Kids and Camping ??

Getting away on a family holiday is as easy as picking a destination and packing, right? The truth is, whether it's camping, a week at the beach, or an overseas holiday - careful planning will make the holiday memorable for all the right reasons.

Often, every member of the family will have different ideas on what they want from a holiday. Compromise may be the key to ensuring that everyone is happy with the final choice and planning now will save you a lot of time. Begin by writing a list of what everyone wants, and go from there. With babies and small children, consider the options that make a holiday easier and more enjoyable for them, as well as for you

Camping
Camping is a great family holiday. Children from toddler-age find it a real adventure and a huge learning experience. But if you have never been camping before you can save yourself a great deal of trouble and expense by hiring or borrowing most of the equipment you need. You will also enjoy the experience more if you go with another family who are experienced campers.  Some families like to return to the same camping grounds each year, and often get to know other families doing the same.

Making a list of everything you will need is crucial - setting up camp and finding you don't have anything to boil water in for that much-longed for cup of coffee or tea is not a good start. With camping, little things can make all the difference for a comfortable holiday. For example, a transportable cot can keep babies and toddlers in a safe spot while preparing meals, but you can also go overboard and pack too much - another reason for a thorough list!

Many campsites offer cabins as well as camping grounds and this could be an alternative for your family. Check the facilities a campsite offers. There are camping grounds with playgrounds, pools and all facilities but standards vary so it's important to check the site's rating, or go on recommendation. (The NRMA has a Tourist Park Guide which gives star ratings to most camp and caravan sites). 

Or you may want to get completely back-to-nature (not recommended for first-timers on their own)!

Remember a few important things!
Be prepared. Don't forget to pack a good First Aid kit.  St Johns Ambulance has excellent kits available online or you can ask at a travel medical centre.

There are heaps of things to look at and explore when you're bush camping, so I would keep toys to a minimum. A comprehensive source of information on national parks can be found at www.atn.com.au/parks.

Outback Survival

The conditions in the Outback are often treacherous to the human body if an emergency occurs. Above all other measures, always notify someone of your journey, the route you are taking, when you expect to arrive and when you are departing - this way someone will always know if you are missing or late.

There are a number of spare parts you can take with you on your trip to help you if damage occurs to the vehicle itself, but there are also a number of other things you can do to prepare for and survive such an emergency, including:

* Areas around rock formations often catch water, as do trees - using plastic bags over the branches of non-toxic trees you may catch some water

* Find shelter to protect your body from the elements, which are especially harsh in the Outback

* Food isn't of great importance in a survival situation - unless no one knows you are missing. Searching for food not only uses much needed energy but you can also get easily separated from your vehicle, companions etc

* If there is a salt lake nearby, after it has rained you can use tubing to siphon off the top 3mm which is fresh water

* If you notice numerous animal tracks leading to the one location this may mean there is a waterhole or water source nearby

* It is preferable to eat foods with a high water content as the body will take less to digest it. You can eat animals such as fish, reptiles, bugs, birds etc to sustain yourself until rescue

* Top priority is find water, because while the body can last up to three weeks without food, it will only last 3 days without water

* Try to make your location easy to see, this way search and rescue parties can locate you faster

* Use clothing to minimize your exposure to both hot and cold temperatures

* You can create fire by: using a tiny portion of petrol and light it with a cigarette; using wires from your battery to spark a flame (do this a decent distance away from the vehicle) or using steel wool over the negative terminal of a 6V battery then brush it against the positive terminal to create a flame which can light wood or other material

* You should be able to obtain water from creek bed, even if dry - dig below the surface and you may find water

** Please note this is just a guide and in no way an exhaustive list

When you are going camping there are a number of basic camping gear essentials that go with any camping trip. These basics show up in most camping trips if you are camping without an RV or camping outside of a sheltered area, like a cabin.

These essentials include items such as a tent, sleeping back, cooking gear, first aid kits, emergency supplies, lighting, fire making kit or heating source, knife, personal hygiene products. There are a lot of items that people view as essential which are not actually essential but make the camping experience more enjoyable.

Some of the items that can make your camping trip more enjoyable and for some people are considered essentials are things like Dutch ovens, which allow you to bake while you are camping. Other items are folding chairs, tables and cots to make sitting and sleeping around the camp easier on the body. Some people bring things like coolers for cold foods, and ice. The essential gear for camping depends on the type of camping you are doing and how rough you want to camp. There are some people who enjoy camping with just a sleeping bag and a small tent or tarp in case it rains but for the most part they sleep lying in their sleeping bag under the stars, cooking on a fire and enjoying the simplicity of nature. Others take it up just a step and have a tent and perhaps some fancier cooking gear while others insist that everything but a kitchen sink is essential to camping.

One of the absolute essentials though is a first aid kit; no matter what type of camping you are planning on doing make sure that you have a fully stocked first aid kit. This also should include a snake bit kit; if you are planning on being anywhere in the deep woods or places where snakes are common. Another good thing to bring along is toilet paper, and a small shovel for creating a latrine some people may not find this an essential but for many it is.

Quick survival tips before setting off !

Aussie bush damper! 

In colonial Australia, stockmen developed the technique of making damper out of necessity. Often away from home for weeks, with just a camp fire to cook on and only sacks of flour as provisions, a basic staple bread evolved. It was originally made with flour and water and a good pinch of salt, kneaded, shaped into a round, and baked in the ashes of the campfire or open fireplace. It was eaten with pieces of fried dried meat, sometimes spread with golden syrup, but always with billy tea or maybe a swig of rum. You can still cook damper this way minus the milk but I would also recommend some Golden syrup drizzled over the top Yum !

Today it is made with milk and self-raising flour. Salt is optional.

BUSH DAMPER

3 cups of self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter (optional)
1/2 cup milk( optional)
1/2 cup water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, rub in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
Make a well in the centre; add the combined milk and water mix lightly with a knife until dough leaves sides of bowl.
Gently knead on a lightly floured surface and then shape into a round, put on a greased oven tray. Pat into a round 15-16 cm (6-6 1/2 inch) diameter.
With sharp knife, cut two slits across dough like a cross, approximately 1cm (1/2in) deep.
Brush top of dough with milk.
Sift a little extra flour over dough.

Bake in a hot oven (Or camp oven) 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Reduce heat to moderate and bake another 20 minutes. (If using the fire cover in hot coals) and leave for 30 minutes.

Best eaten the day it is made.

Bungwall Fern:

Botanical name: Blechnum indicum
This fern has fronds to 1m length. It grows in swampy areas in many Queensland districts. While known as Bungwall by aborigines in Moreton Bay, further north it is called Dugal.

Uses

The tuberous root was soaked, roasted, and ground on grinding stones to make flour, and then cooked to make "johnny cake"
Source: Plants - Bush Tucker Medicinal and Other Uses of Minjerribah - Iselin & Shipway

Bunya Nut:

Plant Description

Botanical name: Araucaria bidwillii This plant is a large tall tree to 40 m high with a straight trunk, prickly leaves, and separate male and female flowers. The female cones, up to 300 mm long and weighing up to 10 kg, contain the edible seeds. A large harvest occurs approximately every three years, January to March.

Uses

The fruit is eaten raw, roasted, or pounded to flour to make a kind of bread.
Today, the nuts can still be eaten raw when fresh, or boiled to make it easier to extract the nut from the hard shell. The nuts can then be sliced or pureed and added to desserts and savoury dishes. The nuts' flour can also be used to make breads and cakes.
 

Native Ginger:

Plant Description

Botanical name: Araucaria bidwillii This plant is a large tall tree to 40 m high with a straight trunk, prickly leaves, and separate male and female flowers. The female cones, up to 300 mm long and weighing up to 10 kg, contain the edible seeds. A large harvest occurs approximately every three years, January to March.

Uses

Bunya harvest was a time of feasting and ceremonies. Aboriginal tribes headed for the Bunya mountains where each tribe had ownership of particular trees. The tribes gathered in designated meeting places and any hostilities were suspended. Fruit was gathered and taken home.
The fruit was eaten raw, roasted, or pounded to flour to make a kind of bread.
Today, the nuts can still be eaten raw when fresh, or boiled to make it easier to extract the nut from the hard shell. The nuts can then be sliced or pureed and added to desserts and savoury dishes. The nuts' flour can also be used to make breads and cakes.
 

Cedar Bay cherry:

Plant Description

Botanical name: Araucaria bidwillii This plant is a large tall tree to 40 m high with a straight trunk, prickly leaves, and separate male and female flowers. The female cones, up to 300 mm long and weighing up to 10 kg, contain the edible seeds. A large harvest occurs approximately every three years, January to March.

Uses

Bunya harvest was a time of feasting and ceremonies. Aboriginal tribes headed for the Bunya mountains where each tribe had ownership of particular trees. The tribes gathered in designated meeting places and any hostilities were suspended. Fruit was gathered and taken home.
The fruit was eaten raw, roasted, or pounded to flour to make a kind of bread.
Today, the nuts can still be eaten raw when fresh, or boiled to make it easier to extract the nut from the hard shell. The nuts can then be sliced or pureed and added to desserts and savoury dishes. The nuts' flour can also be used to make breads and cakes.
 

Candle Nut

Plant Description

Botanical Name: Aleurites moluccana This plant is a large rainforest tree with a spreading crown. It has large leaves; the juveniles are lobed. Clusters of 50 mm brown fruit ripen in summer. It is also found in South East Asia.

Usage

The nuts can be poisonous when raw, causing violent vomiting. In 1999 the media reported that a child became ill after eating raw candlenuts in a park in Brisbane. However others have eaten them raw without ill effects. Roasting destroys the toxin in the oil which causes these effects. The roasted nuts are delicious, and are reported to be nutritious and high in energy from the fat they contain. They can be used to tenderise meat.
It is used in Indonesian cooking - usually ground to a paste.
However particular trees produce a nut which has a high cyanide content, and if many roasted nuts are eaten at a time, they can cause stomach cramps and vomiting, so suitable selection methods need to be applied.
Because of the high oil content, the nuts will burn with a smoky flame, hence their common name and use by early settlers. 

The Red-Bellied Black snake is quite a poisonous snake.
It is a red bellied snake, and black on top, hence the name. They
can grow up to 1.5 metres in length. This snake usually gives birth to about 20 live snakes at one time. The bite of a Red Bellied Black Snake is very dangerous and requires immediate medical attention.
The Red-bellied Black snake is found in Eastern Australia from far
north Queensland to N.S.W., Victoria and south-east South Australia.
This snake is usually found near swamps, creeks or marshlands. They usually feed on frogs, reptiles and small mammals. There has been a rapid decline of the red-bellied black which is thought to be a direct result of them eating cane toads, which are poisonous to the snake. This snake is commonly active during the day.  

The Eastern Brown snake is found along the entire length of the east coast of Australia, ranging from the tip of Cape York, along the coasts and inland areas of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia across the Eyre Peninsula and reaches as far as half way across the west cost of South Australia. The colouring of this snake may be any shade of brown. Ranging in colour from pale to dark brown, russet, orange to nearly black. Young snakes have different colouring, a blackish head and banding on the nape. The body may be uniformly banded with dark cross-bands or may be irregularly reticulated by dark tipped scales. This snake is very dangerous and venomous. It kills its prey by venom and constriction. This my be either to kill the prey quickly or to prevent the prey from striking the snake while the venom takes effect. The snake feeds mainly on reptiles and small mammals. The average length of is 1.5 meters but it can reach lengths of up to 2.25 meters. It lays clutches of between 10 and 35 eggs.  

The Tiger snake Notechis scutatus is usually quite timid and will retreat when approached. Despite their name, they do not have any stripes. The belly is usually a pale yellow, grey or white edged with black along the scales. The head is blunt and quite broad. Tiger snakes can grow between 1 metre to 2.1 metres. The male species is much larger than the female and also have larger heads. They feed mainly on small mammals and birds. Female litter sizes have been recorded as high as 126, and the litter size is often related to female body size. The highly toxic venom is produced in large amounts. The venom is mainly neurotoxic affecting the nervous system. It can also cause damage to muscles.  

 Copperheads are the hardiest of the highly venomous snakes, actually preferring a cold climate. They are the last to become dormant in winter and the first to resume activity in spring. The biggest copperheads are found in Victoria, SE South Australia, and Tasmania. Copperheads are not easily aroused but they are undoubtedly capable of inflicting a fatal bite on humans, although its strike often misses. They average in length from 1.3 to 1.8 meters. The appearance of the Copperhead is a narrow head, with a heavy build. They either have grey, brassy, copper, russet, chocolate or black on their back, with cream, yellow or red along the sides. The light scales above its lips often give striped appearance. The belly is a yellowish cream or grey. The young usually are in litters of around 10-20.

Mistaken identity in the case of the Mulga snake could easily cost the life of a bite victim. They have a broad flat head that is slightly distinct from the neck. Their back is most often copper but varies from light brown to russet, dark olive brown or chocolate. The belly is pinkish or yellowish cream and sometimes has pink or orange blotches. The young hatch from eggs in clutches of 10-20. The Mulga snake is the most massive of the venomous Australian species and its output of venom is the greatest of all. It doesn't rank high in toxicity, but the volume delivered in a bite often increased by a chewing action makes the snake extremely dangerous.