One of the joys of owning a 4WD is that you can load it up with a tent, chilly bin and a few other essentials and head into the wilderness, beyond the point at which cars have to stop, to camp alongside a river or lake for a few days.
You spend the day going for walks, reading or doing nothing at all, and as any visiting daytrippers pack up and head home, you pour a wine, get ready to cook dinner, and start to anticipate the sunset. Magic.
For many people, camping means joining hundreds of others at a holiday park. But the row upon row of tents, queues in the amenities, and enforced companionship with strangers make these nylon and canvas suburbs not for everyone. They make a good overnight waystation between camping spots, to catch up on showers and laundry, but that’s it. Come morning it’s time to stock up at the nearest supermarket, and then retreat once more from civilisation.
The key to such camping is to be self-sufficient, and organised. No point getting to the lakeside and finding you have forgotten the tent pegs or some other essential piece of equipment. So draw up a packing list, and a menu.
For years I had a packing list sitting on my computer desktop. Whenever I was heading away, I made a copy of it, and then deleted items from the copy as I packed them – when everything was deleted, everything was packed. I refined the list over the years, adding items and deleting others, and then finally published it in my 4WD South book as a guide to others.
I did the same with a provisions list and menu, enough to feed four people for three days and two nights. I plan meals using fresh ingredients for the first few days, moving through to food that will keep, such as packaged meals and tinned food. The easiest meals are those that use only one or two pots and can be pre-cooked in the comfort of a proper kitchen.
One thing I don’t forgo on such trips is access to toilet facilities, which should mean at least a longdrop. There are so many good camping spots with a longdrop that it seems wrong to camp somewhere without one. If you must, then dig a decent hole, or really do the right thing and pack it back home, along with your rubbish.
If there is a longdrop, it is likely there will be a water supply. Take water from home, though, and use this for drinking etc. Ten litres should be enough for you and your passengers, and you can replenish it along the way from a town water supply or similar. If the quality of water cannot be guaranteed, boil, filter or chemically treat it before drinking, to avoid giardia and other intestinal upsets. And it is even more important to wash your hands after going to the toilet and before preparing meals – the wilderness is a lousy place to get a tummy bug.
So, where to go? The Department of Conservation has campsites dotted throughout the South Island – you can find these online, or by calling in to a DOC office for a guide. Many of the routes in my book also have campsites or huts along the way. For me, the best of them will always be in Central Otago, but Canterbury also has much to offer. So get planning, get out there, and don’t forget the tent.
