Travel times around camping

If you’re new to camping and travel, one consideration you may need to appreciate is that the times it takes to get from A to B will be more than you may be familiar with.

You’re probably going to be on holiday. As such, you may sleep in.  By the  times you get up, go to the bathroom, make breakfast, enjoy breakfast and perhaps the views, do the washing up, chat with new-found friends, hunt down a good coffee and of course pack up the camp (break camp) you may be running behind schedule.  Add a bit of rain and all prior preparation goes out the window (or tent flap).

Stop on the way to the next camp

Then there’s morning tea somewhere, sightseeing, exploring side roads, lunch, fill up the fuel tank,  groceries and snacks, afternoon tea. Next comes finding a spot for the night, check-in, setting up camp, showers, cooking, eating, washing up again, enjoying the campsite, chatting, drinks, etc etc.

Once again, you may need to add in times for the added complexities of kids in this mix.

A formulae for camping travel times

What I have done when planning my travels is to keep two very simple formulae in mind:

• Actual Distance Covered = Anticipated Distance / 2 
• Actual Time Taken to Cover the Distance  = Anticipated Time x 2
• Don’t be surprised if you only travel about 300 to 400 kms in a day.

Arrive at the camp site

Finally, if you’re in a town or near a campsite around say 4:00pm, you may want to carefully consider the pros and cons of pushing yourself to drive on. Fatigue for both you and your passengers is a big thing.  Don’t underestimate the stress it places on your body when travelling.  Even if you are a passenger, sitting in the car for long periods wears you out.  If you have arrived at a camp why not stay where you’re safe?  Remember by the time you prep and cook dinner, kids – well that’s another story – Is it necessary to keep pushing?

Camping is about fun, seeing and experiencing what is there and there is always something there.

If you haven’t already factored the road conditions into the above anticipated distances and times, you need to consider traffic flow (ie holiday crowds) and road types.

If your travels take you on major multi-lane freeways without a trailer / caravan you may be able to travel at the maximum speed limits. However, the lesser travelled secondary, coastal roads or roads that don’t bypass towns will have slower speed limits and less overtaking lanes.

Then there’s the more remote travels where corrugations and dust can slow things down, and the bush tracks where each turn, hill and creek crossing presents potential tactical challenges and the ever possibility of having to turn around. For example, when crossing the Simpson Desert, travelling 100 km in a day is a good day.

Road kill – watch out

Australia has kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, rabbits, birds, foxes and several other animals that particularly like to come out at dusk and early in the morning.  With the number of vehicles on the road and Aussie wildlife that blends into the backdrop of the scrub, it is little wonder so many people cannot avoid hitting these little and not so little critters.

Over recent times with the shortage of water much wildlife is venturing closer to main highways and the number of dead roos and of course other animals is considerably more noticeable on our roads.  You don’t want to hit anything, so drive defensively and avoid driving at the times when roo traffic increases (peak roo times).

Most importantly – Get Out&About!