I’ve never been an outdoor girl. Give me a bed and a book and a cuppa tea.
Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing animals in the wild and Nature’s beauty restores my soul. But the … ah… logistics really bother me. Okay, okay, I confess - the main issue is going to the toilet. Not having convenient plumbing on the outside like a guy makes it a tad difficult. When you squat, inquisitive vegetation wants to get personal with your nether regions. And it’s always prickly. Then there’s the whole issue of the pants hooked around your knees - slap bang in the way. Not to mention the rest of it - digging holes, balancing while you wipe etc etc
Let’s not forget the wild life either. When DD was about six, she had to go while we were on a rainforest walk. (I swear her bladder is the size of a pea.) She collected a leech in a VERY bad place. The sight of her capering about and screaming with the leech dangling is graven in my memory.*shudder*
Probably ruined the poor kid for life. Speaking of which..
I imagine this poor woman is about to be ruined for life too. Oh dear.
Are you better at the outdoor stuff than me? (No details, BTW!) The rest of camping escapes me too. I’m just not very practical, I guess. Do you enjoy camping? Why?
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Camping? Me? Uh, not just no, but H*** no. I want plumbing. A hot shower in the morning and an electric coffee pot, thank you very much. It’s not that I don’t like nature, cause I do. I’m a big nature lover, I’m just not into “roughing” it.
The leech thing? OMG! And I thought the bird-sized mosquitos in South Georgia were bad!
Hey I grew up in the woods. Never had any tramitizing experiances. Though I always envied my bros.
My idea of roughing it is three stars. I have a deck I can go sit on when I want to get close to nature - but not so close the ants crawl on me and bite. I occasionally go on easy bush walks but I like knowing there’s a shower and clean clothes waiting for me at the end of a few hours. And I always try to choose places and times of the year to try to avoid the whole leech and tick thing. The idea of something attached and sucking blood from me gives me the horrors. Your poor daughter.
Heather, we have bird-sized mozzies here too. Also cockroaches and spiders and ants and FLIES! And that’s just for starters!
Meg, I can’t help but think external plumbing is so damn convenient. OTOH, it’s pretty vulnerable, hanging out there, so I guess it evens out.
Oh, Elaine, me too! Poor DD. Also poor me, who had to get it off without ruining future prospects for grandmotherhood.
Uh Oh. I like camping. But the kind of camping with fine weather, a good tent setup and an amenities block close by. The thing I like the best: No phone or TV or (bad) news reports. You can sit and listen to the birds, or watch the clouds, or best of all - watch the night skies. And write. Or daydream. Or sleep. And campfire food is the best. Especially potatoes roasted in the coals. Our favourite beach side campsite is Brunswick Heads. It has all of the necessities above plus a truck stop serving the best coffee in Northern NSW across the road. Nice.
OMG who’d let themselves be photographed in that situation
I love camping! Days with the Brownie pack and Girl Guides.
The whole sleeping in the tent & smell of canvas (now adays synthetic Nylon)OR the luxury of the Winnebago.
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Strange noises. The sound of the surf or the crickets. The kerosene lantern. These days Gas apparartus’s.
The PIT Toilets or make-shift buckets (theses days the porta-loo)
The green esky and several bags of crushed ice , replaced every 2 days at best. (These days poetable fridges that run off batteries (12vt & 240vt interchangable)
Thick bread toasted on a long fork or a tonged stick cooked over the open fire (these days on the portable gas BBQ) Almost the same flavour and lavished with real butter.(not so much these days
How easy has camping become??? All the mod cons of home almost. The luxuries are amazing and it is still as much fun.
Tents containing durable floors with two or 3 rooms + ad-ons. Outdoor rooms complete with fly/mosquito netting for comfort. Inflatable beds, thicker sleeping bags. Portable showers with pumps with frame and curtain and water heated by the sun. Fridges/freezers, cooking appliances, soundless generators. Portable/collapsable pantrys, and wardrobes. Tables and chairs that roll up. (even ones that recline with foot rests.)
Nothing like a weekend camping for family bonding and fun. Always had a ball.
Yeah, Fiona,
but… You’re so organized and so physically fit. I’m not either of those things. And I can’t even cook in a kitchen! 
Mary, I see what you mean. All mods cons. Only problem is that for a city slicker like me, that’s quite a sizable investment, with no guarantee I’ll even enjoy it. Hmm, I should go camping with you or Fi. Actually, that’s the only time I go - with friends who know what they’re doing.
Anytime
Oh and one other great thing about Camping…
It’s DH’s job to cook and clean for the week-end. He and the kids love it and so do I!
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