Frist time camping

Aww thats awesome!!
I love camping. Best way to see NZ and Cheap!

I have a BIG (BIG BIG BIG) List.... you won't need it all. Are you staying in a camping ground that has a communal kitchen/bathroom etc?

Ohh yay you will have so much fun. I'm like you and had never really been camping except for a few drunken trips as a teenager. But we took the kids to Twizel last Christmas and it was so much fun. I'll put down what I think but others might add to it:

Tent
Airbed
Blankets for the beds (I preferred sheets and a duvet rather than a sleeping bag)
Togs
A few towels
Chairs (one each)
Chilli bin
A few 2L bottles to fill up with water if your camped a wee way away from a tap
Outdoor games for James (a bike, ball etc)
Sunblock and insect repellant
plastic bags for dirty clothes

Um thats all I can think of for now

Tent
Airbed
Blankets for the beds (I preferred sheets and a duvet rather than a sleeping bag)
Togs
A few towels
Chairs (one each)
Chilli bin
A few 2L bottles to fill up with water if your camped a wee way away from a tap
Outdoor games for James (a bike, ball etc)
Sunblock and insect repellant
plastic bags for dirty clothes
Gas cook top with canisters (if your not going to a campsite with communal kitchen)
Pack of cards/boardgames
Torch (for walking to the loo)
A good book

Which camp site are you going to in wanaka?

What does everyone do about water? We'll take 2L bottles for drinking etc, but how do I fill a container as a baby bath? Or do I just not?

My mum got a big 54lt fishing bin that we use to bath DS in when we are visiting her, so maybe you could get one of those and during the day use it for dishes or storage.

It can get kinda cold down there during the night so I second the hotties and blankets. Also if you don't want to be caught running around in your dressing gown then having a jumper or something to throw on when making a midnight toilet run would be handy.

Oh and a chilli bin for keeping things cool and a marker pen for putting you name e.t.c on food if you want to keep it in a communal fridge.

We're campers here too (although haven't tried it since we had kids)..We are very well organised though with a huge list of things we usually take.

One of my best tips, something we ALWAYS do..is instead of taking ice cubes to keep food cold in your chilly bin, go and get some dry ice! This will keep things cold for days on end, so you can eat meat, bacon and have cold drinks without worrying the ice is melted away a day after you get there!
You have to keep some separation between the dry ice and the food though, because it will freeze if it's bang on top of it. I usually insulate our huge chilly bin with dry ice along the bottom and side and put some towels/cardboard around it.. this makes it more like a fridge than a freezer. (Although in saying that, you can keep ice-blocks next to it..just don't lick it immediately after or you'll lose your tongue haha).

I should add, this applies if you're roughing it..rather than going to campsite with a kitchen with fridge, toilets etc.. haha

I shall have a look for my list..

Edited by pepsi

peachy wrote: Flake wrote: What does everyone do about water? We'll take 2L bottles for drinking etc, but how do I fill a container as a baby bath? Or do I just not? Buy a small cheap inflatable pool from The Warehouse, works a treat as a baby bath

I second this. Its what we used last year and a solar shower bag thingy and just showered him over the bath or filled it with water at the start ofthe day and by night it was warmish.

Hope2Be wrote: Pepsi that is a great idea re: dry ice. Where do you get that from though??

The general public can buy it from companies like Air Liquide or BOC Gases..They are not like a store you can just walk into or anything, but if you rang beforehand to arrange it then you should be able to do so :)

Definately jandals for the showers. They are great for all over the camp site and you can just wash them off to clean them up.
Also definately some insect repellent!!!
Torches and a light of some sort are handy also. You can get cheap portable lights from lots of places.

Have had my camping list sitting on the bench for the past few days and started up-dating it today. I came home to find whisk had a "y" added by one of the teenagers - oh how times have changed.

Some things I've found great are:

A mat of some sort to wipe your feet on before entering the tent - great for wet weather.

Bathmats for the shower (old ones or those rag ones).

Roasting dish for cooking in the communal oven.

Brush & shovel - it's amazing how much stuff gets dragged into the tent.

Tarpaulines - great for sun shade and cover from the rain.

Games and playing cards (and plenty of books/magazines).

Bucket - great for soaking stuff and there's usually someone sick at some stage (tends to go through campsites like wildfire - or sometimes self inflicted).

Pegs for hanging out the washing and/or clothes horse (great for putting in the tent to dry clothes if the weather looks dodgy when you go out for the day.

Have fun!