07 Dec 2017

It’s a sticky summers day and you and a few of your mates pack two loaves of bread and a packet of Tim Tams into the car. You’ve got the necessities; a polaroid, snacks, three foldable chairs and a tent that may not even have poles. You’ve decided to roll out of bed, load up the car and go camping.

You’re trying to think of a way to spend all the long summer days ahead of you. A sleepover just won’t cut it. You and your friends decide to try your hand at the outdoors, even though none of you were ever really good at school camps, especially setting up a tent. You’re not even sure if the tent you have in the back of the cupboard is safe to sleep in. Don’t despair, because it is these mistakes and misadventures that will create some of the best memories of your young life.

Camping is without fail the best way to get some good friendship-bonding happening. It’s just you, your mates and the great wilderness to contend with. Pack some snacks, plenty of head torches and get ready to have some deep chats as you try in vain to create some kind of fire. You’re going to remember for the rest of your life how you forgot the tent poles and had to use logs to keep it upright and you were all laughing for the rest of the night.

You’ll look back on the photos of the hidden beaches you found and the walking track that gave you the best view of the sun rising in the morning. Or how you could taste the ocean from your own very tent, the birds your own personal lullaby. You don’t need to be a professional hiker to appreciate the outdoors, it just takes an open mind and a sense of adventure.

It doesn’t matter if you go for three days or three weeks. As long as you are trying something new, whether that be sleeping under nothing but the stars or putting on a pair of hiking boots for the first time. Camping is all about new experiences. Try and leave your phone at home, focus on the friends that are right next to you. Wake up early in the morning and watch the sun rise. Try and fail to make smores over the fire. Bring a deck of cards, it’s a necessity.

Just get out there, make the most of the good weather and the days of freedom stretched in front of you. Grab your friends, a tent and go for an adventure.