Don’t let your donga get you down!

I visit many sites and so experience a variety of dongas. They don’t vary hugely; guaranteed to be small, but its often the little things that can get you down. After all, you spend many a night in this ‘home away from home’!

 

My gripe this week began with a donga which had a sensor light in the bathroom. When a girl has to wash her hair and keep waving over the top of the shower curtain having been plunged into darkness yet again, well to say it’s annoying is an understatement.

 

The dank, damp smell was struggling to be addressed by a dehumidifier with its ‘I’m full’ light on. The mould on the walls I am guessing had been really bad, so the cladding had been ripped off in random patches. The ‘blockout’ backing on the curtains had come out in sympathy, which I discovered as the dawn light seeped in through the lace like wear and tear. ‘Good job I’m not on night shift trying to sleep during the day’ I thought.

 

Tired and cranky due to a poor nights sleep I rallied myself for the day. I know you will all know what I mean when I say I had the unrelenting, snorer from hell in the adjoining donga. It was so loud and close it was as if he was in bed with me!

 

And then of course the night time bathroom runs from my neighbours, which leave nothing to the imagination and the ‘elephants’ which started getting up at about 3.30am.

 

Now, one of the things I look forward to is a cup of tea in my donga. It’s rare to have a kettle in the room, a bonus if tea making facilities are close by, but at least one can usually bring a cuppa back from the dry mess. So to my horror I saw the notice “no hot drinks to be taken out of the mess”. Thank goodness for a sense of humour!

 

There are many things about life on camp and living in a donga that can be challenging, but we also know about the many ways you  find to make it homely. Photographs of loved ones, your own doona cover, a chair to sit on outside, a plant or two to name a few. We would love to hear some of your stories about life in a donga. Let us know by commenting on our Facebook!