Mimosa Rocks National Park (Yuin Country)
“Unbox^d is a sustainable company designed to encourage the exploration of the outdoors in a comfortable environment. The kits, which come in a hiking, camping, and kayaking format, feature quality equipment from brands such as Marmot, Biolite, Sea to Summit and Zempire. The aim of Unbox^d is to comfortably introduce people to the outdoors, without the need for them to splurge hundreds of dollars on mediocre-quality camping gear.”
Callum and I have both grown up largely exposed to the outdoors. As a child, I was encouraged to join weekend camping trips and week-long hikes, and even dabbled a bit in bike packing and climbing. For me, this led to a true appreciation of the incredible beauty and peacefulness nature has to offer, that you just can’t quite find anywhere else. Similarly, Callum was also raised an outdoors kid, spending a large amount of time in Kosciuszko National Park. His passion for photography and videography began with his love for travel. He wanted to capture each moment so they could be re-lived and reminisced of. This is why, when Jason, founder of Unbox^d, approached us to test the equipment and share our experience, we were keen to get started.
We collected the camping kit, packed the car and headed down to Aragunnu Campground and Picnic Point Campground for a 3 day getaway. Arriving in the evening, we unpacked the two duffle bags, and were interested to see how the gear would hold up given its small physical footprint. The tent proved easy to set up and spacious, however we knew its durability would be tested later that night with storm clouds looming over us.
To coincide with Unbox^d’s focus on sustainability, a Biolite stove was included. With both Callum’s and my hiking background relying heavily on butane gas stoves, we were both excited to use one fueled entirely by wood. Whilst we were sceptical at first, the stove seemed to hold up to its gas counterpart after mastering the proper fire building technique. The fact that the stove provided battery charge that could be used to charge both of our phones was a welcome addition.
Later that evening, the rain started pouring down around us. We hurried into the tent, set up the sleeping mats, pillows, and bags, and comfortably lay down listening to the thundering sound of rain around us. The following morning we woke well rested, and made amazingly strong coffee using the Wacaco Pipamoka Portable Coffee Maker (which is personally my favourite piece of equipment in the kit). Because we were moving campgrounds, we managed to quickly pack up our set up and be on the road again within 15 minutes.
Arriving at Picnic Point campground, we were fortunate enough to snatch the campground right on a beach access trail with stunning views. Before anyone could steal the amazing spot, we set up our tent, table and chairs, got changed and headed down to the beach for a very cold swim and a look around. On the hill adjacent to the beach we saw a huge rock peeking out of the trees, and decided to see if we could get to it. After bush bashing up the hill, we scrambled up the face of the rock and were rewarded with stunning views over the beach and surrounding bushland, right as the sun began to set.
Later that evening we made a spread of beef and bean burritos using the utensil set included in the kits. The cooler bag managed to keep all our ingredients cool over the two days, although we did start with ice blocks in it. Washing up was made easy, as I just walked down to the ocean and filled the sink, took it back to the campground, and we washed our dishes right next to the tent. We had another comfortable sleep that night, and woke early to return back to Canberra.
Notes:
The first night we had an interaction with a hungry possum. Wildlife tends to hang around known campgrounds to source food, so it is important to make sure all food scraps and snacks are stored in either the (closed) cool bag, or in your car, to make sure they don't try and get into your tent and steal your food!
The Biolite stove requires super dry (preferably dense) wood to fuel it, as any wet or fresh wood will smoke and the fire will go out. If it is going to rain on your camping trip, it might be worth collecting a handful of small sticks and storing them in a dry environment to ensure you can get the stove going quickly and easily.
Overall, the Unbox^d kits certainly contain everything needed for a comfortable trip into the outdoors, and is an excellent resource for both entry level and keen campers who do not have access to equipment.
Photos by Callum Wills
