Look, we no longer live in caves like cavemen, but people still enjoy rough vacations, like camping. Yes, some prefer it wild as can be, but others like to make things easier. Here are a few ideas to achieve that.
1.Protect the White Gold! Take a plastic bucket, cut a slit in the side, put your toilet paper inside the bucket, and pull the paper through the slit. That way, it stays dry and clean.
2. Let There Be Light! Fill an old two-liter milk jug with water and strap your headlamp around it, with the light pointing inward. This way, you get ambient light without the beam blinding you.
3. Be a Recce. It's not only recces (soldiers) who can play with glow sticks. Take a bottle of Mountain Dew (or something similar). Drink three-quarters of it. Now, mix about 30 ml of dish soap with it. Then add a teaspoon of baking soda and three cups of hydrogen peroxide. Glow stick!
4. Make Your Own Speaker. Yes, nobody likes someone blasting Kurt Darren songs at Hartenbos's Terrain E after 10 pm, preventing anyone from sleeping. But you can listen to music responsibly. Place your cellphone in a coffee mug - it will make your music sound much better without making the neighbors contemplate how they're going to kill you.
5. Mosquito Repellent. Throw sage in your fire - the smoke will keep the mosquitoes away. Plus, it smells better than most mosquito repellents...
6. Rows and Rows of Spices. If you have to pack economically, try this: put your spices in old Tic-Tac containers. It's enough to last a weekend, stays dry and fresh, and takes up much less space.
7. Keep Clothes Warm. It gets cold in the Drakensberg. Warm up the next day's clothes by placing them under your sleeping bag while you sleep. A few wrinkles are definitely better than icy underwear.
8. Make Fire with…Chips. If you have just a handful of matches left and bought a nice bag of soaking wet wood from the nearest garage, you can use Doritos. Sprinkle them on a crumpled piece of toilet paper and then set it alight. The flame will burn long enough to ignite the chips. What this says about Doritos' nutritional value, we'd rather not speculate...
9. My Life for a Cup of Coffee! Take a paper filter (the kind you use with a coffee percolator). Scoop your coffee into it and tie it up - with dental floss, if necessary. Now you can use it like a tea bag.
10. Less Soap Nobody likes to bring a bar of Lux soap camping. You're inevitably not going to use it all up, or you're going to lose it. Pre-cut soap shavings with a vegetable peeler. One shaving is roughly enough for one bath or shower.
11. Zzzzzzip! Attach a keyring to your zippers - then you can easily grab them on cold mornings or evenings.
12. Make Your Own Blitz. Smear a cotton ball with Vaseline and wrap it in tin foil. When you want to make a fire, cut an X in the foil, pull out a bit of cotton, twist it into a wick, and light it.
13. Build Your Own Washing Machine. Cut a circle in the lid of a large plastic bucket. Pour water and detergent into said bucket. Now insert a plunger into the hole. Then add your clothes, and start plunging, dad.
14. Save Your Keys from Drowning. Attach an old wine cork to your keys - their very own life jacket. It's more or less essential if you're going rowing!
15. Pre-Made Pancakes. Prepare your batter in advance - with milk, sugar, eggs, and the lot. Pour it into Ziploc bags and freeze. Not only can you quickly bake it once it's thawed, but it can also serve as additional ice packs until then!
