Little-known $20 national park feature shocks Aussie campers: 'It's fabulous'

There's something so special about travelling with your best mate. Exploring new places together, getting plenty of fresh air and exercise, making happy memories and deepening your already unshakeable bond.

Sure, your bestie may have boundary issues, track muddy footprints everywhere, leave hair lying around and fight you for the last sausage, but when they snuggle up by your feet or give you their winning smile, all is forgiven. Did I mention your best mate is a dog in this scenario?

With so many Aussies (like me!) being incredibly attached to their pups, it's no wonder so many of us are choosing camping and caravanning as a way to travel and see our beautiful country - furry friends in tow.

With so many pet-friendly caravan parks dotted around Australia and an ever-increasing array of activities to enjoy with mates of the four-legged variety, it's a great time to be out on the open road.

One roadblock, however, comes in the form of what to do when you want to enter a National Park, where dogs are strictly prohibited. If you are not able to or comfortable with leaving your pup in your caravan, the only other option is to forgo the activity altogether.

Rare feature in select caravan parks

Some National Parks, however, have kennelling options nearby so that you can enjoy a day of hiking and exploring while your dog is cared for. It's an option that is becoming increasingly popular as travellers realise they can have the best of both worlds.

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"Our kennels are super popular and very much booked out," Melanie from Sandstone Park at Carnarvon Gorge tells Yahoo Lifestyle. "We're fortunate that we're on private land and could provide this for people. It's a valuable service for a lot of people that they can bring their dogs here."

Travellers certainly agree with one person calling the service "fabulous" in a popular Facebook group.

"We stayed there not long ago and daily we booked our dog into boarding $20 per day," they wrote. "You need to book in advance as they don't have a lot of kennels but they are very well looked after. It's a fabulous spot."

What to know before booking a kennel at Carnarvon Gorge

"We only have four [kennels] available," Melanie says. "They are day-use kennels, so a lot of people think they're like a doggy day care situation, but, in fact, it's not. It's purely a crate, a safe place for a dog to be while their owners are going out into the National Park."

Melanie also reminds travellers that they are responsible for supplying anything that their dog might need to feel comfortable in the kennel.

"We generally recommend that the dogs should be crate trained if they're going to go in there because we don't want to see or hear a dog who is in distress."

Options for travellers where kennels are not available

What to do when travelling with your dog and going somewhere that does not allow them was the topic of a recent Facebook chat, where the answers were as varied as the breeds of dogs hitting the road.

While some people said they simply do not go places where their dogs are not permitted, others had suggestions for how they make it work.

"In our case, we usually split up, one looks after the dog and the other goes to the attractions and then swap places if both want the same experience," one said.

"If I’m just popping to the shop or going to have a shower, I leave my girl in the van," another added. "She doesn’t bark & nobody would even know she was there."

"Doggy daycare or swap pet sitting with other campers," was another popular response while someone said "Some boarding kennels have a doggy day care our dogs went there. Some caravan parks can recommend pet sitters."

MadPaws also got plenty of mentions, with travellers saying it had been very useful in helping them find pet sitters for a day or two.

Need for more kennel facilities at National Parks

While the kennelling service offered at Sandstone Park is the exception rather than the rule, that could change in the future due to demand.

"At last!!! If only this kind of thing was available in the bigger ticket venues," one dog owner wrote on Facebook in response to the Sandstone Park facilities.

"Fantastic!," another enthused. "I have always wondered why nowhere does this We take a crate and pen but are usually not allowed to leave him while we go on walks. I'll definitely be stopping by in September."

Explaining the impetus behind the kennels, Melanie says, "The driver was the fact that there is nowhere else for people who are travelling with dogs, and there's a huge amount of people who travel with pets - dogs, cats, birds."

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Reflecting on the surging popularity of travelling with pets, Melanie says, "I think the increase in people travelling with dogs has probably got to do with the last few years in Australia and the world, a lot of us got dogs for companionship."

She continues, "And, a lot of us treat our dogs not like we did back in the 80s - where they were left outside - most people now treat their dogs as small humans/children so to not have a place for them to be would be outrageous."

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