helping people 'learn' to camp

[drakkar]

Looking for out of the box idea's for a mate.

He loves the bush. She wont even come car camping, and the budget no longer allows for family holidays in hotels etc.. (they have two kids together) They are looking for idea's to do family holidays that are cheap, but she struggles to even entertain the idea of caravaning.

I was hoping a few here could point me towards some text/blogs or even books that spell out the more spiritual side of being alone in the bush with little creature comforts to help his wife if anything understand a little more and be more tolerant if he has a weekend away.

[DarrenM]

I was hoping a few here could point me towards some text/blogs or even books that spell out the more spiritual side of being alone in the bush with little creature comforts to help his wife if anything understand a little more and be more tolerant if he has a weekend away.

Touching the void?
Spiritual, alone, few creature comforts! Has it all really.

[Strider]

Books will never beat the actual experience of it. Does she refuse to go based on past bad trips? Or simply not interested? My wife isn't interested in bushwalking, at all. Everyone's different.

[neilmny]

Lowest cost option....trade her in.

Perhaps a few day trips to really nice places. He takes care of everything she just "enjoys" the day
or return to Line 1.

[Bubbalouie]

Lowest cost option....trade her in.

That's a very high cost option I'm afraid.

Perhaps he could take her for a few day walks in some very nice areas, keep the pace low, have a packed lunch so they can have a picnic etc. Get her accustomed to the outdoors for a start. Then car camping at a caravan park in a cabin (Ok that's not even glamping). Then car camping with a tent that has a portable dunny and maybe another with a shower if you can find a place that allows it. Going that path could get pricey if they don't have the gear though.

That all said, for some people not having a regular bed and shower is just too much. In the same way that many of us would never enjoy a full day of playing the pokies others would never enjoy a full day out in the bush.

[Lophophaps]

Day trips appeal. Even just a picnic in the bush will (hopefully) make the fears of the unknown disperse. People resist change due to not being comfortable with the new way. Introduce that new way gradually and it's much easier. Trade-ins require a RWC.

[MrWalker]

That all said, for some people not having a regular bed and shower is just too much.

Yes, I'm like that too. I enjoy being out in the bush a long way from anywhere and with no-one around, but I have no idea why anyone would stay out there overnight.
Nor can I figure out why anyone would carry all that gear, when it's so much easier with only a day-pack.

I suggest just sticking to day-trips and if she really enjoys them then suggest places a bit deeper into the bush that require either a very long day or an overnight somewhere. However, if she's like me, she'll just walk faster to do a two-day trip in one day.

[photohiker]

There is hope, but it is not an easy path.

My background was always active. I was in the scouts, I played active sports etc. so I am always interested in going places and doing stuff.

My wife had a much different background and during school she went on two camping trips that turned her off camping forever. Both involved lots of water and one ended up with her having pneumonia. The other involved an emergency evac of the campsite which was in a riverbed in the Flinders Ranges. These were clearly poorly run trips, where the teachers were lacking skills and experience. End result: Not a happy camper!

It took me many years to wear down that history, but now we have done several yearly car camping trips into the outback, camping in a tent, cooking on fires etc. She has learnt that the problems on her school trips was not camping per se, it was the planning and skills of the teachers (who were probably forced to go along regardless of their abilities)

The transition happened slowly. It involved me going places and bringing back stories and photos. Eventually, we planned a trip that was mostly hotel based with only a couple of nights camping in a remote place with zero facilities during which yours truly was the camp slave. I organised a private toilet which was the major stumbling block for her agreeing to a couple of days away from civilisation. Everything went well apart from my exhaustion at the end of the trip.

I know how the trek guides feel at the of the OLT! We've moved on from there and things are a lot better now but it is fair to say that she wouldn't go on her own steam. She freely admits to enjoying the trips though!

My next goal is to move from tent to swag. Wish me luck!

[puredingo]

"That's a very high cost option I'm afraid."

Not always...Just like used cars you can trade in or pull an insurance job.

Like what Milat said to his girl friend as he led her an hour into an increasingly dense patch of woodland,

HER, Boy it's getting scary along this dark track.

HIM, stop whinging, how do you think I feel I've got to walk out of here on my own!

[perfectlydark]

Haha! Always gets a chuckle out of me.
My 2c, if she doesnt get into day walks then leave her home and go solo or friends instead. Thats what I do and better than dealing with whinging

[Strider]

Haha! Always gets a chuckle out of me.
My 2c, if she doesnt get into day walks then leave her home and go solo or friends instead. Thats what I do and better than dealing with whinging

+1

[Bubbalouie]

If she doesnt get into day walks then leave her home and go solo or friends instead.

I'd call that a pretty healthy attitude.

I have some friends that absolutely will not go anywhere or do anything unless the other half tags along too. It strikes me as incredibly limiting borderline codependent behaviour.

Often a little time apart (or a lot) and your own space is a good thing for both people involved.

[Moondog55]

All you can do is try and make it fun
Otherwise just agree to disagree and send the loved one off on an expensive pampered retreat once a year and go off on your own when you can

[awildland]

medium to low cost option - National Parks Cabins/Accommodation ??? Some of them are expensive (but also well appointed) and some of them are quite cheap and basic but, a step up from caravans. Many of them sleep large groups so cost comes down if you are happy to holiday with friends. Locally here on the North Coast of NSW there are some pretty good options - nice house near the beach at Bongil Bongil National Park, three different kinds of cabins at New England National Park, stunning stone house at Warabah National Park and the remote but beautiful house at East Kunderang in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. Closer to Sydney there's Coolah Tops National Park (rough hut but wombats)!

As for getting her inspired - winter, open fire, nice bottle of red, kids exhausted from a day bushwalking so in bed early, hot showers (in most), fresh air, quiet time to read a book while he is out exhausting the kids on the bushwalk.....if that doesn't do it...sorry can't help....

[Onestepmore]

There's a book that may be helpful called 'Camping in Style' written by Australian couple Angela Armstrong and Stephen Rado, who was formerly an expeditioner with the Aust Antarctic Division. It's good in that it outlines a progression for camping, from just starting out with minimal equipment and maximum comforts, through to setting up an outdoor kitchen, to completely self sufficient. It's all car based camping, so not backpacking or hiking stuff.