Camping for Swingers

I was doing some more book research today, and started looking into camping hammocks. I've never had the opportunity to try one out myself, but they seem like a great idea. Light, small, no poles required - that all makes a lot of sense. I'm not so sure about the two-person model in the photo above. Hammocks are tricky for sex at the best of times (which I discuss briefly in Sex in a Tent) but sex in one of these capsule-like hammocks would be limiting at best. Even just sleeping side-by-side in a hammock like this is for the few and the brave. I think it would be tricky if either of you toss and turn in your sleep, or don't like another sweaty body pressed against yours outside the sexual realm.

Solo hammocking, however, looks like a nice way to enjoy the outdoors. You don't see a lot of hammock campers around New Zealand, however, for a few good reasons. First of all, most Kiwis sleep in backcountry huts, so they don't need a hammock.

Second, it sure can get windy here! Trying to sleep in a suspended bed in the middle of a gale sounds cold and somewhat terrifying.

Third, a lot of serious trampers here spend a significant number of nights above the bushline, where there would be no trees to suspend the hammock from. Some can be set up like tents using hiking poles, but that would somewhat defeat the purpose of having a hammock in the first place.

So I may not get a chance to go hammocking here in NZ, but I'd like to try it out someday in a temperate, dry climate. I think I'd enjoy spending a night or two swinging under the stars.