17/08/2026
I think Michelle and David have absolutely nailed it here! We are the ones usually park as far away from everyone else in a remote camp.
THE UNWRITTEN RULES OF BUSH TRAVEL
Here’s the thing about camping etiquette…
Nobody thinks they’re the problem. 😬
Most people aren’t deliberately inconsiderate. Often they’re simply solving something for themselves without realising their solution has become someone else’s problem.
You’re uncomfortable in the dark, so you light up the whole campsite. You enjoy music around the fire, so everyone gets to hear it. You need power, so the generator goes wherever is most convenient. You’re leaving early, so the engine runs while you pack.
None of these things seem unreasonable when viewed only from your own campsite.
Good camping etiquette is really about looking beyond it.
If you like having lights on at night, consider the camper nearby who came bush specifically to sit beneath a dark sky. A smaller, well-positioned light can give you the comfort you need without lighting up the entire campground.
Think about where generator noise will travel. Keep music within your own camp. If you’re leaving at dawn, prepare as much as possible the night before so you can slip away without two hours of engines, doors and hatches waking everyone around you.
Give other campers space when there’s space available, and walk around rather than through someone else’s camp. Privacy and peace are a big part of why many of us go bush in the first place.
🔥 When choosing your camp, try to set up around an existing fireplace rather than creating a new one — there’s no need to leave another blackened fire scar on the ground. If needed, tidy or rebuild the existing fireplace and leave it ready for the next traveller.
When you leave, think about the person arriving after you. Remove rubbish and excessive ash, dispose of toilet waste and paper properly and, ideally, leave as little evidence of your stay as possible.
And sometimes good etiquette simply means following an instruction even when you don’t understand why it matters. Close the toilet lid. Shut the gate. Stay on the track. There’s usually a reason involving wildlife, livestock, fire, erosion, safety or protecting the place itself.
🚙 The same consideration applies on the road. On narrow roads and tracks, slow down and move over safely for oncoming vehicles. If you’re holding up faster traffic, find somewhere safe to let it through. Use your UHF in remote country and communicate with road trains and other travellers when needed.
And one of the oldest rules of travelling through pastoral country still stands:
Leave gates as you find them.
Perhaps that’s what all these unwritten rules have in common.
Your campsite doesn’t end at your awning. Your actions travel.
Light travels. Sound travels. Dust travels. Rubbish remains. Fire scars remain.
We all camp differently. Some love complete solitude, others enjoy company. Some go to bed early, others sit around the fire. Some love the darkness; others feel safer with a light on.
One style isn’t necessarily right and the other wrong.
It’s simply about remembering that what works for you shouldn’t unnecessarily become somebody else’s problem.
So have a read and ask yourself — could you unknowingly be that camper? 😁
What other unwritten rules of bush travel would you add?
