This section is all about improving your next trip.  I once had the good fortune to go camping ‘out bush’ with a bunch of blokes in Australia.  These guys were serious campers and had been retreating to the wilds of north Queensland for many years.  Each year on arrival they would compile a list of ‘things we should have brought’.  By the time I was invited along we had, and I kid you not, a petrol generator, a chest freezer, an upright fridge, a .22 calibre Winchester rifle for croc protection (and I’m not talking the footwear fad of 2007), a small boat with a 40 horse power outboard engine, a three ton truck with two 55 gallon drums of fuel on the back and a bottle of Bundaberg rum.  We had a hell of a time!  All quarters covered, and a positive plethora of dishes emerged as we took it in turns to cook for the rest of the guys.  The Dampa baking sessions seemed to get really serious but that’s another story! (check out the relevant URL on the links page).

Clearly there’s only so much you can cram into the back of a Ford Escort estate, and to be honest I’m a little cautious about shelling out for one of those roof-rack storage pods having seen one explode at 80 miles per hour on the M4, but the principle of the Australian experience is a good one.  In many ways it has been instrumental in the emergence of the Guyrope Gourmet. 

By noting what you failed to bring along, and making sure that omissions are noted and rectified the next time round, after a couple of trips you should find that the comfort level of your camping experience increases with each trip.  So break out that notebook and add the ‘wish I’d brought’ entries.

Only you can gauge the capacity of your car, but exactly the same principle exists for the food list.  Remember what you were short of, what dishes went well and those that didn’t.  Many or most of the ‘condiments’ suggested here come in a jar or a tin and accordingly will last out for the trip without spoiling so it wont hurt to bring along a plentiful supply.  Learn to look at camping as a continuum rather than a one-off event …