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Fun camping activities for the whole family

<p>Dust off the tent and grab the sleeping bags because it is well and truly camping season! A traditional summer pursuit for many families, camping is not only great fun for all ages but a wonderful family bonding times. If you’re camping with the extended family this season, here are some activities that will engage even the most disinterested kid. Get ready for some wholesome fun that does not involve technology!</p> <p><strong>Scavenger hunt</strong></p> <p>Make it a competition so everyone, even the adults, get involved and active! As you will likely be around nature, create a nature-themed hunt. It can be as simple as collecting items like leaves of certain colours, different shaped rocks, snail shells or even spotting different types of bugs and animals. In this case, get everyone to take a photo of the item. Make sure you warn kids of things to avoid like certain poisonous or prickly plants that might be around.</p> <p><strong>Obstacle course</strong></p> <p>Create the ultimate outdoor obstacle course to challenge the whole family. It can be as easy or hard as you want so set it to accommodate all ages and activity levels in the family. Obstacles like crawling under picnic tables, skipping stones, long jumps on a beach, hanging off a branch are all options. Use what is at your campsite and race each other with the ‘losers’ having to cook dinner or collect firewood.</p> <p><strong>Nature watching</strong></p> <p>Since the whole family will be in the thick of the bush, take the time to get to know nature better! Most national parks and campsites will have brochures of types of animals and birds in the area or grab a guidebook and go bird and animal watching. Or learn about the different types of flora in the area. Just be sure to respect nature and not damage anything.</p> <p><strong>Learn new skills</strong></p> <p>A camping trip is a great time to teach the kids how to read maps and compasses (or brush up if you are rusty). Reading a map and compass is quickly becoming a lost skill but one which is still important. Make it a bit more fun by going orienteering. Create an easy compass course and see how well the family follows directions.</p> <p><strong>Cook up a treat</strong></p> <p>If you are lucky enough to have a big campfire blazing away at night don’t waste the opportunity and cook up some camp favourites. The classic damper is a great option, otherwise toasting marshmallows while sharing stories is the perfect way to unwind at night. Or you can create s’mores, an American favourite of marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between crackers.</p> <p><strong>Ghost stories</strong></p> <p>Even the most disinterested grandkids will be engrossed with a night time session of ghost stories around the campfire. Engulfed in the blackness of night with not much signs of civility, the scare factor is heightened. If nobody can think of any good ones (we recommend you have some prepared to scare everyone!) or the grandkids are too young, play the game where everyone contributes a sentence which slowly builds an often outrageous and hilarious tale.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Everything You Should Know Before Going Caravanning

<p>If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to see the country, travelling in a caravan or motorhome is an excellent way to go. In a sense, you get to take your house with you, and you can stop anywhere you want along the way. Before you hit the open road, however, it’s a wise idea to make a few preparations. Driving motorhome is different from driving most other vehicles, and being aware of those differences can make your journey safer and more enjoyable. Here are five things to keep in mind before you cruise off into the sunset.</p> <h3>1. Have your vehicle serviced and inspected</h3> <p>No matter what kind of vehicle you’re driving, you need to make sure it is roadworthy before you pull out of your driveway. Whether you own the motorhome or are renting it, always insist on a pre-trip service and full inspection. Once it gets a clean bill of health, you can pack it up and hit the road with confidence. The last thing you want is to have your long-anticipated road trip come to a premature end because of a preventable maintenance issue.</p> <h3>2. Practice driving the motorhome before you hit the road</h3> <p>Chances are you won’t have a lot of problems driving a motorhome on the highway, but navigating smaller streets can be a real challenge in such a large vehicle. Put in plenty of driving practice before you leave home and learn how to use all of your mirrors to determine your position and back the vehicle safely.</p> <h3>3. Consider installing a reversing camera</h3> <p>If your motorhome doesn’t already have one, consider installing a reversing camera. It’s a handy accessory that will make pulling into those tight parking spaces a lot easier and give you additional peace of mind. (Alternatively, if you’re traveling with passengers, you can always ask them to check behind the vehicle before you reverse.)</p> <h3>4. Be aware of handling differences when driving</h3> <p>Driving a motorhome is different from driving a car or even a full-sized utility vehicle, for that matter. The higher centre of gravity means you need to take turns wider, and the large size means you’ll need a bigger turning radius. Again, practicing ahead of time can help you get used to handling such a large vehicle. You will also need to be mindful of the wind speed as you drive. When the winds get strong, it could cause the vehicle to drift unexpectedly. Take a tighter grip on the wheel when it’s windy, and give other drivers more space.</p> <h3>5. Consider forming a convoy!</h3> <p>Chances are you’ll meet other motorhome drivers on your road trip, particularly if you’re traveling down a popular road trip route. If you are all going the same way, consider teaming up with the drivers you meet at campgrounds, local attractions and restaurants, and forming a motorhome convoy. Traveling with other drivers is fun, but it can also enhance your sense of safety: a large convoy of motorhomes will be easier for other drivers to spot.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/camping-caravanning/Everything-You-Should-Know-Before-Going-Caravanning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Top 10 worst camping mistakes and how to avoid them

<div class="slide-image" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </div> <h2>Watch out for these campsite rookie errors</h2> <p>Ah, family camping trips: the chance to commune with nature, bond with your loved ones and create lasting memories. What could go wrong? Lots, actually. Lack of planning and preparation could turn your dream holiday into a real nightmare.</p> <p>Here’s how to avoid some of the more common camping mistakes.</p> <h2>Not testing out new equipment</h2> <p>Picture this: in anticipation of the big family camp out, you invested in a deluxe portable gas barbeque.</p> <p>You’re excited to fire it up at the campsite to feed the hungry kids when you realise, all too late, that the thing doesn’t work. Uh oh.</p> <p>Failing to test out new equipment is one of the biggest mistakes that campers can make.</p> <p>With anything you take out camping, you want to make sure you know how to use it beforehand; set up a new tent in your backyard, learn how to use that BBQ and climb inside a new sleeping bag to make sure it’s big enough before you set out on your trip.</p> <h2>Storing toiletries in your tent</h2> <p>Most campers know that keeping food in your tent is an open invite for a furry friend slumber party.</p> <p>But other products may also entice critters.</p> <p>People often forget that things like toothpaste, insect repellant and soap can attract animals, so keep all personal-care products safely locked away in your car or in the same dry bag you use to store your food.</p> <h2>Arriving in the dark</h2> <p>It can be frustrating to set up camp in the dark, especially if you’re staying on an unfamiliar site.</p> <p>Try to arrive during daylight hours to give everyone a chance to find the toilet and get the lay of the land.</p> <p>Of course, arriving after dark is sometimes unavoidable (hello, long-weekend traffic).</p> <p>In those cases, try using head lamps to light the way so your hands are free to set up equipment.</p> <h2>Underestimating the weather</h2> <p>Funny thing about the weather – it rarely seems to listen to the daily forecast.</p> <p>You could look at the weather report, see that it’s beautiful and leave the raincoat at home.</p> <p>Then it starts to rain on day two and you’re stuck.</p> <p>Always pack rain gear for every member of the family and plan some rainy-day activities to keep everyone in good spirits until the storm passes.</p> <p>And don’t forget extra socks.</p> <h2>Not packing a repair kit</h2> <p>Nothing puts a dampener on a camping trip faster than a leaky tent (pun absolutely intended).</p> <p>Luckily, you packed your handy dandy repair kit, right?</p> <p>Here’s what you need:</p> <ul> <li>extra rope</li> <li>metal pole</li> <li>sleeves to reinforce bent tent poles</li> <li>sewing kit to patch up rips and tears</li> <li>roll of duct tape</li> <li>extra pair of shoelaces (in case your first pair breaks)</li> </ul> <h2>Skimping on food</h2> <p>Taking just enough food for the duration of your trip could leave you in a tight spot if something goes wrong.</p> <p>For example, let’s say you’re going on a hiking trip, someone twists their ankle and you have to stay an extra day.</p> <p>You should also have a plan B in case someone accidentally burns the pancakes or drops the sausages right into the fire.</p> <p>Pack one extra day’s worth of meals and a stash of snacks and energy bars, just in case.</p> <h2>Forgetting a first-aid kit</h2> <p>A well-stocked first-aid kit could save your trip from ending miserably at the nearest emergency room.</p> <p>Check the contents of your kit to replace expired medications and to ensure you have everything you need.</p> <h2>Keeping a messy campsite</h2> <p>It’s wonderful to spot animals in their natural habitat, but not so much fun to find them feasting on the contents of your cooler.</p> <p>Leaving food and rubbish strewn about your campsite can attract unwanted visitors and ruin the experience for everyone.</p> <p>If animals eat your food, it’s not healthy for them and could also be a problem for future campers because animals can become habituated to getting food at the campsite.</p> <p>Avoid this problem by keeping meal supplies and garbage locked away in your car, or strung up in a dry bag on a designated pole or tree.</p> <h2>Showing up without a campsite reservation</h2> <p>You probably wouldn’t show up to a hotel without a reservation and expect to get the room of your choice.</p> <p>The same goes for campsites – particularly in the busy summer months.</p> <p>Avoid disappointment by reserving your campsite well in advance.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/camping-caravanning/top-10-worst-camping-mistakes-and-how-avoid-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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LGBT+ history: the story of camp, from Little Richard to Lil Nas X

<p>Although camp is difficult to define, it probably doesn’t need much description. </p> <p>Ever since 1956 – when former teenage drag queen Little Richard began performing his tribute to anal sex, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13JNjpNW6c&amp;ab_channel=Darwinner">Tutti Frutti</a>”, while wearing a six-inch pompadour, plucked eyebrows, and eyeliner – camp has increasingly been accommodated into social acceptance and understanding. It has been adopted and adapted by celebrities including Dolly Parton, Prince, Elton John, Ru Paul, Lady Gaga, and Lil Nas X. It was the theme of the 2019 Met Gala, prompting widespread commentary about what camp is.</p> <p>Susan Sontag, whose work inspired <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2019/05/met-gala-camp-on-theme">the Met Gala Ball’s theme</a>, wrote in <a href="https://qz.com/quartzy/1419465/susan-sontags-54-year-old-essay-on-camp-is-essential-reading-to-understand-culture-in-2018/">Notes on Camp</a> (1964) that camp is about “artifice and the unnatural”, a “way of seeing the world as an aesthetic phenomenon”. Camp, Sontag continues, is “the spirit of extravagance”, as well as “a kind of love, a love for human nature”, which “relishes, rather than judges”.</p> <p>Sontag also writes, however, that the camp sensibility is “disengaged, depoliticized”, and that it emphasises the “decorative … at the expense of content”. But camp is intricately enmeshed with queerness, and is anything but disengaged and merely decorative. Rather, in subverting social norms and rejecting easy categorisation, it has a long and radical history.</p> <h2>Camp’s political beginnings</h2> <p>For many working class queer men in urban centres such as New York around the turn of the 20th century, camp was a tactic for the communication and affirmation of non-normative sexualities and genders. This was enacted at <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/george-chauncey/gay-new-york/9780786723355/">Coney Island male beauty contests</a>, <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/queens-and-queers-rise-drag-ball-culture-1920s">Harlem and Midtown drag balls</a>, and in the streets and saloons of downtown Manhattan. </p> <p>As historian George Chauncey established in his book <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2952659">Gay New York</a>, the so-called “fairy resorts” (nightclubs whose attraction was the presence of effeminate men), which sprang up downtown, established the dominant public image of queer male sexuality. This was defined by a cultivated or performed effeminacy, including make-up, falsetto, and the use of “camp names” and female pronouns. </p> <p>These men questioned gender categories, and did so by behaving “camply”. In this way, camp evolved as a visible queer signifier. It has helped some queer people, both then and since, “make sense of, respond to, and undermine”, in Chauncey’s words, “the social categories of gender and sexuality that serve to marginalise them”.</p> <p>Decades later, in late June 1969, not far from New York’s former “fairy resorts”, a group of queer and trans teenagers used camp to dramatically shift the outcome of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stonewall-riots-global-legacy-shows-theres-no-simple-story-of-progress-for-gay-rights-119257">Stonewall uprising</a>. A series of demonstrations against the closure of a popular gay bar, these protests are often credited with launching the gay rights movement. </p> <p>Facing an elite unit of armed police, the youths marshalled their campest street repertoire, joining arms, kicking their legs in the air like a precision dance troupe. They sang “We are the Stonewall Girls / We wear our hair in curls,” and called the police “Lily Law” and “the girls in blue”. Once again, camp accomplished a powerful subversion, this time of the presumed machismo and authority of the police.</p> <h2>Liking camp</h2> <p>Camp offers a critical stance that derives from the experience of being labelled deviant, highlighting the artificiality of social conventions. For the writer Christopher Isherwood, whose 1939 novel <a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/products/goodbye-to-berlin-by-christopher-isherwood">Goodbye to Berlin</a> became the darkly camp musical <a href="https://masterworksbroadway.com/music/cabaret-original-broadway-cast-recording-1966/">Cabaret</a> (1966), camp was underpinned by “seriousness”. To deploy it was to express “what’s basically serious to you in terms of fun and artifice and elegance”. </p> <p>Two of the 20th century’s campest artists, Andy Warhol and <a href="https://makeyourownbrainard.cal.bham.ac.uk/">Joe Brainard</a>, took Isherwood’s stance on camp seriously, and based much of their careers on the belief that “liking” was a valuable aesthetic. Both are famous for the camp excess of their imagery, producing work that featured multiple iterations of camp images. </p> <p>For Warhol, it was Marilyn Monroes and Jackie Kennedys. For Brainard, pansies and Madonnas. Even, in Brainard’s case, a transgressive, dramatic account of how much <a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/interviews/wonder-talking-joe-brainard-andrew-epstein/">he liked Warhol</a> , featuring the words “I like Andy Warhol” repeated 14 times. Warhol also embraced camp as a personal style, performing a theatrical effeminacy that equated to a strategic queerness designed to discomfit those among his contemporaries who held him to be “<a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/575/57574/popism/9780141189420.html">too swish</a>”.</p> <p>Warhol’s use of camp finds an echo, in the 21st century, in the work of <a href="https://theconversation.com/lil-nas-xs-dance-with-the-devil-evokes-tradition-of-resisting-mocking-religious-demonization-158586">Lil Nas X</a>, a musical artist who similarly deploys Sontag’s iteration of camp as “a mode of seduction — one which employs flamboyant mannerisms susceptible of a double interpretation”. </p> <p>His smash hit “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2Ov5jzm3j8&amp;ab_channel=LilNasXVEVO">Old Town Road</a>” (2019) is a queer country/hip-hop cross-over, whose music video is replete with sequins, tassels, chaps and choreographed dancing. Much of this was ignored by some fans who only appeared to notice Lil Nas X’s commitment to camp on the release of the video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swmTBVI83k">“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)</a>” (2021).</p> <p>Montero features the biblical Adam making out with the serpent in the Garden of Eden, before gleefully riding down a stripper pole to hell where he performs a lapdance for Satan (all characters played by Lil Nas X). Like Warhol, Lil Nas X uses a camp style to put visuals to repressive narratives and double standards. </p> <p>In particular, he claims camp transgression for black queerness, enacting, once again, a critical stance on the contradictions and condemnations that serve to marginalise those who don’t, or can’t, conform. His work confirms, in other words, that camp is much more than a quirky outfit. That it is a strategy, as much as a style.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/lgbt-history-the-story-of-camp-from-little-richard-to-lil-nas-x-174501" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

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10 vintage camping hacks every camper should know

<p>Camping out for more than a night or two can bring the same challenges – ones my own family faced all the time, back when most people lived without air conditioning. When we’re hit with crazy humidity or rainy days, I’ve had to recall my mother’s old tricks for keeping the salt from clumping, the grill clean, and much more, so we can enjoy great meals made over a crackling fire.</p> <p><strong>Create a dry box</strong></p> <p>Invest in an airtight and waterproof container to store your camping essentials. I’m talking a box of matches, a torch plus batteries, first aid supplies, a few protein bars, and any other small, must-have items. This will come in handy if you’re camping in damp or rainy conditions.</p> <p><strong>Invest in a small thermometer</strong></p> <p>Place a small stick-on thermometer inside your esky lid to ensure that the temperature inside is a food-safe 1.6-4.4C°. And if you want to upgrade your esky situation, invest in a waterproof cooler light so you can see what you’re looking for after the sun goes down.</p> <p><strong>Make your own ice packs</strong></p> <p>Keep a few empty milk containers or water bottles the weeks before you head out into the wilderness. Wash thoroughly, allow to dry, and refill with clean tap water at home. Freeze and place in your cooler to keep the contents cool but dry.</p> <p><strong>Save aluminium foil</strong></p> <p>Save that used aluminium foil! Crumple it up and store in a zip-top bag to take along. Use it to scrub down the campfire grate or grill, clean your cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, and to scrape bark off your marshmallow sticks.</p> <p><strong>Keep your salt from clumping</strong></p> <p>Take a cue from your local cafe and put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker to keep the salt flowing instead of clumping together. Using a plastic shaker with a snap-down lid is also helpful to keep moisture out and salt inside where it belongs.</p> <p><strong>Don't forget your spices</strong></p> <p>Bringing along armfuls of spices can seem inconvenient, but you still want flavour in your favourite camping meals, right? Instead, repurpose Tic-Tac containers and other small, food-safe tins and use them as makeshift spice jars. Store them in a zip-top bag or plastic tub to keep them dry.</p> <p><strong>Prep what you can in advance </strong></p> <p>Once you’re in the great outdoors, you won’t want to spend a ton of time meal prepping. Opt for no-cook meals or prep your ingredients at home before you leave. Pancake batter can be made at home, stored in a clean container or squeeze-top bottle, and kept in the esky until you’re ready.</p> <p><strong>Get creative with your fire starters</strong></p> <p>A proper campfire is made with crumpled paper, kindling and firewood, but that can be a lot to gather. Instead, you can get your fire started with some unconventional materials, like dryer lint (you can pre-portion this by stuffing it into toilet paper tubes) or even corn chips!</p> <p><strong>Bring your cast iron skillet or Dutch oven from home</strong></p> <p>Don’t fuss with multiple pots and pans when you camp or special camping cookware. Instead, bring just your cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Cast iron can withstand the elements and can be used over a propane cooktop, grill, or straight over the campfire.</p> <p><strong>Grab some bright-coloured ribbon</strong></p> <p>Stop tripping over tent tethers and running into the clothesline! Tie neon-coloured ribbon (or even fabric scraps) onto these cords to keep from getting tangled up. Use these old-school tricks and your entire outdoor experience will be way more enjoyable.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/10-vintage-camping-hacks-every-camper-should-know?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Travel Tips

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Camping tragedy as parents and 6-year-old girl killed

<p>A nine-year-old boy who was camping at an Iowa state park in the US with his parents and six-year-old sister has survived a shooting that killed the rest of his family.</p> <p>The Iowa Department of Public Safety identified the victims as Tyler Schmidt, 42; his 42-year-old wife, Sarah Schmidt; and their daughter, Lula Schmidt, all of Cedar Falls, Iowa.</p> <p>Their bodies were found in their tent early Friday at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground, about 290 kilometres east of Des Moines.</p> <p>Authorities said the suspected gunman, 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, was found dead on Friday the 22nd of July, in a wooded area of the park with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.</p> <p>Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Department of Public Safety’s division of criminal investigation says that the motive for the attack was still unknown.</p> <p>“We don’t know what led up to this, what precipitated it,” he said, adding that so far, “the investigation has not revealed any early interaction between the Schmidt family and him.”</p> <p>Adam Morehouse, brother to the victim Sarah Schmidt, said the family had no connection to Sherwin and he believed it was a “completely random act.”</p> <p>Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, who said he is a neighbour of the Schmidts, posted on Facebook on Friday the 22nd of July saying that the couple's nine-year-old son, Arlo, “survived the attack, and is safe.”</p> <p>The post did not say whether Arlo was in the tent or even at the campsite when the shootings happened, and the mayor says he doesn’t have those details. It was confirmed Arlo was on the family's camping trip, but said he didn't know the boys whereabouts at the time of the shooting.</p> <p>“He is with family and he is OK, but I have not had any interaction with him,” Morehouse said.</p> <p>“As far as I know, he was uninjured physically.”</p> <p>By the evening of Saturday the 23rd of July, more than $108,000 had flowed into a crowdfunding campaign created for Arlo.</p> <p>The page, organised by a cousin, Beth Shapiro, said: “Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can.”</p> <p>The killings prompted the evacuation of the park and campground, including a children's summer camp. After the evacuations, Sherwin allegedly was the only person unaccounted for.</p> <p>He said that during the course of the investigation, authorities learned Sherwin was armed and “that of course heightened our awareness.” Iowa allows people with permits to carry firearms virtually anywhere in the state.</p> <p>Officials did not say if Sherwin had a permit and provided no information about the firearm used to kill the Schmidts.</p> <p>It was reported that Sherwin was from La Vista, Nebraska.</p> <p>Felicia Coe, 35, of Des Moines, was at the campground Friday morning with her boyfriend and his two sons, ages 11 and 16. She said the 16-year-old went out early to go running, and she was talking with someone at the park at about 6:30 am when two park rangers dressed in helmets, vests and carrying what looked like automatic rifles told them to leave the campground.</p> <p>More law enforcement and an ambulance showed up, at the time, Coe did not know what happened. But she recalls seeing a little boy standing near the paramedics.</p> <p>“He was in his pyjamas. I distinctly remember he had one blue tennis shoe,” she said. She later saw a picture of the Schmidt family online and said she recognised the boy she saw as Arlo.</p> <p>“He’s got this really cute, floppy-curly, moppy, strawberry-blond hair that’s really distinguishable,” Coe said. “He was in these super cute little pyjamas, like a cotton T-shirt and shorts that matched. ... He was just standing there. He wasn’t crying. He wasn’t distraught. But he also wasn’t being comforted. He was just standing there by himself.”</p> <p>The Schmidts moved to Cedar Falls in 2018 and had been active in the community ever since, according to Morehouse.</p> <p><em>Image: Schmidt and Morehead families / Facebook</em></p>

News

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Top tips to camp like a pro

<p dir="ltr">No matter where you are, there’s nothing like heading into nature and setting up a tent beneath the stars.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, whether you’re heading to a local campsite or adventuring further afield to find a secluded spot to set up your tent, you’ll need to do some preparations to ensure your camping trip is as smooth as can be.</p> <p dir="ltr">For campers who may be new to the experience, Brooke Wood, a camping expert and operations manager at <a href="https://www.hipcamp.com/en-AU">Hipcamp</a>, has partnered with Toyota to share some top tips to help you prepare for your next trip to the bush.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-50bca015-7fff-148a-6454-51305d73891b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">But, before you take on any of her tips, Brooke says the most important thing to do is ensure you have the right attitude to camp.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/brooke-wood.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Brooke says having the right attitude is the most important thing to have the best camping experience. Image: Supplied</em></p> <p dir="ltr">“‘Adventure is what you make of it’ is something I tell my kids over and over again,” she says.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No two campsites are created equal and a holiday is what you make of it. Go with the right attitude and you’ll be guaranteed a great time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Without further ado, here are Brooke’s five top tips for a smooth camping trip.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Don’t forget the shovel!</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">If accessing a 4WD only property, don't forget to take recovery tracks and a shovel. If you're a beginner, park your vehicle in a safe spot and have a reccie on foot to check whether it's in your capability to tackle it. I've done this many times (and proceeded on down!). Slow and steady wins the race. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Keep things cool</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Invest in a good quality esky to keep the valuables cold. Beginners start with a good quality ice esky. Those who have been bitten by the camping bug should invest in a cooler that's plugged into your dual-battery in your 4WD. That's when you know you've reached the camping elite! </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Stay extra-hydrated!</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Know the situation with drinking water, is there plenty of potable water at the campsite? I always take my own extra 40 litres of water from home. Can never have too much water.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Fire ‘er up! (Responsibly)</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Brush up on your campfire skills and know local fire regulations. Most <a href="https://www.hipcamp.com/en-AU">Hipcamps</a> permit fires all year round (excluding fire ban periods) which is great, but it's everyone's responsibility to be fire safe and thoroughly extinguish campfires before you go to sleep at night and before you leave.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Food glorious food! </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It's such a special time to share meals with the ones you love - this is where the memories are made. It's ok to pack those items that aren't 'everyday' foods at home. My kids associate Milo cereal with camping because that's the only time they get it. Create special memories around food. We also love 'special drinks' when camping, quite often the fizzy comes out for a bit of fun.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d566dd5a-7fff-30fa-8ddb-136ea34421d6"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @hipcampau (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ-HfZAhTgs/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>)</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Foolproof tips for first-time campers

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When planning a trip, many people prefer to tone it down with a camping holiday in the bush, rather than embark on a city escape. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For first-timers, there’s a lot of things that can either make or break your next camping trip, and it’s always good to be prepared for any situation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking on </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today Extra</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, expert organiser Anita Birges has shared her top tips to make your next camping trip a success. </span></p> <p><strong>The tent is everything</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anita recommends picking a tent with “plenty of room”, which can make or break a trip when travelling with large groups or with kids. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of pitching your tent when you reach your destination, Antia advises to pick a shady spot that is clear of hanging branches, and to practice pitching your tent in the </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">backyard before you embark. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anita also recommends staying at a powered campsite that has access to amenities such as toilets and barbecues, especially for first time campers. </span></p> <p><strong>Invest in your mattress</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Camping is no fun if you’re too tired to enjoy it, so invest in some good quality air mattresses that are easy to blow up. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alternatively, double sleeping bags are a good idea, giving you the chance to snuggle up with your partner on colder nights to keep warm. </span></p> <p><strong>Go all out with extras</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anita recommends going all out with the extras to make sure your camping trip is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Extra items such as a gazebo, folding chairs and compact table are sure to make any trip easier. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As well as these extra luxuries, essentials such as a good-sized esky, first aid kit, cleaning items and an abundance of toilet paper are a must. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Travel Tips

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Cleo Smith’s family speaks with new details

<p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p> <p>Police are now focusing on a “worst-case scenario” in the hunt for missing four-year-old Cleo Smith – as her shocked parents revealed she had been sleeping metres from her baby sister before she disappeared from the family’s tent.</p> <p>A disturbing picture of what happened the night she vanished is emerging, with police revealing there were a “lot of people” circulating the campsite at the time and Cleo’s parents revealing horrifying details about the moment they realised she was gone.</p> <p>Four-year-old Cleo was last seen at 1:30 am on Saturday near the Blowholes campsite north of Carnarvon in Western Australia before she vanished.</p> <p>Cleo’s mother Ellie Smith said she had woken up around 6 am on Sunday to find their tent zipper was nearly completely open and her daughter was nowhere to be seen.</p> <p>She revealed Cleo had been sleeping in a separate area of the tent, with her baby sister just metres away.</p> <p>For that reason, police are now focusing their efforts on investigating the “worst-case scenario” that little Cleo was abducted from the tent while her family lay sleeping, with a complex criminal investigation underway.</p> <p>They have also admitted that she may have been taken interstate by now.</p> <p>Inspector Jon Munday said Cleo could “potentially be anywhere now” given it's been five days since she was last seen.</p> <p>“We can’t rule out the fact Cleo may be still in the area, we can’t rule out of the fact she’s left the area and if she’s left the area that is probably our worst-case scenario because that really paints a sinister picture with what’s happened,” he said.</p> <p>"It’s a race against time. We’re just trying to find some answers.”</p> <p>The entire area where Cleo vanished has been declared a potential crime scene, with the campsite closed and investigators imploring anyone who has been in the area to come forward.</p> <p>Inspector Munday said the case was a “mystery we’re trying to unravel”, as he revealed “quite a lot of people” had been staying at the Blowholes campgrounds that night.</p> <p>“We’re tracking and tracing all of those people at the moment, but there’s also nothing to indicate that there’s any cause for the wider community to be alarmed,” he said.</p> <p>On Tuesday, Cleo's distraught mother Ellie Smith and partner, Jake Gilddon, spoke publicly about her disappearance for the first time since posting about it on social media over the weekend.</p> <p>Ms Smith said Cleo would never wander off and would have asked for help to unzip her sleeping suit if she needed to use the toilet.</p> <p>“She’s lazy when it comes to walking,” Ms Smith said.</p> <p>“She would never leave that tent alone.”</p> <p>Asked if they feared someone had taken Cleo, Ms Smith said the family was still hoping to find her.</p> <p>Ms Smith said someone had to know where Cleo was.<br />“Someone has to – it’s been four days,” she said.</p> <p>“I got her some water and she went to bed,” Ms Smith said. “I checked on Isla, made sure she was OK. I got back in bed and that was it really.</p> <p>“We went back to sleep. (I later) woke up to Isla wanting a bottle. As we passed the divider, I went into the other room and the zipper was open. Cleo was gone and that was about it for Saturday morning until everything started.</p> <p>“She was gone. The tent was completely open. It was about 30cm from being open.</p> <p>“I turned to Jake and said: ‘Cleo’s gone.’</p> <p>“We went looking, checking, making sure she wasn’t around the tent. Then we got in the car and started driving around everywhere.”</p> <p>Ms Smith said she was very familiar with the area.</p> <p>“We literally grew up probably like 100m from where our tent was – that was where we stayed at the same age, so we just looked everywhere that we went as kids and we couldn’t find her,” she said.</p> <p>“Then we realised we have to call the cops because she’s not here.”</p> <p>Ms Smith described what was going through her mind at the time.</p> <p>“Where is she? She needs breakfast. What is she doing? Everything was going through my head,” she said.</p> <p>Appearing emotional during the interview, Ms Smith described her ongoing anguish.</p> <p>“We haven’t really slept. We’ve had so much family help us and support us,” she said.</p> <p>“Everyone asks us what do you need and really all we need is our little girl home.”</p>

News

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"Do not camp here": Bride forced to apologise over passive aggressive sign

<p>A bride in the US has apologised after a handwritten sign claiming a public campaign spot for her wedding reception caused a furore online.</p> <p>The woman was initially shamed in a Reddit thread after a photo of the pre-wedding message was posted online.</p> <p>"We will be hosting our wedding ceremony and reception please do not camp here," the message read.</p> <p>"We have an entire guest list arriving for the weekend to celebrate so if you decide to anyways we will set up around you and do it anyway.</p> <p>"Make sure you have a gift and a disk for the BBQ. PS this will be a loud music and late night type of weekend so if you're here expect that. There will be 50 of us. Thank you for understanding."</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 376.00644122383255px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842004/screen-shot-2021-06-24-at-14953-pm.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a5b5d547d8784e3ca2f29986097774b1" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Image credit: Reddit</em></p> <p>The post received mix responses, with some furious and others finding it hilarious.</p> <p>"Bridezilla calls passive aggressive dibs on a public use area in my neighborhood where we all walk, atv, and camp," the poster of the photo wrote.</p> <p>"No permit, no contact info, no restrooms or trash facilities, and definitely not enough woods for a 50+ person blowout."</p> <p>"Right. Too cheap or too broke to rent a venue but sufficiently self-important to demand a gift. This is hilarious," one Reddit user wrote.</p> <p>"This would make me want to camp. And I hate camping," another wrote.</p> <p>"Okay, I'll call your bluff and all my friends and I will be camping in the middle of your ceremony. You'll just proceed around us, right?" yet another wrote.</p> <p>A few days later, another update was posted, with the bride-to-be offering an apology.</p> <p>"I in no way wanted to offend the community," the woman, who describes herself as a "forever Alaskan" posted to Facebook.</p> <p>"My sign was an effort to detour punk kids trying to party. I can assure the community that we will not be a disturbance and that we will not leave a mess.</p> <p>"We are forever Alaskans and avid campers. I never in a million years thought the community would uproar.</p> <p>"I invited 10 people who have multiple kids most of which are toddlers and young kids under the age of 15. My wedding is at 5 and this was a beautiful public area we adore.</p> <p>"I know the guidelines for fines and I will be contacting the troopers in the morning to make sure they are on notice, how many people will attend, and to make sure I can proceed."</p> <p>She claimed the message was to deter certain members of the community.</p> <p>"…I was afraid of drug addicts and party animals. I apologise to anyone insulted," she wrote.</p> <p>"I'm so sorry for all the confusion we just want to enjoy our peaceful ceremony with our family."</p>

Travel Trouble

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"I'm not judging you": Stranger leaves heartwarming note for mums camping in caravan park

<p>A heartwarming note posted in a caravan park in Victoria has welcomed mums during the school holidays.</p> <p>The letter, posted to Facebook page<span> </span><em>Mum Central</em>, was addressed to "all the mums" and has since been liked over 1,200 times.</p> <p>“To all of the mums, when I look at you or are in ears reach of you trying to discipline or comfort your child I want you to know I am not judging you,” the note reads.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMumCentralAU%2Fposts%2F1901262980032974&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=true&amp;height=609&amp;appId" width="500" height="609" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></p> <p>“I admire you, your strength, patience and the pure determination you have to try to give your family beautiful memories is priceless.</p> <p>“Love and respect to you all! Happy Easter.”</p> <p>Mums of course loved the note and shared their joy at the understanding note leaver.</p> <p>“Think we would have appreciated this note that time we camped at Shoal Bay,” one person said.</p> <p>“I’ve had a retired couple say that to us in Mildura, it was so lovely to hear and talk about when they’d travelled with their three kids. Kids and camping can be mayhem(but worth it),“ another added.</p> <p>“I wish all campers thought like this. Taking children camping is sometimes difficult,” a third chimed in.</p>

Caring

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Parents condemned for crazy clifftop camping spot

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A couple has been slammed for camping with their child on the edge of a cliff in Yorkshire, UK.</p> <p>The Coastguard in the UK was furious and needed to move the family away from the area.</p> <p>“Today’s call was to attend a section of the Cleveland Way to issue safety advice to two adults and a child camping on the cliff edge,” the Staithes Coastguard said.</p> <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstaithes.coastguard%2Fposts%2F1857131324439338&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=true&amp;height=752&amp;appId" width="500" height="752" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> <p>“An Officer from North Yorkshire Police also attended due to breach of coronavirus restrictions.</p> <p>“Safety advice was given from Coastguard Rescue Officers due to the dangerous location of their tent, especially with recent landslips.</p> <p>“If you see anyone at risk or in danger at the coast, immediately call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”</p> <p>As a social media post was put up about the incident, people have slammed the couple for being "braindead".</p> <p>“Not just being stupid for themselves &amp; putting a child in danger but using up valuable time with the coastguard when they could be elsewhere,” one user wrote.</p> <p>Another agreed, saying: “Beggars belief! You can see where the ground has partially broken away! Braindead”.</p> <p>People were particularly angry as the trail where the family were found has recently seen devastating landslides.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Travel Trouble

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Fancy working for the Queen? The Palace is now hiring

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>The Royal Family is hiring again and this time, they’re looking for the best of the best when it comes to numbers and spreadsheets.</p> <p>Buckingham Palace is looking to hire an accountant to join the Privy Purse and Treasurer’s Office.</p> <p>The role is based at Buckingham Palace and offers a whopping £40,000 <span>($NZD $81,000)</span> a year salary while promising a job that’s “forecasting figures whilst surrounded by a priceless past”.</p> <p>"No two days will be the same and the deadlines we work to will stretch you," the job description reads.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B6fflJVn-oE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B6fflJVn-oE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily)</a> on Dec 25, 2019 at 2:29am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"Yet in all that you do, you'll rise to the challenge and deliver faultless accuracy and a first class service to this unique organisation."</p> <p>The right candidate needs to be able to work well under pressure, and "feel comfortable with a high level of responsibility and variety in your work."</p> <p>"You'll produce management information and financial accounts for the official and private finances of a number of entities and account holders including both retail and charitable bodies."</p> <p>"You'll provide everything from annual reports and statements, to tax advice. Preparing budgets, forecasts and reconciliations, your timely financial planning and control will be vital."</p> <p>The right person also needs to be as “good with people as you are with numbers, which is crucial, given the customer faced nature of this role”.</p> <p>If you’re interested in relocating as well as working within the walls of Buckingham Palace, better get in quick as applications close at the end of February.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"><span class="like-bar-component"></span> <div class="watched-bookmark-container"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Retirement Income

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Have you considered “glamping” for your next holiday?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Glamping” is known as a form of camping that involves accommodation and facilities that are more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s essentially camping for “city-slickers”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many places across the world are adopting this style of camping for those who still want to explore the bush, but not want to give up creature comforts such as a comfortable bed and a shower.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One destination that’s taken advantage of glamping as well as their beautiful scenery is Kings Canyon in the Northern Territory of Australia. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The new glamping tents offer our guests a sensory experience of the Australian outback. From the early morning song of the crested bellbird to the call of the dingo, the sights and sounds of the desert are front and centre of the glamping experience at Kings Canyon Resort,” says General Manager, Michelle Ikin.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With six premium canvas tents to choose from that have been designed to blend in with the landscape of the Northern Territory, some would argue you’re spoilt for choice.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three tents have been designed for couples whereas the other three are for families as they feature a king bed as well as two king single beds.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each tent includes premium linen, a modern lounge area, dining space and an outdoor deck with seating so you’re able to take in the natural beauty around you.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s also a split air-conditioning system to beat the heat as well as a private ensuite bathroom full to the brim with Australian made skin care products.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through the gallery to see what the glamping tents look like.</span></p>

Domestic Travel

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Australia’s Chernobyl: Why tourists keep heading to this deadly Aussie town

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the region of Pilbara in Western Australia works hard to grow tourism to the area, which has rare flora and fauna as well as rich Indigenous culture, there is one place that the Western Australia government is trying to keep people away from.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The destination is so deadly that the name has been removed from maps and signs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The former country town of Wittenoom lies abandoned as the decaying town is considered the most contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are more than 2,000 deaths linked to the town’s blue asbestos mining operations in the ‘60s.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mining was formally shut down in 1966, but the asbestos fibres left behind have rendered the area permanently unsafe for human habitation according to experts who spoke to </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/australias-most-contaminated-town-wittenoon-abandoned/b7752071-b209-452a-bdfb-442a73b66c25"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Travel Nine.</span></a></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0M1PHJI3mX/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B0M1PHJI3mX/" target="_blank">Reports that tourists are visiting Wittenoom - an abandoned, Western Australian town once home to a large blue asbestos mine - are extremely concerning. The town and surrounding areas are still highly contaminated by asbestos - and pose a huge health risk to anyone who visits. The area is so contaminated that it has been dubbed 'Australia's #Chernobyl". It's not worth your health or life for a social media photo. Link in bio to read the story and please - stay away. ☠️☠️☠️ ... ... ... ... #asbestos #asbestosremoval #asbestostesting #asbestossafety #beasbestosaware #wittenoom #blueasbestos #mining #blueskymine #westernaustralia #abandonedtown</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/asbestos_safety/" target="_blank"> Asbestos Safety</a> (@asbestos_safety) on Jul 21, 2019 at 6:24pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The area is so contaminated that it’s been dubbed “Australia’s Chernobyl”. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Lands Ben Wyatt has described the fallout from the contamination as one of “the saddest chapters in WA history” and one the town would never be able to recover from.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It is important to understand that when the Wittenoom mine closed there were 3 million tonnes of asbestos tailings left behind in the gorge and surrounding area," he told </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/australias-most-contaminated-town-wittenoon-abandoned/b7752071-b209-452a-bdfb-442a73b66c25"><span style="font-weight: 400;">9Honey</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Exposure to a single fibre of these tailings could prove fatal. Therefore, as disappointing as it is, it is virtually impossible to clean the area to a level where it would then considered safe for human habitation."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the strict warnings haven’t stopped people from travelling there, despite the well-known and documented risks of asbestos. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Byo_wwpnHiA/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Byo_wwpnHiA/" target="_blank">Wittenoom gorge free camp with @zeke.holt.1 and @megcarmen. Pretty epic spot apart from all the asbestos! 😷</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/emmet_f/" target="_blank"> E.</a> (@emmet_f) on Jun 12, 2019 at 11:52pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wyatt has serious words and a simple message for those who want to visit Wittenoom.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I have a simple message for anyone thinking of travelling to Wittenoom. Don't. These warnings signs are not there for decoration or to add your Instagram collection. They are serious warnings about serious health consequences.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I can't stress enough that it is particularly foolish to travel to Wittenoom. There are plenty of gorges in WA which do not bring with them the threat of a fatal consequences."</span></p>

International Travel

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How to cook over a campfire

<p>For fast food, outdoor dining beats takeaway pizza hands down. All you need is dry wood and leaves to feed the flames, a bucket of water to douse them, and permission (check with the local ranger).</p> <p>Once you get the go-ahead, pick a small spot on bare earth or the beach below the tide line, well away from vegetation and tents. Build a lattice or teepee of twigs over kindling in the centre, keeping it small so the fire heats up fast. Ring it with stones, then light it at the base. When the flames have died down but the fire is too hot to hold your hand over, it’s time to get cooking.</p> <p>For the full bushcraft experience, try this simple fish-on-a-stick recipe: push a long stick lengthways through the fish, prop it over the fire using a forked branch for support, and cook for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally. Easier still, wrap the fish in layers of newspaper, soak the parcel in water and cook it in the ashes. When the paper blackens, the fish should be done.</p> <p>Enjoy – then douse the fire completely and remove the debris.</p> <p><em>This article first appeared in </em><em><a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/camping-caravanning/How-To-Cook-Over-a-Campfire">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</em></p> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p>

Travel Tips

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How camp was the Met Gala? Not very

<p>The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute where fashion and celebrity often collide. It always manages to raise eyebrows and this years’ theme, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” has generated much debate. A <a href="https://junkee.com/met-gala-camp-runway/204314">common question</a> many fashionistas and cultural critics are asking of each outfit is “ …but is it camp?”</p> <p>This kind of overly analytical and far too serious commentary on a sensibility that is supposed to mock such things is intriguing but not surprising given how the concept of camp has evolved.</p> <p>In 1964, author Susan Sontag penned perhaps her most influential essay, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36436100-notes-on-camp">Notes on Camp</a>. It was one of the first attempts to try to pin down camp’s qualities and parameters. It’s clear why she chose to write some notes rather than a formal essay; because camp is a sensibility or a way of perceiving the world, it is quite difficult to treat systematically. In fact, Sontag would say that it often defies the very idea of systematisation.</p> <p>For Sontag, camp is “the love of the exaggerated, the ‘off,’ of things-being-what-they-are-not”, and though it is not merely visual, it has often been expressed in the visual styles of décor, architecture, cinema and fashion.</p> <p>Certain aspects of Art Nouveau, old Flash Gordon comics, women’s clothes of the 1920s like feather boas and fringed garments, celebrity dandies and “sissies” like Oscar Wilde and Paul Lynde, “overwrought” performances by classic Hollywood actresses such as Bette Davis and Judy Garland and so on. Key to camp is a sense of affectation, of style over substance. But equally important is the way one looks at those things, how one appreciates affectation.</p> <p><strong>Missing the point</strong></p> <p>Many of the gowns and costumes at this year’s Met Gala attempt to capture the essence of camp, and in trying to do so miss the point of camp entirely. There is nothing discernibly camp about Jared Leto carrying around a replica of his own head. Quirky and strange? Maybe. But nowhere near camp.</p> <p>Another interesting example was Celine Dion, who wore a glittering tribute to Judy Garland and the Ziegfield Follies, designed by Oscar de la Renta. While inspired by camp figures, it is not the outfit here that is camp but rather the person wearing it. Dion is arguably a contemporary camp icon, and she would be camp regardless of what she wore. This is because her celebrity image owes more to her overly emotional songs and the way in which she performs them, her goofy persona, and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkIPaxBsWy4">heightened emotion of some of her public statements</a>.</p> <p>People with a camp appreciation of Celine Dion enjoy her ironically, finding the style of her public personality thoroughly entertaining. Such appreciators would probably also love the fact that she apparently <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/celine-dion-thought-met-gala-theme-literally-about-camping.html">initially thought</a> the theme for this year’s gala was “camping.” In nature. Bless her.</p> <p>Other guests such as Billy Porter approached the camp sensibility much more accurately by incorporating outrageous pomp and performance to their attendances.</p> <p>Porter came dressed like some kind of Egyptian goddess, carried in on a litter by six nubile, shirtless men. While this adds a certain spectacle, it was, like every other guest’s appearance, a designed, rehearsed happening.</p> <p>For Sontag and many thinkers who came after her, there really are two ways of “doing” camp. One is the “naïve camp” and the other is “conscious camp.” Naïve camp is the Judy Garland kind of camp. Garland did not intend to be a gay icon, but she became one because her earnest, overwrought performances invited a large portion of queer people to view her as a camp figure.</p> <p>Gay men in particular appreciated the affectations in her performances, in a similar way to how drag queens are appreciated in the queer community. They are not appreciated for how well they perform but for how much they perform, for how much extra they put into their lip-synched song and dance.</p> <p>“Conscious camp” is what was on display at the Met Gala this year. Take Lady Gaga’s “Russian doll” of dresses, each layer referencing old Hollywood glamour to an over the top degree. An oversized version of Marilyn Monroe’s dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is removed and beneath it is a sleeker black, femme fatale number, followed by another reveal of a more realistically proportioned pink dress. Gaga is well-versed in queer and pop cultural aesthetics, and there was a fun narrative here, but its barrage of old Hollywood references don’t necessarily make it camp.</p> <p>Contrast this with Amber Valletta’s rather simple, but effective costume: she looks like she is wearing a giant, green loofa, and in most of the photos looks to be taking herself way too seriously. That’s the sort of camp Sontag might enjoy.</p> <p>The best kind of camp is the kind that doesn’t know it is camp. Which is just another way of saying you can’t really design and wear your way into the camp sensibility.</p> <p><em>Written by Matthew Sini. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-camp-was-the-met-gala-not-very-116742"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>.</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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The choc chip cookies you need to try

<p>Have you ever craved a lighter, fluffier, more aesthetically pleasing version of chocolate chip cookies for a snack? Nigel Slater, an English food writer, journalist, broadcaster and chef, says these gorgeous looking treats will get you through those meals where you crave a sweet dessert afterwards.</p> <p>“The best moment to eat these soft cookies is when they are still warm, when the butterscotch notes of the brown sugar is still evident and the chocolate chips haven’t quite set,” he wrote in <em>The Guardian</em>. Have a peak below and see if you would like to try these out for yourselves.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7823982/gettyimages-958512822.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1c55f900fcf74f2e9cf09712a3c09dde" /></p> <p><strong>Ingredients </strong></p> <ul> <li>125g butter</li> <li>75g light muscovado sugar</li> <li>75g caster sugar</li> <li>1 egg</li> <li>250g plain flour</li> <li>½ tsp bicarbonate of soda</li> <li>20g crystallised rose petals</li> <li>200g marzipan</li> <li>150g dark chocolate</li> <li>Vanilla extract</li> </ul> <p><strong>Method </strong></p> <p>1. Set oven to 200 degrees celsius.</p> <p>2. Cream butter and sugars together until the texture is light and the colour resembles a light brown.</p> <p>3. Break egg into bowl and mix the yolk and egg white together with a fork, then combine with butter and sugar mixture.</p> <p>4. Mix flour and bicarbonate soda and fold into creamed butter and sugar mix.</p> <p>5. Finely chop rose petals. Cut marzipan into small bits and pieces then add to mixture.</p> <p>6. Cut chocolate into small pieces then fold cookie dough with vanilla extract (your desired amount).</p> <p>7. Roll mixture into small balls and set on baking paper.</p> <p>8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until pale and risen.</p> <p>9. Allow 5 minutes to cool.</p> <p>10. Makes 18 cookies.</p> <p>Will you try this classy take on chocolate chip cookies? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Food & Wine

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Freedom camping: Australia vs New Zealand

<p>Freedom campers in New Zealand may think they have it tough, but Tony Allsop reckons the Aussies have it even tougher.</p> <p>Born in Wellington in 1940, Allsop fell for the freedom camping lifestyle when he first moved to Australia at 19 and went on to carve out a career in writing and taking photos for caravan magazines on both sides of the ditch.</p> <p>Now retired and based in Queensland's Mackay, he still freedom camps regularly, but says the days of going walkabout (or driveabout) and expecting to be able to set up camp in a secluded spot in the wilds are long gone.</p> <p>"In New Zealand there are many free camping spots and councils even set up places for free campers. Here now, councils are making it illegal to camp unless you are completely self-sufficient, have holdings tanks for both grey and black water and there's a limit to how long you can stay."</p> <p>Many so-called free camping areas in Australia are now patrolled and have introduced fees "as the rubbish and toilet paper has become intolerable"</p> <p>"Rubbish left at sites is a big problem in Australia, whereas it was not so bad in New Zealand [on a recent trip]. Backpackers are often blamed in Australia and we have had some bad experiences here with them. Once, two of them high on drugs wanted to fight us at 1am."</p> <p>The costs associated with maintaining caravan parks have forced many to close or sell to developers, he said, pointing to the recent example of Discovery Parks buying the Top Parks brand. </p> <p>Allsop is a camper of the old-school variety, having spent his formative years travelling around the East Cape, Napier and other parts of the North Island with his camping-mad dad. He slept in an old army surplus pup tent alongside his parents' larger canvas one until the family upgraded to a comparatively flash plywood caravan with louvre windows when he was 10.  </p> <p>"Compared to these days it was all very primitive. Caravan parks just had toilets and showers - that was about all."</p> <p>On his first working holiday in Australia, he met three fellow Kiwis who were travelling around the country in an old Plymouth and even older Chrysler towing two caravans (old as well of course) and decided to join them. </p> <p>"Two of the guys had girlfriends travelling with them so I had to sleep in the Plymouth or cheap hotels."</p> <p>Despite the dodgy accommodation and poor state of state of the roads in Queensland at the time - most were dirt and some were little more than tracks - he was hooked. </p> <p>After two years back in Wellington, he moved to Brisbane permanently and married his girlfriend Denyse, a doctor who luckily happened to love camping just as much as he did. </p> <p>In 1974, the couple set off in their new two-door Ford Falcon on what was to become the first of several "round-Oz" trips. </p> <p>"We freedom camped a lot, sleeping in the car or beside it in sleeping bags on a deserted beach."</p> <p>They spent a year on the road, covering thousands of miles and picking up work whenever and wherever they needed it. </p> <p>"We met very little traffic and most roads were dirt. It was a real adventure in those days."</p> <p>While the couple now travel in relative luxury in a well-equipped modern caravan, they consider their second round-Oz trip in 1988  - in a 1986 Holden with a small off-road camper - as the greatest camping trip of their lives. </p> <p>"We stayed mainly off-road on this 10-month trip and saw very few people as caravans with all the ensuites, batteries and DC-DC chargers... We camped on wonderful isolated beaches, in national parks and the made the most of our small camper with no real amenities apart from those I put in ... We really felt like explorers as some places had seen no traffic for a long time."</p> <p>But while it might have been basic, their camper was still more or less self sufficient. Allsop had installed a battery under the seat - which they used to power two lights, one inside and one out - they used a black plastic bag left out in the sun as a shower and carried a gas stove, small fridge-freezer and port-a-loo. </p> <p>Returning home, the couple had an eight-year flirtation with boating before returning to their true love of caravanning. </p> <p>Allsop had begun freelancing for RV magazines when they set out on their third Australian tour in 2001, this time in a custom-built Roadstar caravan with low-power features which allowed them to stay off-road for a week without having to recharge their batteries. They had such a good time that they simply kept going - and going (they've only just settled down after 17 years of spending six months on the road). Denyse retired from medicine to help Allsop write, take photographs and shoot video and he says they "did very well". </p> <p>The couple enjoyed a mixture of freedom camping at staying at caravan parks. </p> <p>"Solitude, having a quiet beach or tropical forest to ourselves was wonderful and yet staying overnight sometimes in a van park was also good. The happy hours, community barbecues and companionship of other campers was very welcome in some van parks."</p> <p>These days, however, Allsop finds himself whether freedom camping in Australia has changed irrevocably - for the worse. </p> <p>The couple have had several bad experiences in freedom campsites near towns where "youths have run rampant on drugs and alcohol.</p> <p>"Nowadays we always make sure there are other campers there and try to get an off-road site by about midday, as they tend to become full in Australia by around 2pm."</p> <p>Some popular sites are crowded with more than 200 vehicles during high season and they are usually packed in like proverbial sardines.</p> <p>"You are parked as close as or closer to your neighbour than in a van park and on a dusty site. You also have no control over noisy neighbours. Apart from the cost, is it worth it?"</p> <p>Have you been freedom camping?</p> <p><em>Written by Lorna Thornber. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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6 tips for choosing the perfect campsite

<p>The right spot on a campsite can make or break your camping trip. Here are six tips to help you find the perfect spot the pitch a tent.</p> <p><strong>1. Flat, flatter, flattest</strong></p> <p>First things first, look for the flattest spot you can find. This means both that the ground is not on a slope (which could leave you sleeping on an angle) and that the surface of the ground is also flat. You want to avoid any holes, ridges, or large mounds of grass. Beware of depressions in the ground – if it rains there’s a good chance you’ll end up with a puddle beneath you.</p> <p><strong>2. Smooth things over</strong></p> <p>It’s always a good idea to give your site a quick sweep before you set up your tent. Remove any rocks, sticks or other objects that could make for an uncomfortable sleep or even tear your tent. Ideally, you should be able to set up on something relatively smooth, even and soft like grass or sand.</p> <p><strong>3. Look out for anthills</strong></p> <p>We really can’t stress this enough. Nothing (really, nothing) will ruin your camping trip faster than a tent full of ants. These little guys will find you before you know it, so do a thorough check of the area around your site.</p> <p><strong>4. Be smart with shade</strong></p> <p>The sun can very quickly progress from pleasantly warm to searingly hot, so you’re going to want some shade. Position yourself close to some trees that will provide shade in the afternoon, when the sun is at its strongest. Give the trees a good once over before selecting your spot and make sure there are no branches that are dead or look unstable. A strong wind can easily bring one down on you.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/33971/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (93)"/></p> <p><strong>5. Get some privacy</strong></p> <p>If you’re camping at an established campground, you don’t want to find yourself in the middle of the most popular thoroughfare. Try to stay at least one site back from roads or paths where people will walk frequently. Avoid choosing a site too close to the amenities blocks or right by the barbecues as these can be noisy at all hours of the day (and night).</p> <p><strong>6. Pick the right neighbours</strong></p> <p>Setting up next to a large family with lots of young kids or a bunch of blokes on a beer and fishing trip could spell disaster. If you want peace and quiet, choosing the right neighbours will make all the difference. Do a quick scan when you arrive and try to work out which co-campers are going to suit you best.</p> <p>Are you a serious camper? What tips would you suggest? Share them with the Over60 community in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/5-reasons-to-start-wrapping-your-luggage-in-plastic/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 reasons to start wrapping your luggage in plastic</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/major-airline-replaces-meals-with-chocolate-bars/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Major airline replaces meals with chocolate bars</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/sleep-better-in-a-hotel-room/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 tips for a better night’s sleep in a hotel room</strong></em></span></a></p>

Travel Tips