The fourth in a series of however many, romancing the freedom camping lifestyle. If you are curious about freedom camping read on.

From Cooktown it was down to the well-known Rocky Creek campground on the Atherton Tableland. The campground is one enormous living memorial to the field hospital that was here during World War Two that tended to the wounded of the battles in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.

Filled with history we headed off to Queensland’s highest town Ravenshoe on the top of the Great Dividing Range where we camped at the old railway station in the rain, apparently it always rains in Ravenshoe. The gardens were lush.

The next night we found ourselves at the Undara Lava Tubes National Park on the Savannah Way and were so taken with the place that we extended our stay. Surrounded by wallabies and kangaroos, touring the fascinating lava tubes and best of all watching the bats wake at night and take to the air. Apart from the wildlife there was a very good restaurant and we were entertained around the campfire.

We’d heard that Corella Dam was a must see, so we dropped in and found freshwater crocs and two ladies we’d met months earlier at the Bouldercombe Pub. We’d never stayed at a roadhouse so that was our choice at Kynuna. Two fabulously funny old ducks, and I use that term loosely being an old duck myself, were running the roadhouse and they asked that we keep the bathroom doors closed as the brolgas poop in there and tourists don’t like stepping in brolga poop. Ok, we got the message. Then the brolgas peered in our windows and bailed up Woody trying to steal our sausages when he was manning the bbq. Perhaps we should have barbecued the brolgas.

We met up with mates and visited Blackall and camped on the Barcoo River. Every Australian should camp on the Barcoo. It’s a rite of passage.

Then we found the Evening Star farm stay outside Charleville. Our first farm stay and we were blown away when a local indigenous anthropologist gave an informative lecture, the camp oven dinner was great and the huge campsites perfect.

We doubled back to visit Carnarvon Gorge and stayed in the Takarakka Bush Resort in the National Park. It was worth the trip just for the wildlife in the campground. Kangaroos, turtles and apostle birds and supposedly platypus but we’re not patient enough for those little guys.

When it comes to turtles, we then stayed at the Dawson River rest area home to bum breathing turtles, we didn’t see those either but at Gayndah we did see a TV and a chair way up in a tree, swept up there by the last flood.

Back in civilisation we overnighted at Yelgun rest area on the NSW north coast, devoid of interest but filled with overflowing toilets. You can’t win every time.