All about Africa Travel

Camping in winter can be extremely challenging for campers. Today we are gonna look at the techniques and the things we need in order to make camping in winter an enjoyable activity.

Below are the stuff you need for Winter Camping written by Bill Revill - on ways to improve your camping lifestyle. These are:

" (a) Warm clothing, which might include jackets, pullovers, thermal underwear, thick socks, beanies, gloves (or mittens), scarves, overcoats, and waterproof footwear.

(b) Extra bedding, such as sleeping bags rated for, say, minus 10 degrees. Alternatively, throw in a couple of good (woollen) blankets for each person to wrap around their sleeping bag. (Large safety pins can be handy here.) Also, a sleeping bag liner made from a surplus flannelette sheet is a great idea for chilly nights in the bush.

(c) Aboveground beds are much better than airbeds or mattresses laid out on cold ground. The “springrest” style stretcher is the best you’ll find, but other types of camp beds will do the job, just so long as they keep you up off the deck.

(d) A groundsheet is useful, spread over the tent floor, since in winter there’s higher probability thatmoisture (or rain) will find its way inside at some stage. Quality canvas is by far the most robust material for groundsheets.

(e) Newspaper finds a few extra jobs around winter campsites, like fire starting, extra insulation between stretcher and mattress, and…well, reading when the wet weather sets in!

(f) A campfire becomes the centrepiece of your camp after sunset, since the winter chill can settle over the countryside pretty rapidly, particularly in mountain areas. This means that you will have to take along a couple of bow saws, or better yet, a small chainsaw. That pile of firewood needs to be substantial!

(g) Extra awnings are important, too, since there may be times when everyone is crowded under cover during rain -- or snow! Rig up one or two tarpaulins -- using rope, tent poles, elastic straps, and tent pegs -- with the main living area handy to the warmth of your campfire. (But don’t have an awning closer than two meters to the fire’s edge.)

Depending on your destination, you might also give some thought to the possibility of snow and mud on the tracks and roads in and out of the area. These scenarios are highly likely, for example, when camping in mountainous terrain.

Snow chains could therefore be worthwhile insurance, as might jumper cables, towrope, even perhaps a small hand winch. Improvised traction aids in the form of heavy rubber mats have proved useful at times, too. And since most cars these days already have anti-freeze coolant in the radiator this shouldn’t require extra preparation"

Thanks for stopping by and please give your suggestions and comments. All the best.