I had to chuckle about the Kombi van (PossumCorner). I am often teasing my other half saying that we need to get a Kombi and travel Oz. Would just love to do something like that.

We go "pseudo" camping some weekends: pack a mattress, comforters, snacks, laptops, cameras and doggy comes too. All sleep in the back of the car (ute/canopy). I love experiencing more of the great outdoors this way, we all enjoy it. I am fortunate to have an easy going, no frills kind of guy. He loves driving, I love taking pictures. We either find a secluded spot and camp for free or use a caravan (rv) park or campground if they are dog friendly.

Normally we don't plan too much in advance, just play it
by ear. But car camping is so handy when you want to move on at a moment's notice to a promising location without
wasting time setting up/dismantling tents.

There are some National Parks here and especially arid mallee areas of Australia that I would love
to visit (for bird photography), having a dog could present a challenge as many NPs wont allow dogs. Some State forests and regional parks allow dogs so I have a bit of research ahead of me. Have some books so need to read up. Am looking forward to our next adventure.