This packing list is for a six week car camping trip through Australia. We started in Sydney, rented a four door sedan, drove south to Melbourne, then to Adelaide, and eventually up to Darwin, with quite a few side trips a long the way. It was Australian winter (August-September 2010).
We both worked about 10-20 hours a week on this trip.
Download and Excel file of this list here: Driving Australia and Camping Packing List
Items | Brought & Used | Wished we didn't bring | Wished we had brought | Notes |
CAMPING GEAR | ||||
Two big hiking backpacks | X | Mostly used to bring gear from the US to Australia | ||
Sleeping bags (Synthentic Mummy bags, rated to 15) | X | Since upgraded to this amazing bag: Western Mountaineering Anetelope | ||
Sleeping mats (Foam variety) | X | Bought cheap ones in AU | ||
Sheet | X | We took cotton, but would opt for a lighter, easier to clean silk option if we had the cash | ||
Fleece Sleeping Bag Liners | X | |||
Tent - Kelty "4" person | X | |||
Tent stakes | X | |||
Chairs | X | Bought in AU | ||
Pillows | X | Bought in AU. Smaller travel pillows would have been ideal. | ||
Water Purifier (MSR MiOX) | X | Never needed it | ||
First Aid Kit - beefed up a bit | X | |||
Headlamps / Flashlights | X | |||
Lantern | X | |||
Pocket Knife | X | |||
Plastic bins to hold food and Clothes (x2) | X | Bought for cheap in AU | ||
Towels x2 | X | |||
Quick dry- camp towels like: MSR Packtowl, Medium | X | The cotton ones we had sucked. | ||
Hiking Day pack | X | |||
Cooking Equipment | ||||
Stove (MSR WhisperLite) | X | |||
MSR Fuel Bottle 20 oz. | X | |||
Pots - Set of 2 nesting Pots w/ lids | X | |||
Big fry pan with Lid by NOLS | X | Used religiously | ||
Grill rack | X | Bought in AU. If you can, buy this in advance: Folding Grill Rack by Texsport | ||
Grilling Tongs | X | |||
Plates x3 | X | |||
Bowls x2 | X | |||
Cups x4 | X | |||
Mugs | X | Bought one for coffee after a few days | ||
Coffee pot (Turkish Style) | X | Got kinda tired of Turkish style, wish we had one of these: Aerobia AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker | ||
Lexan utensils x3 sets | X | |||
Tupperware | X | Bought 4 cheap containers in AU | ||
Pot scraper | X | |||
Washing basin | X | Bought in AU | ||
Medium size cooler | X | Bought in AU | ||
Electronics Equipment | ||||
Batteries AAA & AA | X | Got smart and didn't bring rechargeables | ||
Backup hard drive | X | |||
GPS - Garmin Nuvi | X | |||
Garmin Australia Road Maps | X | Expensive, and not very accurate, but better than nothing | ||
Laptop (17" Dell Studio) | X | |||
Extra Laptop battery | X | Highly recommend | ||
Laptop - Acer 1 Netbook | X | |||
Power Inverter for Cigarette Lighter (Duracell) | X | A new brand with USB charging options. | ||
Cell Phone - with US Plan | X | The phone sucked, but it was cheap, and did it's job | ||
MP3 Player - Sandisk Fuze | X | |||
Wireless FM Car Transmitter for cigarette lighter | X | |||
Mini Alarm Clock | X | |||
Paperwork | ||||
Paper map | X | A good backup when the GPS batteries died | ||
Lonely Planet Book | X | |||
Rough Guide | X | |||
Passports | X | |||
Visas | X | |||
Credit Cards | X | |||
Journal | X | Can't believe I forgot it! | ||
Copies of everything | X | |||
Clothes | ||||
FOR BOTH | ||||
Rain jackets | X | |||
Thermals (long johns) | X | Bought half way through the trip. | ||
Fleece Jacket | X | |||
Hiking boots | X | |||
Gloves | X | |||
Hats - the warm type | X | |||
FOR HIM | ||||
Cargo Pants | X | |||
Light weight hiking pants | X | |||
Jeans x1 | X | |||
Shorts x2 | X | |||
T-shirts x6 | X | |||
Cottons Long sleeve x2 | X | |||
Socks x7 | X | |||
Underwear x7 | X | |||
Glasses | X | |||
Sneakers | X | |||
Sandals | X | |||
FOR HER | ||||
Pants- lightweight full length x2 | X | |||
Jeans | X | |||
Skirt- ankle length | X | |||
Shorts x1 | X | |||
Sarong | X | |||
T-shirts and Tank Tops x6 | X | |||
Long Sleeve shirts x4 | X | |||
Socks x8 pair | X | |||
Underwear | X | |||
Bandana | X | |||
Teva Sandals | X | |||
Sneakers | X | |||
Sunglasses | X |