Coolangatta Car Camping

As it turns out, living out of a Ford Falcon station wagon is not as bad as one may think, however it takes a little getting used to. Undoubtedly, there are things to consider when living out of your car. Take wet clothes/towels for example. Ultimately, wet items should be forbidden in the car, however daily surf sessions constantly contribute to breaking that rule. No matter how hard you try to dry off your clothes by hanging them from your locked car doors, the sun always seems to set, and you're left with damp clothes stewing overnight in the driver's side floorboards (the designated spot for wet/dirty clothes and wetsuits).

Then there's the luggage to consider, and by luggage I mean 5 surfboards, 2 skateboards, 2 helmets, 2 pairs of snorkeling gear, 4 pillows (two of which we need to throw away), 2 extremely heavy bags with a years worth of clothing, 5 pairs of floating shoes, and 1 plastic bag full of dirty laundry. Now, that can be an issue to move when your trying to go to sleep... in the back of your car. So, we deal with the mess well ahead of time, usually in a large public parking lot, where we are not disturbing the people living in the neighborhoods where we park. For the most part, the luggage gets arranged, almost professionally, in the front passenger seat. There it will sit through the night, and possibly for the next couple of days, depending on whether or not someone enjoys sitting cramped in the back seat of the car.

The back seats... Essentially one of the back seats is always folded down, considering this is where the surfboards will go when they are not on top of the car. Then, the back seat on the passenger side of the car, remains upright for the majority of the day. However, it is collapsed at night so that we can spread the mattress. There is no leg space in the back seats! The left side is taken up by our "esky" (cooler), in the middle we have our non perishable food items, and on the right we have our cooking utensils. Despite the clustering of supplies, we have been able to survive.

We'll get to sleeping in second, but let's go over cooking. Preparing food usually involves daily trips to the butcher, fruit market, or grocery store, and involves buying ice once every three days. Once you've got your supplies, you have to find a place to cook. Fortunately, all the towns in Australia have free electric barbies open to the public. However, you still have to cart everything you need to cook over to the barbies (2 plates, silverware, cloth, sponge, dish washing detergent, big knife, spatula, salt & pepper, mixed herbs, 2 cups, possibly our gas grill, all the food, olive oil (so your food doesn't stick when cooking), and a 4 litre jug of water for drinking and cleaning the barbies. Essentially it's a two person balancing act that requires tactful use of pocket space.

Finally, it's time for bed, so where do you go? Well, you go somewhere that doesn't have truck/bus traffic all night long (slept there), barking dogs that wake whole neighborhoods (slept there), mechanics that will surround you and your vehicle in the morning to ensure that you understand, "their street is not a campground" (slept there), lights that shine so bright that you'll feel as though the sun never set (slept there), and mosquitoes (slept there). Despite the obstacles, Jessie and I have managed to adapt. We park near apartment complexes (owners won't car as much), away from busy streets (will get up and move car if have to), and we even deploy bug screens and sun shades to block out the "annoyances".

However, we haven't done to much about the heat and humidity. While most nights are (just) bearable, it is not uncommon to fall asleep and wake up covered in your own sweat, an occurrence that will make you appreciate A/C and leave you with an incredible headache in the morning.

But, car camping is... well... car camping, and if you can save $20.00 on lodging and still enjoy your days, then so be it.