The dawn of a new beginning
It has finally happened. There were plans for some of us to go ahead with the purchase of rooftop tents in 2025 but a recent review of an Anaconda catalogue put a stop to those plans. The price of the Dune 4X4 wide bodied rooftop tent had dropped to just under $900 and I made the impulse decision that now was the time to buy. But because I haven't purchased the 4X4 yet, my plan was to buy and store it until the ute came along.
After getting it home (and boy, are these things heavy) I put it in the garage, still in its box, and there it stayed for a couple of weeks. I did start to get tired of trying to walk around it though, so I unpacked it and installed it on the roof racks of my Commodore wagon and thought to myself, I will need to test this out. Whilst this thought trail was going on, Dave was in the middle of organising the fitting of a rooftop tent he'd purchased. By the time I'd booked a site at Hill End to spend a night testing the new rooftop tent, Dave had his fitted and said he'd join me for the big test. Dave did two nights, with the first being at nearby Sofala and said he'd meet up with me at Hill End. I left very early on Saturday morning, hit the Mudgee pie shop for a late brekky and then filled the tank before heading out to Hill End.
We arrived in camp, set up the rooftop tents for the first time and then started organising firewood and what we'd end up doing for tea. We settled on a walk up to the Royal Hotel for tea.

Dave had a hamburger and I had the fish and chips - big meals with plenty of value for money. I do recommend the Royal for a feed if you happen to be in Hill End at any time. After tea and a couple of drinks, we headed back to camp, lit the fire and spent the next few hours sipping drinks and gasbagging by the fire.
Then it came time to test the new tents. With the ease of setup, no heavy lifting and kneeling down to build a camp, we'd embarked on a new era in camping and the test would wind up confirming what we thought all along - that these tents would be fantastic for the quicker camps and a very wise investment. Morning came and thus the completion of the assessment - were the new tents going to be the dominant feature of future camps?
Yes, they will be. I'll admit now that for most future camps, the rooftop tents will be the go-to. They are just so easy to set up and pack away. Camp can be up and down in minutes and there is no heavy lifting anymore. What's more, there is more room in the vehicles for other things. But for base camps where a stay is three nights or longer, I will probably continue to look to my Oztent tents and my big double air mattress which provides first class comfort.
Written at 20:59 on 12 January 2025 by Brad.
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