Gear notes, trips and the numbers behind them.
Rooftop tents, 4-season shelters and the kit around them — tested on the road and written by the Often Outdoors crew.
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Are rooftop tents legal in Australia? A state-by-state guide (2026)
Yes. A rooftop tent is legal in every Australian state and territory, because the law treats it as a load, not a modification. What the law does regulate is three...
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Camping vs hotels: what a 3-night Queensland trip really costs (2026)
Queensland's average hotel room ran $234.65 a night in June 2025, so three nights of walls costs around $704 before you eat. The same three nights in a national park...
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How to sleep well in a tent: mattress types and R-value explained
Most campers buy the thickest mattress they can find and still wake up cold, because thickness is not the number that keeps you warm. Insulation is, and since the ASTM...
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Camping for beginners in Queensland: 15 things to sort before your first night
First camping trips rarely fail on the scenery. They fail on the boring parts: the permit you did not book six weeks out, the fire ban you did not check,...
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The 3-night getaway: the best campsites within 3 hours of Brisbane
The average Australian caravan and camping trip now lasts 3.4 nights, and 87 per cent of them happen in regional areas, so the sites close to Brisbane book out first....
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