I shall be heading west from Rockhampton in a few weeks, not sure how far and would like some recommendations on free campsites please.
As it is many years since I travelled in this area it will be easy going and as I don't have any fixed itinerary, I am open to your suggestions.
If you have a CAW6 reference number, that would be great too.
I know I can find plenty in the book but personal recommendation is more to my liking. TIA.
Cheers B
....oops forgot to mention; it needs to be pet friendly.
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Thursday 29th of September 2011 03:24:37 PM
justcruisin01 said
09:26 PM Sep 29, 2011
Boroma, Camps 5, no 341 ,Jericho community park, 346, Lloyd jones weir.are very good, done both earlier this year. Would need to know which way you are heading from there.
PS. I may not have much service for the next week or so.
Cruising Granny said
09:53 PM Sep 29, 2011
Where are you now Justcruisin'? Should I put the kettle on yet? The Cupie's left yesterday, heading SE.
justcruisin01 said
10:11 PM Sep 29, 2011
Not yet Chris, at Hawker & heading north ,maybe another 7 to 10 days., will let you know.
Boroma577 said
11:56 AM Sep 30, 2011
justcruisin01 wrote:
Boroma, Camps 5, no 341 ,Jericho community park, 346, Lloyd jones weir.are very good, done both earlier this year. Would need to know which way you are heading from there.
PS. I may not have much service for the next week or so.
Thanks JC....probably continue on to Longreach and maybe Winton too.....it is all open at this stage.
Jericho is #342 in CAW6 and 346 remains unchanged.
pauline said
12:21 PM Sep 30, 2011
Loved Jericho, great spot, donation box.
Boroma577 said
01:05 PM Sep 30, 2011
Any more suggestions greatly appreciated.
rockylizard said
02:11 PM Sep 30, 2011
Gday...
I went from Westswood, west along Capricorn Hwy and stayed at the following -
Dingo Van Park (off Hwy) CAW6 324 no mobile/internet/TV $15/night - acceptable
Bedford Weir, 34km of Blackwater CAW6 328 mobile/internet Donation. GREAT place.
Sapphire, W of Emerald CAW6 333 - bare dirt, toilets, free - acceptable for overnight
Jerico on Jordan Creek, CAW6 342 - TV, mobile/internet. Donation GREAT place
I went north (Aramac) and south (Isisford) after Barcaldine, then up to Longreach.
Could give a list of those if you interested.
Cheers
John
Boroma577 said
03:13 PM Sep 30, 2011
rockylizard wrote:I went north (Aramac) and south (Isisford) after Barcaldine, then up to Longreach.
Could give a list of those if you interested.
Cheers
John
Yes please John and thank you
Beth54 said
06:00 PM Sep 30, 2011
I've stayed in Goovigen, Camps 6 443. Toilets, hot showers, $5 per night if powered, free otherwise. Nice, clean and quiet.
Barcaldine Showgrounds, Camps 6 344, toilets, hot showers, I've forgotten the price, but quite cheap. Apparently there's a bit of a problem there with the CP owners wanting council to stop opening the showgrounds, but we never encountered any problems last year.
If you don't mind staying in a dust bowl there's Longreach Waterhole, Camps 6 355. There's no water, the toilets kept blocking up, but it IS free and you can stay up to 4 nights.
Winton, The Waltzing Matilda CP. Excellant! Lovely people. Can't do enough for you. Cost, I think was about $25 a night, but worth it. I don't know if they'll still be doing it this time of year, but they had free entertainment when we were there in July last year.
Blackall, Barcoo River Camp. Camps 6 686. Toilets, showers and info at Info Centre. $5 anight, from memory. Lovely by the river.
Hope all that helps.
Boroma577 said
06:37 PM Sep 30, 2011
Beth54 wrote:
Hope all that helps.
That's wonderful Beth, thank you very much......I have a bit of an itinerary starting to happen now.
pauline said
06:57 PM Sep 30, 2011
Barcaldine showground $25 a night when we were there in July, same as caravan park so we stayed in park, apparently used to be cheaper but the parks blew up.
Beth54 said
07:12 PM Sep 30, 2011
pauline wrote:
Barcaldine showground $25 a night when we were there in July, same as caravan park so we stayed in park, apparently used to be cheaper but the parks blew up.
Oh really?! No, it was definately cheaper than that. Bl**dy CP's! I'd have still stayed at the Showgrounds just to nark them!
pauline said
07:22 PM Sep 30, 2011
I agree should have
Boroma577 said
09:44 PM Sep 30, 2011
pauline wrote:
Barcaldine showground $25 a night when we were there in July, same as caravan park so we stayed in park, apparently used to be cheaper but the parks blew up.
I might just choose to stay at neither under those circumstances.
Ma said
10:16 PM Sep 30, 2011
That's just like Chinchilla QLD. Both van parks have gone over to cabins or permanent vans so there's no vacancy.
The showground is run by private enterprise and they charge $25 per night and from the look of it I wouldn't choose to stay there.
There are so many staying out at the weir now that they are almost packed in like sardines. There were evidently 40 vans there one night a couple of weeks ago, certainly no pirvacy in that.
goinsoon said
10:25 PM Sep 30, 2011
Remind me to give both Chinchilla and Barcaldine a miss
Ma said
05:20 AM Oct 1, 2011
If you don't have a dog or cat and have your own power and water Brian, what's wrong with Dougie's Place?
Firefly said
09:09 AM Oct 1, 2011
We stayed at Winton at Long Waterhole # 361. Its a bush camp and great mobile reception. We loved it, stayed three nights. Its about two klms out of town but no ammenities. We even unhitched and went into town. Allowed campfires as well and wood is plentiful in the area coming into town.
The Information centre there has the best pies I have had in a long time and the coffee was good too. The street behind the main street has a caravan parking area with shade sails, a dump point and water. One of the servos has $3 showers if you need. Winton is a top spot.
Longreach Waterhole looked overcrowded and really grubby when we went through in July so we didn't stop there.
Douglas Ponds Park #689 near Blakall is a bush camp. Nothing there but it was a good distance off the road and a lot of flat spots. No mobile reception though but campfires there allowed.
Neil Turner Weir, #659 near Mitchell is another nice spot. Its free, close to town and mobile reception. Toilets and you can fill up your water there as well.
Julia Creek #303 is a bush type camp close to town, you can get water there but no other ammenities. We did have a rat problem there though, the town had a plague but were working on it. Lovely well kept friendly spot. Peppermint oil does work by the way for the rodents. Campfires are allowed.
Clem Walton Park and Corella Dam #309 is where friends stayed and said it was spectacular. We were put off by the small vehicle rating but they towed a Kedron and pulled up just for a look and found its big. I can only go by their word, we stayed that night at Terry Smith Lookout #277 and that was over crowded and very ordinary.
How far over are you going mate, there are heaps we stayed at past them up to the NT?
Cammoweal Billabong # 315 beautiful bush camp, no ammenities, great mobile and you can have a campfire.
Boroma577 said
09:48 AM Oct 1, 2011
Ma wrote:
If you don't have a dog or cat and have your own power and water Brian, what's wrong with Dougie's Place?
I do Ma and mentioned in my OP that the campsite needs to be pet friendly.
Boroma577 said
09:53 AM Oct 1, 2011
Firefly wrote:
How far over are you going mate, there are heaps we stayed at past them
Not sure at this point FF, will probably head southish either Winton or Longreach. Thanks for your suggestions FF.
Cheers B
pauline said
11:48 AM Oct 1, 2011
If you are going this far Coopers Creek is a must do.
Gerty Dancer said
01:11 PM Oct 1, 2011
Thank you Baroma and everybody who answered, now we have a few ideas for our trip next year. Can anybody recommend a time to be in these places? We like to avoid the crowds, but have ok weather. (Big ask!)
Firefly said
01:37 PM Oct 1, 2011
Gerty we do it in the winter months out that way because of the heat. I have to say it wasn't over crowded anywhere we went except that one stop at Terry Smith Lookout. It was really only a big carpark with toilets but it was jammed packed thats for sure.
pauline said
01:43 PM Oct 1, 2011
We checked out the Longreach waterhole in July also F/fly and just kept going, never seen so many caravans in one place before, didn't do much for me at all
Firefly said
01:46 PM Oct 1, 2011
Agreed Pauline. It had been raining also and the paddock was so churned up, it look very undesirable and not an ounce of shade in sight. I imagined it to be a more rural setting than it was thats for sure.
pauline said
01:55 PM Oct 1, 2011
Me too, not very appealing at all.
Ma said
02:16 PM Oct 1, 2011
It probably wasn't much different than when we were there before the floods but the conviviality that was there sure made up for any other deficiencies and we all looked out for each other when one of us wanted to go to town or on a tour or sightsee.
rockylizard said
02:21 PM Oct 1, 2011
Gday...
I spent four nights at the Longreach Waterhole in early Sept ... not very crowded - about one third full overnight (20 vans/motorhomes) ... during the day hardly anyone.
The biggest problem was the dust ... and the wind that came up on day two ... made it a bit hard to take.
A lady from Longreach Council came around to talk to the campers each morning, very interested and good PR actually. She said the area is packed out in June/July/August and then the campers drop away. (Oh yeah - and she said they were learning from Barcaldine on how NOT to have happy campers!)
After Sept it is apparently rare to have more than 5 or 6. Not sure I would stay there again ... definitely not if it was raining with all that 'dust' becoming 'mud'.
cheers
John
Beth54 said
02:44 PM Oct 1, 2011
rockylizard wrote:
Gday...
I spent four nights at the Longreach Waterhole in early Sept ... not very crowded - about one third full overnight (20 vans/motorhomes) ... during the day hardly anyone.
The biggest problem was the dust ... and the wind that came up on day two ... made it a bit hard to take.
A lady from Longreach Council came around to talk to the campers each morning, very interested and good PR actually. She said the area is packed out in June/July/August and then the campers drop away. (Oh yeah - and she said they were learning from Barcaldine on how NOT to have happy campers!)
After Sept it is apparently rare to have more than 5 or 6. Not sure I would stay there again ... definitely not if it was raining with all that 'dust' becoming 'mud'.
cheers
John
We were there in late June last year and it was packed! And I named it the dust bowl for a reason.
I'm glad the council is finally taking an interest. Must have been my letter to the local newspaper. I suggested they look at what Barcaldine was doing,,,minus the CP problem,,,and make nomads welcome. We went to the info centre in town, and had a hard time finding somewhere to park with rigs on. There were no toilets so we were sent across the road to the council chambers.
In all, not very welcoming or friendly. Except my cousins I met up with.
I shall be heading west from Rockhampton in a few weeks, not sure how far and would like some recommendations on free campsites please.
As it is many years since I travelled in this area it will be easy going and as I don't have any fixed itinerary, I am open to your suggestions.
If you have a CAW6 reference number, that would be great too.
I know I can find plenty in the book but personal recommendation is more to my liking. TIA.
Cheers B
....oops forgot to mention; it needs to be pet friendly.
-- Edited by Boroma577 on Thursday 29th of September 2011 03:24:37 PM
Boroma, Camps 5, no 341 ,Jericho community park, 346, Lloyd jones weir.are very good, done both earlier this year. Would need to know which way you are heading from there.
PS. I may not have much service for the next week or so.
The Cupie's left yesterday, heading SE.
Not yet Chris, at Hawker & heading north ,maybe another 7 to 10 days., will let you know.
Thanks JC....probably continue on to Longreach and maybe Winton too.....it is all open at this stage.
Jericho is #342 in CAW6 and 346 remains unchanged.
Any more suggestions greatly appreciated.
Gday...
I went from Westswood, west along Capricorn Hwy and stayed at the following -
Dingo Van Park (off Hwy) CAW6 324 no mobile/internet/TV $15/night - acceptable
Bedford Weir, 34km of Blackwater CAW6 328 mobile/internet Donation. GREAT place.
Sapphire, W of Emerald CAW6 333 - bare dirt, toilets, free - acceptable for overnight
Jerico on Jordan Creek, CAW6 342 - TV, mobile/internet. Donation GREAT place
I went north (Aramac) and south (Isisford) after Barcaldine, then up to Longreach.
Could give a list of those if you interested.
Cheers
John
Yes please John and thank you
I've stayed in Goovigen, Camps 6 443. Toilets, hot showers, $5 per night if powered, free otherwise. Nice, clean and quiet.
Barcaldine Showgrounds, Camps 6 344, toilets, hot showers, I've forgotten the price, but quite cheap. Apparently there's a bit of a problem there with the CP owners wanting council to stop opening the showgrounds, but we never encountered any problems last year.
If you don't mind staying in a dust bowl there's Longreach Waterhole, Camps 6 355. There's no water, the toilets kept blocking up, but it IS free and you can stay up to 4 nights.
Winton, The Waltzing Matilda CP. Excellant! Lovely people. Can't do enough for you. Cost, I think was about $25 a night, but worth it. I don't know if they'll still be doing it this time of year, but they had free entertainment when we were there in July last year.
Blackall, Barcoo River Camp. Camps 6 686. Toilets, showers and info at Info Centre. $5 anight, from memory. Lovely by the river.
Hope all that helps.
That's wonderful Beth, thank you very much......I have a bit of an itinerary starting to happen now.
Oh really?! No, it was definately cheaper than that. Bl**dy CP's! I'd have still stayed at the Showgrounds just to nark them!
I might just choose to stay at neither under those circumstances.
That's just like Chinchilla QLD. Both van parks have gone over to cabins or permanent vans so there's no vacancy.
The showground is run by private enterprise and they charge $25 per night and from the look of it I wouldn't choose to stay there.
There are so many staying out at the weir now that they are almost packed in like sardines. There were evidently 40 vans there one night a couple of weeks ago, certainly no pirvacy in that.
Remind me to give both Chinchilla and Barcaldine a miss
If you don't have a dog or cat and have your own power and water Brian, what's wrong with Dougie's Place?
We stayed at Winton at Long Waterhole # 361. Its a bush camp and great mobile reception. We loved it, stayed three nights. Its about two klms out of town but no ammenities. We even unhitched and went into town. Allowed campfires as well and wood is plentiful in the area coming into town.
The Information centre there has the best pies I have had in a long time and the coffee was good too. The street behind the main street has a caravan parking area with shade sails, a dump point and water. One of the servos has $3 showers if you need. Winton is a top spot.
Longreach Waterhole looked overcrowded and really grubby when we went through in July so we didn't stop there.
Douglas Ponds Park #689 near Blakall is a bush camp. Nothing there but it was a good distance off the road and a lot of flat spots. No mobile reception though but campfires there allowed.
Neil Turner Weir, #659 near Mitchell is another nice spot. Its free, close to town and mobile reception. Toilets and you can fill up your water there as well.
Julia Creek #303 is a bush type camp close to town, you can get water there but no other ammenities. We did have a rat problem there though, the town had a plague but were working on it. Lovely well kept friendly spot. Peppermint oil does work by the way for the rodents. Campfires are allowed.
Clem Walton Park and Corella Dam #309 is where friends stayed and said it was spectacular. We were put off by the small vehicle rating but they towed a Kedron and pulled up just for a look and found its big. I can only go by their word, we stayed that night at Terry Smith Lookout #277 and that was over crowded and very ordinary.
How far over are you going mate, there are heaps we stayed at past them up to the NT?
Cammoweal Billabong # 315 beautiful bush camp, no ammenities, great mobile and you can have a campfire.
I do Ma and mentioned in my OP that the campsite needs to be pet friendly.
Not sure at this point FF, will probably head southish either Winton or Longreach. Thanks for your suggestions FF.
Cheers B
Thank you Baroma and everybody who answered, now we have a few ideas for our trip next year. Can anybody recommend a time to be in these places? We like to avoid the crowds, but have ok weather. (Big ask!)
Gerty we do it in the winter months out that way because of the heat. I have to say it wasn't over crowded anywhere we went except that one stop at Terry Smith Lookout. It was really only a big carpark with toilets but it was jammed packed thats for sure.
Agreed Pauline. It had been raining also and the paddock was so churned up, it look very undesirable and not an ounce of shade in sight. I imagined it to be a more rural setting than it was thats for sure.
It probably wasn't much different than when we were there before the floods but the conviviality that was there sure made up for any other deficiencies and we all looked out for each other when one of us wanted to go to town or on a tour or sightsee.
Gday...
I spent four nights at the Longreach Waterhole in early Sept ... not very crowded - about one third full overnight (20 vans/motorhomes) ... during the day hardly anyone.
The biggest problem was the dust ... and the wind that came up on day two ... made it a bit hard to take.
A lady from Longreach Council came around to talk to the campers each morning, very interested and good PR actually. She said the area is packed out in June/July/August and then the campers drop away. (Oh yeah - and she said they were learning from Barcaldine on how NOT to have happy campers!)
After Sept it is apparently rare to have more than 5 or 6. Not sure I would stay there again ... definitely not if it was raining with all that 'dust' becoming 'mud'.
cheers
John
We were there in late June last year and it was packed! And I named it the dust bowl for a reason.
I'm glad the council is finally taking an interest. Must have been my letter to the local newspaper.
I suggested they look at what Barcaldine was doing,,,minus the CP problem,,,and make nomads welcome. We went to the info centre in town, and had a hard time finding somewhere to park with rigs on. There were no toilets so we were sent across the road to the council chambers.
In all, not very welcoming or friendly. Except my cousins I met up with.