Connecting with Nature - Wildlife + camping = Wildlife camping with a twist

Earlier in the year during Winter and what felt like the 100th lockdown we have had I decided once that I had planned, booked and paid for all my holidays I wanted to do some creative unique things I have thought of but not seen people do as who wants to be like everybody else "Not me".

After kayaking and paddleboarding for many years and my love for camping this got me thinking and I wondered if I could combine the two things together. After many searches on camping on water including rafts and life rafts I found the perfect product which I bought straight away with much excitement. 

 

I enjoyed using 8by2 sturdy well made product in the spring of 2021 it was wonderful that unlike a sup board or kayak to have space and beable to hang my legs in the water on hot days while watching all the river wildlife. So I had the raft base now I needed a cheap tent from Argos that measured just right to place on the raft to test my theory and see what issues there maybe from camping on water whether a river, lake or canal each one brings its own challenges and positives but if it gave me unique moments with nature it was worth it.

With shallow rivers I can moor up to the banks by stepping out into the water with using a mooring pin or rope onto a tree as there are many isolated areas not accesible by land and only via water especially in this time of overgrown river banks my local river felt like a small piece of the Amazon making there even more of a reason to enjoy camping on the river. On canals and lakes I cannot just step out into the water so it makes the toilet situtation tricky but I solved that quite easily with common sense but thats not for this blog for two reasons. So first I camped alone on the lake and it was amazing no problems except abit wet under the tent from the heavy rain but I slept well and had a good night sleep with the door open I could see the geese and swans plus other various creatures moving in the darkness including bats feeding on the insects buzzing on the waters surface so a bat detector is a future purchase I really want to use while sleeping on the water.

Feeding swans from my comfy bed I even brought my bed pillows from home

With my first camp out of the way with a few small issues depending on weather I decided to try with another person in the tent as it was 2 man tent and the says it holds 3 adults and one child so 2 adults and gear for comfort and filming should equal below the maximum weight it can take. The 2 man attempt was on a dry clear night under the stars unlike the first this time we could hear the tawnys calling from the tall willow trees on the lakes edge. My main problem in windy weather is staying still and accesing the front and the boat of the raft for storage and mooring but I'll go into that in my next blog hopefully in the next few days.

Camp raft 2.0 on its way and in a more inconspicuous color

Thanks for reading

Mike

Stay wild and be free