A camping holiday is a popular way to holiday in New Zealand, whether you’re a social camper or just planning a quick weekender.
For many, camping evokes thoughts of sun, relaxation, games, BBQs, swimming and boating, plus a good dose of old-fashioned games and a general lack of routine. Though some day-to-day rules go out the window while camping, it’s important to insist on good hand hygiene to help protect the family from germs and avoid turning your camping trip into a miserable experience!
The camp life
There is a huge variety of camping options in New Zealand. These sites range from over 200 Department of Conservation (“DOC”) camp sites with just the basics, through to a wide network of campgrounds and holiday parks that offer the full spectrum of facilities, including playgrounds, shops, kitchens and BBQs, ablution blocks, and lounges.
The vast range of campgrounds reflect the fact that many New Zealand families love to go camping – in fact many families return to the same spot every year for generations. The relaxed nature of camping means if hair remains unbrushed, makeup doesn’t make an appearance and feet and clothes are a bit grubby, no-one will notice as you relax and enjoy doing different things together.
Maintaining good hygiene
While enjoying a well-deserved camping holiday, you may notice that having access to water or facilities to readily wash your hands isn’t always available. Given the activities that come with camping and the abundance of food and food preparation, it is always important to maintain good hand hygiene.
While camp cleaners take great care to ensure their facilities are kept clean, so many people using communal areas means germs can spread. Germs can survive on surfaces, such as basins, benches and door handles for several days.
Hand washing
To reduce the risk of spreading germs, ensure hands are washed thoroughly after using a toilet, before food preparation, or before eating.
To get hands really clean, use soap and warm, running water. Apply the soap and scrub/lather your hands for 30 seconds (including the back of your hands and under your nails), then rinse with running water and dry thoroughly with a clean towel or paper towel.
An alcohol based hand sanitiser is an ideal solution to help stop the spread of germs when running water is unavailable.
What’s your top camping tip?
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Written by Robyn
Robyn creates content on Kidspot NZ. Her hobbies include buying cleaning products and wondering why things don’t then clean themselves, eating cheese scones with her friends, and taking her kids to appointments.
Favourite motto to live by: “It’s just a phase.”
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