Shopping and what to expect for your Australian road trip | Travelling around Australia

I grew up a rangers son and lived in the bush first 16 years of my life. We Dad and I would go into the bush to cut firewood and check on the Rreserves Catchment area of 336.7 km�. Lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea was alwways arnots biscuits, cut snadwiches and black and white billy tea with a spare themus of hot coffee. It was fine. You don't need to overshop but shop and plan wisely for extended trip noting shops and supermarkets along the way such as a Darwin to broome your have Katherine and Kununurra supermarkets.

See our what to bring section for gome hand travel tips
Shopping can be fun or stenerious.
I searched google for curiosity but mostly Amercian camping, shopping and food lists - all had 'Bear Sprays'. In Australia our Koala Bear are cute you don't need Bear Spray. The Pininterest list seem so long I think I would need a semi tralier not a 4wd to carry it all.


Fridge/Freezer
Ever tried fitting a house full of food into a small 32L Engel Fridge/Freezer.
Buy a super cheap foam esky and look for those 3 very small icebricks red,gree,blue AUD$20 for 3. Try woolworth's that's where I got ours and this is where we put our drinks and snaks. The less you open the fridge the better.
I found if you drive cruising 3 hours it charged the 32L Engel 67% (not just engine on that's a different ratio charge)


Food - Just a few ideas not the entire list

Basic rules there not much room so if you can replace perishables with non persihables then try to Fresh Milk for Dairy Powder Creamer for example
I find no matter how many plates they supplier I always need more paper plates (I know not very Eco Green)
Paper towels for cleaning the frypans superfical leftover cooking off first and then wash. It's cleaner and saves on water.
• Remember the cooking oil but you really only need a small
• Sugar, Pepper, Salt
• Cheese, lettuce, tomato.
• Vegies Cauilflower keeps the longest we found and
• Tinned fruit salad, beetroot (OMGosh Golden Circle is our favourite), as I said soups, tinned Peas (the frozen bags take too much room)
• Glad wrap and lot's of it.
• Sandwich bags
• Sweets or lollies that not persiahble - careful they will become addictive we found.
• Eggs are tricky if the storage area is relatively cool then the tend to carry. (Check the used by date)
• (Careful of the sugar content) But the old fashion fizzy drink powder just add water.
• Plastic bottle of drinks 1 litre good size to store and carry.
Heinz tomato sauce, Amercian Mustard great on all sandwich sliced meats.
Bread and more bread but get the best expiry dates.
Watermelon a full one carries well till you cut it open.
If you buy Coca Cola or lemonades I find it just makes you thirtier
Marg and I found heavy cooking was hard work but nice every say alternative day. The other days simple soups and snadwiches surficed fine.
Busicuits and more biscuits
Canned pasta sauce and pasta always a easy dish to cook up
Burgers whether ham or fish or chicken or vegie really easy to cook up.
If you buy burger meet 1st night camping suggest you rerool and wrap in individual burger paddies


Cooking
• When cooking on your portable griller make sure you know where the fire extingusgher and remember how to quickly use it.
• Have extra plates ready
Oh consder buying a food fly net cover you will tanks me later (the Great Australian Sulate is a aussie swating at a fly)

Food

To reduce volume and weight, snap-top bags are great to hold food where you don�t need the whole pack
It�s worthwhile buying some small containers at an outdoor shop to hold things like olive oil, powdered milk and sugar, as these are robust and easier to handle cleanly
Always have some food as a reserve that cannot be affected by heat or go off, for example freeze-dried or canned, as part of your back-up supplies

Other Things

A cheap wollen rug for eating outdoors. (10 to 1 as we say you will forget it whilst hiking somewhere)