Journey With Deb

I’ve been camping for most part of my life but only recently did I come across the term “responsible tourism (RT)” – or “responsible camping” in my case. Not only did I stumble on RT, I now have to wrap my brains around it to get a handle of RT for Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award.

As rangers it was ingrained in our heads that camping should always be friendly to the environment. Throw waste in the garbage, carry the garbage with you until you see a rubbish bin. Don’t chop down trees and branches, use fallen twigs to build fires. Leave the campsite better than we found it. Well now I know that there’s actually a term for it – Responsible Camping!

This weekend a bunch of us are off for another outta-this-world kind of adventure. We’d be kayaking from mainland (PD) to a little unknown island, then parking our kayaks and staying the night on the island. No electricity, no toilets, no water source (except from the sea), no luxury of bed or mattresses – it’s back to the wild!

Since reading up on RT, I thought I should share some interesting pointers on how to camp responsibly leaving minimal impact on the environment.

• Camp on durable surfaces and place tents on a non-vegetated area.  Do not dig trenches around tents. (In Malaysia however, it is sometimes unavoidable since rain gets everything drenched in the dense rain forest)
• Don’t create new routes or expand existing trails.
• When building fires – use existing fire rings. Use fallen twigs & branches. Do not cut standing trees. Clear a 6ft diameter area around the site by removing any grass, twigs, leaves and extra firewood. (Rangers taught us well – we’ve been doing this since we started camping!)
• Detergents, toothpaste and soap harm fish and other aquatic life. Wash 200 feet away from streams and lakes.  (There are a lot of environmentally friendly washing agents out there)
• Pack out what you pack in. Carry a trash bag and pick up litter left by others.
• In areas without toilets, use a portable latrine if possible, and pack out your waste. If you don’t have a portable latrine then bury your waste.  Dig a shallow hole 6-8″ deep at least 200ft from water sources. Cover and disguise the hole with natural materials. Pack used toilet paper and carry out!
• Keep noise to a minimum especially in the early morning and evening hours (Oh! this has been hard especially with when camping with children!)
• Avoid “spooking” livestock and wildlife you encounter and keep your distance (The only wildlife we ever “spooked” were the nasty monkeys that crept into our tents!)

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