Food and Water
Camping is all about living in the wild. By making sure that you are able to pack enough food and water for you and your family, you minimize the need to have to dash to the nearest convenience store which could be miles away.

First Aid Kit
One particular camping gear you should not be caught without is a first aid kit. Make sure that your kit is packed with everything that you will need to attend to cuts, scratches, bites and allergies which you and your family may come across during your camping trip.

Your Cell Phone
While you and your family may want to go on a camping trip to commune with nature and experience living in the wild, make sure that you do not leave your cell phone behind. It will sure come in handy in unforeseen events such as having a flat tire or your children wanting to spend a few more days.

Caterpillar, or CAT as they are famously known, is amongst the toughest boots ever manufactured. They are known to last longer than any other pair of boots, and the look amazingly masculine and strong. It appeals to people who vouch for the best there is in the business, and would not compromise for second place. CAT boots are meant for rough and tough situations. When you know you need the best for hiking, you know you have to choose CAT.

Converse, often known for being the casual wear, has surprisingly come up with an amazing series of absolutely sturdy series of hiking boots. They are an amazing blend of looks and durability. Converse, who started off as a basketball boots brand, diversified into many arenas of clothing accessories, and hiking boots are definitely one of their strongest areas. Their boots are known to fit tight to the foot, hence giving you absolute comfort, and are also very light. If you want a more casual approach to your hiking, go for Converse hiking boots, which are versatile looking.

Harley Davidson stands for freedom. It stands for the will of a person to be himself and enjoy life whatever the circumstances maybe. It depicts independence. And Harley Davidson hiking boots are no different. They are the sturdiest boots in the business, and they carry a certain attitude that a lot of guys can only crave for. Go ahead and have a sneak peak at one of the finest brands and see which one suits your style.

Timberland believes in talking less and doing more. They provide you with standard quality for your feet when you are hiking. They provide safety, but do not compromise the looks, as Timberland is one of the better looking of the lot. They feel amazing, and are comfortable, and are known to work well for prolonged periods of time, under rough conditions as well. So pull up your socks, and wear your brand new pair of hiking boots, and set out to explore the wilderness.

Situgunung lies hidden in a valley between hills at 1023 meters above sea level, within the precincts of Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park and near two inactive volcanoes whose watershed provides the main water supply for Jakarta and Bogor.

The word situ means “lake”, referring to the lake created by the eruption of Mount Pangrango, while gunung means “mountain”. So, based on its geographical location, it’s called Situgunung – a lake between mountains.

Situgunung can be reached by road in only three hours (under normal conditions) from Jakarta, via Ciawi and the main road toward Sukabumi. But you need to plan your travel time carefully, as you pass through several congested spots on the road to Sukabumi and in Cisaat.

Situgunung is the oldest tourism destination in West Java and a perfect location for camping. Much of the area is full of large trees, providing the natural cool that visitors crave.

Part of the area is commercially managed as a tourism site by the state-owned forestry company, Perum Perhutani. Visitors can choose camping sites from among those provided by Perhutani and others outside this area.

The Sensation of Five-Star Camping

When my good friend Inge, quite an adventure seeker, recommended “five-star camping”, I couldn’t resist. Arriving at the entrance to the Situgunung tourism area, I walked 200 meters to the Tanakita Camp Site, the five-star camping location owned by well-known tourism operator Rakata Adventure.

The camp site lies at around 1100 meters above sea level. Thin mists drifting between the huge trees keep the air cool; the temperature at Situgunung typically ranges between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius. A Javan hawk soared above the camp site, performing a “guest welcoming” ritual that I really appreciated.

The beauty of Situgunung deserves to be enjoyed through special, fun activities. The area’s beautiful natural endowments and the constantly developing lifestyle of the guests have inspired Rakata Adventure to create the concept of five-star camping, enabling guests to enjoy completely effortless camping.

Five star? You bet. You don’t need to carry a tent or worry about all that messy camping equipment. Just bring a change of clothes and other personal needs – windbreaker, sweater, suitable shoes and the like. Comfortable restrooms are provided, and the buffet is just like that in a five-star hotel.

Since it opened in 2002, guests have shown great enthusiasm for five-star camping. Many companies have rented the site to give their employees a new and different camping experience, but it’s just as much fun for private groups.

Patrick Mauchant, an advertising agency employee whom I met there, regularly takes his family camping at Tanakita.

“My family and I enjoy everything here – the atmosphere, the nature, the camping and even the food,” he said while watching his kids play on the bungee trampoline.

Children can sharpen their skills through a variety of outbound activities. To ensure safety, the Rakata Adventure crew provides professional supervision and friendly instruction.

For my stay here, I was assigned a tent with one compartment for up to three people. Other tents have two compartments and accommodate six people.

Inside my tent, there were no creeping little creatures or soft but damp mattresses. All tents are made of fireproof material and built on strong pallets – very comfortable and different, but without losing the sensation of camping.

Rappelling and Tubing to Stimulate the Adrenalin

Tanakita was the starting and ending point for my short sample of Situgunung. I began the morning with a hike to Lake Situgunung, just 25 minutes down a rocky trail. The lake attracts both local people and visitors from outside. During my hike, I was accompanied by monkeys jumping between the high leafy branches.

I then walked back up the trail to Tanakita to join a company group that was planning to test its nerve through the activities provided by Rakata Adventure.

The first activity was rappelling – descending a steep slope on a rope. They were required to undergo a 20-minute briefing beforehand on the proper procedure and reacting to hazards.

Even getting to the rappelling site was a bit of a challenge – a 25-minute walk along a small, steep, slippery trail next to a stream. Proper footwear and focusing on foot placement are the main keys to reaching the rappelling site without major problems.

The Rakata team was already waiting for us. One by one, the participants tightened the rope to be as secure as possible and then slowly let out the rope and descended the rock wall until they “landed” at Cigunung River. If you suffer from fear of heights, the only other way to rejoin your group is to walk back down a trail that’s nearly as steep as the rock face.

Reassembling after the rappelling, they continued with an even greater adrenalin rush: tubing. This is a new sport from Rakata Adventure: floating down the river in an inner tube.

Tanakita’s Operations Manager Isep Kurnia said that this activity uses the rivers available at Situgunung, which are relatively safe for tubing because the rapids are not too swift and the river is only waist-deep.

But tubing also entails its own challenges. At first, those who wanted to try it were worried about going under; skill in handling the current and the rapids is the key.

The tubing trip with Tanakita takes around an hour, floating 1½ kilometers down a river with cool to very cold water and ending up at Cinumpang River. If you can’t stand cold, you’d better give it a miss.

There are a lot of other challenging outdoor activities apart from rappelling and tubing. You can take a very challenging 12-hour hike all the way to the summits of Gede and Pangrango, or just take a relaxing 30-minute stroll through the plantations to enjoy the beauty of the Curug Sawer waterfall.

And if you want to interact with the local people, you can walk about an hour down the valley to Cikaramat village; if you choose the right time, you may see traditional ceremonies.

Getting to Situgunung
Take public transport from Bogor toward Sukabumi or from Jakarta (Kampung Rambutan bus terminal, UKI or Tanjung Priuk) toward Sukabumi.

Camping at Tanakita Star Camp
Rp. 450.000 per person per night; includes tent and full facilities, three meals and three snacks per day, hot beverages available at all times, activity programs and guides.

“When the weather is clear, the view here is magnificent,” says Purnawan, a lecturer and researcher on the Tengger community, who is accompanying us to Ngadas.

Our destination is Segara Wedi Anakan – the upper “sea of sand” – located to the south of and–next to Bromo’s crater. Until recently, most people only knew about the sea of sand below Mount Bromo. Ngadas (2,140 meters above sea level), the highest inhabited village in Java and located within Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, is our base camp.

This very morning, we canceled our plan to see the sunrise over Bromo from the south, because of the relentless rain and fog. Our plan to find Segara Wedi Anakan also seems rather uncertain. And the weather has been like this for ten days now. Some of the villagers on the west slope of the Tengger Range have resumed their activities, but most are wrapped in sarongs and shivering with cold – which seems odd to me, since they’ve lived here for generations.

Someone suggests that we pay a visit to Pak Ngatrulin, the dukun (traditional leader) of Desa Ngadas. “Why not request help from Pak Untung, the local pawang hujan (rain control expert)?” he advised us. When we ask Pak Mulyadi, former village head of Ngadas, park ranger, and the owner of the house where we are staying, he takes us there.

Pak Untung is sleeping when we arrive. He grumbles when his wife awakens him. “If you need help now, why didn’t you tell me yesterday?” He’s a big guy, with a fierce face and hair, rather intimidating; we say nothing. But he doesn’t seem angry. He brings out his cigarettes and squats out in the front yard; we see his mouth uttering a mantra, and his eyes staring far off into the sky. The ritual ends after about five minutes.

He doesn’t object when Pak Mulyadi asks him to bring out his “pets” – masks of a tiger, white leopard, cow, white ape, and buffalo, and a–kuda lumping (flat horse image) and its whip. Pak Untung is a pawang of Bantengan, a traditional Tenggerese art form. He tells us that each mask has a penunggu (inhabiting spirit) which needs to be regularly fed with incense and various offerings, so that whoever wears it is not possessed.

It’s still cloudy when the five of us set out for Gunung Bromo. Apart from myself, Arif the photographer, Purnawan, and Pak Mulyadi, we have hired as our guide Pak Puliono, a native Tenggerese who spends his days gathering wild mushrooms and medicinal plants in the Tengger Mountains. Only he knows the route to Segara Wedi Anakan.

As soon as we set out down the hill, the weather clears; the grassy plains in the valley between Gunung Kursi and Gunung Jantur start to show green, and the small hills below, often called the “Teletubbies”, are bathed in golden sunlight. We can clearly see the concrete road through the fields, which later becomes a dirt road heading toward the lower sand dunes. “Hmm, it seems Pak Untung does have the power,” Arif chuckles.

Though the summit of Mount Jantur is still blanketed with fog, the landscape here is truly extraordinary. The mountain is composed of vertical layers of stone. In contrast, Mount Kursi, with its long, flat summit, is covered with knee-high elephant grass and ferns, fennel plants with yellow flowers, purple-flowered trasinan, and occasionally tiny edelweiss.

“Why don’t we just climb Gunung Kursi? Isn’t Segara Wedi Anakan behind this mountain?” I ask. Pak Puliono shakes his head.”"The route from here is too far and too steep, and on the other side of this mountain, we’d have to climb another. It’s much easier to take the Bromo stairs.” I look again at my Google Earth printout of Bromo, and he’s right.

The four-wheel-drive Jeep driven by Pak Mulyadi cuts through the grassy fields, follows a sandy road with the odd rain puddle, and finally comes to a plain entirely covered in sand; the lower sea of sand. We see Bromo emitting white, sulfurous smoke to our left, and the hills below it covered in a silvery color – ash from the recent eruption.

The weather turns overcast again, and fog and sulfurous fumes from the crater greet us when we arrive at the bottom of the natural stairway to the peak of Bromo (elev. 2,229 meters).

We’re all coughing; we cover our mouths with handkerchiefs, which unfortunately don’t help much, because if you breathe through your mouth, the fumes still get in and make you cough. We climb the stairs – it is said there are 249 of them – and we see who we have left behind: Purnawan. Although he regularly visits Tengger for research, it seems breathing sulfur fumes is a new experience for him.

When we get to the top of the stairway at the rim of the crater, we take the route to the left. “You can also turn right, but the terrain is more difficult,” says Puliono, now 53, who has been exploring Tengger since he was 17.

We walk along the crater rim. The right side has a fence, but the left is an open ravine. Visibility is only about ten meters, and the crater rim itself is only two or three meters wide, so we have to walk very cautiously. Pak Puliono is in the lead, I’m right behind him, then Arif, Purnawan, and Pak Mulyadi taking up the rear. Pak Puliono strides quickly ahead of us; several times I have to shout to him to wait up.

After walking only about 50 meters, I stop suddenly. The fence along our right has just ended, and the completely fenceless path ahead of me vanishes in the fog. So should I keep going or not? There’s also a strong wind from the right. I wait and shout “woooii” several times. I hear a reply from behind me, and then they emerge from the mists. We can faintly see Pak Puliono in the distance, carrying our supplies on a pole across his shoulders.

So we continue walking slowly along the crater rim. Breathing becomes more difficult, as we’re climbing a small hill and the sulfur fumes are still bothering us. The wind and fog bring an occasional drizzle, and we have to keep shouting to each other whenever we get separated in the thick fog. Despite my anxiety, I think how great is God, who created this Tengger caldera. Probably if the weather were clear, we would get a much nicer view from here. But even in these foggy conditions, the seemingly endless trail, the crater, and the ravine cloaked in silver present a stunning panorama. ‘”It feels like we’re walking on top of the Great Wall of China,” says Arif.

Then the wind helps us; the smell of the sulfur fumes suddenly vanishes, as does the thick fog covering the trail. On our right stretches the vast crater of Bromo, with many fissures emitting white sulfurous smoke.

We climb again, stopping frequently to drink and catch our breath. Purnawan, holding his knees, groans, “Is it much farther?” Pak Puliono, who hasn’t even taken a sip of water the whole time, simply smiles. “It’s close, just one more hill.”

Well, what’s “close” for him is far for us, and this last hill is the highest yet. We get split up, and Purnawan falls behind. Puliono is calmly squatting at the summit, watching us climb up one by one. “Come on, this is the last safe spot!” he shouts from above.

“After that?” Arif asks.

“Not safe any more. Hahaha!”

Eventually, we all gather at the highest peak (elev. 2,354 meters), a three-way junction. From here, there’s a path on the left that rises slightly, and one to the right that’s a sharp descent. It starts to drizzle again and we all put on our raincoats. But which way is Segara Wedi Anakan? “Over there, below us,” says Pak Puliono, pointing to a wide valley before us, completely white with fog. “All we do now is go down to the right, just about one more kilometer.”

We’re flabbergasted. Going down shouldn’t be too bad, but coming up again? And with this rain and fog, will we even be able to see the sea of sand?

The rain and wind get stronger, and we decide that this is far enough. “At least we now know the way to the upper sea of sand,” Purnawan says to console me. And we have to proceed very carefully on our walk back down, with the rain beating on our backs.

Getting to Bromo from Malang
The Malang-Tumpang-Gubugklakah-Ngadas-Bromo route is an option worth trying. It’s more challenging, but also more interesting than the Surabaya-Pasuruan-Wonokitri-Bromo route or the Surabaya-Probolinggo-Sukapura-Cemara Lawang-Bromo route.

From Ngadas, we enter the Bromo area from the south. From Ngadas, you can also head toward Ranupani, the gateway for climbing Gunung Semeru from the north. The road to Ngadas and Bromo is poured concrete, and requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle with an experienced driver. It’s recommended to get a local Tengger resident to drive, or try to find a driver in Tumpang.

Camping can be a wonderful adventure. Just think–the birds and animals, the plants and trees, the rocks, the streams and ponds, the insects, the sounds, the weather, the wildflowers, and the many activities that can provide so much excitement.

The possibilities are endless! By planning successful, enjoyable camping trips when your children are young, you will set them on the path to a lifetime of outdoor adventures.

**Get the kids interested in the trip by getting them involved. Build ther excitement and anticipation.

* Plan the camping trip together
o Decide on places to go – consider interests, outdoor experience and children’s ages.
o Pick activities to do
o Plan and shop for your meals
o Prepare and pack the equipment and supplies

* Try a backyard campout before you go for the first time
o Teach the kids how to set up a tent
o Try some outdoor cooking
o Experience a night outdoors in sleeping bags
o Show them how to use some camping equipment
o Plan a few activities
o Search the sky for constellations
o Listen to the many night sounds
o Don’t forget the special nighttime snacks

* Try to experience outdoor activities with your kids
o Get them familiar with the outdoors in order to eliminate their fears
o Teach them about safety and to respect nature
o Teach outdoor skills and outdoor ethics
o Camp chores are actually fun for kids. They love collecting firewood, filling water containers, hammering in tent stacks, camp cooking etc.
o Make the camp chores extra fun — have contests for gathering the most kindling, best camp cooking, most organized gear, fastest clean-up etc.
o Take a small day hike in the woods at a local park
o Visit a nature center
o Go fishing at a local pond or stream
o Take an evening walk
o Go on a picnic
o Read related books
o Have a scavenger hunt
o Go on a flashlight walk

**Take the necessary gear and supplies

* Extra clothing and shoes–the kids will get wet and extremely dirty
* Warm clothing–it may get chilly especially in the evening/dress in layers
* Insect repellent–consider time-release formulas
* Sunscreen–they’ll be outside all day
* First aid kit–for those little accidents
* Rain gear–keep them dry and warm
* Toys, games, activities–you want to keep them busy

o Check out Want to Play a Game?
* Familiar bedtime items–pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, dolls etc
* Flashlight/glow sticks–to help relieve nighttime fears
* Snacks–all this activity is going to make them hungry
* Drinks–avoid dehydration due to heat and activity level

**Create memories

* Bring a camera with plenty of film/flash/extra batteries
o Disposable type are excellent for outdoor activities
+ Give each child their own disposable camera
* Capture your memories with video
* Keep a journal
o Describe details about your trip and the activities you did
o Document special moments
o Include photos
o Have each family member write about their experience
o Save crafts etc.
* Personalized Jigsaw Puzzles
* Keeping an Outdoor Adventure Photo Journal

**Plan alternative activities

* For bad weather
* To avoid boredom during down times
* If they dislike a certain planned activity

**Respect campground quiet hours

**Make your travel fun

* Don’t travel a great distance–stop frequently
* Make your trips short — maybe two or three nights
* Take toys and activities to keep them busy
* Play car games–license plates, sign abc’s, singing etc
* Take plenty of snacks
* Build their excitement and anticipation

**A few tips on camping with an infant – Submitted by K. Molina

* Use jar baby food. It’s easy to pack. Be sure to buy the smaller jars to cut down on leftovers or waste.
* Buy a brand of baby cereal that has the formula or whole milk already in it…just add a little bottled water.
* Portion out the cereal in small plastic ziplock bags…just add water.
* Buy formula ready-to-drink in cans… you don’t have to add water.
* Buy 2% milk in tetra packs that don’t need to be refrigerated until they’re open
* Buy toys at the dollar store. They will keep your kids occupied in the car and at the campsite…simply throw them away if they get too dirty to take home.