Friday, 11 September 2015

Camping in Summer Vs Camping in Winter



In our short six month holiday we have been from this...




to this....





Our hottest night was in Daly Waters, Northern Territory, where the night time temperature was still above 30 degrees. We slept in singlets and knickers and had all the windows rolled up and wet washers over our faces. 

Our coldest night was in Glenrowan, Victoria, where the night time temperature was minus 3 degrees. We slept in flannel PJS with a jumper over the top. Sleeping bags and doonas and blankets and hot water bottles and the heater going all night. 

Having camped in both extremes I thought I would write this post on the pros and cons of camping in the hot and camping in the cold. 


SUMMER

Swimming

Obviously camping is much more fun when you can enjoy activities such as swimming and laying by the pool. The biggest pro for summer camping is being able to enjoy water activities. The kids LOVE the beach and love swimming pools and could easily spend all day swimming around. 

Icecream

One of our favourite things to do as a family is to go for a walk. And then we sometimes stop and get an ice-cream! a summer favourite and a camping treat. Icecream loses its appeal when the weather is freezing!

Washing

Ahhhhh how easy to wash a few summer dresses by hand and hang them on the line in the hot sun to dry in an hour. Hand washing when camping can save us HEAPS of money. And using the sun to dry our clothes instead of a dryer can also help save coins. 

Smaller Suitcases

In summer you can get away with a dress, a few pairs of shorts bathers t shirts and a nightie. Summer clothes are obviously much lighter than winter woolies, meaning the suitcases are much lighter and easier to pack for a summer holiday. 

Health

Kids and us adults are less likely to pick up colds and flus in the warmer months. Both of which can be horrid when you are camping and have a snotty sickly person in the family!

Early to rise

When it is hot it is early to rise for us in the camper. Meaning you can be packed up and on the road by 8am if you have a big day of driving ahead! 



WINTER 

Cheaper caravan parks

In winter often parks put out all sorts of specials such as stay two nights get a third free. This can be a real saving when staying for long periods of time in caravan parks. 

Less People

The caravan parks and tourist attractions are always less packed in winter. Meaning we quite often have playgrounds, campers kitchens, campers lounges and ablution blocks all to ourselves! And the tourist attractions are much more enjoyable when there isn't a thousand people around.

Camp Fires

There is something about a cool night and having a deliciously warm fire to sit next to. Lots of places have total fire bans in summer meaning you can often only enjoy a fire in the winter months. 

Sleep

I don't know about you guys, but I sleep much better snuggled under my donna in winter than I do when I am laying on top of the covers with all the windows up trying to get cool.

Fruit and Veg


We only have a 40L engel fridge so it is hard to keep lots of food fresh. In winter we put all our fruit and veg in a tub and sit it in the back of the car and because it isn't hot it keeps fine for a week or more. 

Creepy Crawlies and reptiles

We have found in the winter months there are hardly any mosquitoes or flies and no snakes! Meaning I am not so paranoid when I am walking to the toilet block at 1am! I remember nearly wanting to go home when we were in the hot places and our camper was full of stinking flies and mozzies so the cooler weather and their absence was very welcoming. 



Camping is mostly about the outdoors, so we enjoy it best when we have perfect weather. Perfect being about 25-30 degrees and clear skies with just a  gentle breeze. Living in a camper trailer for the last five months, all over Australia, and in lots of different weather conditions, I have learnt that we can handle the hot weather and the cold weather quite fine. It is the rain for long periods of time and strong winds that makes things difficult in our canvas home! 



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