Come closer, I have a secret for you! There is a place where you can eat what you want when you want, where bad jokes are welcomed with opened arms, and where you will experience moments to be cherished for the rest of your life. The best part is – it’s right on your doorstep. It’s camping!
Anywhere, everywhere, in your backyard, across the country, or wherever the journey takes you – there’s always something new to do or see when you go exploring. With that in mind, here are my 7 reasons why camping is the best!
The 7 Greatest Things about Camping:
1. Getting there
You’re still feeling fresh, full of energy and relatively clean on your first night of camping. The culture shock of escaping the big smoke and entering the natural world is refreshing and wondrous. You’re full of enthusiasm and hope for this next big adventure… revelling in the change of scenery.
Savour it! You’re on holidays. Getting away from work is an increasingly important thing to do in today’s society, so take a break!
Jumping in your car and heading off to explore is the best feeling! Photo: Barry Peters
2. Using your new toy
You bought it recently, but you haven’t had reason to use it yet – but now is the time! Perhaps it’s your new air mattress, solar-powered piece, or maybe just your new spork. There’s nothing like trying out your new gizmo for the first time. Why? Because it makes you feel like James Bond deploying Q’s latest invention…
A spontaneous trip is a perfect time to play around with your new gear. Photo: Peter Inverarity
3. The Running Jokes
Ever spent 5 days talking only in a pirate accent with your hiking buddy? Or for that matter, taken any simple notion to absurd extremes for the entire length of time you and your companions are on the trail?
Running jokes bring smiles to faces during the hard times on the track, and bring glints to eyes while remembering your adventures when you get back home.
4. Raindrops On the Tent Fly
You wake up in the depths of the night and hear that purring, rhythmic patter of rain on the tent fly. The best part is that you’re safe, warm and dry in your cosy sleeping bag, where not a drop can reach you. And – it’ll be dry outside by morning time, right?
There’s nothing better than the patter of rain when you’re all rugged up in your tent. Photo: Peter Inverarity
5. The food
Hiking is an energy-expensive exercise, so you can pretty much eat whatever you like on the track. Chocolate puddings every night for dessert? No dramas. Extra sugary treats in your scroggin? Done. A few squares of chocolate for breakfast? Why not?
You gotta love the hiking diet… if you can call it that.
The outdoor adventure diet means you can eat more high energy foods. Photo: Ben Trewren
6. That moment
You could be alone, or with a companion. You might be doing something completely mundane, like boiling the kettle, or you could be hiking in pre-dawn light to a vantage point. But every once in a while, Mother Nature will serve you up an absolutely golden, once-in-a-lifetime moment.
A rare platypus will jump into the river where you’ve camped or a sunrise that paints the mists of the plains just so. These are moments that thrill you and stir your soul. These are moments that you will cherish for the rest of your life – that will make you feel truly alive!
What a view! The sunrise over the Flinders Ranges. Photo: Peter Inverarity
7. Getting back
How nice is it to lay on a soft, clean mattress – one that’s bigger than your tent – after a few days on the track? Or being able to boil the kettle without a 5-minute stove set-up and pack-down routine? Yep, you had a super time camping in the bush – but the creature comforts of home are always welcomed. Your brain and body will condition themselves to their surroundings, and run on autopilot once they’ve adapted.
That’s why you only really notice these homely luxuries when things change and the same reason why you’ll take these things for granted in a day or two!
There you have it, my top 7 reasons why camping is the greatest. Now to get to planning that next trip away…
This post was updated for 2017.
Have we missed a crucial point? Let us know in the comments what the best part of camping is for you.
Outdoor enthusiast, with experience in multiple-day trips hiking, canoeing, and kayaking and a passion for climbing, bouldering, sailing, caving and snorkelling.
But there is nothing I love more than getting others involved in the beauty of nature – especially the next generation.