Summer is here in Australia, and the holidays are almost upon us. Which means it’s time for one of the great Australian rituals, the road/ camping trip. But Australia is unique, and whether you are going for a day,...
Summer is here in Australia, and the holidays are almost upon us. Which means it’s time for one of the great Australian rituals, the road/ camping trip. But Australia is unique, and whether you are going for a day, or a month, there are a few things you should have on your packing list.
The Great Australian Packing Guide
Its time to road trip! Just don’t forget these things…..
Sand proof towel
Australia is all about beaches, so the first thing you want to pack is all your beach gear. And one indispensable piece of beach gear, in my opinion, is the sand proof towel. There are lots of sand proof towels on the market these days, and I own a few of them, but my favourite is the one from Tesalate. I love this towel for its bright and funky reversible patterns (my favourite is the toucans!), but mostly for how lightweight and compact it is. My other sand proof towel is quite bulky, so this one is much easier to just throw in my bag and go. And the best part is…. sand does not stick to it. So no matter how much sand these two naughty monkeys heap on to it, all I have to do is pick it up, and all the sand just falls away. Now if only it was that easy to get the sand off these kids….
Plenty of sunscreen
If you plan to spend any time outdoors in Australia then you need to slather in sunscreen. And I mean it. The sun is so much more intense here than in other parts of the world, and if you don’t reapply often you will most certainly burn.
I also recommend buying a sunscreen without harmful oxybenzone and octinoxate and protect the oceans as well as your skin.
A good first aid kit
Australia is full of creepy crawlies, and wide open spaces. Not a good combination if you injure yourself. I think everyone everywhere should have a decent first aid kit in their car, no matter where you are. But it is an especially good idea in Australia where the distances between towns can sometimes be long.
An esky
Keeping your beers (or chardonnay) cool is important. So it’s integral to have a good and portable cooler. For day trips we have this excellent little collapsible dry bag style cooler from Ice Mule. Its awesome because it takes up no space at all when you are not using it. For longer trips we have a small portable fridge which can plug into the car to keep everything cool for multi day journeys. It’s pretty bulky though, so I still prefer to use my Ice Mule cooler bag.
A parks pass
If you are traveling through NSW and you want to spend some time enjoying the great outdoors, then I highly recommend getting a parks pass. To enter any national or state park in a vehicle you need to pay a fee, usually around $8, and some parks do not have kiosks so you need to have exact change. Exact change is something that I never, ever, ever have, so a parks pass works best. The pass costs $65 and lasts for a year, so if you are planning to visit a bunch, then this is definitely a good investment.
Time to road trip! See you at the beach!
