FIRE NO.4
The
Budget Edition GETTING BACK TO NATURE, WITHOUT IT COSTING THE EARTH
àPLUS THE ULTIMATE CAMPSITE UNDER $400 GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COOLER PAT’S 5 TOP FREE CAMPING TIPS IDEAS FOR SAVING MONEY ON THE ROAD
outdoors SINCE 1958
The Campfire
Chat…
Visiting nature, camping and exploring has come a long way in the past decade or so. Nowadays we have all the gadgets and trinkets we could ever dream for, and it has made the whole experience a lot more comfortable and accessible for many of us. It’s easy to get carried away, and start spending too much money on the experience. This is why we have brought you this edition of Campfire, to show you some ideas and ways of doing those things we love, and keeping a little bit of that hardearned cash in your pocket. Visiting nature shouldn’t cost the earth, and a little bit can really get you a long way.
Yours in camping, The Ray’s Outdoors Crew
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Contents 4 The Ultimate Campsite Under $400 7 Keeping Your Cool 10 Free Camping Tips 13 Driving Your Dollar 15 Basic Risotto
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The
Ultimate Campsite $ under 400
EVERYTHING YOU NEED, FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE.
BUTANE CAN PACK: Campmaster $ 6 pack butane 12.95
HEADTORCH: Escape Outdoor 5 LED headtorch
TABLE AND STOOLS: Wild Country Bi$ fold table set 129.00
3-PACK OF COOLERS: 3 piece cooler set
89.99
$
CAMP OVEN: Kookaburra waxed camp oven
FRYPAN: Kookaburra Cast iron skillet
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29.95
$
14.95
$
10.00
$
STOVE: Wild Country Portable Stove butane
BILLY: Aluminium teapot Billy
19.95
$
14.99
$
ULTIMATE CAMPSITE PRICE: 3
96.76 only at Ray’s Outdoo rs. $
TENT: Wild Country Spirit II 3 person tent
CAMPCHAIR: Wild Country Resort Chair (assorted colours)
59.99
$
14.99
$
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PITCH THE Perfect TENT
Camping is a breeze with the Boab Vertigo 4 + 2 person dome tent $179ea. Boab Vertigo range from $89ea
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Keeping Your Cool TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COOLER
T
he cooler is the infallible companion of the camper; a cost effective method of keeping your perishables cold, and allowing you to push your culinary experience beyond baked beans and warm drinks. How effective the cooler is depends on how long the ice lasts, so we have put together some ideas and tips on getting the most out of your cooler: KEEPING YOUR COOL: If it can handle being frozen, and you aren’t using it straight away, then freeze it. Having everything cold before it goes in increases the cold thermal mass of the freezer and takes the strain from the ice, slowing down the inevitable melting process. CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON: If you need something cooled quickly, crushed ice is the way to go; it will transfer the cold much faster through more surface contact. Block ice, on the other hand, is like a marathon runner, slowly cooling things down, but lasting a whole lot longer. A great way of making block ice at home is to use your old ice cream containers to freeze big blocks. These last for ages!
PACK SMART: Put a bit of thought into how you pack your cooler. There’s no point in pulling up at camp, opening the cooler and fishing around for minutes trying to find something stuffed right down the bottom. Pack chronologically, with each layer representing the day’s use. THE SUN IS THE ENEMY: Keep your cooler in a cool, shady place as often as possible, stopping the heat buildup from the sun to penetrate into the cooler and raise the interior temperatures. If you want to be really pedantic, sitting on the cooler isn’t the best idea either, as heat transfer from your body can do the same thing. Just have to stop forgetting the extra camp chair!
etimes a coolers is som Carrying two for high frequency use, e good idea, on r long term storage. r fo and the othe
The cooler was inve nted by Richard C. Laramy, an America n from Joliet, Illinoi s on the 24th of Februa ry, 1951. Originally called the ‘portable ice chest for storing foods and the like’, the cooler now goes by a variety of names , like Ice Box, Ice Chest, Esky and Chill y Bin.
ICE ON TOP: After you have smartly packed the cooler with your cold contents, then put the ice on top. Cold air will travel down, distributing the cold in the best possible manner, and making your ice last longer.
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Continued
Keeping Your Cool TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COOLER
Mr 4X4’ Pat Callinan
What to look for when buying a cooler
TO DRAIN OR NOT TO DRAIN: there is plenty of discussion around this polarising topic. Bring it up around a campfire, and you will have most certainly evoked a long discussion about layman’s thermodynamics, thermal mass, melting and freezing points, and how it all relates back to cold beer. Our advice? Keep the cold water in, only drain it out if it is affecting the content of your freezer or you are topping up the ice supplies.
In terms of quality, a little bit of extra money can go a long way when buying a cooler.
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CALL IN THE REINFORCEMENTS: If the opportunity presents itself, top up your cooler as often as possible, so it stays as cold as possible. Consider using ‘gel’ ice packs as well in lieu of some of the ice, which can last longer than ice, and won’t need draining after melting.
THIRST FOR FROSTBITE
Stay fresh this summer with our huge range of Frostbite coolers and iceboxes
from $14.99ea. START SHOPPING
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Free Camping Tips PAT GIVES US HIS TOP 5 FREE CAMP SPOTS AROUND AUSTRALIA
T
he scourge of paid camping is certainly getting its bureaucratic grip across Australia’s campsite. But there are still some good tricks (all legal mind you!) to save a buck while bunking down.
One
1) ULURU While getting to Uluru isn’t cheap, it’s on just about everyone’s bucket list. The problem is, once you get there you will likely find that you have to camp in the allocated caravan park and pay top dollar. Some of the local food prices are also high so our tip is to stop off at Curtin Springs Wayside Inn & Cattle Station on the Lasseter Highway, about 50km east of Uluru. Camping here is free, but you can pay for a powered site if you want. And the food is reasonably priced. Plus, when we were there, there were pet animals like Emus cruising the camp – cool.
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3) SAND DUNE ANYONE? If you like your adventures remote, then you’ll find a bunch of almost free camping in the Simpson Desert. I say ‘almost’, because you will have to pay for your Desert Parks Pass to access the Simpson Desert. But once you’ve got that, you can roam to your hearts content and camp on or beneath any damn dune you like. A gentle warning though – Dalhousie Springs campground in peak season (that’s any school holidays) is very, very busy. If you want to camp here to experience the hot artesian springs, you’re best to aim to land around midday to be safe. Otherwise, you might find yourself camping in the overflow carpark.
Two 2) TASMANIAN EAST COAST A distinct lack of population affords Taswegians the opportunity to camp just about anywhere. Want ocean views watching schools of fish dancing in the morning light? Check. Want crystal clear water and golden sands? Check. Well for that, you’ll need to explore the far north western corner of Tasmania. Sure, the area around the Freycinet Peninsula and Bay of Fires is spectacular and all that, but the secret is out, so you have to pay for it. But up on the far north west at places like Little Musselroe Bay and Cape Portland, you might just scam them all to yourself. And all for FREE!
Three
Five Camps Australia Wide
Four 4) VICTORIAN HIGH COUNTRY Every visit to the Victorian High Country should include a visit to the historic town of Dargo. And just 10 minutes’ drive up the road is Ollie’s Jump up, perched on the banks of the Dargo River. It’s a great campsite year-round, and if you’ve got a kayak or canoe, a great place to test your skills – at no charge!
5) STATE FORESTS (MR4X4.259)
Saving money when you pitch camp by picking a free spot is definitely a great feeling. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of those free or cheap sites on the road, it’s a good idea to have a copy of Camps Australia Wide handy, which has over 3,900 free and cheap campsites around Australia listed!
National Parks have all sorts of facilities, often free firewood and of course staff to keep an eye on things. State Forests don’t. So while they might not be quite so pristine, most State Forests offer free unrestricted camping. This can be quite liberating, particularly if you’re towing a trailer or have a big group. The ability to camp in the ‘best spot’ as opposed to the one that’s roped off for you to use, is the way it should be. Just be sure to leave the area in as good or better condition than the way you found it, so you don’t ruin it for the future.
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NATURE’S Supermarket
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Driving Your Dollar IDEAS AND TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY ON THE ROAD
W
e all love spending time out and about, searching for that perfect spot away from home and work. Here are some tips to drive your dollar further, meaning you can spend more time out there. SOURCING FIREWOOD The sort of prices that service stations and camping areas charge for wood fuel is outright highway robbery sometimes, and can take a serious chunk out of your camping budget. A great way to beat this is to organise your timber supplies early. If you don’t have any at home you can nab, make a diversion through a state forest on
the way to grab some. It’s a great way to include a bit of adventure along the way, and see some different parts of the countryside. It’s worth making a quick call to the local State Forest authority to check on the legalities, but anything already lying down is usually fair game. Collecting timber offcuts is a great way of bolstering supplies, and briquettes can work well with timber to get a good cooking heat going.
of camping. Groups can share camping gear and cooking responsibilities, and if everyone pitches in the costs do go down. Catering one night for a larger group doesn’t cost much more than for a couple or small family, and you can be waited upon the other nights! WATCH YOUR SPEED
It might sound like a little thing, but lowering your speed a little bit whilst on the road goes a long way to CAMP IN GROUPS reducing running costs. When there Camping is a great social experience, are two lanes, and you aren’t backing and a good crowd around you can up traffic into the horizon, knocking turn your average trip into something about 10-15 kilometres per hour much more memorable. Another great will make your running much more benefit of this is offsetting the costs efficient. Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed. Doubling your speed increases your drag by four times, and so on. The only way that this can be appreciated is if you are not in a hurry; get off the highway, find some back roads, and enjoy the scenery!
MORE FUEL SAVING TIPS: »» »» »» »»
Accelerate slowly Check your tyre pressures Selecting the right gear Using cruise control
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Continued
Driving Your Dollar IDEAS AND TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY ON THE ROAD
Wetting A Line
BEACH FISHING
A Basic Tackle Box
Fishing is one of Australia’s favourite pastimes, and a great way to enjoy the outdoors. By the time you have made an investment in some basic gear, fishing also becomes a very cost effective pastime. What’s more, if you land something, you can have a deliciously fresh free dinner!
There’s nothing more idyllic than fishing off the beach, with waves crashing and the sun dipping, hoping to catch yourself some dinner. You’ll need a big rod to cast into the right areas, and a variety of weights at hand to suit the surf conditions. Try to cast into gutters and channels, where fish will conglomerate whilst they are also looking for dinner. Tailor and Australian Salmon are a common catch, while the esteemed Mulloway (or Jewfish) is prized fish amongst fishos. Flathead, Snapper and Bream can also be targeted with different rigs and baits on the beach, and are lovely eating when fresh.
»» »» »» »» »» »» »» »»
ESTUARY FISHING Bays and estuaries, typically found along a majority of Australia’s coastlines, are a great place to wet a line. Aside from looking beautiful, they can typically bag you some delicious fish. Bream and Flathead are usually quite prevalent, with other fish like Whiting and Leatherjacket also on offer. Try to target channels, drop-offs and weed beds, as they can prove to be popular hangouts for fish. Berleying isn’t a bad idea to increase the chance of a strike, but the most important thing is patience!
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Extra fishing line Knife Needle Nose Pliers Floaters Sinkers Swivels Hooks Bait
Extra things to consider
»» »» »» »»
First aid kit Flashlight A bucket or two Scent-free soap (so you don’t scare the fish) »» Sunscreen »» Insect repellent
Basic Risotto
BUDGET-FRIENDLY, CAMP OVEN RISOTTO Serves: 6 Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
»» 2 brown onions, finely chopped
»» 8 cups chicken, beef
»» 2 cups short-grain rice
»» or vegetable stock
»» ½ cup dry white wine
»» (make with stock powder or cubes)
»» ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
»» ½ block (125g) butter
METHOD Heat up the stock so it is hot when you need to use it. Using a metal spoon, in a large, heavy pot or deep pan (camp oven), melt half the butter over low/medium heat. Add in the onion and sauté until soft and lightly browned. Pour in the dry rice and stir for a minute until it is coated in the butter. Add the wine and cook, stirring until it’s absorbed. Add two cups of the stock and cook, stirring until almost absorbed. Add another two cups of stock and cook, stirring until almost absorbed. Add remaining stock and simmer for
5-10 minutes until all the stock is absorbed. The rice should be very soft and moist. Gently mix in the remaining butter and Parmesan cheese with a fork, being careful not to break up the grains. Serve hot, with extra Parmesan on top, and some crusty bread. VARIATIONS You can basically add anything you like when you add the butter and Parmesan cheese. Some suggestions include: – Shredded, cooked chicken; – Shredded ham; – Cooked vegetables of your choice; – Chopped tomato with a teaspoon of dried basil and a splash of lemon juice.
Ray’s Outdoors inspries and enables everyday Australians to make the most of the outdoors. Whatever the activity, Ray’s has everything you need to make the outdoors yours.
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