Introduce Your Girlfriend To Camping

I've been divorced for quite some years now, and my new lady companion, Diane, had never camped out before. So I had to break her in gently.

First I coaxed her into spending the night with me inside a tent in our backyard one night.

She survived that experience unscathed, so a few weeks later I took her camping at a state-managed camping spot where there were public toilets, picnic tables and a safe, approved fireplace.

The park rangers had even laid on a supply of chainsawed logs for us.

The only thing lacking were showers, but since this was just an overnight camp, we could live without that luxury. We'd be driving home again after breaking camp the next day.

The magic of that camping site was greatly enhanced by the time of year - our late spring in the southern hemisphere (Australia). In fact we two were the only campers in that part of the park at the time.

We were in a river valley surrounded by natural bushland. Across the other side of the river was a Scout camp. When night fell, the pitch black sky showed Orion and the Southern Cross with the clear-cut detail you never see while in the city.

I cooked up a simple dinner for her on my 10-year-old Trangia alcohol-fuel stove, and I proceeded to build a log campfire at the same time. Thay way, we could both sit next to it in our folding camp chairs. We ate our hot meal from plastic bowls. I enjoyed my mug of tea (while she had coffee) while we watched the flames of the campfire flickering.

I once heard another camper describe viewing the glowing coals as "watching Caveman TV". It's only one channel, but it's a great show that's suitable for all ages.