There are many wonderful free camps to be found in this great land of ours, but if we do not treat them correctly we will not have them for much longer. Hence, this is a brief article on the do's and don'ts of free camping (or boon-docking as it is called the the USA).

• Pick a site that is not so close to the water that wildlife and stock animals will run through your site when they come to get access to the water.
  
  
• Do not park in a place where access is required for other vehicles - we once camped in a nice place near the end of a dirt track. After we arrived 3 caravans parked in the turning circle at the end of the track marked "No Parking", leaving us with no option other than a 21 point turn to get back to the track - this is not easy in a 37 foot bus with no power steering.
  
  
• If lighting a fire, use an area where a fire has been lit before and do not burn virgin ground. Do not cut down tree branches to burn in your fore.
  
  
• Do not dump grey water near watercourses
  
  
• Do not park on top of the person next to you. Several times, we have been parked in a large area with no other vehicles around and the next person decided to camp right next to us.
  
  
• Keep noise to a minimum so as not to disturb others (especially be midful of generators and the noise they make- you may not think it is loud but your neighbours may)
  
  
• Take your rubbish with you and ensure the area is clean when you leave
  
  
• If you have a pet travelling with you ensure it does not disturb others and ensure you clean up its droppings.
  

Most of all enjoy your surroundings. If you look after the area it will hopefully be there when you return in the future

A great free camp on the banks of the gwydir River in Bingara, NSW

© 2008 Gail Bennett (motorhominglifestyle.com). If you would like to reproduce this article on your website please contact gail@motorhominglifestyle.com