Old Camp New Camp

In the blog post “Quarantine Diary”, I mentioned Old Camp and New Camp and having shifted from one to the other. Old Camp is where it all started out in late 2015 when I first bought the block. This is where I parked my caravan, set up the dog’s yard etc. I’d put the caravan alongside trees and eventually my camp was invaded by a variety of ants. They loved nearly everything I had that they could chew.

The caravan wasn’t all that flash though what could I expect with what I paid for it. It had an air con that worked well and was much appreciated during the Build-Up and the Wet season. The caravan also leaked which was not appreciated during the Wet season. As I found the leaks I patched them with tar tape and I think I got them all. Mind you, some had well and truly created some mould by the time they were patched. The caravan was also a breeding ground for mozzies. During the Dry season I slept mostly outside, going to bed when the sun set. Initially I had a mozzie net and was burning mozzie coils to keep myself safe. It failed. And by December 2015 I had Ross River Virus. Thankfully, I was in a house-sit when it took effect.

Also thankfully, you can only get Ross River Virus once so I’m not so bothered with sleeping outside anymore and still did up until a week ago on the block. It gets cold but I have a dog to keep warm with. Despite sleeping outside not being much of a bother, I'm now sleeping in the container, walled-in by copious amounts of stuff.

The container will be fitted out to be a tiny home but not plumbed. It will be more like a living/sleeping space with an area dedicated to food prep. And perhaps, when time passes and money accumulates, a separate container will be purchased and that will contain a bathroom and kitchen. In the meantime, a 44-gallon drum cut in half doubles as a dish drying bench and a stove top.

The bath doubles up as the washing machine as the seal had gone on my tumbler washing machine and I am yet to try it out with the new seal cut out for me by the local upholstery guy. Squishing the clothes around in the tub with clean feet and laundry detergent is just as effective anyway. The bucket I use to rinse the clothes is also the kitchen sink.

People are still freaking out by how I’m living, however, I have all I need. Some people spend large amounts of money for this gadget and that just to go camping and no one bats an eyelid at a family going camping for a long weekend but everyone loses it when I’m going to spend the foreseeable future doing it myself. I have water, sanitation, food, shelter and an education. I’m already doing a lot better than a significant portion of the world’s population.

	Old Camp (Late 2015 to late 2017)	New Camp (Present)
Electricity	8kva Petrol Genset	Solar panel phone charger, torches, magnetic light switches, solar fairy lights
Water	1000L IBC (aka pod)	8000L poly tank purchased in 2017 but not used until now
Cooking	McDonald’s and then diet shakes because of too much McDonald’s	Butane stove
Hygiene	12v Camping Shower ‘til I got sick of changing fuses and then used a bucket in a tree	200L plastic drum cut in half and used as a bath
Animal Containment	Large Silvan brand dog pen	20m of dog mesh from Bunnings, 5 pickets, a donated gate and mesh gutter guard
Shelter	Caravan	Shipping container (which was used only for storage in 2017 )