My family has been camping for 25 years, or, rather, for two or three weeks for each of 25 years. We've camped at many of the small coastal towns between Newcastle and the Queensland border, and for the past 12 years we've camped at the private Delicate Nobby camping ground 10 kilometres south of Crescent Head.
We've had many different set-ups in that time, many different tents, and at least three times we've switched from tent to wind-up camper caravan and back. The perennial search has been for easier setting up. The sorting of the gear, the packing, the unpacking and the erection of the tent and tarp can be exhausting, then after a couple of weeks the process is reversed. So each year we reappraise our needs but we never seem to have any less stuff and the process never seems to get easier.
But after setting up camp this year I made a decision. No more tents and striped bags for me, I was getting a caravan. My camping neighbour agreed, and so a couple of weeks ago we bought identical vans, Jayco Swans. If the vans make going away as easy as I hope, we'll go away more often, but already my wife, who could fill a B-double with striped bags, and I are in testy discussion about how many striped bags I should be prepared to lug into the van on the day of departure.
I maintain that the van should be permanently packed so that we need to buy only bread and milk to go.
Do you have any camping tips that lighten the load? And where should we go for a weekend or a week in our new van?
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