Camping

give me 5 accommodation any day and at the least 3.

have never been camping and have no intention of ever doing so - I like comfort.

I do go camping and I love it. I had a break for a while while my lids were very young, but went again recently. The kids had a ball, I had a great time, it was very relaxing we went with another family with kids about the same age, the kids all went off and played happily together all day, we did lots of reading and relaxing and eating and drinking. It is fantastic.

Here are the basic rules.
1) choose somewhere where there are not lots of other people int he same camp, or alternatively choose a non school holidays time of the year. I see no point in leaving your comfortable home for the wilderness only to end up being even closer to your neighbours than you are at home and with less soundproofing.
2) go for a minimum of 3 days preferably about 5 - 7, any less and the hassle just isn't worth it
3) Make sure you arrive at the camp at least three hours before dark to give yourself comfortable time to set up
4) Some people love beach camping, but it is a no no for me, I hate sand all through my bed and my dinner.
5) Choose somewhere there are Toilet and shower facilities. This will offend the purists, but by about day three you will have trouble living with yourself if you are crapping in the woods, and you stink.
6) In a hot climate take a large tarpaulin and appropriate poles and ropes to set up a large shelter area in your camp, it makes all the difference.

Did a camping trek from Cairns to Cape York. Loved it. But the places we stayed at fit the criteria for no other people around, the weather was so good that we only used the tents as change rooms and slept outside, and as we only stayed at about 2 places that actually had toilets you usually didn't have to worry about queuing as most of the time you were just looking for a private spot in the bush.

And the camping on Fraser Island a few years back was fun - was more in the luxury tent standard though, and was only for 3 nights.

I thought so too. Until I went camping in Canada.

Magic.

EAW, was that more to do with the hot canadian though? ;-)

Geez what a grumpy lot you are.

Ryb, when I use caravan park cabins I make a point of using the communal BBQ to meet other happy campers and I don't care if their chops get mixed with my snags. I have to agree about some of the dunnies though. I'd rather squat in the scrub than go within 10 metres of some of the long drops or enviro loos I've encountered.

Horses for courses though and there are some parts of this diverse brown land that you simply can't visit (unless you can borrow Dick Smith's helicopter) without being totally self sufficient. Cape Yorke Peninsula, as Kate mentions and most of the Kimberly and heaps of other lesser known places. I'd rather stay in my tent than in some of the dongas that pass for 'accommodation' in some more remote areas. Mungeranie on the Birdsville track comes to mind but there are plenty of others.

I have to admit though that I'm just about 'over' camping and South America is my new favourite place because I can stay in 4 and 5 star hotels as cheaply as a park cabin in Aus.

Colin, that reminds me one of the most beautiful camp grounds I've stayed at was when I was on an overnight tour from Broome and we stayed at Middle Lagoon - wonderful place. Not much by the way of facilities but just a gorgeous spot.

The one thing that the grumpies forgot to talk about was the campfire. Maybe I spent too long as a geology student, but I get all teary eyed (and not just from the memory of the smoke) when I remember nights spent sitting round a campfire drinking port.

Happy memories aren't such bad things are they Kate?

Did the campfire make you teary? Or the port?

Ha! No, the port makes me happy and puts me to sleep nicely.

It is more the remembrances of things past making me misty eyed in a good way :)