Outback Camping Checklist

Track & Canopy · Updated 2026-10-16 · Tick items as you pack — print or save as PDF from your browser.

Water

Count drinking, cooking and the emergency reserve as three separate numbers, then add.

  1. Long-range water carrier, 20 L per person per day Essential
  2. Emergency water reserve, sealed and untouched Essential
  3. Jerry cans for the second and third cache
  4. Treatment tablets and a filter for any suspect source
  5. Electrolytes counted per person per hot day

Fuel and range

The tank is a consumable like water: measured, ranged and doubled where the map is thin.

  1. Long-range tank or fuel containers, legality checked Essential
  2. Funnel, filter and a known tank-to-jerry routine
  3. Printed fuel-availability map for the route
  4. Range calculator habit before every leg
  5. Oil top-up matched to the engine, in the kit

Communications

Two ways to call: one that works now, one that works when the phone is dead.

  1. Registered PLB, batteries in date Essential
  2. Satellite messenger or starlink-class link for the route
  3. UHF with aerial check for road train channels
  4. Spare phone bank, charged and powered warm
  5. Solar panel and 12 V charging set for the comms day job

Dust and vehicle kit

Dust is the outback's weather. The vehicle kit is the camping gear that keeps you moving.

  1. Spare air filters and the tool to change them Essential
  2. Pre-cleaner or dust shield for the intake
  3. Tyre repair Plugs, gauge and heavy-duty compressor
  4. Two spares or a spare plus repair, tools reachable not buried
  5. Recovery kit: boards, strap, shackles, rated and practised
  6. Grease, rags and corrugation fastener checks for service stops
  7. Windscreen protection and a supply of washer fluid

Heat-wise camp

Outback camps are built around the shade clock, not the view.

  1. Big shade structure rated for hot wind Essential
  2. Fan per shelter, powered from the vehicle or station
  3. Sleep system chosen for the night low, not the day high
  4. Swag or tent raised and shaded from the ground radiance

Personal outback kit

The individual loads that make the difference between uncomfortable and dangerous.

  1. UPF long layers for everyone, worn not carried
  2. Hat with chin strap for the dust wind
  3. Personal water bottle clipped, never out of reach Essential
  4. Sealed first aid kit with eye wash for dust Essential
  5. Head torch per person plus a spare battery set