Cheese & Bacon Cob Loaf

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Makes for: 8-10 people

• Ingredients needed: 
• 250g bacon 
• 1 large onion 
• 250g cream cheese 
• 350g cream 
• 300g ricotta cheese 
• 100g tasty cheese 
• 1 white cob loaf 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (or camp oven to medium - hot) 
2. Slice off the top of your cob loaf to make a lid. (Don't cut too far down from the top the loaf or you won't be able to fit as much dip inside) 
3. Pull the soft bread from inside of the loaf. (Be careful not to go all the way to the bottom of the loaf. You can easily make a hole if the bottom isn't really crisp) 
4. Pop the bread pieces in a zip lock bag until you’re ready to use them so they stay fresh. 
5. Dice your onion and bacon and fry until lightly browned. 
6. Add the bacon and onion to a bowl 
7. Add other ingredients and mix well 
8. Fill your cob load with the cheese mixture. 
9. Place the lid of the cob back on top 
10. Wrap in alfoil 
11. Bake for 45 minutes 
12. Remove the alfoil and back into oven for an additional 10 mins

Carrot, Zucchini and Ricotta Loaf

'A nice easy loaf to make in the camp oven’

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 350g fresh ricotta
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 125g butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup zucchini, grated
• 1/2 cup carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups SR flour
• 2/3 cup plain wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Butter, to serve

Directions:

Step 1 - Preheat camp oven to moderately slow heat (approx. 160C in conventional oven). Lightly grease a 14 x 21cm loaf pan. Line base and sides with baking paper.

Step 2 - In a large bowl, whisk together ricotta, sugar, butter and eggs. Stir in zucchini, carrot and dates.

Step 3 - Sift flours and spices together into a bowl. Lightly fold flour mixture into ricotta mixture. Spoon into prepared pan, levelling top. Sprinkle with pepitas.

Step 4 - Bake for 55–60 minutes or until loaf is cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve slices of loaf warm or cold, with butter.

Depression Cake - also known as a War Cake or a Chocolate Crazy Cake

This cake was created and cooked during the depression because it needed no eggs, milk or butter.  You think it would be hard to make a cake without these 3 basics but women of this generation were extremely clever and adept at making a lot out of nothing.  Baking powder must also have been scarce, as this particular version of the cake has none.  Alas, it did not rise.  It is a very moist and dense cake.  Similar to a mud cake.  If you want it to be lighter and rise, I would add baking powder or simply substitute plain flour for SR flour.

This cake is all mixed and cooked in the same bowl.  

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of flour (all-purpose)
• 3 tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
• 1 cup sugar (all purpose granulated pure cane sugar)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt

• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup water

Method:

• Mix all 5 dry ingredients in an 8” well greased baking dish.
• Make 3 depressions.  2 small and 1 larger. Pour vinegar in 1 small depression.  Vanilla in the other small one.  Vegetable oil in the larger one.
• Pour water over all ingredients.
• Mix well until smooth.
• Preheat oven (or camp oven) to medium heat (178 C) and bake on a middle oven rack or on a trivet if using camp oven.
• Bake for up to 35 mins – 45 mins. 
• Poke with a toothpick to see if cooked.  Toothpick should come out clean.

NB: Check regularly to ensure you don’t over bake it.

Bread N Butter Pudding

Ingredients

Serves: 12

• 6 slices old bread (or let it dry out for an hour) with crusts cut off 
• butter (enough to butter bread slices)
• 5 eggs
• 1 litre milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup sultanas (optional)

Preparation: 30 min › Cook: 1 hour  › Ready in: 1 1/2 hours
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C

Directions:

• Lightly grease a large baking dish.
• Butter, then cut the crust-less slices of bread into triangles or squares (you can use any leftover breads) and lay in dish for the best fit (you can be decorative but make sure the whole base is evenly covered).
• In a large mixing bowl beat 5 eggs on a medium speed and add milk gradually.
• Add vanilla essence and sugar and continue to mix for 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly mixed.
• Pour mixture over the bread.
• Allow mixture to sit for about 10 mins so moisture soaks into bread.
• Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
• Place in oven/camp oven and cook for 40 - 60 minutes (check every now and again).

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice-cream.


Camp Oven Tips#

• If cooking in a camp oven, place dish on a trivet so the bottom does not burn.  Place a little water in the bottom of the camp oven to create a steam effect.
• To brown the top of pudding ensure you place coals on top of lid for at least 10 mins at end of cooking process.

Fried Rice - Camping Style

This is my favourite super fast, healthy and inexpensive camping dish. I freeze rice when I cook it. Have even been known to buy extra when I have had takeaway Thai and froze it. Can't imagine anything worse than cooking rice at camping.

Tip# Fried rice seems to be less gluey if pre-cooked and chilled.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 takeaway tub of pre-cooked rice
• 1 can of peas & corn
• 1 small onion
• 1 Egg
• 2-4 tablespoon of sesame oil (or olive oil)
• 1-2 teaspoon of chopped garlic (or garlic flakes)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Soy Sauce

Directions:

• Heat pan. Add oil, chopped onion, garlic.
• Then add rice, peas & corn, salt and pepper.
• Stir occasionally until all is heated through.
• Crack egg into rice mix and fold through.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce or to your taste

Never Fail Scones

Ingredients

• 4 cups self raising flour
• 300 ml cream
• 1 can of Lemonade

Method

1. Add SR flour to a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add cream and lemonade.
2. Mix well and make a dough. Roll out dough (add flour to surface beforehand) until no more than 2 cm thick.
3. Cut out with scone cutter and brush with milk once settled in pan.
4. Bake approx 20 mins in moderate oven (180 approx) or until golden colored.
5. Serve with cream and jam.

Honey BBQ Bacon, Chicken and Sweet Potato Packets

(serves 4)

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper

1. Cook on a grill, in the camp oven or on the coals. 
2. Lay out (4) 12×12 square of aluminum foil. (I usually like to double these to make sure they are sturdy- so four sets of two).
3. In each aluminum foil square, divide the diced sweet potatoes and top with fresh rosemary.
4. Place one chicken breast wrapped in bacon on each square and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. In a small bowl, mix the barbecue sauce and honey. Pour the sauce over each chicken breast. (I usually add 1-2 Tbls. water to prevent burning).
6. Close each aluminum foil square around the chicken to create a “packet.”

Cook for 30-40 minutes.

Hobo Stew in Foil Jacket

Ingredients:

• 2 kg stew meat, cubed
• 2 cups carrots, sliced
• 2 cups celery, roughly chopped
• 1 fingerling potatoes (any variety), cubed
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces button or baby bella mushrooms, cut in thirds
• 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 pats butter (optional)
• 2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 teaspoons water (optional)

Directions:

1. If you're taking this to eat while camping, do all your chopping before you leave (vegetables should be about a third the size of the meat cubes for optimal cooking) and store the veggies and meats in individual containers in an ice-packed cooler. Make sure the potatoes are kept in water (to keep them from browning) and that the mushrooms are kept away from water (to keep them from getting waterlogged. Marinate the meat in the Worcestershire sauce and store it in a separate container to keep it from contaminating the other ingredients.
2. When you're ready to eat, divide the aluminum foil into four foot-long strips and spray with cooking spray if desired. Each family member can pack on whatever amount of veggies and meat they'd like, but each layer should be salted lightly. Don't over-pack the foil for a bigger portion, but make two packets instead.
3. Top each pile of raw food with a pat of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of herbs de Provence, a little pepper and a little water if desired (or if you don't have butter).
4. Bring the longer edges of the foil together in the middle to form a tent over the food and fold them together three or four times, creasing it well each time (like you're closing up a chip bag). Scrunch the ends in well to ensure there's no leakage.
5. Place the packet over heat (inside a preheated 350 degree F oven, on the campfire grate or on the grill). Cook for 15 minutes to half an hour or until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are tender. Cooking times will vary with the method you use and the size of your food chunks.
6. Serve right in the foil pack (when cooled) or transfer to a plate or bowl to eat.

Coleman Gold Series Instant Up Review

Coleman Gold Series Instant Up - Fully erected

I took my new COLEMAN GOLD SERIES INSTANT UP for its maiden journey on the weekend. 

Heavy Duty Canvas Carry Bag

Step 1.  Lay tent out and fold the legs out to a semi-erect position.

Very impressed with the new heavy duty polyoxford PVC flooring.  Feels nice underfoot. There was a fair amount of dew around this morning.  I was expecting it to need some sun.  Alas, not so much as drop of condensation inside or moisture underneath at pack up.  I usually find drying off tents the most time consuming part of packing up after camping.  It was a breeze this morning.  

With all the new features, my very favourite is the thicker and heavier fabric used in the fly.  It was so much darker inside. So much so, I slept till 7.30 am.  I could get used to that.

The instructions say it requires 2 people to erect.  I disagree.  I always put my old model up by myself. This model is fundamentally same design.  But in saying that, the thicker, heavier fly fabric makes it a little harder to use the wind to pull the fly over the top. The Instant Ups are quite tall and dragging a fly over the peak is a chore if you don’t have someone to hold the far side in place. I struggled with this for about 3 mins.  Walked around it twice, then decided to drop the 4 corners back down and put the fly on whilst it was down.  I then erected it again and it was easy as.  Done.  You can easily have this tent up in 2 mins by yourself, if you remember this tip.  

The only complaint I ever had with the old model was no lower level ventilation.  The new model has 2 extra air flows, plus the front door.  Perfect for those sultry summer nights when every bit of air is precious.

The other bonus is the heavy duty carry bag.  It is huge.  I was able to lay the fly on the ground, place the inner on top of that.  Roll it all up and throw it in the bag.  I didn't even have to push little bits into corners; whilst attempting to pull the zipper.  Nothing worse than taking longer to put a tent back in a bag, then it took to erect and pull down combined.

Step 2 - Raise legs to fully erect

Drove away from camping feeling pretty pleased with my new purchase.

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/coleman-instant-up-4-tent-gold-series

Step 3 - Drop it back down and pull the fly over the peak

• Coleman Gold Series Instant Up design - sets up in under two minutes
• Front door can be pitched out as front awning with two poles (included)
• Detachable over-sized 3 pole (included) awning which can be attached to both left and right sides (so you can follow the shade)
• Coleman Circle Ventilation for added air flow
• Integrated internal storage hammock and organisers
• Power cord management system
• Convenient welcome mat to help keep tent clean and dry inside
• Heavy duty carry bag
• Frame: Steel (includes 5 awning poles)
• Weight: 12.7kg
• Size: 240w x 240l x 190h cm

Fabric: 

• 75D/ 185D Polyester rip-stop inner
• 3000 mm PU fly
• Heavy Duty Polyoxford PVC flooring

Step 4 - erect again & peg out

Side View - No # 1 air flow

Side and rear view - No 2 # air flow

Delicate subject of Overtaking

Overtaking manoeuvres involve risk and require extreme care.  If you have any doubts it is best not to overtake and to wait until it is safer.

The overtaker must assess their options - be able to visually check their path, assess power of their vehicle, their confidence level, condition of the road, wind, speed/distance of the other vehicles. Then they make a judgement call and take the risk or don't take the risk.

The vehicle being overtaken must by law allow space between themselves and other vehicles so the overtaker can pull back into the lane safely. Thus, give them room if they need it!  The overtaken must stay in their lane and not increase speed.  All the vehicle being overtaken needs to do is not change the situation and never put themselves or the overtaking vehicle in a predicament that could end badly for all.

It is not advisable that a slow vehicle drop wheels off the road shoulder to allow a vehicle to overtake, especially in a caravan or towing trailers unless they truly believe there is no risk.  Gravel road shoulders and deteriorating bitumen edges can be exceptionally dangerous to any vehicle but even more so to someone towing a trailer.  Please don't move over because you feel pressured, only do so because you feel safe to do so. All the risk of overtaking lays with the overtaking vehicle and maybe they simply need to wait until the road straightens or widens or you come upon an overtaking lane, at which time you could slow down and allow all those following you a chance to get past you.

It should never be a problem if all road users respect each other and remember that every person has a right to go about their business and do so safely. Even slow caravans, even truck drivers, even other passenger vehicles driving to/for work, or to pick up children or going on holidays.

PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY and RESPECT ALL ROAD USERS!

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

This was my first ever attempt at a Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding.  I started strong.  I had measured up the dry ingredients (all sifted).  Carefully placed pudding and sauce mix into bags ready to go.  Believing this would make life so much easier when I wanted to complete the process later in the day.

Late afternoon, I placed all the pudding dry ingredients into a bowl.  Then added the lightly beaten egg, milk and softened butter.

As I whisked away I was thinking................’this is terribly sloppy for a cake mix’.  

Ummmm........  she sighs as she reaches for her glasses and re-reads the recipe,  which clearly states ¼ cup of milk.... NOT  1 ¼ cups of milk L  This called for a panic reaction, which led to random additions of SR flour, brown sugar, cocoa (all unsifted), more butter (moderately softened) and another egg (not lightly beaten).

I have no idea how much I added.  I just kept adding until the consistency started to look about right.

Needless to say... after pulling the camp oven lid off and ravenously trialing this simple but beautiful dish it was unanimously decided it was DELICIOUS AND A RIP ROARING SUCCESS J

Obviously a lot to be said for random additions or fluking it J

Tip:  This was cooked on gas top cooker in the camp oven.  Pudding was elevated on a trivet.  I cooked it for approximately 40 minutes on low to medium heat.  No top heat was required to get this lovely dish to work.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7789/chocolate+self+saucing+pudding

Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce served with Spaghetti

EASY

20 mins to prepare (from scratch)

1/2 hr - 40 mins simmer

Serves 4 adults

Meatballs

    

• 500 gram mince (any)
• 1/2 brown onion (diced)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1/4 cup of parsley (chopped)
• 1/4 cup of basil (chopped)
• 1 sachet of tomato paste
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup of flour
• Paprika
• Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce 

• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup of vegetable stock
• 1/2 brown onion (diced)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1/4 cup of parsley (chopped)
• 1/4 cup of basil (chopped)
• Paprika
• Salt & pepper to your taste

Steps

• Start with 2 bowls.
• Chop up parsley, basil, onion and garlic. Place half in each bowl.
• Add the remaining meatball ingredients to one bowl and sauce ingredients to the other bowl.
• Squish the meatball ingredients through your fingers until all the egg, flour and other ingredients are all evenly mixed.
• Roll meat into small balls. Approximately the size of your of your centre palm.
• Pre heat your pan, add a little olive oil. Lightly brown off your meatballs.
• Once your meatballs a browned, remove your pan from the heat for a moment and carefully add sauce to your meatballs. Ensure your sauce is room temperature or warmer.
• Return the pan to low heat and simmer for at least a half hour to 45 minutes so the flavours can get to work.

Garnish with a dollop of cream or Greek yoghurt and basil.

Serve with your favourite pasta and garlic bread.

CAMPING TIP:   Next time you make this dish at home – prep a double batch of mince.  Freeze in a plastic container.  Take container camping with you next outing.  Once thawed, roll your meatballs, then brown off lightly.  Add 1 tin of spicy tomato soup once browned and you will have an amazingly tasty, inexpensive, fast dinner.  

Cardwell Recovered

Anyone who has travelled to North Queensland will be only too familiar with the spectacular town of Cardwell. Cardwell was severely impacted by Cyclone Yasi. They have seen the worst of it, struggled through the restoration phase and are now looking super pristine once again.

Cyclone Yasi was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone. It hit Cardwell on 3 February, 2011. Yasi originated from a tropical low near Fiji. The system intensified to a Category 3 on 31 January 2011. Late 1 February a Category 4, then early on 2 February a Category 5.

Yasi crossed the coast between Innisfail and Cardwell with sustained winds of 215 km/h. Maximum 3-second gusts are estimated at 285 km/h. The eye crossed the coastline at Mission Beach just before 12:00 am AEST and passed over Tully soon after. It impacted towns as far inland as Mt Isa, which is 900 km from Townsville.

The storm caused an estimated US$3.6 billion in damage. An estimated AUD$800 million of that was crop loss. This would make it the costliest tropical cyclone to hit Australia on record.

Congrats Cardwell on the beautiful restoration you have done.

Reference # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Yasi

How big a tent do I need?

Depends on purpose, people and personal preferences. It is not a simple question to answer.

Tent capacity is measured by the number of adult sleeping bags it will hold. This is standard sized sleeping bags, laid end to end or corner to corner on the floor of the tent. It does not allow for storing your gear, nor allow room to get out in the middle of the night without crawling over your tent mate.

A two man tent will generally be comfortable for one person plus gear, a four man tent will be comfy for two people plus gear and a six man will be comfy for three people plus gear etc.

Height is the another factor to take into account. Children may be happy to sit up in a tent but most adults will want to stretch out and stand to change their clothing. Look at the centre height of the tent to ensure you can comfortably stand up in it. This may not be a factor if you only do a couple of weekend camps twice a year but if you are travelling or taking longer holidays this could be highly relevant.

Your choice may also be influenced by the purpose and method of your travel. If you are backpacking, then light, fast, compact is critical and you may want something just big enough for you to crawl into with a sleeping bag and a backpack. If you are travelling by car then weight and size are not such a factor.

If you have to put it up by yourself, then look for something that is super simple and fast. Some larger geodesic domes really are amazing constructions but they are often two person job to erect. Ultimately, you want it up so you can start relaxing.

Take into account the shape of the tent you choose as this does impact on room. Dome’s will often have less space because they are oval in shape but nothing beats a dome in a strong wind. They are designed exactly for this purpose. They are super robust. A-Frame and geodesic shaped tents often have good height but you lose a little space because of the sloping sides and shape of the tent. This can be even more relevant if you are sleeping on stretchers vs. floor mats. A squarer (umbrella) shaped tent will always be more room efficient but they do not always stand up quite as well to strong wind and the height can make them a little harder to keep heated in winter. In heavy rains and high humidity you don’t want to be resting on the walls of a tent. Water will run off the tents but if something is resting against a tent wall or protruding out of it, it will likely get damp. Taking the next size up in a tent is often the safe option and will alleviate all these potential factors.

If you are struggling to visualise space... The average four man tent will be approximately 2.4 square metres and a queen size air bed will pretty much fill the entire floor space once blown up. If you are concerned about crawling over others, take into account the zippers for entry/exit. If these open and close on both sides of the tent it can make it much easier when getting in and out without disturbing others.

Choosing the right tent to meet your personal needs can be the difference between being sad your trip is over or being pleased you're going home. It is definitely better to err on the side of room and ultimately comfort if you are not restricted. More room is better than not enough.

Happy camping!

Surf Keys

Surf keys have been around for a long time now. They are simple to have cut, inexpensive and supa handy.

Surfers have them cut so they can pop them in a small velcro pocket of their boardies. They can lock all other keys, wallet and belongings in the car for safe keeping and simply enjoy the surf without any worries.

I use one because I often take a friend camping with me. Giving them a surf key means they can get in and out of the car, day or night, without seeking me out. Fabulous option for the kids. If they lose it swimming in a creek, running through the bush or worse.. drop it down the composting loo.. Noooooooo!!!! It is not a problem. Just leave it there! Simply have another surf key cut when you return to civilisation.

Do you have other useful things you take camping?

My favourite multi-purpose small plastic box!

I carry firewood  in it and empty the wood on arrival at camping.  I then use it as a coffee table for the rest of the weekend.  At dinner time, I use it as a stable table and eat off it.  I later take it to bed with me and use it as a bedside table.  It makes it so easy to find all my bits and pieces in the dark if I need.  Occasionally I watch a movie on my laptop and it is fabulous place to place the laptop.  It also stops ground moisture reaching things, especially the laptop.  I then pack all my rubbish in it and take it home with me.

Does your airbed deflate?

Please don't panic and throw out your air bed if you notice it going a bit flat.

Air expands and contracts as it gets hotter and colder. If you add air to a mattress on a hot day, and it cools off, the air pressure will decline, making it look flat. If you inflate it on a cold day, the exact opposite will happen. It will expand and be over inflated.

To get the right amount of air in an airbed is a bit about personal preference but I sit on mine when I have nearly got it all blown up and if my bottom hits the ground, it needs more air. If it is a cold night, I always fill it till it is very firm.

Always remember to place a rug under your airbed when camping. Often they can make you feel colder than you should, simply because the air in the mattress is so cold. A rug underneath will reduce the cold from the ground rising up into your airbed.

To double check if it really does have a leak:

• Fill the bed up with air. 
• Fill the bathtub up with water. 
• Completely submerge the bed in the water. 
• If you see bubbles then you have a leak. 
• It could be a simple fix like a drop of silicone around the valve or it may be time for an upgrade. 

Even if you have a camp stretcher or a camper trailer these days they still make fabulous spare beds for guests and when the kids have sleepover friends. They fold away to nothing and store well in the linen cupboard till you need them next time.

Are you truly going remote (bush or desert)?

Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia

In the perfect world, none of us would go remote without:

• Plenty of Water 
• Heaps of Food 
• Spare Fuel 
• Fully stocked first aid kit 
• Fire extinguisher 
• Basic tool box 
• Recovery gear and know how to use it 
• Spare tyre 
• Satellite Phone 
• EPIRB 
• Maps and Compass 
• Companion car 
• Have left your destination (GPS coordinates) with family/friends 
• Advised family/friends to raise an alert if you don't return or make contact by an agreed time. 

Sadly, we don't live in a perfect world and one day we may find ourselves stranded. “That wasn't part of the plan” is something we have all said to ourselves at least once in our lives. Murphy's Law is such, 'If it can go wrong; it will go wrong' when you forgot the thing you needed most.

You took the tool box out of the car to fix the sink; didn't put it back. Took an off-road track to see what’s up there; got seriously bogged. Car fell into ditch; you have no recovery gear. Motor caught fire; no extinguisher. Snagged a branch and lost steering. Hit a rock and punctured fuel tank. Now fuel tank is empty. Hit a kangaroo. Forgot to renew the sat phone subscription last month. EPIRB won't work because the battery is flat.

Anything can happen. Even to the most pedantic prepper, most experienced four wheel driver or bush hiker/survivalist.

So, what are you going to do now? You are stranded!

• How much WATER do you have? Plenty! Then you will be fine. Ration everything just in case it takes a few days for someone to find you. 
• STAY CALM. Panicking is not going to help. 
• Make a fire, if safe to do so 
• Make a rock sign on the ground if possible 
• Tie something bright and flappy to the highest point on your vehicle. 
• Make it easy for someone to find you 
• Stay in the shade 
• Maintain healthy body temperature. More your body struggles, the more fluids you will need. 
• Conserve your energy 
• STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE 

You can live weeks without food but can only live a few days without water. One week without water would be very best scenario. After a couple of days your body and mind will truly start to struggle. After about 4 days you will likely become confused and uncoordinated. In extreme heat this could happen even faster. The Australian bush or desert is the last place you would want to be stranded without water. Do not forget water.

If you're running low on water or you didn't have any to start with.

• Scout for a water source immediately. 
• If you find one, then you will be fine. 
• Go back to relaxing in the shade next to your vehicle. 

You found water but it’s not clean or healthy. Maybe you carry a few sterilizing tabs in the glove box for emergencies. If not, boil the water and it will be likely be fine to drink. Even really muddy water will purify after being boiled hard for 10 mins.

You may have some alternative water you didn't think of.

Juice from a tin of peas is fluids. So think laterally.
Don't forget you have a radiator full of water if you haven't filled it with coolant.
You also have water in your windscreen washer bucket if you remembered to top it.

Some other tips

• Do not discard unused water until you have returned safely to civilisation. You don't want to be looking for water if you snap an axle 60 km’s before you hit the main highway.
• Much better to carry a few smaller water containers vs. one larger (same applies to fuel and food). If one is spilled, split or contaminated, you still reserves. If you need to walk from camp to collect water from a creek, a smaller container is easier to replenish and carry. If you have collected water and it is not the cleanest, having a couple of containers will allow time for the sediment to settle in one, whilst you collect more or to put already sterilised water into another.

Ideal water levels for the average bush camping trip:

• 2 litres per person/per day - Clean drinking water 
• 3 litre per person/per day - Dishwashing, hand washing and having a sponge down 

= 5 litres per person/per day. If rationed, this water would last for many days. Take spare.


SAFETY FIRST


NB: There are numerous other water gathering techniques taught by survivalists. They are beyond the scope of this particular feature article.

The Australian Dunny...

The Australian Dunny... Traditionally located approximately 50 metres from the house.... Ummm, what memories that brings back... The long scary walk with dog, down the stairs and across the lawn in the dark as a kid. Praying you don't find a snake in the dunny this time. A butt sore from being wiped with cut up newspaper. Hands black with the print. The smell of sawdust and other interesting things. The green frog that kissed you on the butt just to make sure you didn't hog the dunny too long.... oh and the redbacks.. It took you longer to make sure it was safe to take a seat then it did to do what you went for. They were the good old days.... lol

Tip 20 XXXX Gold Damper