Solo Camping, a softening into self and land. Written by Abbi Hart.

Journal Entries, 7th July 25’

I’m sitting on a small grassy slope that kisses the sea’s edge, catching the last moments of golden sunlight as it slips behind the tree line. I’m not actually sure what the date or time is, which feels kind of nice - if I don’t let the stress of ‘I need to be doing’ get to me. 

This is my second solo camping trip. A goal I quietly wrote down earlier in the year - to camp alone, to sit with discomfort, and to see what lives beneath it. To soften. To listen. To connect. 

When I first arrive, the same pattern unfolds. I set up camp first - create a resting place, a gentle anchor - somewhere I can always return to. The unease always creeps in before I leave home, a comfort we are all so used to, whispering worries and what-ifs. But the moment I arrive and begin to settle into nature's soft surroundings, the resistance and fear begins to fade.

On my first solo trip, I drove two hours south, landing at a tucked-away site over the Easter long weekend. There were families scattered nearby, just enough presence to feel safe, but enough solitude to find peace. I pitched my swag beneath the curving arm of a gum tree - my own little oasis - and wandered with no agenda, just a film camera in hand. 

That night, I cooked dinner on my campfire (with varying success), made a hot cacao with homemade pecan milk, and sat on the wooden steps that led down to the beach. The sky became a buttercream canvas of pinks and blues and yellows, the swell rolling in below, the stars slowly beginning to say hello. I fell asleep in my swag with it unzipped, the Milky Way stretched out like stardust overhead. Each time I awoke, I was always in awe of the way that the sky had shifted slightly, the moon had moved - and I was simply just there, as an observer, wrapped in it all. 

It’s not always easy. Sometimes just getting myself there is the hardest part. I overthink. I doubt myself. I ask ‘why’? But that discomfort is the doorway. On the other side is a sweet sense of self-trust. Knowing I can move through fear and discomfort, that I am safe here, and that in solitude, there is space to truly soften. 

Back on Yaegl Country for my second trip, I was reminded why I return to this practice. I walked barefoot along the bushtracks, and lay down on the seaside hills, feeling the land stretch my body back into presence. I brewed tea at sunrise, swam in the sea, read my book, wrote plenty in my journal, and stayed off my phone (how refreshing!), fell asleep by my burning campfire (much more successful the second time round), made coffee and ate my boiled eggs on toast by the beach. 

This time alone, on land, reminds me of what actually matters. It unravels the urgency I often carry. It calls me back to simplicity, to quietness, to truth. 

We are not so complicated when we are stripped back. 

To solo camp is to say yes to yourself - your strength, your stillness, your fears, and your joys. It’s a practice in trust, in observation, in being. 

So if you’re feeling the nudge to go, to live on land for a little while, to be with yourself - I say feel the fear and do it anyway. Let the tree canopies embrace you. Let the salt water kiss your skin. Lay under the stars. (Have patience in building a campfire). Laugh, cry, move, walk, swim, rest. Observe more, consume less. And most importantly, find what brings you peace - and do more of it. 

Because somewhere out there, in the silence and the softness, is a version of you waiting to be remembered.

Abbi’s Camping Checklist / Must Have’s 

• make sure swag is all good 
• surfboards strapped to roof
• pack car well! more is okay, bring extra blankets and pillows, get cosy 
• torch and light don’t forget 
• read! journal! observe the world around, be with nature, be with breath, be with feelings 
• clothes (Atmosea Après Surf Pants are a must have) and Shoes 
• towel and picnic blanket 
• enjoy the space, enjoy the peace 
• a little nervousness is okay! be kind to yourself 
• plastic tub with all the kitchen bits and bobs 
• esky with all food 
• firewood 
• bucket to wash dishes in 
• steak and salad for dinner
• cocoa, flask of tea, coffee 
• bring jug of water too don’t forget 
• listen to music, enjoy the drive, drive safe 
• phone charger for the car 
• yogurt and fruit or toast and eggs for breakfast 
• freedom! enjoy the freedom! flow flow flow 

Abbi's Road Trip Playlist

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