So we’re back from our big camping trip! I’ll update a bit later with how the trip went but I will say that it was amazing. Lily took to camping really well and we all had a fun, relaxing time.
I’ve updated the Packing List, now that we’ve been on our trip, with things that we either forgot or realised that we should have taken.
Things we should have taken;
♥ Electric or Gas BBQ – this wasn’t on our original list but I had planned to borrow my parents’ electric BBQ. As it wasn’t on the list we of course forgot it. There was a store in town which sold basic camping needs and they had a 2-burner gas BBQ on sale for $50 and a small gas cylinder for $40. I’m really glad we got this as the only BBQs in the park were a good walk away, there was only 4 of them and they cost $2 a go. We set the gas BBQ up on a table outside our tent and could cook dinner without going anywhere and heat up a saucepan of water for my coffee in the morning.
♥ Tarp – This is one thing that I definitely wish we had for this trip. It rained a few afternoons and we were forced to shelter inside our tent. If we had had a tarp with some poles we would’ve been able to be sheltered but with some more room to move and not in a stuffy tent. Definitely looking in to this for the future.
♥ Bucket – For some reason this got left off our list. Lily had a little bucket and spade for the beach but we didn’t have a full size one. This would’ve been handy for carrying hot water back to our site for washing dishes or simply to have water on hand that wasn’t drinking water.
♥ Bug Zapper – We had bug spray that we used every evening but the zapper would’ve helped to keep the bugs away from us and out of the tent.
♥ Hard Egg Holder – Mr Monkey mentioned that his parents had one of these when they were camping and after a quick google I found these on the Kathmandu website. Because the eggs were stored in the Esky the cardboard box got very wet and we ended up having to store the eggs in a plastic container with the leftover frozen veggies.
♥ Saucepan Lids – I remembered the saucepans but not the lids. It wasn’t a huge problem but it would’ve made boiling water a bit quicker.
♥ Full Cutlery and Plate and Bowl Sets – We need to invest in a proper camping set. This time we took disposable plates and bowls and plastic Ikea knives, forks and spoons. However, for some reason I only packed enough cutlery for one meal each and really should have packed enough for at least two meals each. A full set of “crockery” and cutlery would be best, probably melamine.
Things we found very helpful;
♥ Having a separate Esky to store drinks – We had a portable fold out cooler that was perfect for storing the drinks in. This meant that the rest of the food wasn’t disturbed too much and the drinks stayed cold.
♥ Milk crate to store dry food – All the boxes of food or tins, salt and pepper etc. were stored in the crate, making it easier to keep everything contained and organised.
♥ Pop top juices and small soft drink bottles – We picked up a tray of small soft drinks (Tru Blu range) and a couple of packs of pop top juice bottles before leaving. These were the perfect size to have with a meal and were easy to fit in the Esky. Once they were empty we refilled them with water.
♥ 10L water container with tap – There were taps around the park but the water wasn’t suitable for drinking. They had one big tank so once we went through the container of water we filled it from there. We used it for drinking and cooking and it stayed in the back of the X-Trail or on the Esky.
♥ Coffee Plunger and Ground Coffee – Ok this is obviously not going to be a necessity for everyone but it definitely was for me. I organised with my coffee shop, Coffee Alchemy, to pick up some ground beans before we left and I borrowed my Mum’s coffee plunger. Each morning I would boil a small saucepan of water on our gas stove and make up a cup of coffee. Divine! Unfortunately, I cracked the glass part of the plunger but we went to town a day or so later and we picked up another one for my Mum and a one cup plunger for me to use at home.
♥ Lily’s bike – Lily isn’t big enough to reach the pedals yet but it has a handle on the back that we use to push her along and she likes to “steer”. We went on a walk every evening after dinner to the playground and it would’ve been too far for Lily to walk and she is getting too heavy for us to carry that distance now, so we pushed her along in her bike. We also took it with us to Mogo Zoo but she spent most of the time in our arms so she could see.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable holiday and we’re already planning our next trip 
Click to download my “Camping Packing List Template (PDF)”
It sounds like you did fairly well! The last time Mr Coaster and I went camping we forgot… you’re not going to believe this… towels and soap! We were truly going bush so had to divert about 15-30 minutes on the way to get to a town where we would be able to buy them XD
I think writing a list like your’s is definitely the way to go. I generally pack just by juggling thoughts around in my head, which often means something really obvious gets forgotten.
We did! Most of the stuff (besides the BBQ) were things we didn’t have but would’ve been nice to have.
Haha we both managed to pack all of our toiletries which is amazing because usually one of us forgets something. Actually I forgot a razor! But we were only 5 minutes from the sore so it wasn’t so bad.
I’m really glad we wrote the list as it made packing so much easier and calmer. I showed it to my brother in law who is a serial camper and he was very impressed – he’s been wanting to put something like that together for ages