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Canada Diary Part 2 – Getting Amped

Canada Diary Part 2 – Getting Amped

So, we now have 5 air-tickets to Vancouver for 5 weeks, in 5 months time. Sounds kinda cool. Not quite our initial big dream of RV’ing around the USA and Canada for a year, but not nothing either. We are living our dream, making it happen, grabbing life by the horns.

Well, that was the theory anyway when I withdrew our savings and splurged on the air-tickets. Now comes the part when we decide what to do in the 5 weeks. OK, so the dream was a road trip – that still works. Google Canada and you will find that road tripping is big there. As is RV’ing. For a while, I have been pouring over RV websites – reading reviews of campgrounds, blogs of other RV’ers, tips on how to RV as a family, learning how to plug in a sewer, and so on. So, my first step was off to Cruise Canada to sort out a 5-sleeper RV.

Unfortunately around the time of booking our air tickets, our president fired the finance minister and sent the Rand into a tumble down South. Which moved Canada quite a few degrees further North. The RV quotes looked okay in Dollars, but when multiplying them by 12, the numbers were just not adding up.

It was a real “Oh Shit” moment when the truth dawned on me. We cannot afford to RV around Canada. Full stop. No way around it. At the moment I’m all for screwing the rules and doing it anyway, but no moola means no RV. So what the hell do we do in 5 weeks at the other end of the world?

OK. Let’s think through this logically. Take a step back, and imagine we were holidaying locally on a shoestring. We are good at local. What is the cheapest way to survive on the road? It didn’t take long to answer that – it has to be the dreaded C-word.

I have heard that camping can be fun – getting closer to nature, spending quality time with the kids, becoming one with the universe and all that. I have tried before and it wasn’t really my cup of tea. Lots of work to set up the campsite, loads of dirt, not enough light, hearing the snores of other people’s husbands and trekking to the ablution block with your toiletry bag, to mention a few off-putters.

Although it is not my accommodation of choice at home, we cannot afford to be choosy in the Great White North. But camping requires a lot of equipment. How would this be possible on a halfway round the world trip?

So I Googled camping equipment rental in Canada, and a site by the same name as the punchline of one of our favourite kid jokes popped up. Rent-a-tent. A little research later, and it seems that you are able to rent a full camping kit, complete with a tent, foam mattresses, crockery, cutlery, cooler, cooking and cleaning stuff – the whole shebang. And the best news is, we can afford it! No need to cancel the tickets! Canada here we come! Hurrah for camping!

Have you noticed that camp without a “c” spells amp? That was all that was missing for me… I always focused on the “c”, wishing it was a “gl”. All I needed was to change my focus onto the last 3 letters and get amped to camp!

A little more research revealed some alarming info:

Alarming Canada camping tips
I reality checked with some Canadian campers, and they say no need to panic. There is “front country” and “back country” camping. The dig a hole thing is for seasoned back country campers. Phew!

BUT, and it’s a big one, the Canadian national park campgrounds do not all have showers (!!!). I am trying to wrap my head around this. So far I have come up with taking along a bowl, a sponge, lots of deo, and a good hat.

Do you have any Happy Camper tips for us? We need all the help we can get – please share in the comments section below.

Yours in travel

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