It's never a good idea to try something new for the first time on a remote area trip - whether it be a new piece of equipment or a new menu.  Whilst it is certainly fun to sit back with a glass of wine and watch someone try to put a large mattress into a small tent, it is not so much fun being the person who is trying to put it in.

So we got together with friends Cynthia and Tony for a cheeky midweek shakedown camp to try out a couple of things. Some of them worked well and some not so well.

We tried a couple of new meal ideas and some new equipment

* A sweet potato, chorizo and baked beans breakfast dish that didn't make a big mess, was quick to cook, and was really yummy. A note for next time peel the sweet potato before baking

* individual butter chicken meals.  We've tried this before and was a real mess to clean up (the saucepan we reheated it in and then the plates).  This time we put individual serves in a vacuum sealed bag and reheated the bags in hot water.  Once heated we added some precooked ovenheated rice to the bag and ate directly from the bags with oven heated naan bread.  Tasted great, easy to reheat and threw the bags out at the end with just a fork to wash up.  And then had hot water to make coffee (or a nice wash). Win Win

* I tried to make yoghurt in my dream-pot thermo-cooker.  "Tried" is the correct word. I do make this at home but in the special easiyo maker.  It is technically possible to do it in the dream-pot but something didn't quite go to plan this time.  I don't know whether I didn't have the water hot enough or whether it is because I placed it in the car and the car moved in the wind but in the morning instead of sitting down to a lovely yoghurt with a cereal and dried fruit crunch we had thick yoghurt milk that neither of us would eat.

* a Kmart campmaster cooker that is styled like the Jetboil but at a third of the price.  This worked great for quick boiling water for our morning coffee - an absolute must first thing in the morning. It also came in handy as we could use it instead of the 2 burner stove or in addition to it. It probably won't last as long as the Jetboil would but it is compact and fits neatly in the drawer.  Another win.

* we tried the hat holders for inside our rig that worked really well for our keys and hats at night.  

* we tried out a new GPS and the windscreen fitting that we modified to fit.  The windscreen fitting needs a little bit more work to make it more stable - a bit of foam underneathe to reduce shake and a little bit more plastic at the back so it doesn't jump up on really rocky roads.  

We didn't get around to trying out the new 6lt water filter system, too busy chatting with friends.  Something to trial for next time