I recently saw a camper arrive with so much equipment that I genuinely thought he was opening a branch of Makro. Three trips from the vehicle became five. Five became eight. By the time he finished unloading, he had enough gear to survive a minor apocalypse and host a cooking show. Meanwhile, the guy in the tent next door had already made coffee, gone for a walk, and was halfway through a nap. Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy comfort.I like a decent chair.I enjoy cold drinks. I appreciate not waking up with a tent peg embedded in my kidney. But somewhere along the line, camping became a competition to see who could transport the largest percentage of their house into nature. We’ve got campers running

:• Fridges

• Freezers

• Coffee machines

• Air fryers

• TVs

• Projectors

• Sound systems

At this point, all that’s missing is a bond repayment and fibre internet. I’ve seen campsites so illuminated they could be used to land international flights. You wake up at 2 a.m. needing the bathroom and accidentally walk into what appears to be a medium-sized shopping centre. And don’t get me started on generators. Nothing says “peaceful weekend in nature” quite like the soothing sound of a lawnmower running continuously in the background.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Ah yes .Nature. The funniest part is that the people with the most gear always seem the busiest. While everyone else is relaxing, they’re troubleshooting batteries, adjusting solar panels, organising storage boxes and consulting a laminated checklist. If your campsite requires project management software, you’ve probably brought too much. Camping is one of the few activities where people voluntarily leave home and then spend the entire weekend trying to rebuild it somewhere else. The best camping trips I’ve ever had had one thing in common:

Less stuff.

More stories.

Nobody has ever sat around a campfire saying:”Remember that incredible extension cord?”

No.They remember the storm.

The sunset.

The braai .

The monkey theft.

The tent collapse.

The trip where everything went wrong and somehow became the best weekend ever.

So here’s my controversial opinion: Camping should make life simpler, not recreate your living room 200 km from home. But maybe I’m wrong.

What’s one camping item that immediately makes you think:”Okay, now we’re taking this too far?”