THE SUMMER CAMP

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 1, 6 January 1909, Page 43

THE SUMMER CAMP

USEFUL HINTS BY EXPERTS

AT THE SEASIDE

To th* young man employed in the city ci living in a suburb where he has not ca?y avce>» to the seaside there is no question that camping out at some seaside place not onl y affords him a most enjoyable holiday, but also in the majority of cases will—unless he overdoes tiling-.—prove beneficial to his health. HOW TO GO ABOUT ARRANGING A CAMP. In the first place it is necessary to ascertain the exact- number of members who are going, as it completely upsets all arrangements when a couple of the proposed party drop out at the last moment. Six to eight i> a nice handy number to form a private camping party. When there are more, the team becomes aoiuewhat unwieldy, unless, of course, it is the intention of the campers to take a paid cook with them to provide then meals, wash up. etc., etc., which, if one ran afford it. is very nice, but 1 am yy riling now about the case where the campers are going to do everything toi themselves —in the doing of which inuefc of the fun of camping exists. Alter ascertaining number going, n?x( Mpp is to arrange lor hire ot necessary tents, and it has been the writer’s ex pprience that it lends much to the enjoy ment of the holiday if plenty of roon: is provided in the tents hired, instead o croy* ding hunks into every part of tenl space. Two persons in an Bft. x 10ft. an very comfortable. Of course three anc four can be put up in the same sized tent but a. crowded tent is very inconvenient more especially if it is wot. However having fixed up the number of tents t( 1. • taken, the hire of which generally rum Ji-.m 7 6 to 10/ each per week, provi sior.s and utensils claim attention. I inm experience 1 have found that th< bt >t plan i- for the members of each ten io get the provisions for that tent. The; should im.ke out a complete li.-t of al Ihe provisions they want. and thus i they feel disposed to have some little de ]ic.i'cies which perhaps some of the other don't want and don’t think necessary there i- no dispute, as each man i pra- ti.ally only paying for what he want and .ons'imes/ Of course. a t many place tiicre i> .• general store, and a butche and baker calling round, so that you cai can get almost anything that you run on of or forget. However, following is ; list of provisions necessary tor a ton party of three persons per week. Whet he all are procurable near camping groum of course must be ascertained, and if not some or all will haxe to be taken iron toyvn; —<;igar. say 61b at 2V1.. 1/3; tea 11b .it 1,3; condensed milk, two tins a b 1.. 1 I: golden syrup. 1 tin. 7d.: 3 tin meat at 9J.. 23; 3 tins sardines at Sc •-> ■ candles. 11b. 6-1.; butter. 21b at 1 D

23; tin 1 nit-. 36; cbe«se. 21K. Sd.l 4; rice. 21b. .iyl.. 7(1.: 1 packet oatmeal. 61.; y. a soup >uusages, 3 at 3d.. 9d.; lib. salt, small tm prpper. small bottle vinegar, sav 74.; lib- onions, 2>1.: boiled lollies, 21b. at 41..' sd.. bread. 7 loaves. 1,9; fresh meal. 31b. l.’J: total,, tl 2 9. Having fixed up the provision list, next thing is to see about the cooking utensiL. etc., and who is to bring them, and again a list comes in very handy. In the first, place, a box. or ve-'haps two boxes, are wanted to pack t-hi provisions in. and amongst the gear ti he taken should be: Small tomahawk (sharp i.

y lantern (hurricane), tin-opener, feu long 1 t nuils, couple of chaff-hags for bunk, w»nie pieces of small rope and strong tuine. also short length of fencing wire, ‘ tishing lines and hooks, frying pan. two 1 ‘ tin plates for each man, old knife, fork, >- and spoon and cup for each man, also 6 extra knife and spoon, two billycans, which can be carried by a couple of the party. It is always advisable for each man to take a change of clothes, also pair of sand-shno, all of which can be rolled up in his blankets and make a swag for him to carry over his shoulder. Arrange:s ments should lie made for the carriage of ie the box-es of the whole party to the j. camping ground—there is no fun in carrying heavy boxes any distance, and by 1 afl contributing a -mall amount each '■ the boxes will be dropped at wherever ‘• s you want them by coach. It is always p, advisable to make an early start, as on ,» the first day there is a fair amount of ir work to be done before the camp is esie tablished. and you want daylight to do it in in ie In choosing a site for a ramp, regard >r should be had for the distance from h drinking water, and if it is possible to arrange for the openings of each tent tn I face one another, and an extra fly rigged over the space in the centre, this space ' can bp used as a joint "dining - ' and "sitv. ting” room by the campers, and is much ’ more sociable than if the tents were sent parat?d by any distance. . Each man t should take his turn at doing the little e jobs necessary, such as washing up. getld ting wood and water, and straightening j up camp, and as the "cook'’ is a very inir ’ portant personage, he should be free T ’ from all other duties the day he is actL o ing in this capacity. ns As to what to do while in camp, if the •j. partv only set themselves out. to have a good time •they can’t help having one. l IP what with bathing, beach cricket and nt football, rock-fishing, walks, etc., and ~v then at night time singing, yarning, and ijl genera ly friendly pleasantry and innocent jt practical jokes. As long as the campers In. look after the inner man and have a place tn rest when they are dead beat, they x t will enjoy themselves, unless, of course, 'js they haven’t any life or spirit in them; ts and if this is the case they won’t have es the heart to form a camp. cr Estimated cost per week for tent of in three young men: —

>t, or about. 12/ per head per week. •hi Of course, where the campers are pre*a. pared to go more they can take little at luxuries, such as preserved fruits, tinns ned plum puddings, jam. ••to., also fruit. M, which is always acceptable, especially in I*- hot weather.

ON THE MOUNTAINS. J.’ The first thing to consider in starting out on an expedition to the mountains i- the selecting of a tent, and in doing ’ this be sure that you get a good fly. t This we found was of great yalne to us during our little experience, and kept the ” tent as dry as one could wish to have it, n although we had some pretty bad weao ther to contend with. Then there is the buying of the necessary articles so useful n in‘camp, and these we found were, a i. gridiron, medium-sized saucepan, a two-

quart billy, frypan, and cup? and saucers, j etc., that you think you will require. < Having bought these few necessities, 1 you think then of selecting a good ?pot. i in doing this get a> near to water as J you possibly can. You will find that this j will ®ave you a lot of trouble. After you 1 have selected the spot comes the most 1 difficult part, e.-pecially to one that has ; had little experience of camp life. The first thing to do is to get four saplings ' with good forks, two to carry the ridge pole that goes through the tent, and two to carry the pole for the fly. These two. of course, should be about a foot higher than the tent poles, but the first thing you should do i? to measure the height of the tent, allowing for about a foot to eighteen inches of each of the poles to go in the ground. Having done this, the rest is very simple, a- the pegging out and the pegging down one can see at a glance how they should go-, but what we found was a much better idea, instead of getting pegs to peg out. get four forks, allow I foi about 18in. in the ground, and about ! the same out of the ground; put these , forks in slanting from the tent and about , two or three feet from same, the disI rance apart being the width of the tent; , then place a long pole across the forks projecting about two feet at each end, i do the same on each side. After doing this, get three pegs and peg down: this i will make a very strong job of it. Then > tie the ropes of your tent to pole. These ■ make not only a job that will stand ’ pretty near any reasonable weather, but - help to keep the tent straight and off » the ground, as it will very soon rot if - left on the ground for any length of time in all weather. They also keep the fly from sagging on to the tent when g raining, which is a very important thing —always make sure of this, as your tent 1 is very apt to leak if this occurs. Hav--1 ing got your tent properly rigged, the I next thing to do is to dig a good trench t all round it. so as to stop the rain from s running through your tent, as it will cause e great inconvenience if you are sleeping v on leaves and not the. wooden stretchers. *, which are hardly worth the trouble, if ; you are only camping for a week or two. e I? longer, it would be advi.-able to have them. Having given you an idea as to how’ to rig your tent, etc., we go on to the benefits and pleasures of mountain camping. First, there are the cool nights following even the hottest days—refreshing and welcome, after a day's shooting or sightseeing. 1 might mention that there is very little danger of anybody ’■ irterfering with yotir camp, if you want e at any time to see the sights, etc... 1 ‘ especially when there are only two of II y< u You will find that a pack of cards 11 is also very handy to have, as it is alwavs verv nice after having a rest to

ir.dulffe in a quiet game of card? or draughts at night. These, with other little amusements, help to put in a very good time. J.ast. but not least, we vome to what i.- the easiest and best way to live in <amp. Here is the list of two actual campers whose bill came tn about a wook each. The- list for the week included: 141 b. potatoes, 21b. butter. 41h. sugar, packet rolled oats, tin cocoa. 14 pogs. 6 loaves bread lib. meat each day. and several small items such as salt and pepper etc.

ut Provisions Hire of lent .... £1 2 9 n s n nd Incidental expenses Carriage on boxes, fare 0 5 3 s. etc. 1 16 0