– It’s inevitable that bugs, dirt and sand will become like seasoning to your meals! Yes, there are many times a bug has flown into dinner and Shelly has either picked it out or just stirred it into the meal!
– Baby Wipes are your best friend, we have them everywhere! They are our daily shower, they clean our hands, they wipe down tables and clean the benchtop, and they’ve even been used to wash cutlery and plates when we haven’t had water!
– Your feet will always be dirty, you just live with it!
– White clothing should never be taken camping!
– Swimming is perfectly acceptable to class as a ‘shower’.
– We can go days without a shower and don’t even miss it …… until you eventually have a nice hot shower and you realise what you were missing!
– If you travel the outback, be prepared to throw out your clothing upon return, as everything will end up a slightly pink/brown colour as it’s tinged with red dirt.
– There is this small window of the day where you are completely bug free – that changeover period between where the flies go to bed and the mozzies wake up. It’s that miniscule window of time, of total bliss, where there are absolutely no bugs around at all!
– Once you’ve done one outback trip your 4WD will forever bleed red dirt. No matter how many times you wash it or think it’s clean, it will never ever be that case again! The only way to rectify this is to sell it and buy a new one!
– Always replace a beer when you take one out of the fridge, one for one every time! No-one wants to find no cold beers in the fridge!
– Hold back on the packing as you will always take more food and clothes than you really need.
– We love Zip lock bags! OK well Shelly does, but she’s converted George too!
– Zooper Doopers are not just for kids! Nothing better on a hot day than taking a nice cold ice block out of the freezer.
– Corn chips are a great firelighter.
– Lock up your food and garbage, hungry animals are hiding everywhere! Our very first visit to Fraser Island a dingo took George’s roll within about 15 min of us arriving at camp, lesson learnt! ….. OK maybe we did have another small incident with a cow at Mt Elizabeth Station in WA, but we won’t go into that!
– It’s perfectly acceptable to wander around a campsite, chatting to others, in your PJ’s.
– If you just expect that outback toilets will contain a frog or a snake, you won’t get such a surprise when you lift the lid!
– Always have a wet weather bag handy, nothing worse than having to throw wet or muddy clothes or snatch straps in the car.
– Some of the best adventures are the unplanned ones. Take that unmarked track to the river, take that detour, talk to the locals and take their advice.
– Sing and sing loudly and don’t worry who’s watching! It makes everyone happy (well maybe not those around you, but the one singing!!) Shelly is known to give many car and campsite ‘concerts’.
– Sometimes cheese and crackers and chips is a perfectly acceptable dinner.
– Always have a snack box in the car which is handy at all times, saves having to actually stop and rummage through food boxes all the time. Particularly if you have a Shelly who is always hungry!
– If you leave home and look at a tyre and say, ‘i really should change that before we leave’ ….. you probably should, otherwise you’ll be sitting on the side of a track doing it!
– It doesn’t matter how prepared you think you are, you will always forget something! Thank god for friendly camping neighbours who are always happy to help out!
– When free camping with no-one around, it’s amazing how trees, wind, rain, mice, snakes etc can all sound like a mass murderer coming to kidnap and kill you!
– Wild animals are cheeky and brazen and will take any opportunity to get to your food (and they don’t care how much mess or destruction they leave behind!). We’ve seen dingos actually walk into someones caravan, wild horses tear up a campsite and a snake chase a mouse into someones car! And don’t forget the cows, birds, wild dogs & even emu’s and kangaroos, all will take any opportunity. It’s hard sometimes, but never ever feed them, no matter how hungry or skinny they look.
– Always take ear plugs with you if you want a good night sleep, it’s amazing the many noises you may need to block out from time to time!
– No matter how much open space there is, someone will always set up camp right next to you!
– Aloe Vera, Tea Tree oil and Manuka oil are a must as they will treat so many issues.
– If you ‘wonder’ whether you should visit a place or do an activity, just do it! You’ll regret it later (we totally regret not doing the helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungles).
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