Camping remote ideas/gear

[Troyus]

Going shooting on a station remotely in the desert in a few weeks to shoot donkeys. I have not been this remote before but thankfully my shooting partner has.
We are taking our camper trailer with 80L, seperate bottle of water and some containers. 2 spare tyres and a gps.

Anything else for safety? do we need to hire a sat phone?

More interestingly, anything to make our life more comfortable around camp? Oh and what sort of long sleeve shirts should I buy to be cool and protected from the sun?
Cheers

[womble]

Ideally you will have uhf with a decent aerial.
And a plb.
A good First aid kit with a snake bite tourniquet.
Multi tool. Head torch. Tape. Rope. Cable ties. Power bank/jump starter, lighters.
And some nice hats.
But basically just be sensible. Don’t have to drive fast just because you can etc. don’t make mistakes, they can be unforgiving. Stay with the vehicle if it breaks down. Have everything you may need on your person whenever you leave the camp or vehicle.
And don’t forget to brush your teeth.

[TassieTiger]

More water...more food.
Comms x 2 x spare batts.
Oh - and a car door...so you can wind down the window if it gets too hot.

[Blr243]

I. Have done some. Remote stuff solo on cape York. Back too u. Later. Gotta go to work

[animalpest]

Going remote without reliable comms is a disaster waiting to happen. EPIRB and/or sat phone.

Plan for all emergencies and contingencies, then it will only be the timing that takes you by surprise.

[GQshayne]

Fishing shirts are light and will have a SPF rating. Downside is they are not tough like a work shirt is, so gotta be careful on fences etc.

Insect repellent for when in camp. Sat phone and a PLB is a great idea if you are in the boonies.

[Faedy]

See if you can att a 120l rubbish bin (small wheely bin) to rear of trailer - so damn handy.
battery drill and selection of tek screws

[on_one_wheel]

A big pack of baby wipes.
You can keep clean head to toe for weeks like that.
Just make sure you don't litter with the used wipes, keep them in a rubbish bag or burn them in your camp fire.

[womble]

+one on the baby wipes. Because you will be drenching yourself in insect repellant.

Fuel is a big deal too. You won’t be accustomed to keeping a close eye on it and knowing where they closest reserve of it is and if that station is actually manned and operational.
You will burn through it keeping donkeys down wind.
If you don’t have an auxiliary tank then you need to carry extra.

[JimTom]

Mate you can get excited and take enough stuff to accommodate every conceivable contingency however you will need a semi.
In addition to the standard stuff you will need, food, plenty of water, suitable shelter etc, take safety gear, ie, PLB or similar, med kit etc.
Toolkit and a few spares for things that may go wrong, ie electrical problems, perhaps a spare fuel filter, some recovery gear incase you get bogged.

[Farmerpete]

How long are you going for? the amount of water for two people in a desert environment seems light for anything over a week.

[Blr243]

One day Cunnamulla mid summer I’m cruisering along in my quad next to a fence on my way to a dam to Check for pigs and the rear wheel of my quad came off The bike went chaos And slammed me into a fence so hard I had to pull my foot out of my boot to escape ...fortunately even though I was 15 k from civilisation I had ice cold Ribena mixed with Soda water It was amazeing and kept my spirits up despite my dilemma....after re fittin the wheel I used wire wrapped around the axel to form a makeshift nut. And it got me home. In summer I carry water in as many as ten small containers in my qwuadbike in case some accidentally get punctured. Anything can happen anywhere. Another time I got in trouble in summer up cape York. It was the only time in my life I came close to thinking I might lose my life ..I don’t mind saying I was a little bit scared with water running low. In a vehicle u can always drive to find water But with no vehicle u can Easily Overheat and die while walking looking for water

[JimTom]

One day Cunnamulla mid summer I’m cruisering along in my quad next to a fence on my way to a dam to Check for pigs and the rear wheel of my quad came off The bike went chaos And slammed me into a fence so hard I had to pull my foot out of my boot to escape ...fortunately even though I was 15 k from civilisation I had ice cold Ribena mixed with Soda water It was amazeing and kept my spirits up despite my dilemma....after re fittin the wheel I used wire wrapped around the axel to form a makeshift nut. And it got me home. In summer I carry water in as many as ten small containers in my qwuadbike in case some accidentally get punctured. Anything can happen anywhere. Another time I got in trouble in summer up cape York. It was the only time in my life I came close to thinking I might lose my life ..I don’t mind saying I was a little bit scared with water running low. In a vehicle u can always drive to find water But with no vehicle u can Easily Overheat and die while walking looking for water

Totally agree mate, I hunt NQ and yes the most important thing you will take is sufficient water. I have 20Lt on the Ute as a matter of course, and never go out of view of the vehicle unless I have water on me.

[Blr243]

I usually have two green army bottles on my belt as I walked. Long interment dry creeks. I would cool down whenever I needed to and drink when necessary. Topping up my bottles as required ....mostly because I don’t want to carry Too much weight I have only one bottle full , but I remember getting a fright one day because I was not finding water ...so from then on I carried two bottles just. In case ...One time I was running low aNd I found a small mudddy pool that had dead and dieing guppy fish in it. I scraped it up and put it into my empty bottles , thinking that perhaps if I got real desperate I may be able to somehow clean that up if it came to the crunch .....I knew that was desperate thinking but it was all I could find at the time. Fortunately within the next k I found good clean water and I was able to clean my bottles and top up , proceeding with confidence. And that was in August when the cape is warm but not hot ...god help anyone getting in trouble in the tropics midd summer. I found in October that drinking was not enough to lower body temp in summer. I had to dip my canteen into the creek and pour it over. My head a few times.

[on_one_wheel]

I've found camel backs the go for carrying water, they double as a backpack and make carrying large amount of water easy.

[Blr243]

I thought the baby wipes info was somebody having a joke until I googled it. Who would have thought baby wipes were cool for rermote camping trips Learn something everyday.... now I’m off to the supermarket to c what I been missin all my life

[womble]

Well any sort of cleansing wipes anti bacterial sort things really. If you can’t shower, head to toe with a pack makes you feel a lot better.

I have a fridge now, but I used to freeze water before I go, then bury the esky up to the lid in a river bed or similar in shade.

[JimTom]

Mate the cat fridge is definitely worth the effort and expense I reckon.

[JimTom]

Car fridge not cat fridge.

[Blr243]

Fridge essential. Cold Milk For my cereal. Cold refreshments when it’s hot. Very cold beer ....my ex girlfriend haas a cat fridge , she could hear constant meowing and Could not find one of her kittens. Fortunately she opened the fridge door soon enough and the kitten was ok ...it must have crawled in there unnoticed when she opened the door briefly

[Farmerpete]

Probly recommend a 12v solar set-up to run the fridge or recharge the car batteries if you need to

[Blr243]

First time I ran a fridge on solar I was over the moon. No generator...Bloody sun power making my fridge super cold in the middle of summer ....bloody amazeing , And silent

[JimTom]

I generally run my ARB fridge at camp on battery and solar panel however have one of those cheap brass monkey fridges in the car running off a duel battery. It goes pretty well for a $300 fridge.

[Diamond Jim]

cable ties, super glue, para cord, spare spectacles if you need them. My "useful box" has all sorts of ridiculous stuff in there that people say "why did you bring that?" just before they ask to borrow it.

[Ziege]

if youre swagging it and not sleeping on a rooftop tent or camper I suggest using a stretcher, get off the ground, insects and reptiles like your bed too, take extra socks as things heat up, you need to look after your feet.

[Oldbloke]

Need to be careful running fridge off car battery. You will get away with it for a while, but eventually will get a flat battery. I just recently went to a duel battery system. Plus small solar panel as backup.

[bladeracer]

if youre swagging it and not sleeping on a rooftop tent or camper I suggest using a stretcher, get off the ground, insects and reptiles like your bed too, take extra socks as things heat up, you need to look after your feet.

I spent Friday night just lying on the ground in the bush. I was lucky that I found a rudimentary "shed" so I was out of the rain. About 2mx4m, roof and two walls sheeted with steel, so I didn't need to put up the hootchie. The noise of the rain on the steel was pretty horrendous, drowned out the mozzies though. There was a pile of hay heaped in the corner which I steered well clear of, looked like a perfect home for tiger snakes

I blouse my trousers over my boots, and my sleeves over my gloves to seal things out.
I wear heavy track pants under my trousers, they soak up sweat to help keep me cool when it's warm, and add a thick layer for a little more comfort when lying on the ground. They also make it tough for snakes to get their fangs through.
I wear a cap with a scrim net over it to keep bugs off my face and neck - the cap keeps the net away from my skin so mozzies can't land on it and drill through.
The mozzies were huge out there, too big to get through the scrim, so they just parked on it and blotted out the light
I woke with two mozzie bites, one on each wrist where my sleeves had rucked up during the night.
My "sleeping bag" is a hooded ski jacket, quite bulky but not heavy. I just strap it over the top of my day pack. The skirt, collar, sleeves and hood all cinch up tight leaving a "postbox" slit for my eyes.

I came home with one leech on my throat, but I doubt I picked that up during the night, I was a good 100m above the creek and quite dry, more likely jumped aboard while I was fording the many ankle-deep muddy wallows. Didn't find any ticks, although the landowner warned me they were out there.

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Hoping to get out again this week on another property.

One tip, I tape my muzzles with insulation tape when I go bush. Within ten minutes I slid down a steep slope covered with cape weed and buried the muzzle in the mud. Tape your muzzle!

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[bladeracer]

I've found camel backs the go for carrying water, they double as a backpack and make carrying large amount of water easy.

I prefer bladders too, bottles are bulky. I took six-litres out on Friday/Saturday and drank five of them. Friday was quite warm though.

But the Platatac one-litre square bottle with the wide opening are handy if you are collecting rainwater from a plastic sheet. Also useful to store stuff you don't want to get wet or crushed.
https://www.platatac.com/platatac-1-litre-flask-12-pack.html

[bladeracer]

I usually have two green army bottles on my belt as I walked. Long interment dry creeks. I would cool down whenever I needed to and drink when necessary. Topping up my bottles as required ....mostly because I don’t want to carry Too much weight I have only one bottle full , but I remember getting a fright one day because I was not finding water ...so from then on I carried two bottles just. In case ...One time I was running low aNd I found a small mudddy pool that had dead and dieing guppy fish in it. I scraped it up and put it into my empty bottles , thinking that perhaps if I got real desperate I may be able to somehow clean that up if it came to the crunch .....I knew that was desperate thinking but it was all I could find at the time. Fortunately within the next k I found good clean water and I was able to clean my bottles and top up , proceeding with confidence. And that was in August when the cape is warm but not hot ...god help anyone getting in trouble in the tropics midd summer. I found in October that drinking was not enough to lower body temp in summer. I had to dip my canteen into the creek and pour it over. My head a few times.

When I was a kid I carried two Army water bottles and filled them from the creeks as required. Now I find them bulky and prefer bladders.

I used to drink from flowing water, out in the middle and halfway down to avoid bottom silt and top floaters.
Until I drank from the Torrens river when we were riding the Adelaide hills in '06.
I was crook for weeks! Apparently all the chemicals the farmers use these days sluice into the rivers.
My three-week trip turned into nine-weeks before I was strong enough to ride home to Perth.

I carry a Life-Straw but I am still very hesitant to drink from creeks and rivers. I prefer to take way more water than I expect to need. I can dump out what I haven't used before carrying it back out. But I carry the Life-Straw as a survival back-up.

Anybody regularly use a water-filtration system in the bush?

[Blr243]

The creeks I drank from were sandy bottom cape York. Clean and pure as can be other than tannin and boars pee