Favorite camping possies

[Slates]

G'day all.
I'd be keen to hear of everyone's favorite camping places and why they are such a great spot.

Personally, I prefer bush camping with a bunch of mates. This means a full flush is a square-mouthed shovel and 1/2 flush is a tree. Cut your own wood and cook with what you cut using camp ovens and roast up a treat!
These possies for me, normally involve close proximity to a water course with the odd fish swimming in it.
Beer is a handy addition, but normally requires a second esky (you can then transfer the ice from the food esky to the beer esky in an emergency ;) )

My couple of fave possies include the Murray river (anywhere you're allowed to cut wood and camp). Rocklands resi in Vic (when it's got water in it!) and lake Wartook near the Grampians in Vic (damned cold though!)
Haven't done much 'free range' stuff in other states, but stayed in heaps of caravan, national and state parks in NSW.

Awaiting replies!

Cheers, Slates

[Fitzy]

A spot out on the Moonie River (relos property) is a special place for me. Caught some of my first ever fish there as a pup.
Haven't been there for some time now as the hunting & fishing just aint what it used to be, actually its woefull in that particular area nowadays. Now scrub for hogs & no water for fish.
Had a spot near Townsville (private property again) that was great once the northern water dragons were shifted out. ;)

Nuthin better than sitting in the shade of a big tree with a rod in hand, trying to keep out of the smoke that keeps getting in your eyes no matter where you are.

[Derek Bullock]

G'day Slates

I reckon you have got the right idea there.

I don't know many spots in QLD that are not either National Parks, Forests or private camping areas. Those places where you can get out and do real bush camping are few and far between and when found are closely guarded secrets. The reason being is so that they can be kept that way. Too many people out there seem to be on a destroy mission when it comes to the bush.

I think that one of my favourite spots though would have to be Peach Trees State Forest Park at Jimna, particularly in spring when the local birds are most active (we are talking feathered birds here).

I can live without the beer too.

Hey Fitzy, what was the problem with the water dragons.

Derek

[Fitzy]

Derek,
I'm not talking about the foot long variety of water dragons here. I mean the ones with big teeth & bite! :-X

[Katrina]

:o Ouch!!!

[Muzzy]

My fav camping spot is down by corrobree billabong, in the mary river system here in the N.T. Big mozzies Big Crocs and Big fish what could be better!

BUt I like just getting out in the bush is the best regardless of the exact spot for we live in the wonderful land of OZ, and my yellow brick road has many trails to lead me on.

Muz

[adrian]

airle beach has a few spots but you run the chance of meeting the famous mud geko at night :o. south east queensland not many places bribe island has some nice spots but you need a boat

[adrian]

1770 is another good place some places are free like on the beach . you need a 4wd to get to these like on the track from angas waters to deep water nation park take the 3 rd track to the left and follow down to the beach . b y o everything

[shano]

Has to be rainbow beach beaut place but very over crowded at holiday season time!! :'(

[bruce350]

:)below the weir at Wentworth on the Murray is a top spot..close to town , plenty of wood , free , friendly locals ,close to Mildura...heading up there next week for 2-3 weeks..do hope the fish are responsive..got a 20lb cod there last year..cheers bruce

[Finnie]

When I was younger we used to go on family camping trips on private property to the Darling River near Brewarrina, NSW. Miles from anywhere, home of big Murray Cod, nice Yellowbelly, huge pigs and more roos and emus than you can poke a stick at.

Beautiful country whichever way you look at it.

Cheers,
Finnie

[whopper]

Sandy cape at fraser Island - now thats a wild place

kris

[jack_attack]

With the missus and kids it would have to be any where on Fraser Island. Plenty of fish and also a bit of touring to keep the tribe happy.

For flat on the ground, sand fly swatting fishing trips I couldn't go past Middle Creek just north of 1770. Excellent fishing, no ammenities and normally no one else except who you travel with. Although since the road in has been upgraded I have noticed more people. Maybe time to find some where else?

[Derek Bullock]

Hello All

Has anyone been to Hat Head in New South Wales in recent times. Was down there a while back and that coastline certainly is something. Beaches, Rivers, Headlands, great camping in the National Park........you name it.

Check out Septemeber Bush 'N Beach for a bit about the area.

Cheers.


Derek

[krazyfisher]

(1) EARLANDO'S just near airlie beach is great bar and good saturday night feed and too many islands close by to fish.
(2) Any island
(3) family properties no one else for miles dams creeks roos its all good

[johnno48]

g'day slates, everything you want to do is only 4hrs away at Gundy you can camp on the Common , which is about 5mins out of town on the St George Rd and it's right on the Mc Intyre river its a great place and costs u nothing-------- it's Serenity

[spool]

one of the best camping spots in the n.t. has to be the daly river, heading upstream from the mission crossing on the western bank. its about an 11 hour drive from darwin (2 hrs to the crossing) so we tend to stay for at least a week minimum & take a 14' punt & 2 canoes and 2 dogs (bait) and usually 3 4x4's fully loaded & 1 trailer. its a long arduous journey into the spot with 6 creek crossings & 2 decent jumpups as well as muddy billabongs and traversing some fairly rocky country that never seems to end. needless to say the missus & kids are usually a tad surly by the time we finally make it to the 6 metre drop off that overlooks the campsite but its worth it if theres no-one already set-up there.
we leave one vehicle up top & run the other 2 down, send the younger kids off to get the fire going while everybody else sets up, the 2 elder boys dissapear as soon as the bait casters are unloaded to catch a barra for dinner & by the time we're all crackin the first can the boys are back with a couple of barra which are thrown straight on the hot coals whole & while they're cookin the young fella's are givin us the rundown on how many croc slides they've come across. luckily the salties aren't too big, probably only 12 to 18 inches.(across the eyes! :o)
its a beautifully grassed knoll,shaded all day by huge paperbark trees and a rock bar running across the river to a sandy isle which is reasonably shallow so fairly safe for swimming so long as the dogs(bait) are with you although the older dog , a red heeler, has taken to sleeping in trees at night & not all that keen on swimming, i think she's waking up to why we're so keen to take her camping ;D. there's also a hot water spring that feeds into the river via a shallow creek directly across from the camp that the girls just love for their nightly bogies. the fishings great with barra boofin all over at dawn & dusk & exploring, shooting during the day,at night whilst indulging in a few drinks the RAAF usually put on a fair show dogfighting the FA18s over head so there's entertainment for everbody & its pretty hard to pack up &head back to the grind in darwin fair dinkum
spool

[chad]

mine would have to be charlie morlands which is located in kenilworth state forest near mapleton.
even though i dont think there is any fish in the river stream it is certainly worth a try.its a place where you can go and relax and have a open fire while sucking down a beer or 20. long weekends are prbably not the best time to go if you do want to relax as it gets chockers.
if youve got a 4wd then you can obtain a free permit to traverse anywhere on the tracks in the forest.
you even get to see wild deer if your lucky as well as that cute but not so cuddly (sharp teeth) the endangered BILBY.
its a great spot for the whole family.

chad

[Derek Bullock]

Hey Chad

Charlie Mooreland State Forest Park would have to be one of my favourites. There are mullet in the creek there and I have seen people catching them on a line. You also have a good chance of pulling in a eel tailed cat fish.

Another good spot to try out is Peach Trees State Forest Park up the range at Jimna. In fact the road that cuts Charlie Mooreland in half runs right through to Jimna. If anything Peach Trees is a better spot.

Cheers


Derek

[fwabear]

I'd have to say just about any where in the East Kimberleys. Gibb River Road has some great spots near the Pentacost River and through to the Durack. Magic country and some great Barra fishing.

[gruntahunter]

Geez I hope you're not naked under there. No please don't tell us! ;D 8)

[SteveCan]

Best Spot We have found so far is Jerusalem Creek in Bundjalung National Park in northern NSW. The camp at the mouth of the creek can only be reached by canoe now - and the four km paddle keeps the riff-raff away. You used to be able to take a tinny with a petrol motor down there but since they changed the rules we usually get it to ourselves. Fishing from the beach is good - especially at the mouth of the creek and the creek has decent whiting and great lizards.

Given everything has to go in by canoe you have to rough it a bit, but having a pristine piece of east coast beach to yourself is a very rare proposition these days.

Cheers
Steve.

[sharkbait]

stevecan - I'm pretty familiar with the area you are talking about although have never canoed the creek. A couple of times myself and a mate have hiked along the beach to camp and fish the coffee rocks south of the creek mouth, although I have never actually been as far as the mouth. There is some top bream and tailor off the rocks and we have seen the frame of a bloody big jew someone left on the beach. I'm interested to know what the creek mouth is like - being a small waterway onto a beach with a lot of wind and wave action it must get very sanded up and move around a lot. have you had any problems leaving your vehicles at black rocks? Also I thought the beach was closed north of the creek due to the airforce base?

[SteveCan]

Hi Sharky,

Sorry for the long reply - been away.

you are right about the creek moving around a lot - it was completely sanded over for about six months last year - but I am told it is flowing again now. There is a fantastic protected campsite on the creek near the mouth that is only 150metres from the beach.

We have caught good Tailor, Dart Bream and Flathead off the beach and I have camped with an Old Salt called 'Killer' who is an absolute genius at getting big jewies on sandworms there too. We have caught flathead to 65cm on pipies (!) and I cant waut to try some soft plastics there the next time we go down that way.

The camp site is on the south side of the creek so the air force doesn't bother you - it's cool when the F18's get out for a run tho! The arial shot is looking southwards and the campsite is just to the left of the expposed sand bank in the creek. I wasn't going to put too much in here about the place, but it is so seldom used since they banned tinnies that the place could use some use so the campsites don't get overgrown!

Have always parked the car in Blackrocks and so far no problems - fingers crossed!

Cheers
Steve

[sharkbait]

Steve, great photo, great spot, maybe we shouldnt say too much in here! did you know that this time last year (christmas/new year) during the big bushfires the rural fire brigade backburned the scrub between the beach and the creek as well as a lot backing onto farmland towards the highway, and managed to burn down the wooden bridge crossing jerusalem creek on the dirt road out to black rocks? Myself and a mate were hellbent on spending a couple of days camping and fishing the beach so we ignored the signs saying the road was closed, due to the bridge being destroyed, and headed down anyway. We thought we might be able to find a fire trail to get the fourby onto the beach, but no luck. The closest we got was on the north side of the creek on airforce land which wasnt such a good idea. Ended up driving back to Illuka and up the beach.

[SteveCan]

Mate - dont mention the bloody rural fire brigade! >:( We tried to get in there three times last year. The first time we found the road was closed and ended up in Iluka too. we went back four months later thinking it must be fixed by now! - it wasn't :( Then when we contacted NSW national parks and wildlife and found it was fixed, we went down again in August with a bunch of mates, the canoe and a tinne - only to find that they have now banned petrol motors in the creek! An absolute comedy of errors.

We ended up camping at Blackrocks and took the canoe down the creek for a day and although the bushfires have really scarred the place, you can see it will be coming back really well - as long as it gets enough rain! Although it was a major frustration at the time, I am really glad that they have banned the petrol motors as the place was getting more and more heavily used. Now you only get the occasional overnight hike-in and the mad keen buggers like Lindy and I who get three days worth of fishing and camping gear into a canoe ;)

We will be heading in again either at Easter or before - can't wait, the place is absolutely magical!

Cheers
Steve.

[thunder]

Slates I think I've spotted the deliberate mistake, you got the priorities the wrong way round, do I win anything?

(you can then transfer the ice from the food esky to the beer esky in an emergency )

[sharkbait]

Stevecan - I can't believe they took so long to rebuild it! what a stuff up! Have fun in easter - if you see a group of blokes in two hiluxes, a sierra and a pajero, give us a wave, we're heading down to minnie water at the same time..

[PG]

My favourite camping spot is Corio Bay north of Yeppoon in C Qld. Need a boat to get to the headland on the north side of the bay but the view, fishing and comfort are by far the best anywhere around here. I like campfires but with this place being a national park we usually take gas cooking and light. We recently bought one of those little Gasmate cooktops that take a pressure pack gas can. This was the best thing since sliced bread. I appreciate the bush and beach and like to leave it that way so gas cooking is the way to go, quick, clean and very portable and it doesn't ruin the bush.
Corio is great for kids too. On our last trip , full moon, the kids built sandcastles and shapes in the sand ti they crashed in their sleeping bags while the missus and I sipped wine on the beach in our comfy fold-up chairs.
Like every camping spot it has it's downfalls...THE BLOODY MOZZIES ! ! !
If you ever get a chance to go there, do it. Nearly always catch a nice Flatty off the beach where we camp too.
Check out my pic in the saltwater section, caught this thumper right off the beach where we camp (although that was a rare find I must say !)

[sooty]

Well iI'm late on this subject but I'll put my two bob's worth in anyway.
A nice spot, big sand bank under beautiful shady paperbarks to camp, no crocs,sharks or stingers.Great for the young ones to paddle or swim.
A permanent waterhole about 5 klm long & 100m wide, a thousand fantastic snags to cast into, Sooty Grunter on steroids to steal your lure, Saratoga to break your heart, a very rare golden perch, hundreds of forktail catties and turtles if you dare use that four letter stinking word {BAIT}.
A total of 7 species caught over th past two years.
A roast, stew or damper in the camp oven, a few coldies as you sit and yarn around the campfire, that first cuppa in the early mornin' while the dingo's howl from thehills
Best of all the mobile doesn't work and you can only just pick up the ABC on the radio.
Sure it is a rough track in with numerous creek crossings along the two wheel track path but it is well worth the effort. A few days there and you wouldnt be dead for quid's.
Oh where is it ? Well it is private property with very restricted access and if your net is not a mosquito net then you could very well get shot.
It's about 2 hours drive west of Central QLD and thats the best GPS mark I can give you as it is a VERY SPECIAL SPOT

[steelcat41]

Howdy,
I like to go out the back of urainquinty (near wagga) on some private property. Plenty of beer, wood, food not always plenty of fish but I usually never see anyone else.

Three years ago the missus and I went down the Murrembidgee from Gundagai to Uranquinty (approx 150kms) in our 14 ft punt with a 15hp jonno. Probably my favourite time ever. Just loaded the swag, a bbq, couple of eskies and of course our fishing gear and off we went. Ended up taking 2 20l fuel tanks but only needed one. Took us 4 days, we were in no hurray. We just drifted down the bidgee fishing whenever we found a spot we liked. Didnt catch a lot but it sure was a blast

[Esme]

Hi there - re "Krazyfisher's" post '14' about Earlando - It looked a magic place - always intended to stay there - but I've 'missed the boat!' - they have closed down and are enjoying it for their personal use they told me when I rang a couple of months ago! :( Esme