Australia So Much to See

Gawler Ranges, approximately forty kilometres north of the Eyre Highway, and accessible from Wudinna, Minippa, Kimba or Iron Knob.  Honesty box park entry and camping fees apply; pay at park entrances.  Pit toilets at some campgrounds.  Drives, short walks and four wheel drive tracks, flora and fauna, rock formations, and history.  Various camping sites throughout the park; most not suitable access for caravans.  Stayed 2005

On line bookings and payments are now required for the Gawler Range campgrounds in South Australia

National Park, Conservation Park and State Park Campgrounds we have enjoyed that charge moderate fees.  Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales

Where park passes are applicable, park entry passes are payable per day.  For a listing of daily entry fees and which parks they apply to see: NSW Daily Vehicle Entry Fees.  Note # 6th October 2015 prices rises. 

Wollemi National Park, Dunns Swamp.  See entry in low cost section

Barrington Tops, Polblue campground in the northern section of the park on the Barrington to Scone Road. This is a roomy campground; at 1450m altitude it can be cold.  Picnic shelter with wood fire, free barbecues. Pit toilets.  Woodland walk around swamp. $10 per person per night #.  Visited 2009

Oxley Wild Rivers National Park camp grounds have flush or pit toilets, picnic tables and barbecues.  Walks and waterfalls. Caravan sites at Apsley Falls ($5 per person per night), Tia Falls (free) and Wollomombi Falls ($10 per person per night) #. We were day visitors to these parks and no daily entry fees applied. Visited 2009

Bald Rock National Park. This campground is at the end of the 6km park access road, off the Mount Lindesay (Woodenbong) Road and is 30 kilometres from Tenterfield.  Picnic tables, wood barbecues, pit  toilets, creek water from taps.  $7 per person per night plus $7 per day park access fee #.  Walk and climb Bald Rock, or take long walk along the Queensland New South Wales border.    Visited 2009

Boonoo Boonoo National Park Thirty kilometres from Tenterfield, dirt access road. Lovely riverside campground.  Pit toilets, drinking water, picnic tables and barbecues.  Walks and waterfalls.  $7 per person per night plus $7 per day park access fee #.  The campground is on the Boonoo Boonoo River upstream of the falls where the river tumbles down a series of cascades over 200 metres into the canyon.  Visited 2009

West MacDonnell National Park, Ormiston Gorge.  Approximately 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs via Larapinta Drive and Namatjira Drive. Bitumen road access.  Surrounded by colourful hills, and a short wheelchair accessible walk to the first pool in the Gorge, a very pleasant location.  Hot solar heated showers, toilets, rubbish bins, picnic tables, barbecues and tap water.  Sites are sloping and not many are suitable for caravans.  Campground gets crowded.  $6.60 per person per night.  Pleasant walks.  Stayed 2008

East of the Stuart Highway to the south of Darwin.  Accessed via the Arnhem Highway 35 kilometres south of Darwin or the Kakadu Highway from Pine Creek.  There are commercial caravan parks at Cooinda, Kakadu Aurora and Jabiru, plus a number of very pleasant parks campgrounds.  Serviced campgrounds which include hot showers and have water cost $10 per person per night.  Campgrounds with pit toilets only $5 per person per night, and camping at a few specified billabongs is free.  A permit is required to camp outside of the designated camping areas.  Park entry fee of $25 per person applies, which covers fourteen days.  Generators are permitted in designated areas during specified hours at Gunlom, Mardugal and Merl campgrounds.  Otherwise power is not available at parks campgrounds. 

We chose to stay at serviced campgrounds Gunlom, Mardugal (Mardukal), Muirella and Merl campgrounds, as well as one night at Gungural.  All of these accommodate caravans, although larger sites were harder to find at Merl.  Stayed 2009

Finke Gorge National Park, Palm Valley.  Approximately 138 kilometres west of Alice Springs via Larapinta Drive.  A short distance west of Hermannsberg to turn off.  Access track follows Finke River bed.  Hot solar heated showers, toilets, rubbish bins, picnic tables, barbecues and tap water.  $6.60 per person per night.  Walks, both through the Palm Valley; the start of which can be reached by high clearance four wheel drive vehicle, and walks around the “amphitheatre” not far from the camp ground. A lovely campground.  Most sites not suitable for caravans or big rigs.  Stayed 2008

A large well serviced campground, with flushing toilets, hot showers and a washing machine at $3 per load.  A disability bathroom. There are taps around the park, but no powered sites.  Our site was around the edge of a lawn, shared by a small number of surrounding campers making a very pleasant roomy area.  Not many sites are suitable for big rigs with most suitable for camper trailers or tents.  Kiosk serving meals.  $8.80 per person per night. Following flood damage in December 2011 the campground was restored with minimal services but I understand facilities have now been upgraded and the kiosk restored  Phone 08 8972 2884.   Stayed  2009

Brisbane Ranges National Park Boar Gully campsite.  Eighteen kilometres south of Ballan. Pit toilets and small tank. Tables and wood fire barbecues.   A few small camp sites only with very few suited to caravans.  Not suitable for large caravans.  Pleasant and peaceful forest location.  Walks were quite long, with walks into the southern end of the park not available due to fire damage 2006.  Nice overnight spot, longer if you are into long bush walks. Visited 2006. Fridays is a similar new campground in the south of the park accessed from Steiglitz.  From 1st July 2014 camping fees have been implemented. See Fee Schedule

Mount Buangor State Park Middle Creek campsite.  Twenty kilometres north west of Beaufort or sixteen kilometres of Buangor.  Access dirt track eight kilometres.  A huge flat area in a clearing and surrounding semi cleared land, in a woodland area.  Pit toilets, under cover picnic tables.  Small tank but water was brown and full of mosquito wrigglers. Walks, including to top of Mount Buangor.  Drives in the state forest.  Nice bush camp.  Visited 2006.  From 1st July 2014 camping fees have been implemented. See Fee Schedule

Grampians National Park Stapylton Campground.  On the north west side of the Grampians. 33 kilometres south east of Horsham. Camping fees apply; in 2006 we paid $11 per night at Brambuk Cultural Centre.  Update: From 1st July 2014 camping fees have risen again, See Fee Schedule. Phone (03) 53 614000 during office hours to confirm up to date camping fees or to pay by credit card. Little room for big rigs. Pit toilets very well maintained, with a solar night light, and water to a hand basin. Walks and drives through park, but many were still closed after the fire which burnt much of the park a few weeks prior to our visit.  Visited2006 

See  Brambuk the National Park & Cultural Centre and Parks Victoria Grampians Camping.