The Camping Thread - Page 13

prydey · 18-07-2018, 07:25 PM

headed back to our favourite little camping spot on the weekend just gone.

Naracoorte caves national park.

We did end up doing a few caves as well, but the main appeal of the campground in the national park is the fact that its very quiet, and a great place to just kick back and unwind.

If you need more than nature and the odd bushwalk to keep you entertained, then this place isn't for you.

there are only 13 powered sites and a big grassed area for tenting plus a shower and toilet block. we had the whole place to ourselves, which isn't unusual. its also our 3rd visit there. loved it so much when we started camping in 2016 we have made it a yearly thing.

some pics

just leaving. we were in the site behind us

looking the other way. like I said, a small campground with not much else.

the company

the set up

the obligatory fire

and a couple of cave pics

just on the caves, whilst they are fascinating, we found them quite expensive. also, when I asked if I needed scuba gear, it looked like they'd heard it quite a few times already

quite cold overnight and only just getting in to double figures in the day, but still, as long as you went prepared, which we did, the weather was pretty good. walking is much more enjoyable in cooler conditions anyway I find, as you don't get all hot and sweaty and don't have to continually brush away flies.

weather turned south on pack up day, and so we had to pack up in the rain. of course, as soon as we'd finished, the rain stopped and some blue sky appeared. once on the road, the blue sky was short lived and we ended up with some of the worst weather I've ever driven in. high wind, debris and rain so heavy at times visibility was down to less than 100m. I believe parts of Adelaide also suffered from the same storm system as it made its way across the state and down to the south east where we were coming from.

**Beastie** · 18-07-2018, 07:59 PM

We had our first trip away in our recently renovated caravan...

Newcastle down to Heathcote (via Canberra) for the AFF Drag Day in June...

Leaving home...

Arrived to mum & dad's in Canberra (we were sooks and stayed inside...

)

A few pit stops along the way to Rutherglen in Vic...

Our first ever 'dump' stop...

(We have setup the van to free camp with a porta loo & grey water etc)

We finally made it to Rutherglen where we setup for the night and met up with a few other AFF members for dinner & beers...

We had to check out the Lolly Shop - It was like a time warp back to the 70's / 80's inside...

Setting up at Heathcote (great weather...not...

)

Was a great 4 days away with some good friends made right here on the forum...

**Beastie** · 18-07-2018, 08:05 PM

A couple of shots of the reno...

prydey · 18-07-2018, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beastie

A couple of shots of the reno...

awesome work on the reno. looks great.

roKWiz · 24-07-2018, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beastie

We had our first trip away in our recently renovated caravan...

A few pit stops along the way to Rutherglen in Vic...

Our first ever 'dump' stop...

(We have setup the van to free camp with a porta loo & grey water etc)

We finally made it to Rutherglen where we setup for the night and met up with a few other AFF members for dinner & beers...

We had to check out the Lolly Shop - It was like a time warp back to the 70's / 80's inside...

Great job on the van conversion.
Looks like Albury station where the dump point is cause that looks like my local train sitting behind it.
Rutherglen and Chiltern are great town's, real time warps I'm currently staying in Chiltern again for work.
Regarding motorhomes and caravans..... the bigger they are the less they move.

**Beastie** · 24-07-2018, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Great job on the van conversion.
Looks like Albury station where the dump point is cause that looks like my local train sitting behind it.
Rutherglen and Chiltern are great town's, real time warps I'm currently staying in Chiltern again for work.
Regarding motorhomes and caravans..... the bigger they are the less they move.

Yep, it was Albury.

BENT_8 · 18-07-2018, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

when I asked if I needed scuba gear, it looked like they'd heard it quite a few times already

Brutal..i like it!

Thats something i would say and then..

**ebxr8240** · 20-07-2018, 12:50 PM

Some have it good .

kinksta · 07-09-2018, 11:06 PM

Looking forward to heading to Mount Remarkable National Park camping for 4 nights next week. Got an awning and lightbar set up for the trip (finally), pretty much have everything for that amount of time.

Next lot of camping "mods" will be a fridge and deep cell battery system etc. Oh, I also need to raise the G6ET up of it's stomach too. I am in the hunt for probably some XT shocks/springs but not 100% on what to do as yet. Obviously an RTV/4WD is the answer but Falcons were "built" for this country haha.

300,000kms is just around the corner too!

kinksta · 14-09-2018, 11:37 AM

We set up in the dark but everything seems all good. Lovely spot out here! We have a 2nd tent for storage but unsure if we need it yet. #Falconswerebuiltforthis

prydey · 14-09-2018, 12:04 PM

what number campsite are you at? Looks like 41? If so, its nice that side looking out to the bush. Any visits from the lace monitors yet?

We stayed along a bit at site 7 the first time we went. Although its opposite the facilities, we found it quite nice. I have 3 females with me (wife and 2 daughters) so being close to the facilities had its benefits

Last easter we stayed at 29. It was a case of leaving things to the last minute and having to take whatever was still available. Although its an open site (no real shade) we actually quite liked it. Its a bit separate on all sides, with no one opposite.

next time we reckon we'll try for site 20/21.

Its such a nice campground that one. Enjoy your stay.

kinksta · 14-09-2018, 12:17 PM

Literally strolled through 10mins ago.

Yea mate s41 haha. We picked it using Google maps lol.

prydey · 14-09-2018, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

Literally strolled through 10mins ago.

there's a couple of those around. keep your food and scraps secure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

Yea mate s41 haha. We picked it using Google maps lol.

yep. its handy that the street view car drove around the whole campsite. We used that also. found it quite helpful.

kinksta · 14-09-2018, 12:28 PM

When we camped throughout America we street viewed all the campgrounds, glad they did it here too.

Bears there, monitors here haha.

kinksta · 17-09-2018, 12:40 PM

We are all done, sad to pack this beautiful mess up.

We did the Alligator Gorge 10km hike yesterday. Half of it was absolutely brilliant the other half was quite bland to be honest.

BENT_8 · 17-09-2018, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

We are all done, sad to pack this beautiful mess up.

We did the Alligator Gorge 10km hike yesterday. Half of it was absolutely brilliant the other half was quite bland to be honest. image

Alligator is a bit more arid than the southern parts of the park, if you have reasonable fitness, adequate gear and dont mind a decent walk
, the battery track and hidden gorge loop is a great experience, something to consider if heading back in the future.
I prefer to head up the bluff and return via the gorge as its a lot cooler and easier descending in the afternoon and the views from the top of the battery ridge are spectacular.
Its called the battery ridge as back in the day the powers that be were concerned of a hostile invasion to central Australia through the Gulf so they set up armourments along the long ridge top to pick off enemy ships.

kinksta · 17-09-2018, 12:42 PM

Few more mods to make for next time. 245/45/18 tyres, XT front and rear struts within a week or so, some windscreens for the weber and burner, bigger power supply and maybe solar.

prydey · 17-09-2018, 02:17 PM

we've done alligator gorge a couple of times and agree, the gorge part is quite stunning, but then the rest of the short walk we did was just a bushwalk back to the carpark. Now that we've done it a couple of times, i'm not sure we'll do it again, or at least not every time we go there.

When my youngest is older i'll have a go at doing the hidden gorge hike. currently its just a bit too far for the youngest (and probably wife).

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

bigger power supply

I bought one of those lithium jump starter batteries when I was in a tent. 18AH. was enough to run lights (Korr 50mm led light bar) and charge devices for 4-5 nights.

this is the one I have, which no longer has a pic
http://performance12voltaccessories....mp-you-bastard

also available on ebay under different brands
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Powercon...0AAOSwax5Yyx7z

its the same thing. one labelled 'monster' as well I think.

kinksta · 17-09-2018, 04:52 PM

Well there ya go! Good information for next time cheers!

And prydey that's what we are thinking size wise, thanks for the links. If we go the fridge route I'm not sure what we would get. But it's all good ideas for now!

prydey · 17-09-2018, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

And prydey that's what we are thinking size wise, thanks for the links. If we go the fridge route I'm not sure what we would get. But it's all good ideas for now!

Not sure how it would go running a fridge. As an experiment, before we used it the first time, I fully charged it and then plugged my korr led strip light in, which is rated at 0.6amp draw, and left it on until it went flat, to see how long it would last. It went for about 22 hours from memory. So that was enough to run a light for about 4 hours each night and keep devices charged.

I bought a cheap ebay power bank that was supposed to be 20000mah, but it lasted about 2 phone charges. No idea how they claim what they do. I've heard other stories of people buying some of the cheaper ebay stuff and being more than happy with it.

Another option is a small AGM battery, in a battery box. That's quite expensive (the boxes are almost as dear as the batteries), but they will run a fridge and can be topped up with solar.

If you are planning on sticking with tenting or even upgrading to a camper trailer, it will be a good investment as it can all be used for many years.

BENT_8 · 17-09-2018, 11:39 PM

Perhaps one of these might be worth a look, will run your fridge and led lighting.
When i spoke to various people about 12v power for fridges etc. i was told to get a battery big enough to run it over night and a solar panel kit big enough to charge it quickly the next day.

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sal...h-battery-pack

I run 2 fridges, a 60l for cooling drinks and food and an 18l as a freezer so i went with an Arkpak and 130ah AGM battery and i charge it with 180w of solar panels.
I can run both fridges for 48hrs before i hit the critical point for the battery and can charge it on a reasonable day easily.
Also comes in handy during blackouts, whilst everyone else is hovering around candles i simply put the Arkpak on the kitchen bench and plug in a touch lamp.

prydey · 18-09-2018, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Perhaps one of these might be worth a look, will run your fridge and led lighting.

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sal...h-battery-pack
.

That's a good price.

These guys always have a massive site at all the camping shows. There options are quite a bit more expensive
http://www.home12volt.com.au/thumper...ery-packs.html

They do complete packs too with inverters and solar panels included, but they aren't cheap.

BENT_8 · 18-09-2018, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

That's a good price.

These guys always have a massive site at all the camping shows. There options are quite a bit more expensive
http://www.home12volt.com.au/thumper...ery-packs.html

They do complete packs too with inverters and solar panels included, but they aren't cheap.

Yes, i had an interesting convo with the salesman at the caravan show a couple of years ago about the pro's and con's of the Thumper's V Arkpak.
I played dumb, well, i play the part too well for some, but i digress, anywho, i went in like i was clueless...ah ****, who am i trying to kid.
Ok, it went like this, the bloke took one look at me and figured he had a cash cow in front of him and went on to tell me how great the Thumpsters were.
So i listened for a while and then mentioned the Arkpak to which he turned up his nose and began rubbishing it for a number of reasons, so i said ok, how do you charge the Thumper, he said with a charger we can provide for a small fee, i said the Arkpak has a charger built in.
Then i said what happens if for some reason i kill the battery in the Thumpster, he said its stuffed, so i said i can just put a new battery in the Arkpak...
For some reason he got the ****s with me at that point and said i might aswell buy the bloody Arkpak then, so i did.
Haven't looked back either.

kinksta · 17-09-2018, 04:59 PM

Oh and one more thing, those with no kids and Falcons, I found removing the bottom of the rear seat and replacing with a false floor like this to be an immense help. Level surface and also more room.

kinksta · 18-09-2018, 12:20 AM

Bloody hell another good idea. I'm going to end up buying 5 different types of power supplies thanks to you blokes haha!

Trevor 57 · 01-10-2018, 05:28 AM

Back to work today after 2 weeks up the Buckland valley, in the first week (pre school holidays) we saw about 4 cars total for the whole week - it was terrific. We were joined on the the 2nd week (1st week of school holidays) by a few family members and a couple of friends

kinksta · 01-10-2018, 09:32 PM

Hey Big Trev, (if you are around) going back through this thread I saw you were making your own power supply, how did it all turn out?

In other news we are going to go for a camp tomorrow night spur of the moment.. but not really 100% on where to go. Rapid Bay was the go, until it looks like it will be 10 degrees cooler than everywhere else haha.

And it other OTHER news, we are headed to Cairns and the surrounding area then mosey our way down to Brisbane in December. Unfortunately not enough time to drive up which is sad. However we will fly up and get a camper or a hire car and stay as cheaply as we can.

sgt_doofey · 01-10-2018, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

Hey Big Trev, (if you are around) going back through this thread I saw you were making your own power supply, how did it all turn out?

Not sure if you mean the little box I built earlier in the year there kinksta?
Used it in Halls Gap in April and will be using it again at Bathurst. I've got a small 7Ah deep cell battery that I connect up and a 10w solar panel. It's enough to run the led strip lighting I've got.
Bathurst will be a bit of a test as it has to charge our phones too so will see if the battery capacity is large enough.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Trevor 57 · 02-10-2018, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinksta

Hey Big Trev, (if you are around) going back through this thread I saw you were making your own power supply, how did it all turn out?

It wasn't me who posted about that

sgt_doofey · 01-10-2018, 11:33 PM

For all of our talk earlier on in the year about Halls Gap, I saw on Facebook that the Lakeside Tourist Park have now renovated the bottom amenities block.
That was probably the only shoddy looking thing at the park when we were there in April.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk