What things to consider for a big trip?

Go to TOPICS on the Toolbar on the Forum Page and you should get answers for everything you wish for....lol

Keep you tucker simple, depending on how much fridge freezer space you have, I wouldn't pre prepare anything.

You can get cryovac meats etc but good refrigeration is best.

Canned veggies are good, peas corn tomatoes. Rice, pasta meals are good. Stuff like a BBQ every now and then is OK but you do get bored with it after a while. Spuds and Kumara (Sweet potato) keep well. Onions the same. Remember that in some states you have fruit and veggy road blocks and spot checks so be aware when you are getting close to use up stuff like that before you hit the block or get spot checked.

Dried veggies are great these days and are very light to carry.

Iff you like fresh bread, bread mix is great done in a camp oven and kneading it is good therapy.

Mostly you'll find all your questions answered in enormous detail the very many excellent articles on this site. Just look on the left of here under "Topic search"

For specific things a search in the forum archives ususlly gets lots of stuff also.

Good luck and have fun

It is really hard to answer this type of question because so much depends on your usual diet. Go to the topics section and have a look first. Pick out ideas that suit your diet. The main thing is keep it simple. You don't want to spend the whole time cooking and washing dishes. It is also unlikely that you will be able to take the entire kitchen so avoid things that require specific pots or kitchen gadgets. Remember that it is likely that you will have limited fridge space. Hard veg travels ok in a vented box. There is a huge selection of dried and tinned food. I would try stuff before you leave because if you have a low salt diet you will find many items too salty. While you may be off the beaten track, most regional centres have large supemarkets and even smallish towns in well travelled areas will have a decent selection of stuff in a small shop or supermarket. So you don't need to take everything on day one. Just remember it will be a bit more expensive, the range will likely not be as large and they are unlikely to stock low turnover items.

Look at your intended itinerary and check to see if there are quarantine points. Not much point chucking a whole lot of stuiff you have just bought.

Once again, keep it simple, one pot meals are ideal. You want stuff that is quick, tasty and easy to prepare. The old damper on a stick over the fire or jaffles can keep the kids amused for a while and creates very few dishes (though possibly a few burns). On that point take a reasonable first aid kit and make sure you have things to treat minor bites, burns, cold symptoms etc as it is unlikely that there will be a chemist around the corner. Stuff happens and it saves being miserable.

Steve

Hi Travelling Sheila

Big question and varies a lot with your type of lifestyle and how
you travel. The articles reffered to is good food for thought.

Most of ours is simple and from the back of the car.

We believe things like meat to be unhealthy and try to stay away
from frozen things as much as possible - hence our fridge capacity
is only around 23lt and we have worked out our food requirements
based on fairly straightforward stuff that is easily obtainable
at smaller supermarkets, and that is easy to work with, and has
little or burnable packaging.
(e.g. carry cask of wine and just put little in fridge each day)

Things like bread, deb ,dried peas , TVP , pancake mixes , and some
instant meals with inbuilt plates (but not dried meals) and a selection
of tough vegs like carrots/cabbage for coleslaws and tomatoes/onions etc
easily last more than a week if packed with a little care.

Most of our stuff is packed in about 7 or 8 cardboard boxes of type
coping paper comes in with contents written on outside.
These boxes with there lids cosy nothing and keep air around
the food and are stackable etc.

Our son recently discovered "deb mash and baked beans" and I reckon
he would eat it every meal if we let him.

I think one of the most important things is to take a minute
to look at the problem though the eyes of everyone in your party
and work out some things that work for them.

A friend of mine recently reduced boredom in kids by doing that
and in his case bought a $200 in car dvd unit.

Another important thing is to ensure everybody has responsiblies.

E.G. Noting your other post re-swags, for us kids have small $30 tents, 50mm
self inflating mats (k-mart) and warm sleeping bags.

At our place they are totally responsible for sorting this out at each camp,
and it helps motivate them if this is required to be up before snacks.

Three other things we take - lots of plastic bags, rubber bands and
hot water bottles, and assume we will pack up in rain (hence plastic bags).

Robin Miller

A Nissan and an Engel

We'll be embarking on a big trip hopefully soon as well, Cobar NSW to Albany WA, but it will be an on road / camping trip as the main purpose is to visit the inlaws for a week and driving will cost half as much compared to flying the 4 of us.

I would say make sure you at least cover the basics - rice, pasta, spuds, water. Then some veg and meat and don't forget the tea / coffee / pwdr milk / salt / pepper and any nicities you really can't live without.

For a one pot meal it's hard to go past some pasta, mince, veggies cooked & strained then topped with tomato sauce.

Tin food is great particularly as a just in case type thing. You could get a bunch of those dehydrated meals that you buy from camping stores, they don't taste too bad but pretty expensive!

It's all easy to do if you're heading off for a week, I guess after that if you're not going to be around any towns it would get down to more basic foods.

You can pretty much cook the same as you do at home...

some of the things it ry to do...

have dinner finished & washed up by dark

if your in a "fridge_max" cycle cook extra for tomorrows lunch

develop a fridge cycles diet based on the your charge and capacity of fridge.. ie, use it a lot in traveling legs and lessen it use when settled in...sometime it only got milk and water in it

i cook from skins rather than tins... a potato & tomatoe that have been sitting in 60degress heat seems somewhat healthier than a tin...

there is heaps more youll find but eating is the most important activity f the day - it doesnt have to be easy....