ah so finally you say where you are going. Ok so where are you going to do all his shopping and how long do you plan to spend on the GRR?
Do not expect to be able to buy anything of any value along the GRR itself. And if i were you i would allow your journey to be three weeks. I took one month i think but that starts to get too long. I grew tired of the dust.
but what you buy to some extent will depend on how long your route will be. because of the weight of your
food. So you need to make your
food choices as compact as possible.
Well either you will be doing your shopping in kununurra or Derby or Fitzroy Crossing. All are good places to shop but don't be to fixated on being able to get certain items because you might just not out of luck.
So you're about to set off on an Australian tour. You will not see a shop for a week. You walk in to a Coles, Woolies, IGA or whatever and walk out with....
Breakfast: Porridge, sultanas, honey, carmans deluxe muesli, banana chips, milk powder - What is that meusli? never hread of it.
Snacks: Carmans muesli bars, sesame bars, mixed salted nuts (love these), dried fruit, natural confectionery lollies, chocolate covered coffee beans, dark chocolate
Lunch: tortilla/mountain bread, vegemite, peanut butter, cheese (have you discovered how long these breads last once the packet is open and not kept in the fridge. I would ditch this idea. It get dry and unpleasant and only lasts about 3 days anyway.
Dinner: pasta, salami, dried mushrooms, peas and carrots, rice, condiments, tuna.( I don't think you will find dried mushrooms, dried carrots.)
Drinks: coffee (i take a machine with pre-ground beans, a ritual where i start the day with a little writing), tea, sport drink powder kept in one bottle only - they get festy.
I always buy soup, but I never use them.
So what i ate on my trip was this and then i will add what i would suggest in addition.
bf'ast - rolled oats either raw or made into porridge with dried apple or sultanas. a few almonds extra and sunshine powdered milk. (but muesli is obviously a good alternative.
If you are snacking for energy to get you through to hte next meal, i would make it something substantial. meusli bars and stuff like that don't really do it. On the other hand if you just want it for after a meal, then stick with your lollies and stuff.
Lunch - i would make the same thing for dinner and lunch at dinner time and it would keep till next lunch just fine. Lunch is the hardest meal becuase usually you don't want to cook. That's why i have given up making a lunch type meal.
Dinner was spaghetti one day and beans of some sort the next. I probably had too many varieties of beans which increased the weight of my
food a bit but it was nice to have choices.
so i had lots of spaghetti, chickpeas, red lentils, borlotti beans, white beans. When i got to the shop in the middle of hte route i bought some flour but someone gave me some rice a little futher one. Rice goes well with all hte bean meals. And its nice for rice pudding.
I used to eat a lot of tuna with spaghetti but i've stopped doing that. I still like tuna but i've overdosed on it so i don't want to eat it every day anymore.
But for my pasta dishes i like to add things like dried peas, smoked mussles, tuna chunks in oil sirena brand, olive oil, a disposable pepper grinder becuase that makes your pasta so much better, packet parmesan cheese, sachets of tomato paste, dried oregano, fresh garlic. Later on someone gave me some dried onion but it was from india and not bought here. If you put lots of olive oil in your pasta at night, your lunch will be delicious the next day even cold and you will feel very satiated.
for the bean recipes i varied it a bit. Mexian style borlotti beans make great frijole using cumin, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil. You cook them, then mash them a bit. I ate them with damper most of the time. I didn't have rice most of the time.
The chickpeas are good too.
For damper i used wholemeal flour, powdered milk, salt. I experiemented with various other ingredients but these are the best.
YOu can buy canned sardines but i don't really like the cheap brands. I don't like tuna in spring water or any of the john west tunas. the fish itself when mixed iwth those flavourings is poor quality and as you will need the protein, you should buy the best you can get. Safcol is also a good brand.
Red salmon is another fish alternative.
I like the beans and lentils dishes becuase they are high in protein as well as carbs. Tehy also keep your bowels working well.
In the absence of vegetables, i had a bottle of multivitamins. Swisse were said to be good.
if you soak your beans or lentils in a pot from morning til cooking time in the evening, they will usually cook in about 10-15 minutes. I always cook on a wood fire when i can.
Chocolate will melt in your bag so its probably not a good thing to take. Salami and hard cheese is good for a while. Things like muesli bars are bulky and accumulate too much rubbish. YOu will have to carry your rubbish with you if you want to be a good citizen. There are drop off spots but not every day. Don't leave your toilet paper behind. Burying it will only mean it ends up flying about hte place too unless you have a shovel and can bury it properly. Burn your loo paper or carry it away with you. Or better still don't use it.
I had coffee and a few tea bags. cocoa would also be good if you like chocolate. Oh and i had cupasoups and i liked them. but only the chicken ones. French onion was ok too. If you had a mushroom one, you could try adding it to one of your bean dishes but be careful about adding extra salt.
Don't forget to take some salt with you. Take olive oil. I would even suggest some balsamic vinegar could be a good thing for some dishes, ie lentils. YOu can make a yummy salad with not over cooked red, brown or green lentils and a dressing of garlic, vinegar and oil. I keep my olive oil in a drink bottle.
I had almonds which i would ration carefully.
Cooking a meal at the end of each day was a highlight for me. I loved the routine of collecting the wood, making a fire and all that. Always extinguish properly with water. Only make small fires and for the sake of the habitat, avoid using big logs.