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Till now there have been many things covered which are to be taken on a camping trip. There could be much more and one such thing is your ‘tent’. A tent is your dwelling on the camping trip away from your home. and is multifunctional, protection being the first and foremost. Choosing a tent for a camping trip is as important as planning the whole trip. Most of us do not much care about choosing the tent before setting our sails.

Although, there are few factors that should be considered while choosing your tent that helps in taking an informed decision, and they are:

Weather

It may sound trivial but weather of the place you are planning to visit sets to be the first factor of choosing your tent. Choose the one which fills all the requirements of the place of visit. If you are planning to anchor your trip on a beach, your tent should have corrosion-resistant metal fittings as the winds on a beach are humid enough to oxidize the metal fittings. Similarly, if the place is humid you need to pick the tent which has a breathable fabric, otherwise, you might feel suffocated on the trip.

Reason

It may sound weird that going on a camping or a leisure trip can have different reasons, cause the only 2 reasons which are evident are relaxing and enjoying. Yes, that is, in fact, true, yet you need to dig a little deeper. You might just want to be connected to nature and you want your tent to keep you aligned with it. On the flip side, you want to socialize with friends and family which is a larger group making your requirement for the tent completely different.

Time

The first thing considered before the trips are planned, is how much time you have in your budget. Based on the time you have and want to spend the trips are planned- a weeklong trip, a 2-day trip, a trip with multiple stoppages. In turn, this decides what type of tent you would want to carry. A relatively longer trip would need bigger tents which would take a longer time to install and uninstall as compared to the shorter trips which just need smaller tents with less time to lodge and dismantle.

Following these 3 tips, it would make it very easy for you to pick the right tent for your camping trip and that is how you can make informed decisions.

Sleeping, it is something we all love and there won’t be anyone in the world who would say he/she doesn’t like to sleep (except the insomniacs). Scientifically, sleeping is very important for us and scientists say the ideal sleep-wake ratio is 1:2 that means an ideal sleep is of 8 hours every day. Unfortunately, we haven’t evolved like animals (a few of them like Polar Bear sleep all winter) who can take all the rest at one go and that is why we need to sleep at regular intervals.

Apart from sleeping well, something more is important and that is sleeping at the right time. Sleeping and waking up on time has been seen not only as a good habit but it reflects a healthy lifestyle too. Although, with the urban hectic life and modern technology it has become difficult, rather impossible to maintain a sound sleep routine.

Before we try to understand how camping helps in our sleep cycles, let us understand some biology. All the living beings have a biological process that drives the 24 hours of the day which is known as the Circadian rhythm, it can be called a clock in our body. Circadian rhythm help in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns including animals.

Another aspect of biology is called the sleep-wake cycle. We all have a sleep-wake cycle and this cycle is controlled by ‘melatonin’ a hormone secreted by one of the glands in our brain called the pineal gland eventually influencing the Circadian rhythm. Melatonin puts us to sleep when it secreted more in the night time and it keeps us awake when it is not secreted in the day time. This happens as melatonin secretion works on external influences like sunlight (in the daytime) and darkness (in the night time).

Connecting all this, scientists have proved that the circadian rhythm responds well to nature i.e. the sunlight and darkness and we get this natural setting on a camping trip. Living under the blue sky, we are exposed to the day-night changes of light, temperature and heat. Thus making the melatonin to secrete at the right time. Also, we are almost cut with the worldly pleasures like TV, smartphones and the internet (although some people like to carry their world on camping trips). This resets our body clock and realigns sleep cycle.

So, camping helps in getting back to the natural sleep alignment thus making it a good reason to camp. Apart from all the leisure and fun fixing your sleep cycles should be the top most reason to plan a camping trip.

Awnings are not only shades that help us from the direct sunlight, but they are an extension of our spaces. Be it a porch, a patio or a corridor, awnings personalize our spaces. But what if these personalized spaces are temporary and do not stay year long. Well, in that case, we do not need fixed awnings too and what we need is a retractable awning.

Retractable awnings can be drawn or rolled back hence making them more flexible for use around the year. For example, we do not want to blot out the soothing sun rays in the winters (which burn us in the summers) and here retractable awnings help us. Here are a few benefits of a retractable awning:

Draw it Back

The biggest benefit of a retractable awning is its most primary function that is retractability. You could draw a retractable awning back once you are done with it. If it is a manual awning you just need a hand crank to open and close the awning by winding it clockwise and anti-clockwise. Nowadays there are remote-controlled awnings too available that makes it much easier to open and close the awnings.

Design Effective

As compared to the non-retractable awnings, retractable ones are more design effective as they do not have standing poles which could be a hassle and often block your view.

Easier to install

Retractable awnings are easier to install as the fabric is rolled making the awning folded and even a duo could install them. Unlike the non-retractable awnings in which the fabric is open making it difficult to install by 2 people.

Cost effective

Creates more space

Blot out the sunlight

Picnic Day is a public holiday in the Northern Territory and it is observed at Adelaide River. Although it is celebrated by many as a long weekend when they plan trips or stay put at homes and relax. Adelaide River is a small town situated about 115 KMs south of Capital of Northern Territory- Darwin. The event holds many exciting pursuits like tug-of-war, three-legged races, egg and spoon races and much more. Harts Range annual races coincide with the Picnic Day and give a great reason to visit this horse race held at Hart Range. Ute Competitions, Bull Rides, Lizard races, Whip Cracking to name a few are the major attractions of the race.

History of the Picnic Day dates back to the late 1800s. Northern Territory witnessed Picnic Day events at various locations like Adelaide River, Brunette Downs Station and Glencoe Paddock. Although a trend picked up in the early 20th century and since then it has been celebrated at Adelaide River on the first Monday of August each year. There are various stories about the origin of the Picnic Day at Adelaide River. One says Picnic Day was declared a public holiday so that the railway employees working on the North Australian Railway could go to Adelaide River to enjoy a picnic. Although the date of the first Picnic Day is unknown and also there was a gap of 11 years somewhere after 1920’s. An effort was made in 1933 to restore it, but it was not as early as 1936 that Picnic Day was officially granted as a public holiday in Northern Territory. While other talks about a race that took place in November of 1947 with 3 brothers- Benett, Qinton and Kil on one side and stockman Jack Schaber and a Senior Constable Bob Darken on the other. Covering a distance of about a mile, the race was to determine who of them had the fastest horse. The race came to be known as Harts Range Annual races. Looking at the enthusiasm the race gathered, a holiday application was made to the Administration of the Northern Territory to declare it as a Central Australian holiday to coincide with the Harts Race. And this came to be known as the Picnic Day.

Picnic Day is a public holiday, schools and post services are closed. What could be a better chance of camping and caravanning than on the Picnic Day?

Outdoors Recreation is as important as work itself in our lives. Without it, a great outdoor monotony sets in, which hampers our efficiency. It is exactly like recharging a drained battery. With a new lease of life, recreation provides us with the new-found energy to work with the same rigor.

There are a lot of ways for leisure. One such way is going outdoor. Outdoor activities like camping or caravanning, have an altogether different impact as compared to the indoor activities. Here are a few reasons why you should go for outdoors:

Exclusive Recreation

Connect with Nature

Far from Pollution

Controlling Stress

Stress has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is not possible to have a complete absence of stress but it is possible to control stress. Outdoor activities help a lot in bringing the stress levels down and eventually making us mentally healthier.

Physically Active

Today maximum jobs are of sedentary nature and with the deteriorating eating habits we are becoming physically unfit. Outdoor activities like caravanning give us a great chance to indulge in physical activities. Engaging in physical activities make us sharp and agile.

Aiding the Power of Memory

Outdoor activities are a great way to get recreational, although they are not only restricted to amusement but also help in cerebral and physical development.

Caravanning or camping brings out the adventurous you from inside. Yeah it's true, but the question here is- Does being adventurous has to do anything with the age? No, it doesn’t. Being adventurous has nothing to do with the age, yet the demographics of caravanning people speak something else. Caravanning is as exciting as any other activity (or surely can get equally exciting), but it finds itself majorly taken up by the older people of the lot. Well, you do see a lot of families caravanning yet the facts support something else. Stats from one such Caravanning Club shows the average age of a caravanner with them is 55 years. Since the day caravanning found its place as an outdoor activity a strong perception has come along with it- caravanning is for older people.

Eyeing for younger people for caravanning some brands are ending up selling something entirely different from caravanning. They talk about mountain bikes, music festivals, surfing, but unfortunately this is not caravanning rather its a crossover. Well whatever the trend might be, numbers paint an entirely different picture. Statistics tells us some 40 years back in 1975 the part of the generation that touched 65 or over was a mere 14/100. Coming down 4 decades in 2015 the same figure went up by almost 4 making it 18 of 100. And so everyone’s awe this number will keep rising by the day.

In another 8 years it is expected to be 23.6% and by another 3 decades down it would touch 24.6%. That means in a period of 70 years (1975-2045) the perceived age group for caravanning would grow by 80%. Well, another survey tells us that around 70% of Uk’s household wealth is held by people who are 50 plus. And what could say as the cherry on the top is the fact that the old generation which holds the major household income also hold “all the time in the world” for caravanning as compared to their younger counterparts who are busy making money?

By the income ratio, even the present looks good for the industry. As all the above are facts and if that's happening in the future, why are the caravanning brands running after the youngsters?

Caravanning industry doesn’t need a new target market to grow rather the contemporary target market is growing.

Annexes

Awnings

The literal meaning of an awning is a canvas sheet which is extended on a frame that serves as a rooftop. Although an awning is more than a rooftop. It can be hooked to the ground just like a tent providing not only a rooftop but also a private space. Awning for a caravan exactly is the same with the only difference being it is attached to the caravan and be rolled out whenever required. Awnings are available in assorted shapes and sizes and also the material varies. A variant of an awning is a canopy which is smaller than an awning that serves just like a rooftop.

Sunscreens

A campervan is the most comfortable shelter while camping. It provides a great place to sleep. Awning is a more natural way of camping. It is the best place to cook, drink, eat, entertain and enjoy yourself while camping. An awning is typically a tent that is designed in a way to be attached to the side of a caravan or a campervan. These tents have been in use for a long time.

Awnings Through Ages

In 1958 the Devon caravette usually came with a simple canopy which was attached to the bus. It has 2 front poles and detachable sides. It was in use till the late 70’s. By 1960 Devon introduced some new awning rails to the roof of the buses. In 1961 the awnings had the usual same design but incorporated a collapsible roof Y frame angles. It ensured that the canopy did not store water from the rains. It could be easily be rolled up and fastened by four buckles. It has 2 removable zips which was used to attach it to the bus through the awning rail. Most of the day awnings came with a blue canopy and orange sides. As time passes new colors and models were available.

In 1962 there wasn't much change in the awnings. Devon offered a free standing awning just for 38 guineas. It was large with bold stripes. It covered the full length of the bus or the campervan. It was mostly seen in red and white and blue and white stripes all though many colors were available after sometime

In 1965 Devon changed the game by introducing the Devon car tent. It was made by Stan Harrison of bristol. It has the structure of the previous invader awnings by the canvas was blue roof and skirt with orange sides having windows which were fly screened. It had an external cover and front doors. These doors could be rolled up separately. The Devon drive away frame tent was in trend at that time.

Popular Awnings

As new trends evolved new awnings came into use. The bay window was used from 1967, the Germans stepped up the camping game with Westphalia camping box. Privy tents, foyer tents, caravans, big top tents, door mobiles, Canterbury Pitt were also popular.

These vintage awnings were just the perfect camping shelters to sit back, relax and enjoy a wonderful weekend with friends and family.

Are you planning to hit the roads of Australia in summer time? Then you should be aware of the fact that it doesn’t take long for the temperature to rise there. However, you can always opt for some summer smart tips that can help you ease while you and your caravan witness the summers and the roads in the rawest form. Check out these tips and things you should consider and have a mesmerizing trip this summer!

1. INSULATION

Make sure that you are well prepared for nature’s extremes. Right when you are about to purchase a caravan, think of your family size, or people whom you’d regularly travel. Consider the fact that numerous caravans are made out of double fiberglass insulated bodies nad pop top roofs. These materials act as insulators and can always chip into moderate temperature variations in your van.

Never forget to add a tropical roof if you are sleeping under a canvas roof. This creates an air gap which will allow heat to be absorbed by the air underneath and save your living space for getting heated up. You can also suspend a high-quality blanket, linings of which will create a reflective obstructor, debarring the heat that is beating down on the roof of your caravan.

2. HYDRATION

During summers, your body tends to lose body fluid, which can be very harmful. If you are traveling with kids, make sure that you never avoid their crankiness. It could be due to their thirst or water level of the body going down. The low water level of the body can also result in headache, body cramps and dizziness, leading to dehydration.

Carry in-cabin fridges filled with water, fruits, and fluids. This way, everyone arrives to the camp hydrated.

3. EVAPORATION

When the heat gets too much for you to survive, opt for some smart moves. Chuck a sheet in the fridge, and leave it there for some time. Then, drape it all over yourself. When the breeze passes, all you will feel is cool winds hugging you. This can turn out to be an excellent relief from the summer and a wise way to beat the heat. You can also keep a cold sac under your head while sleeping so that you keep cool all night.

4. LOCATION

Choose a campsite that has a lot of trees and natural shades. Though you will be carrying awning along with, but natural, living material will keep you cooler. Photosynthesis, water bodies around and breezes, what more do you want to help yourself stay cool, this summer?

These were few tips that can help you not loose your COOL, this summer!

Ever thought of camping at the coast? If not, then now is the time that you pack your bags, chuck off a tent, stuff in your boots and crocs and there you are, all good to go! When you consider camping at the coasts, you chip in a lot of fun that comes complementary with endless beach camping and water sports.

Unwind yourself at the beautiful coasts of Australia, fall asleep to the waves and wake up to the soothing tides. Experience this once and you will love it. If you still are not too sure about camping at the coasts, here are 6 reasons why you should go for it. Check them out:

Wake up and sleep Beside the Ocean

Explore the islands, fall in love with them and admire the scenery that no five star hotel can offer you with. As a caravanner, you get a benefit of falling asleep to the ocean tides and wake up to the surf waves. You get to choose your scenery and camp right there along with your caravan. Revitalize yourself along with your family and friends and serve a relief to yourself.

Entertaining Family Time

Kids and adults, everyone loves splashing into water. Coast caravanning is no less than a celebration and they turn out to be the bets getaways from your sedentary lifestyle.  Be it a romantic escape or a family time, coast caravanning is the best you can treat yourself with.

Oh, Fresh Catch

Who doesn’t love to dig in some fresh sea food and what more can you have than a fresh catch while coast caravanning. Make the most out of these caravanning treats and savor your taste buds with some fresh exotic sea food barbecued well. Salmon, Tuna or Sailfish, try your hands on fishing and catch your favorite fish to have it on your dinner plate.

The Marine Interactions and water birds

Watching exotic marine animals that include various breeds if turtles, sharks and whales is a visual pleasure. Marine aquariums can also be spotted at most of the coastlines where you’d be able to witness friendly sharks and whales. Places like Big Lagoon let you interact with marine animals as well. Likewise, you will find seabirds at the shoreline wetlands, and this is how you can spot the rarest of the birds easily. The birds include albatrosses, gannets and seagulls.

Conclusion

Make some beautiful sandcastles and give way to an ultimate caravanning trip by coast caravanning.

Travelling with family can be one heck of fun if done right! Especially, if you plan to go on a caravanning trip with your family, you are going to have a time of your life. It might sound like a holiday hell to you if you have never caravanned before with your family, but if we consider Australians, then they surely do prefer family over friends while going on caravanning trip!

The above statement is not just a fact! Here are the reasons that justify the statement to the core! Have a look:

1. Packing

When you are caravanning with family, you can throw in anything you want, right from your favourite old denim, to your lost G.I. Joe. All of your bicycles can go in and your favourite magazines too. All, with out the fear of getting judged.

2. Pets 

You can carry your pets along, when you are travelling with your family. Had you been travelling with your friends, you’d be worried about your pet being left at home. You can carry all the edibles and eatables you’d want to feast on with your family and have a gala time caravanning outdoors, into the wild.

3. Kids And Nature

Your kids get know nature and environment closely. In the era of sedentary lifestyle, it is very important for you to teach your kids about the roots of existence, about the natural resources, nature, geography and surroundings.

4. A Pleasing Time

Because pizza places, museums and coffee shops are too mainstream! Take your family out on a caravanning trip and connect better. Feel the warmth and take back home some memories that city-lights cannot offer you! The great outdoors and and amazing campsite with open barbecue, what a mesmerizing sight! At such campsites, kids and other family members get to connect with people from different walks of life and encounter something interesting.

5. The Cost Cutting

Why search for expensive hotels and spend on flights when you can have an amazing road trip with your best people. Rather, chip in some money and have a comfortable and smooth caravan trip with your ones!

The difference!

An awning is usually installed or attached to caravans, while caravanning outdoors, where you’d like to sit back and relax for a while. On the other hand, a tent is a portable shelter that can be stretched anywhere, right in your backyard, at picnics or even on a hilltop.

Protection

Tents and awnings, both offer protection from the sun rays and weather conditions. Both of them are usually made out of the same fabrics which majorly include canvas, vinyl or mesh. However, you need to consider the quality of fabric and the metal frame that shall be supporting the tent and the awning.

When you set up a tent, a retractable tent to be precise, you shouldn’t be scared of strong winds and worsened weather conditions. However, awnings should be brought down right when the winds start you giving the hint of being aggressive!

Aesthetics

When you set up a tent in the backyard of your home, it might be a bit difficult to uninstall it and store it back. However, awning, when attached to caravans, are very easily detachable and can be stored smoothly. In nick of time, they can be folded and kept back.

As a caravanner, you should always choose an awning, when planning a trip. After all, an awning is much more cost-effective than a tent. Not to forget, the limited space your caravan holds, is apt to store an awning and not a tent. If you are looking for a perfect awning for your caravan, head on to Australia Wide Annexes and choose from a range of awnings available at affordable prices.

About AWA:

AWA manufacture and install modern style annexes and awnings for caravans and motor-homes. Find a wide range of caravan accessories at the best prices only with them.