper

Tea towels

Serviettes

chairs /large folding table

Tent

Tent pegs

Mattress

Plug in inflator

Pillows

Bedding (mattress protector, sheet, quilt)

Clothes bathers hat/sunglasses

Toiletries (toothpaste, brush, comb, hairspray, makeup wipes, moisturizer)

Phone (charger, plug in)

Sunscreen

whistle

tissues

Bug repellent/outdoor fogger

First aid kit (headache pills etc bandaids) – tweezers, antiseptic cream, ipecac

Bamboo  beach lights/bug repellers, matches

Solar lights/torches

Shovel

Fishing stuff – container for fish

2 x Bucket for flushing fetching water/Toilet/tent

Loo rolls/step

Aquium gel

Soap

Towels

Baby wipes

FOOD

Cereal (jars)

Milk

Eggs/bacon/ bread rolls

Sugar/tea/coffee

Sandwich loaf/butter

Fried chicken/coleslaw

Bean salad

Drinks/water/beer

Barbecue meat/salad

cookies

Snacks (muffins, cheese or dip crackers)

Nuts/chips/pretzels

Fruit

Serving tray for dips