Rose..record some dialogue from an old James Cagney Movie...or get a recording from Inspector Rex..between Cagney and Rex, the noise should even scare the mother inlaw away. Try to park early, inspect the area for visible signs of vandals/hoons etc; that should give you time to move on if in doubt. And use a UHF radio and chat with others going your way to team up at night. Safety in numbers. Be aware not to take up truck parking spaces, as those hard working guys have a short nap and can get grumpy (as I would) if they had to battle a long rig around tourists. Happy and safe travels there Rose..Enjoy

We always try to stop in places that have a few other people camped there and once we've set up camp we usually walk around and say hello so we all feel a bit more comfortable.  We also avoid places that are littered with discarded wine casks, broken bottles, etc.  In general though, we have never had any worries at any rest area or bush camp that we've stayed in so far.