When free-camping I take all the water I need with me .. the "Camps Australia" book and online websites provide information on dumpsites which I factor into my travels, but when in greater isolation out in the bush, its a matter of digging a deep hole in an appropriate spot .. not forgetting that the location be left as you found it .. backfilled, neat and tidy .. (this only refers to cassette type dumps)
If you go up to the "search" function above and do separate searches for "dump sites" or "dump points" you will find some more interesting discussion on this and other topics from past postings ..
Jon
-- Edited by biggles on Sunday 16th of June 2013 04:09:41 AM
For those of you who free camp, where do you get you drinking water from? Is it scarce or is there plenty around.? Same with dump sites, is it hard to find places to empty your loo?
We've only got 160litres of water all together, I'm stressed this won't be enough for any length of time. I'd imagine even if we're very careful (which we are, from living on tank water) we're still likely to need to top up at least a couple of times per week. Do some of the free camps (we just brought Camps 7) Have fresh water and grey /black water dump sites?
Flicka9736....Welcome to the world like no other...
We are presently out at Charleville where (we think..lol)...the water tastes like s**t....And gets worse as you go North...So we carry 20ltr of purified water from home and buy more from the shops when we need it.
We have a filter on the filling tanks and again on the taps so at least we know its bug free etc so its ok for cooking,shower and doing the dishes and we keep the ''good stuff'' for drinking and..coffee's.
There seems to be water in most places but doesn't hurt to be prepared and take extra with you.
Dump stations are also not a problem but...do think in advance and not leave it until the cassette is near over flowing...
Cheers and enjoy your trips
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The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything they have.
"Go where you feel like, when you like" still needs a bit of planning. Check the dump point and water availability ahead, fill your water tanks and empty your loo whenever you can. You need to allow on 10 litres a day per person, but that's pretty frugal, no showers, just a bucket wash... or a 12v pump-shower from a bucket, which works quite well and uses very little water.
Flicka - 160ltr of water is pretty good - we always carry extra water, strictly for drinking - 20 ltr - and we know how to ration our water - limiting shower times, etc., as well as washing dishes - sometimes just do it once a day. When you are in a spot with a creek or dam, that water can be used for showers if you have a shower tent and small pump, as well as for washing clothes, dishes etc. Also - if it rains, catch rainwater in a clean bucket and put it into your tank - dropping one end of your awning funnels water into the bucket - one time we got about 80 litres from rainwater, which allowed us to stay a bit longer in a great spot.
And remember also, 1 litre of water = 1kg of weight!!!!!!
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
We always carry an amount of alum to clarify dirty water then, suitable for washing, not drinking. We also carry a water purifier & boil water b4 drinking.
For Dump Points, "Sanidumps" is the best I've located, with map location, GPS location & even text facility to owner if applicable. Plenty of other travelling options,
Flicka9736....Welcome to the world like no other...
We are presently out at Charleville where (we think..lol)...the water tastes like s**t....And gets worse as you go North...So we carry 20ltr of purified water from home and buy more from the shops when we need it.
That's strange - we lived in Charleville for 15 years and like most of the locals, we'd carry Charleville bore water away with us when on holidays as once you've tasted it you love it. No chlorine added and soft as. Maybe they've changed bores. The bore water further north and west will lose it's sulphur smell if you let it air for a few days. I've heard of people using and aquarium air stone to bubble air through the water to get rid of the smell.
We try to do as much free camping as we can and I have found that as Sandsmere say's,.......... "Tourist Info & Shire offices are a good source of info"
The servo's are in the main great, but like to see a bit of a spend, so I try the litre for litre trick when filling up the tug and if I'm only wanting to fill the tanks or the jerry's then I ask them how much? so far on the "how much" approach it has only ever cost me a donation ($5) to the RFDS which you can't complain about anyway. In the main it is about planning your trip around your available resources.
The one thing that I always do, is have 24 of those 600 ml bottles that have clean fresh water in them as my "Only use in case of emergency" supplies.
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Mark & Linda
A man who asks a question is a fool for five minutes, but ask no questions and your a fool for life!!
Re the public loos, I know those that have, whether you can or not I am not sure as I don't use a cassete toilet, but I know those who have done so without being challenged. Beach toilets may also be an option.
I can only recall filling up with water at one Servo after refuelling, asked the owner there, they said yes, go ahead, that was at Katherine and it was for a Toyota Coaster, not sure of the capacity of the tank, it was owned by someone else, but took a while to fill.
They can't hang you for asking, will either say yes or no or there is a cost. Some members carry a 4 way tap handle as some parks have the taps removed possibly for vandalism (taps turned on by youths etc) but may also be to stop people taking free water. Bear in mind it could be bore water that is not safe for drinking though.
At Denmark in WA, there is a water corporation tap for scheme water where I and others have filled up containers of good drinking water for free, we were directed there by the Info Centre (Tourist Info). You can always ask at Info Centres where you can get drinking water or at the Shire Office, they will let you know what the score is. At Broomehill in south west WA, I wanted to fill up a container with drinking water but the tap in a park behind the Shire building had no tap on it. I went into the office there and asked if I could have some, they said no as their ratepayers had to pay for it. They directed me to a tap in the main street alongside a gazebo rest stop, saying the water was paid for on that one by the Water Corporation and it was ok to fill up there, which I did. Hope this is some help.
-- Edited by Duh on Monday 17th of June 2013 01:37:39 AM
For those of you who free camp, where do you get you drinking water from? Is it scarce or is there plenty around.? Same with dump sites, is it hard to find places to empty your loo?
Always carry sufficient for free camping, tank for washing etc, container (filled from home) or supermarket bottle and container water for drinking. Can be purchased at supermarkets in towns you pass through before you head bush.
Don't write off suburban or town park toilets for emptying your cassette, most deep sewerage but if septic should be ok if using generic nappy wash products instead of other chemicals......I am talking about if no dump point is within cooee....
That was my next question Duh, whether I could empty the loo in public toilets. I guess you've answered my question. Lol. So do you guys just ask at service stations if you can fill up your water there? Oh and there will be no filling up from home as we'vessold it, our van will be our home. Lol
Importantly... DONT empty a cassette toilet into a composting toilet! Someone did this at a toilet in Karijini NP in WA, and made a terrible stink. the ranger said the chemicals in it killed the bacteria that kept it operating. Up till then it hadn't had a smell at all.
