FAMILY holidays once entailed loading the car with children, dogs and tennis balls and trundling to the beach or riverside.
Nowadays, camping grounds have made way for overstated holiday parks dotted with jumping castles and lagoon pools.
But one family man decided to change that when he left his Pentland cattle property for different pastures more than two years ago.
Joe Cooper built up flood-ravaged Bivouac Junction Holiday Camp on the Burdekin River outside Charters Towers with one aim.
"I believe families need to get out around the campfire away from the TV and talk and be a family again,'' Joe said.
"A lot of places are getting too commercialised.
"I believe, as a father, in the value of fishing with your children, and we've lost that."
His camp "doesn't have all the bells and whistles", but Joe says their rising guest figures are testament to a re-emergence of the traditional getaway.
"Our numbers are up 100 per cent on last year, because of a lack of other places for families and people to just relax.
"Here, kids can just ride their bikes and swim in the river and catch fish."
On a big long weekend, the holiday camp can attract hundreds of southern visitors and residents from Charters Towers, Townsville, Ayr, Home Hill and Tully.
The grounds come alive during winter when visitors mill around the Drover's Kitchen for a campfire dinner and country singing.
Visitors fish the Burdekin for sooty grunter and sleepy cod, and Joe encourages good spirit by awarding children a trophy prize for catching tagged fish.
He's come a long way since first taking over the reins.
"I got out of the grazing industry and was always looking for another opportunity, then I saw this and thought it had a lot of potential."
Joe and his family, including four children aged six months to six years, revived the grounds, flood-proofing the eight cabins and patching up facilities.
Rising electricity costs are putting increasing pressure on business, but Joe tries to keep prices low.
Ahead, he wants to install more unpowered sites and toilets to meet demand, and even blend business into the training market.
He originally planned to extend his previous work in Aboriginal training and establish a venue for management and rural courses.
A group of men is currently staying onsite doing coursework in town and projects at the grounds.
Through his connections with RITE Training and Dreamtime Learning, Joe wants to continue his hands-on training.
Working with people has been a "bit different" to working with cattle, but Joe has given the city a country break and wants to keep offering the simple life.
And he won't let success or growth get in the way.
"The more popular you get, the more you can lose what made you popular.
"This is very much the place for families."
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