Packing List: Driving and Camping in Australia

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.

Things that didn’t work so well:

• We didn’t bring rain gear or research the potential of freezing rain in Melbourne in August. It was cold, we were miserable.
• Underestimating the quality of the National Park system. Free gas barbecues, cooking shelters, hot showers.
• Better day pack for short hiking trips. All we had was a camera bag and a very uncomfortable shoulder bag.

Things that worked well:

• Buying bulky camping gear in Australia. Chairs, cooler (esky) and sleeping mats were all easy to pick up close to Sydney and saved us the hassle and expense of lugging them from home.
• Bringing a US cell phone with an unlimited data plan. Worked brilliantly and gave us a lot more freedom. Internet costs in the outback were obscene.
• Not paying for a 4x4. Although we missed out on a few attractions. With only six weeks to travel, and given the exceptional quality of the Australian parks and road reports, a four door car did just fine at a quarter of the price.

The List

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