Long driving trip - what to pack?

[Folcwigga]

I'm down in Australia at the moment and planning to do a driving tour of the continent, essentially a giant loop around the outside edges. I'll be visiting some of the national parks and doing some of the tours - hiking, kayaking, etc - but expect the stuff here to be taken care of by the guides. What i'm more interested in is what i should be packing with me on the drive. I'll be camping out a fair bit, plan to do some swimming/surfing occasionally as well, and long stretches of the journey will be very remote. I want to take enough stuff so that i'll be fairly comfortable when i'm camped out, and also safe as possible should i breakdown or end up stuck out there for a few days. I've drawn up a short preliminary list, but really i'm just after any ideas or advice the good people on here can send my way.

 

[markie*mark0]

Whatever the amount if water you've listed.... Double it.

 

[roger-uk]

Whatever the amount if water you've listed.... Double it.

and then double it again.

When in the outback fill up at every filling station you come across.

 

[Andy BB]

...satphone?

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Russell Coight's outback survival guide.

 

[Cogola]

Whatever the amount if water you've listed.... Double it.

... and make sure to carry it in a number of separate containers just in case one gets a hole in it.. not all your eggs in one basket and all that.
"Aids to survival" put out by the WA police has a good list of suggested basics for outback travel. It can be downloaded from this forum or more recent versions can be found with a simple internet search.

 

[Lyope]

I'm dead jealous - that sounds like an awesome trip. If you're camping by a billabong, you're definitely going to need to get yourself a swag!

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97202&highlight=swag

(Disclaimer - not mine, I just covet it...)

 

[Folcwigga]

I looked at some swags in a camping shop but apparently they're pretty premier items over here as the prices were sky high. So i'm settling with a tent and sleeping bag instead. For water i've got a 10 litre container in the boot plus a 1l bottle i'll have with me in the car. I'm also gonna put a 20 litre jerry can of spare petrol in the back, plus cooking gear, tent, sleeping system, toiletries bag, clothes and various sundries.

...satphone?

Good idea, but getting one of those would take a big chunk out of the money i've got for my trip.

... and make sure to carry it in a number of separate containers just in case one gets a hole in it.. not all your eggs in one basket and all that.
"Aids to survival" put out by the WA police has a good list of suggested basics for outback travel. It can be downloaded from this forum or more recent versions can be found with a simple internet search.

Cheers. I found it online and a brief skim it looks like common sense, and i'll have a proper read of it later.

 

[Andy BB]

10 litres of water? For a trip through the Outback? Good luck with that! I think you'll need to up that considerably...

Big clear plastic bags for gathering transpiration water from leaves on trees (although check if the trees are poisonous first!)

 

[bearbait]

You may be able to hire a satphone for your trip.

And watch out for crocs at the billabongs, particularly dawn and dusk. I was advised to take my water from the billabong from a different place every time as the crocs are quick to spot a regular pattern.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

from the 4wdrive peeps

Outback Travel.

Equipment Suggestions for Off Road Trips.

This list is not exhaustive and certainly not authoritative. It has been put together using suggestions from Police, Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), offroad journals, other offroad drivers and our own experiences and requirements. We are biased towards diesel vehicles and our own knowledge of petrol / gas engines is by result negligible.

I will break the list into segments: (1) Spare parts and tools. (2) Recovery gear. (3) Camping gear. (4) Other items - including long distance travelling with children.

Section 1 (spare parts and tools).
A - Tools
Sockets and spanners (open and ring) to fit the nuts on your vehicle. You don't need a full set of metric and A/F spanners.

Spark plug spanner for petrol engines.
Adjustable spanners - small and large.
Locking wrench
Combination pliers.
Long nose pliers
Set of screw drivers - flat and Phillip's head.
Small hammer.
Cold chisel.
Rivet gun and selection of rivets.
Hacksaw
Crimping tool and assorted connectors
Soldering Iron (12 volt) and solder.
G clamp
Filter wrench
Jack and base board (40 cm square for use in soft sand)
Wheel brace
Air compressor or Tyre pump
B - Spare Parts
Full set of alternator, air conditioning and power steering belts.
Radiator hoses- top and bottom (+ worm drive clamps to fit)
Length of fuel pipe.
Length of heater hose
Assorted fuses to fit your vehicle - check manual or fuse box to see requirements
Fuel filter ( inc. In-line filter if twin tanks)
Oil filter.
Wheel nuts and studs.
Two complete spare wheels. + 2 heavy duty tubes.
Puncture repair kit and tyre levers, valve tool, valve caps.
Spare valve stems if tubeless tyres
Bead breaker.
Light globes.
Set of points, spark plugs and ignition coil for petrol engines.
Distributor cap- petrol.
Gasket goo.
WD40 spray.
Hand cleaner and rags.
Wheel bearings and seals.
Assorted nuts, bolts and screws.
Loctite, Superglue and silicon gel
Radiator stop leak
Muffler bandage
Engine oil, gear box oil .
Plastic emergency windscreen
Two spare ignition keys kept on person!
Work shop manual.
2 - Recovery Equipment
A good shovel - long handled makes life easier.
9 meter snatch strap - from reputable supplier (Opposite Lock, A.R.B., O.R.E.)
D or Bow shackles- These MUST be rated by D.O.I. to at least 3.5 tons
Tow points front and rear.
Axe
Winches, Hi-lift jacks and related equipment are useful. One member of the convoy should be so equipped.
Radio - UHF CB (AM/SSB second option) for short distance communication only. H.F. radio should be carried by one convoy member.
Fire extinguisher- an absolute must.
Good torch
Jump leads - good quality.
Overalls and gloves.
Syphon hosing for water.
Tie downs
3 - Camping Equipment.
A - Accommodation.
Sleeping bags- rated for the area to be travelled (we find -2C to be suitable for most areas).We pack all sleeping bags in a kit bag for ease of loading.

Small tent or swag. (Big tents take a long time to erect and pack up. Fine if staying in one place for several nights - but a nuisance if moving regularly.) Quality is of importance. The tent must be waterproof!! Good to have one for the kids - and one for yourselves.

Pillows - small down pillows are available. They save space and pack in with the sleeping bags.

Chamois towels dry easily and take up minimal space. Carry one big towel for swimming.

Mosquito net
Spare blanket if you feel the cold.
Small chairs - with strength.
Tarpaulin and two tent poles - (with ropes and pegs) makes a sun shade for lunch breaks, repairs etc.
Table if you need one.
Lighting - Recharge lanterns are preferable.
Mozzie coils.
B - Cooking.
Gas stove and cylinder - some areas ban open fires.
Billy cans and kettle
bar-b-q plate
Camp-oven
Oven glove.
Cooking irons - tongs, barbiemate, fork etc
Fry-pan
Plates. Bowls, cups etc.
Chopping board and knife
Mixing bowl.
Sieve
Washing up bowl - Our crockery container doubles as a wash bowl.
Cigarette lighter and lighter fuel -- you can start a fire easier.
Matches
Fire lighters.
Washing up liquid and sponge.
Tea towels.
Soda bicarbonate- to clean burnt pans.
Alfoil
Gladwrap
Heavy duty rubbish bags and a few carry bags. The latter make good
over-night rubbish bins.
Clothes line, pegs. Washing powder.
Food - Remember interstate quarantine regulations affecting fruit, vegies and fruit boxes. As required. Remember tins are heavy. Desiccated food requires water. Frozen meals require a fridge. Vacuum packed meat can be arranged via a good butcher. Always carry 2 days spare food and water. If in trouble help can take a long time coming. We find it helps to pack breakfast items together and evening meal items together. It saves rummaging through boxes in the dark. Square containers pack easier than round. Items like flour are best put in 'decor' type containers. They are less likely to burst!! Glass is heavy and fragile, try packing sauces etc. in plastic bottles.
A.R.B. do folding plastic crates, they work well but don't settle for the lighter imitations - they break.
Water container 20l. to fetch and purify water.
4 -- Other Items
A - Survival.
The R.F.D.S. produce an excellent booklet on survival in the Outback. It is available from good camping stores and the Perth Map Centre on Hay Street.

We all carry a small survival kit comprising:-
1. pocket knife
2. compass
3. whistle
4. 2 Micropur tablets
5. band aids
6. water bottle
7. space blanket.
Carry 20 litres of water in the vehicle for emergency use.

Carry a good first aid kit (St. John's style) and a book on how to use it. Read the book before you travel.

 

[Folcwigga]

10 litres of water? For a trip through the Outback? Good luck with that! I think you'll need to up that considerably...

Big clear plastic bags for gathering transpiration water from leaves on trees (although check if the trees are poisonous first!)

I'm not driving through the outback. Apart from the section from Darwin to Brisbane i'll be relatively near the coast and on motorways or highways that see a decent amount of traffic (several cars a day at least). I'm not going to be taking perspiration off of trees. It's not a bushcraft holiday, i'll be sleeping in towns a fair bit as well. The kit question is more about comfort and to make sure i haven't overlooked anything vital if i do break down and have to hang around for a few days.

You may be able to hire a satphone for your trip.

And watch out for crocs at the billabongs, particularly dawn and dusk. I was advised to take my water from the billabong from a different place every time as the crocs are quick to spot a regular pattern.

Hiring costs about $150 (£100) a week minimum from the sites i looked at. Good tip about the billabong, where did you get that advice?

from the 4wdrive peeps

Outback Travel.

Equipment Suggestions for Off Road Trips.

I'll be "on road" for nearly all of it, and when i do go off road it will only be on very good dirt tracks, so most of this list is excessive for me. The first aid kit is permanently in my toiletry bag whenever i go away.

 

[santaman2000]

Will you be alone or with family. If traveling with kids, don't forget something to keep them occupied.

 

[Andy BB]

I'm not driving through the outback. Apart from the section from Darwin to Brisbane i'll be relatively near the coast and on motorways or highways that see a decent amount of traffic (several cars a day at least)./QUOTE]

Fair enough - I must have been misled by your OP opening para "I'll be camping out a fair bit, plan to do some swimming/surfing occasionally as well, and long stretches of the journey will be very remote"

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

ah i see. Its just you stated remote areas and being prepared for breakdowns. Sounds like a basic packlist then if your not going far from civilisation. Just extra water and rations in case you get stuck till the AA come

Tamarack have a good packlist on their website

http://www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/Blog.asp?ItmID=11434&Title=Mikes+Kit+List

 

[Andy BB]

Don't under-estimate the heat though. I once drove down from Brisbane to Sydney one Christmas, and the wife and I got through huge quantities of water. Mind you, the fact that the aircon was broken in the car might have had something to do with it...........

 

[cbr6fs]

Sounds like an absolutely fantastic trip, i'm really jealous.

I do think your underestimating your water needs dramatically though.
In summer here in Greece i always keep at least 6 litres of water in case of a breakdown.

I made a mistake with my MX5 and used the incorrect bolts on the supercharger pulley, these snapped on what is effectively the equivalent of a motorway here.

It only took 20 mins for the first assistance to arrive, but that was only a car with no means to move the Mazda.
I then waited another 3 hours for the tow truck to arrive, who then could only remove me off the motorway, i then had to wait another 2 hours for another tow truck to take the car to the garage.



I had 6 litres of water in the car and used it all up and would have paid 500 quid for another litre.

All this was within the outer boundaries of Athens, about 6 miles from my home.

I couldn't walk to a shop in case i missed the tow truck PLUS the car was left in a pretty dodgy area so i didn't want to leave it.
On the first wait i couldn't even wait in the shade of the car as it was on the hard shoulder, so i had to sit behind the barrier right in the direct midday sun.
This was at the end of October as well so it was only in the mid to high 20c's, if it happened in the middle of August in the mid to high 40c's i'd want as much water as i could fit in my boot.

If it was me in Australia then i would fill up every space cm of space with water.

My MX5 needs 6 litres of coolant, if your in the middle of nowhere and your radiator springs leak or a coolant pipe pops off, i'd want enough water onboard to refill the cooling system AND enough for say 3 days.

 

[Cogola]

If you're going to be doing any walking in forested areas away from the 'burbs don't forget to take some vegemite. A couple of dabs behind the ears will keep the drop bears away.

 

[rik_uk3]

Without a doubt one of these
http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Spot_Sat...undle=168366&gclid=CNbUk_WK6rICFcfKtAodiAsA1g
Push the button and wait for help.

 

[bearbait]

I can't accurately recall the source of the croc and billabong advice - it's been about 17 years since I was there but it was probably a Ranger or camp site Warden. The advice is good as I had a very scary "moment" with a croc in a billabong at dawn collecting water.

If you're doing dirt roads in hire a car make sure you're insured for dirt roads. If you see a big cloud of dust some way ahead of you on a dirt road it's probably a road train heading towards you so slow down and pull over as far to the left (if they still drive on the correct side of the road) as you can. Those road trains are monstrous and take no prisoners. The dirt roads are often heavily corrugated so you need to drive fast enough for the shock absorbers to take the punishment out of the distance (time) you have to travel and the corrugations in the roads - something around 60-80 kph - but try to keep traction on for the bends. You'll work it out after an hour or two. The cops do check for drink driving way out in the bush on the dirt roads - not that any of us do that any more. And there are (were) restrictions about moving some foodstuffs (generally fruit and veg) between states, but you'll have to check that on the ground.

I was mostly driving in Queensland and the Northern Territory and most of the camp sites seemed to permit fires. I'd start looking out for firewood from the road 2-3 hours before intending to camp and picking bits up as I drove. There's a tree called the Paper Bark Tree - slightly resembling the UK's Silver Birch. The bark from that comes off in very thin sheets (clue in the name!) and is good for helping start your fire.

Get yourself a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet guide to Oz, or the bits you are going to visit in detail. As far as I'm concerned there are no other travel guides really worthy of pack space for anywhere (on this planet). You can get them on Kindle - not quite as convenient as the books but much lighter and they still work well (apart from the maps).

I remember my time in Oz fondly and, as Arnie says, "I'll be back"...