The Woodford Files: Preparation & camping tips

22 December 2009 by Richard Wilson

A week out from the start of Woodford Folk Festival, what to bring is an important factor. Soulshine gives you a few quick tips that may help you battle whatever conditions are presented.

Ignoring the weather forecast for the actual festival, this final week leading up to Woodford is due to be relatively wet with showers and thunderstorms predicted. What that means is you can expect the ground conditions of the camping areas as well as the festival site itself to reflect that. Woodford for the most part has great drainage, a result of many years of infrastructure investment, but a few thousand feet tend to have an impact when it comes to damp earth.

To that end, camp and dress accordingly. Gumboots should be a staple in any good festival kit. Ground cover for your campsite is always a good idea as damp ground quickly becomes mud if walked on enough, and if you have shelter then sunlight won't be doing much drying. Camping stores sell dedicated flooring, whether simple foam tiles or tough tarps and canvass groundsheets. Offcuts or old carpet and rugs work great too. At Woodford in 2007/08 we found hessian to be a pretty good option as our campsite turned progressively more muddy. Whatever you choose, it's always wise to put it down before it becomes a problem.

Shelter. Tents and shelter from camping stores are becoming cheaper and cheaper. Be warned that a $40 four-man tent won't fit four people, and the quality can be questionable... you get what you pay for. If you are in a group with a number of tents, it often helps to have a tarp or other communal shelter in the middle. Take into account that tarps quickly pool water when it's raining so ensure you've figured out a drainage strategy, and ensure that said strategy doesn't involve the tarp dumping buckets of water onto yours or your neighbour's tent.

Bedding. If it rains you'll want to be off the ground. Raised stretchers are one option, as are inflatable mattresses. Air mattresses do have a habit of losing air and attracting holes so make sure you can keep it inflated over the week, and bring something vaguely comfortable as a backup should your air mattress die altogether.

Bring a shovel of some description. If rain becomes an issue, a few hastily dug channels can drain much of the water before it enters your tent. It generally doesn't take a lot to divert the water elsewhere, and of course you should avoid damaging the native plants that you'll be camping amongst.

When choosing a campsite, note that big soft green patches look great, but typically it means they attract water. A bit of a slope might mean you're living on a slight incline but it also makes it difficult for water to stay in one place.

Folding camping chairs run you around $10 a piece these days. Planned obsolescence means you'll almost always leave at the end with one or two less, but they'll make lazy mornings comfortable, and give you a dry option should the amphitheatre grass be wet.

The festival has an endless amount of amazing food on offer, but it can be costly over an entire week, so you'll likely want to eat at your campsite. The general stores in the camping areas offer a range of basic foods and supplies, and most importantly can keep you supplied with fresh milk and bread. Fruits and vegetables spoil quickly in the heat, so keeping them in an esky is a good idea. Regularly empty the water out of your esky as it prolongs the life of the remaining ice and ensures your food and drinks aren't soaking out of their containers and into the water, and in turn into other foods.

Some kind of bin and/or garbage bags are necessary for all your scraps. There are bins and dumpsters located throughout the campsites, but that's not a lot of good if the rubbish is strewn around your tent.

Water deserves a special mention as it's easy to underestimate this aspect of the festival. The tapwater on-site is drinkable, but the taste isn't great, and to be respectful of the limited supply available it's always advisable to bring plenty of your own. You'll drink more when it's hot and sunny, so it's always advisable to bring enough to last a week in these conditions. Within the festival there are water bottle and container refill stations where you can get excellent quality water for a decent price.

Of course keep the sunscreen and hat handy. Flies, mozzies or other bugs generally aren't a real issue at Woodford, but it pays to have some repellent or similar handy. Some kind of raincoat is useful. Most of the festival venues are sheltered, but for the walks to and from, and for those that aren't (or are full when you arrive) some kind of shelter from rain is handy. Umbrellas are good, as are raincoats. Bring plenty of changes of clothes. If it's wet you'll want something dry to change into. If it's hot, a clean shirt for the night can do wonders.

Stay tuned to Soulshine for more updates as Woodford 2009 approaches! We'll be back with up-to-date weather reports and more artist profiles over the rest of this week.

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