Author Archives: Explore Australia

Top 5 no-bookings camping areas

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Camping in Tasmania, Tom Simpson

Camping in Tasmania, Tom Simpson

There’s nothing we like better than camping in summer. And a lot of people agree, which means that campsites can get booked up quite quickly over the summer months. Luckily, there are some fantastic no-bookings camping areas around the country that mean even the most unorganised camper can find a last-minute campsite.

Mungo Brush camping area, Myall Lakes, New South Wales

Situated between a lake and a beach, Mungo Brush camping area is the pick of the bunch in Myall Lakes National Park and competition for these sites is fierce at Christmas. Set up your tent or van underneath the paperbark trees and enjoy a sundowner with spectacular lake views. The beach is only a short walk away through the dunes if you prefer an ocean view with your drink.

The camping area has good facilities, including toilets, and proximity to great fishing spots, bushwalks, swimming, as well as access to boat ramps. And at three hours away from Sydney, it’s far enough away to feel like an escape.

Tapanappa camping area, Deep Creek Conservation Park, South Australia

You don’t need to book at any of the campsites at Deep Creek Conservation Park, which means that you can take your pick from camping areas settled in a stringybark forest to campsites with little to no shade overlooking the spectacular coast.

Or there’s Tapanappa, which offers the best of both worlds, being set back from the coast so that jaw-dropping views are just a quick walk away and the campsites offer some shade. With both drinking water and toilets available, this is a popular campsite that fills up quickly. It’s also a staging ground for those preparing to undertake hikes within Deep Creek, including the epic Heysen Trail, which crosses much of South Australia.

Honeymoon Pool camping area, Wellington National Park, Western Australia

Like many campsite names in Western Australia, including Lucky Bay camping area, Honeymoon Pool lives up to its name. That’s not to say that the camping area is full of honeymooning couples – you’re more likely to find families – but rather that it’s an idyllic spot that should give campers some happy memories to take home with them.

The camping area is in a picture-perfect setting next to the Collie River in Wellington National Park. Surrounded by forest, it has toilets, drinking water, picnic tables and limited disabled access. The main activity at the pool is, of course, swimming, but canoeing and bushwalking are also popular.

Billy Goat Bend camping area, Mitchell River National Park, Victoria

The secret is out about our favourite no-bookings campsite, Johanna Beach camping area. But there are still plenty of less-crowded no-bookings sites around Victoria, included this gem in Mitchell River National Park. While not situated directly on Mitchell River, Billy Goat has a spectacular panorama over the river and park. There isn’t much else at this site apart from the view. It’s a favourite with canoeists, but its location above the river means it’s a bit of hike to reach if you are canoeing through the park.

Mt Field Campground, Mt Field National Park, Tasmania

You’ll find this caravan park and campground nestled in Mt Field National Park. Set under giant swamp gums next to the Tyenna River, this campsite is in a charming location, and offers great access to the rest of the national park. From the sweeping alpine regions to the gracefully tiered waterfalls, Mt Field offers a range of environments to explore and activities with which to explore them, including cycling, canoeing, hiking and fishing.

The campsite has fantastic facilities, including toilets, hot showers, drinking water, disabled access and powered sites – all the things you’d expect at a site you’d have to book at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Australia’s best beaches

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Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park

Australia is blessed with thousands of magnificent beaches, from suburban pleasure grounds to unspoilt gems in remote locations.

The country’s 10,000 or so beaches are among the country’s greatest natural resources. They provide extraordinary scenery, and a place to walk and watch, to sunbake and socialise, to marvel at the marine wildlife and to engage in endless sporting endeavours, from swimming and surfing to the ubiquitous beach cricket. Some of our most exquisite beaches are among the least visited, found in remote regions of the country.

Most Australians have a favourite beach, but what makes one beach better than another is strictly a matter of taste.

Some people like their beaches long and lonely; others prefer teams of lifesavers, foreshore cafes and bustling promenades. The clear aquamarine waters and pure white sands of tropical beaches appeal to many; but for others, the ideal beach embraces the drama of high-energy waves, scudding clouds and weather constantly on the move – features typical of the Southern Ocean coast.

The beachgoer’s preferred activity also affects the choice: surfers need waves, anglers want rock platforms, walkers like cliff-tops and views, divers look for coral or wrecks or caves, families seek beach patrols and mild currents.

Where to find the best beach

The best beach is as likely to be a tiny cove in an isolated national park as it is the sandy swath fronting a resort of international fame. Here are a few favourites.

Whitehaven Beach, Queensland

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays National Park

Powdery white sand, clear tropical waters and pristine surrounds make this a perfect example of an Australian tropical island beach – no surf but superb swimming.

Bondi Beach, New South Wales

Australia’s most famous beach lies on the edge of the country’s biggest city. Constant surf patrols, paved promenades, rock pools, good surf and a lovely, deep crescent shape are among the attractions.

Port Fairy Beach, Victoria

Port Fairy Beach

A perfect holiday-town beach: in summer there is a bustle of patrols, body surfers, paddling toddlers and beach tents; in winter, surfers, anglers and well-wrapped walkers dot the quiet six kilometre stretch.

Wineglass Bay, Tasmania

Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park

Located within magnificent Freycinet National Park and accessible only to walkers and boaters, this beach is a perfectly formed crescent of sand and water set within a frame of forested mountains.

Vivonne Bay, South Australia

This remote stretch of sand on Kangaroo Island exemplifies the drama of the Southern Ocean coastline: it has rugged headlands, plentiful wildlife, strong waves – and it remains free of development.

Esperance beaches, Western Australia

Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park

Breathtakingly beautiful and completely unspoilt, these beaches of remote south-east Western Australia are known for the intensity of the contrast between the crisp white sand and vivid blue water.

Cable Beach, Western Australia

A beach of both the tropics and the outback, Cable Beach borders the remote resort of Broome. Camel trains, pearl luggers bobbing on the horizon and striped beach umbrellas complement the superb natural scenery.

This is an extract from Australia’s Coast (2nd ed), a book that will whisk you away to Australia’s spectacular coastline (as well as revealing more than a few places to visit along the stretch).

     

Lightweight camping

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The cycle-tourist I met at Coalmine Beach Holiday Park in Walpole, Western Australia, had ridden more than 500km from Perth with her camping gear.

The cycle-tourist I met at Coalmine Beach Holiday Park in Walpole, Western Australia, had ridden more than 500km from Perth with her camping gear

I’m obsessed with my weight.

No, not in the way you think. I’m talking about the weight of my camping gear, and the magic number on the scales is 23kg. That’s the luggage limit on Qantas and Virgin flights. It has ruled my life – culled my wardrobe, limited my diet and defined my very existence – for the past two months.

For two months I’ve been flying around Australia researching remote parts of the country for Australia’s Best Campsites, a travel guide which will be published in October 2014 by Explore Australia.

My routine is this: fly to capital city, rent car at airport, dash to supermarket to buy food and stove fuel, drive as far I can before nightfall, set up camp, rinse and repeat. So far I’ve taken 10 flights, rented six cars, and eaten 47 heat-in-the-bag instant Indian dinners (hey, they’re delicious).

Camping without an esky or a fridge means a lot of lentils and beans.

Camping without an esky or a fridge means a lot of lentils and beans

So how easy is it to fit all the gear you need to be totally self-sufficient into one bag weighing no more than 23kg? Tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, stove, pots, eating utensils, clothes, toiletries, waterproof gear, torch, spare batteries, first-aid kit, maps … these things add up.

It’s do-able, if you plan carefully.

My top tip for camping by plane: make some friends. Travel with one or two other people. A group of three is the most efficient number in terms of weight. Three people can share a lot of the same gear that otherwise one person would use alone – tent, stove, pots and first-aid kit, for example. A lightweight three-person tent divided by three is still lighter than a one-person tent divided by one.

Mind you, I’m not following my own advice. I’m camping solo. So that person you saw at Darwin airport last week wearing a Goretex jacket and hiking boots in 36-degree heat? That was me with all my pockets bulging full of socks, undies and everything else that wouldn’t fit in my backpack.

Which brings me to my second tip: practise lightweight camping by going hiking (or bike-touring) for a couple of days. There’s nothing like carrying everything on your back for 25km to change your idea of what’s essential and what can stay at home. That’s how I learnt that no, I can’t enjoy a camping trip without real coffee, even if it means lugging a plunger over the top of the Andes.

For this hiking trip in Chile, my ratio of pack-weight to body-weight was about 1:3. My shoulders would have been much happier with a ratio of 1:5.

For this hiking trip in Chile, my ratio of pack-weight to body-weight was about 1:3. My shoulders would have been much happier with a ratio of 1:5.

My third tip: you don’t need as many clothes as you think you do. On my latest trip I knew I wouldn’t see a laundry more than once a week and I packed accordingly. That meant 14 socks. Don’t tell anyone, but it turns out I’m usually wearing the same socks three days in a row. (You were wondering why I’m camping solo? Now you know.) So I’m travelling with a whole lot of excess socks, which explains the Michelin Man look at Darwin airport. Don’t even get me started on the undies situation.

For me, gear is a means to enjoying a camping trip. For some, gear is virtually an end in its own right. And if you’re a gear freak with cash to spare, lightweight camping is easy – just keep spending money on smaller and lighter stuff until you’ve got almost nothing to show for it. I’ve known hikers who love heading into the mountains for three nights with less than 10kg of ‘food’ and equipment. ‘Food’ means protein bars, soaked cold noodles and peanut butter. No cooking, no stove weight, no worries.

I’m mocking them, yet really we share the same philosophy – that reducing the amount of ‘stuff’ we have frees us up to enjoy the natural environment. Which is the whole reason I love camping in the first place.

I haven’t seen many other lightweight campers during my trip, although I’ve seen plenty of travellers who look equipped to launch the next expedition into space.

T-9 minutes and counting: set for launch from Wilpena Pound campground, Flinders Ranges, South Australia. The ute travels on the trailer behind the bus under the boat.

T-9 minutes and counting: set for launch from Wilpena Pound campground, Flinders Ranges, South Australia. The ute travels on the trailer behind the bus under the boat

Less stuff means less time earning money to buy the stuff, less time setting up camp, less time packing up, less stuff cluttering up the view of the bush, and more time sitting around the campsite drinking tea. Or fishing. Or building sandcastles. More time birdwatching, or bushwalking.

Less gear, more time: Lake Catani, Mt Buffalo National Park, Victoria.

Less gear, more time: Lake Catani, Mt Buffalo National Park, Victoria

That said, my philosophy (and the airline luggage limit) means I’m camping without a chair, and right now I’d give anything for a chair. I guess everyone has to figure out their own camping comfort zone. I’m still figuring out mine.

Chairs: the keys to camping comfort

Kerryn Burgess is the author of Cool Camping Australia: East Coast, and is currently on the road researching campsites for her new book, Australia’s Best Camping, which will be published in October 2014 by Explore Australia.

     

Campsites and camp hosts: the kindness of strangers

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Tulki Beach campground, Cape Range National Park, Kerryn Burgess

Forget cafes, pubs and restaurants. My favourite way to spend time with friends and family – and strangers, for that matter – is camping together. It means shared experiences; it means having time to talk. Properly. Or time to share silence. Relationships that grow from camping trips grow deep and true.

It’s ironic, then, that researching a camping guide can be a lonely occupation.

I was the only person in the campground when I stayed at Mt Trio Bush Camp and Caravan Park, Stirling Range, WA.

Out of necessity, I travel alone when I’m researching. It’s camping but not as you know it: pitching the tent at a different campground every night for months at a time, visiting up to 10 other campgrounds during the day, taking photos all along, and writing up my notes at night.

It brings me into contact with amazing people doing amazing things – but the encounters are always fleeting, because there’s no time in my research schedule marked ‘sit around the campfire and talk’.

I’m two months into my latest solo research trip for my new guidebook, Australia’s Best Camping, which will be published by Explore Australia in 2014. And I’ve gotta say, I’m well and truly ready to sit around the campfire and talk.

Which is why I was soooo happy to reach Cape Range National Park and experience Western Australia’s amazing system of camp hosts.

Sandy Bay, Cape Range National Park, Kerryn Burgess

When I arrived at Tulki Beach campground, I knocked on the caravan of Anne and Noel, the hosts in this part of the park. Anne came down the steps and held her arms wide. ‘It’s our long-lost traveller!’ she said, and then called to her husband, ‘Noel, she’s here!’

I’d never met these people before. And they were just doing their (volunteer) job. But they’d evidently been anxious about the fate of the one person who’d booked but hadn’t yet arrived as the afternoon shadows lengthened and hour grew late. They cared.

In Western Australia, 53 of the state’s most popular government-run campgrounds have seasonal camp hosts. They’re members of the public who volunteer their time to camp onsite and manage check-ins, offer information, and liaise with park rangers when issues arise.

But in the more distant reaches of Australia – such as Cape Range National Park, 1200 kilometres north of Perth, 5130 kilometres north-west of Sydney – camp hosts also help form the glue that bonds travellers who are sharing the experience of remoteness and self-sufficiency. In remote locations, people seem to become even nicer to each other. There’s more at stake.

Fifteen minutes after Anne had greeted me so warmly, I was kneeling on the ground doing my best to bash tent pegs into the concrete-like compacted gravel and sand that forms the camping area at Tulki Beach. My mallet bounced off the aluminium and bent the pegs into pretzel shapes instead of driving them into the ground. More than once a strong gust blew my tent into the dunes and I chased after it.

Then another kindly human loomed, her form and shadow providing temporary relief from the late afternoon sun and 25-knot winds. ‘I thought you might need a cup of tea,’ she said. ‘I’m Pauline from next door.’

If I started to weep a little just then, I can’t be sure whether it was because of the sting of the sand whipping off the dunes, or the sunscreen on my eyelids.

Soon Anne and Noel, the camp hosts, shepherded all the campers in the campground towards the communal picnic tables and we gathered for the traditional sundowners. It was the time of day – the photographer’s ‘magic hour’ – when I’d normally be running around taking photos for the book, but today I joined in, and for an all-too-brief half-hour, we did the equivalent of sitting around the campfire and talking. Campfires aren’t allowed in Cape Range National Park, but you know what I mean.

Sundowners, Tulki Beach campground, Cape Range National Park, Kerryn Burgess

The kindness of strangers was raining down on me today like a rare outback shower, and in my mind it will always be bound up with Cape Range National Park and a lovely couple of camp hosts.

The ACT, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia recruit volunteers to work as seasonal campground hosts. Queensland is trialling the system. Click on your state or territory below for more information on volunteering as a camp host.

Kerryn Burgess is the author of Cool Camping Australia: East Coast, and is currently on the road researching campsites for her new book, Australia’s Best Camping, which will be published in October 2014 by Explore Australia.

 

 

     

Ultimate Australian dream trips

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Sunset at Uluru, Tourism NT

Sunset at Uluru, Tourism NT

What trips are on your Australian bucket list? Do you want to climb Big Red on the Birdsville Track in a 4WD? Or do you want to island hop in the Whitsundays in your own boat?

Here are six Australian trips that have captured our imaginations and catapulted to the top of our must-do lists.

Taking time off to travel Highway 1

Want to circumnavigate the world’s largest island, on one of the world’s longest highways, in one epic trip? Look no further than Highway 1.

This highway includes many iconic Australia drives, such as the Nullarbor crossing and the drive down the east coast. This isn’t a drive you should rush, as there’s much to see and do along the route. In fact, you won’t get to see everything even if you take six months the complete it.

But no matter how much time you have, things you must see include the Daintree, Cable Beach in Broome, Kalbarri National Park, the Valley of the Giants, the caves and cliffs of the Nullarbor, the beaches of Jervis Bay, dolphins off Byron Bay and the calm Gippsland lakes.

There are also sections of the road that, while not technically Highway 1, head in the same direction and are much more exciting than the main route. We recommend detouring down the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and also, if you have a 4WD, taking a drive along the Savannah Way in Queensland.

Travel the Development Road to the tip of Australia

You can’t go any further north on mainland Australia than Cape York. After travelling the bumpy and often wild Peninsula Development Road (complete with crocs and river crossings), there’s nothing more satisfying than hopping out of your 4WD and seeing the sign that announces you’ve arrived at the northernmost point of Australia. A 4WD or dirt bike are the only vehicles that can reach the tip.

Once you’ve snapped a few photos, you can stay at Punsand Bay Camping Resort, only 5 kilometres away from the tip, which has campsites lining the beautiful coast.

And after your stay, there’s nothing left to do but turn around and go back the way you came. But not without stopping at a few iconic stops along the road, including Musgrave Roadhouse. Maybe it’s time to head to the southernmost point?

Camp next to Uluru

Everything seems bigger in the centre of Australia, including Uluru. We’ve all heard stories about how big it is, but you can’t truly anticipate the scale of the rock until you’ve seen it in person.

You’ll need a bit of time to take it in, so why not set up tent at Ayers Rock Campground? Once you’ve marvelled at Uluru, keep on looking up – on a clear night in the true outback the sky gives a whole new meaning to the word big.

Spending the night at Uluru will also give you some extra time to explore other natural wonders in the region, including Kata Tjuta. After all, it’s a five hour drive back to Alice Springs, so make the most of your time at what could almost be called the spiritual heart of the country.

Houseboat on the Murray River

Houseboat on the Murray River, Tourism Victoria

Houseboat on the Murray River, Tourism Victoria

If Uluru is the heart of Australia, then the Murray River is one of its arteries. This graceful river stretches from the Australian Alps, along the border between Victoria and New South Wales, before finally ending where the river meets the sea in Goolwa, South Australia.

And the best way to experience the Murray River is on it. You can rent houseboats from many of the towns along the river and all you need is an unrestricted car license to drive a houseboat.

Meander along the river by day and park next to the riverbank at night to experience one of our greatest rivers as never before.

Tackling Overland Track in Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park

Overland Track, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Welcome to the Tasmanian wilderness, an area of unparalleled beauty. Many of the places in the Tasmanian Wilderness Area remain virtually untouched. And the best way to see these places (without leaving much of a trace) is by walking in with everything you need on your back.

The Overland Track is the most famous of these walks. Traversing Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park for 65 kilometres, the walk normally takes around six days. You need to book the walk, as well as the huts along the route, as places are strictly limited. Walking through the ancient landscape, past mountains and valleys and rainforests and lakes (you really do see a lot a scenery), will give you the time to truly appreciate the landscape.

If you want to go on a walk that’s a little bit more wild, both the South Coast and Port Davey tracks trek through the protected wilderness of Southwest National Park, at the bottom of Tasmania. These walks don’t have the facilities of the Overland Track – there are no huts, visitor centre or even boardwalks. Just a lot of hard graft and spectacular nature.

Travel like the Man From Snowy River in Victoria’s High Country

Victoria’s High Country might not be home to the highest peaks in Australia (that honour goes to nearby Kosciuszko National Park, over the border in New South Wales), but it is home to some of the best outdoor adventures you’ll find in the country, including walking, mountain-biking, rafting, fishing, horse-riding and cross-country skiing, if you’re there in the right season.

Bush camping is allowed in most sections of Alpine National Park, so you can camp next to your chosen adventure.