ELLIE BROOKES

First Family Camping Trip: Ellie Brookes Shares Her Tips for Camping with a Baby

Parenthood is full of firsts – first steps, first words, first full night’s sleep. Among the new born’s debuts, first night family camping must be among the sweetest.

Even so, pro surfer Ellie Brookes had her anxieties about going camping for the first time with her new little family when their son Tasman was ten months old. “I think the initial feeling of camping was a little bit overwhelming,” Ellie says. “But once it was all set up and we put the bed in the tent and saw how excited Tasman was I thought this is going to be the best thing ever.”

Ellie and her husband Jacob Wooden have always been nomads, traversing the east coast of Australia between her home on the Gold Coast, and his on the NSW Central Coast. Their careers – Ellie as a pro surfer and Jacob as a videographer – have taken them all over Australia and the world.

A simple camping trip down the coast should hold few fears for the well-travelled couple. But throw a busy 10-month-old who’s not too keen on sleep into the mix and travel becomes a new kind of adventure. What was the most challenging part of camping with a baby? “Lack of sleep, ha ha! But all the firsts make up for that. Seeing how happy camping and adventuring made him makes you forget the sleepless nights. His love for life is contagious,” says Ellie.

“Jake and I have always been spontaneous and very last minute. We love packing up and chasing a swell or doing something fun!” she says. “We camped a lot when I was pregnant, all the way till I was about 37 weeks pregnant, so not a lot has changed. We have made a five-night minimum family camping rule after this trip because it felt like it flew by and we only just got into the swing of things. I feel like we still have spontaneity but with Tas you certainly have to plan a little better and have a nice routine for him. Oh, and you need about 100 times more things so that car is fully loaded!”

The payoff was time in nature as a family, watching their young son discover the world around him and experiencing that newness and freshness through his eyes. “So much is happening around that ten-month old age mark. His world just opened up even more. Everything is exciting. I love showing him this beautiful life outdoors, at the beach and under the stars.”

While it might sometimes require more effort and planning, many of the challenges of parenting are made easier outdoors. “He LOVES it! If he is indoors too much at home, he goes a little crazy (like his parents haha) so it’s something that comes naturally for us,” says Ellie. “There are so many little moments in a day that really make it all so special. First campfire, first tickle fight in the tent, first outdoor shower. Hearing the kookaburras at dawn. The way he looks at the trees swaying in the wind. We’ve always loved adventures like this, but they just got better. We want to make every moment count because time goes by so fast.”

And, of course, having the right gear, makes the whole process – packing, setting up, and packing up at the end – much easier. “Tas loved the Go camp chairs. I didn’t even need a highchair for him. It’s compact and easy to use. The CFX5 fridge/freezer stayed in the car, and we use that as our ‘kitchen’. Nothing is a hassle to use, and the Santorini family tent has so much space which is perfect for all our gear, and we’ve got plenty of gear!”

Any hot tips for any new parents going family camping for the first time?

“Don’t rush a camp trip. Enjoy it and go with the flow. Yes, there’s a lot more effort required but it is so worth it. The memories made outweigh all that hard stuff. Moments I’ll treasure forever.”