How to choose a free camping spot

Free camping and low cost sites can be a good way to avoid busy crowds and packed sites, as well as assist you with your budgets.  First thing though, especially if you are new to this, is that you really need to think some things through.

Do your research

What do you need from your site?

Think things through, don't leave it until the last minute especially so if you are new to camping or are planing to go to busy places or during busy times such as the Christmas School holiday break. Each one of us have different needs and desires. They are different. What I consider important you might consider as irrelevant and vice versa.

• Access for transport and accommodation
• Minimum size needed
• Level sites
• Fire or no fire
• Shade or sun
• Access to services such as toilet, potable shower, power.
• Are Pets allowed

Aspirations

What do you desire in your campsite?

• Setting: bush, river, lake, scenic etc
• Proximity to neighbours
• Swimming/Fishing/Boating

When you know what it is that you need and what you would like to have in a campsite, then you are much more able to find satisfaction and enjoy your holiday experience whether it be for a day or two or for an extended lifestyle. Sometimes you won’t be able to achieve all of the above factors in a campsite. However if you are free camping, then you have the freedom to stay put or move on. This is why I much prefer the term Freedom Camping as to the more negative connotation that seems to accompany the term "free camping".

As free camping sites are typically found in more remote and untouched areas, frequently you might be able to select a spot as far away from others as you would like. The remote locations of the campsite also mean that you really should try to be as self-sufficient as possible. This is in regards to providing your own food, water and power where needed. It is also necessary to consider how self contained you are. You need to give some thought to how you are going to dispose of grey water and of course your black water (toilet waste). Ideally you should be able to carry both until you can reach a certified dump point. It is acceptable in some locations to allow your grey water to be discharged onto the ground but do ensure it is free from waste food that can attract unwanted attention form animals or insects and could possibly harm them. Also take into considerations the detergents that you use are environmental friendly, ie no harsh chemicals. We also need to ensure that it can not run into any creeks or water supplies. In emergency situations you could bury the food waste away from where people or animals can not come upon it or dig it up. It is NEVER acceptable to dispose of your black water anywhere other than at designated Dump Points.

Our Robbiebago has a large capacity black water tank and a smaller grey water tank.

Guides and Apps

Do your research

When looking for camping spots, it always helps to do your research. In general, the more remote the area the more likely it is that it’s free or very low cost. We tend to research this online using a travel app such as Wikicamps or GeoWiki. Both of these are online storage "library" of nearly all the free camping sites, campgrounds, caravan parks, national parks, dump points and many other points of interest useful for travelling around Australia. Both Apps have a comment section which is a handy way of gauging how busy a campsite might be at a particular time of year, and any other useful tidbits that might help fellow campers, e.g. pub happy hour is at 4 pm!  GeoWiki is only available as a member benefit of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA). It is a very reliable resource and it is 100% verified and moderated by trusted members of the club. If you are not tech savvy, then Camps Australia Wide is a great resource. There are other books and talking to other travellers and the local Tourist Information Centres are for gathering information. Especially on the Apps, do read the reviews of a good half a dozen people as we all have different expectations. I have heard that some caravan park owners are likely to rubbish a nearby free camping ground as they mistakenly believe that it 'robs' them of potential customers, not recognizing that the vast majority of free campers would much rather move on to the next free camp site than stay in a caravan park. There will always be people that want or need a caravan park at times.
 

There are lots of additional information you can check out on the apps.

Out Back Out Bush

Keep it legal

When you spot a secluded area where you are keen to set up camp, whether it be for one night or much longer, be sure to check first whether it is legal for you to camp there. It could be a private property, council or shire land or crown land.  It can also be helpful to be aware of any restrictions  before you set up camp esp in regards to fire regulations and animal control.
 

National Parks

One Pass doesn't cover all of the National Parks

I know it seems silly but National Parks are not so National... they are  administered by states and as such one pass will not cover across borders. Heck, some don't even cover all the National Parks within the same state.
Most of the time now,  you need to book your National Park campsite, even during school terms and during off season, let alone during peak holiday times. This can make it harder to choose just where to camp as most of the time you have to go where you are allocated to you. This might not be the sort of campsite you want or need. So make sure to  research as much as possible and in our experience, don't bother to ask over the phone when booking as most of the time the staff is a long way away in a city office with no intimate knowledge that the site is great for pitching a tent but impossible for a RV or vice versa which has happened to us on a few occasions.

Driving on the beach at Cape Le Grand National Park WA.

Camping Etiquette

How to  make friends not enemies

Once you have chosen your destination there are a few polite things you can do to help ensure the pleasure of camping for yourself as well as your neighbours. I might even  write up a separate post covering this in more detail. But for now consider these points.

• Arrive (and depart) at the camp site at a reasonable hour so as to minimize disturbing your neighbours
• Don't camp too close. 5m is too close for some. Unless it is very crowded, try to leave a fair amount of space between you and your nearest neighbour. If in doubt ask them if they mind.
• Don't block access for other vehicles coming or leaving.
• Consider noise whether it be your music or TV or the doors on your vehicle.
• Don't not leave any toilet waste above ground whether it be paper or worst! Dig it in if you must go outside. No one wants to stumble upon someone's feces/faeces. Don't knock off the toilet paper in toilets either.

Don't steal the toilet paper.

Lake Lascelles is a top spot

Lake Lascelles in Hopetoun is an absolute oasis in the Mallee country. Parts of the foreshore, closest to the town is for paid camping with power and even quirky cabins which I will cover a bit later in this post.

We free camped on the eastern side of the lake, which is the free camping area and within metres of the lake's edge. We met up again with our friends, Gary and Joy here. They have a huge 30ft bus style motorhome, towing a large trailer and they can easily fit here.

Room enough for big rigs as well as medium ones like ours on the right :)

Hopetoun is about 400km (5 hours) from Melbourne and 200km south of Mildura. It is only a small community with about 600 people, but it has everything you need as far as supplies go: an IGA, a service station, pub, butcher, bakery, pharmacy and a decent cafe. The people of this town are very friendly and welcome visitors into their small community with open arms.

Lake Lascelles

The day before we turned up, our friends who had arrived before us, witnessed a wedding being held on the other side of the lake to them. Even the water skiers stopped their pleasure craft out of respect for the actual ceremony. Yep water sport is a popular activity there but it never became a noise issue while we were there for which we are grateful. Instead it provided light visual entertainment. The bird life is abundant as would be expected near permanent water. There is also a permanent Black Swan in resident who might visit your site.

Michelle with our visitor

The Black Swan wanted to enter Gary"s Joy

We used this camp site as a base and from here we went for a drive to Patchewollock where we saw our next painted silos. We were also pleasantly surprised to see lovely corrugated birds there too. Our trip took in approx 140km round trip.

I mentioned earlier that there is a powered camping area. It is relatively low cost being $15 dollars per night and are based on an honesty system with random checks, as is the hot water for showers. One also has the Mallee Bush Retreat accommodation area. What a fabulous place for group camps. The buildings are built from local materials like wood, stone and corrugated iron and have a marvellous rustic feel. It is a fantastic complex and offers unique accommodation for a very moderate prices. They also have shimmering Silo Cabins up on stilts, with wooden windows. If I lived in Victoria and wanted to take a group of kids or young adults camping then this would definitely be a high contender.

All in all we only spent 3 nights here at Lake Lascelles and we thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing time here. It is definitely a place I would visit again next time we are in the area. Thank you Hopetoun.

I'm standing at the water's edge to take this photo

You’ve aced it Cohuna

Cohuna would have to be one of the best town based free camp sites anywhere. Well that's my opinion of course. So exactly where is Cohuna? It is situated on the banks of Gunbower Creek, n important branch of the Murray River just 65km north west of Echuca on the Murray Valley Highway.

The lovely water fountain and if you look at the enlarge image you can see the fish sculpture behind it

Obviously it really depends upon what you are looking for from your free camp of course.
Some might prefer the peace and quiet of the open country with hardly a soul in sight. Others want a busy little town with a half decent shopping centre.

Looking from the town side across the river at the free campers on Flora Park

At the moment this little town has grass underfoot which we have found to be rather rare on this trip. We also have water views from our doorway as we are alongside the weir which directs water up the various irrigation channels.

Grass not quite so green but still it is grass and that is the town across the water

All this is within walking distance to the town shops. So how’s that for a free camp?

Sunset across the Gunbower Creek from the campsite

A very generous 72 hours stay allows us plenty of time to relax and explore the town and surrounding area. We believe towns would benefit a lot more by allowing longer stop overs. See our post on this topic here.

A short drive takes you to many areas

So what is there to see in the area? 

Well the camp ground itself is located on a separate island, Gunbower Island which is claimed to be Australia's largest inland island. It has a water frontage of 130 kilometres and is mostly covered by native forests and wetlands. Tent camping, picnics, fishing, boating, birdwatching & bush walking are all common activities on the island.

Along with some friends, we went for a long drive around the island. We didn't really appreciate the island though as it was very dry. It is hard to imagine it as a wetlands from our drive around the area. It is just so dry here as just about everywhere around western Victoria is at the moment. We could see that we really could get bogged during the wet season, however a bit more green colour to be seen would have been appreciated.

A pelican is one of the birds found in the wooden statues

Another thing we did was to use Cohuna as a base and go for a pleasant drive through the countryside and we ended up at Koondrook where we were pleasantly surprised my the wood carving trial we discovered. Timber was a important industry in this area and the town recognizes this through the wood carvings depicting important people and the bird life in the area.

Just one of the  many wood carved statues around.nearby Koondrook

Cohuna, Victoria, in my book you’ve aced it! I will be back time and time again when we pass through this way.

Free camping at Woomelang

One of the beauties of free camping is that you might be stopping in an area you might otherwise skip. If it is adjacent to a  town or village then it is quite likely to be an important aid to its survival. Please don't forget to the locals and visit the local shops and businesses.

There’s a free camp here that asks for donation for clean toilets, with a hot shower and powered sites available. A nice bricked fire pit with seats is on site too. It is a small park only suitable for maybe 4 vans providing the drivers are considerate. Any large rigs eg 12m long bus types can easily park on the street frontage in front of the toilet block. You can still hook up to a water tap. The power might be more difficult as the power is close to the centre of the parking/camping area.

Here this town is doing is quite tough with the general store, the petrol station, as well as the usual fire brigade and op shops are manned by volunteers. What an awesome community spirit this town has. They were so very friendly too as I found on my walks around this little town.

We’ll stay put a couple of nights and enjoy a brief respite from our travels.. It is also a good place to be based for reaching the northern end of the Victorian Painted Silos Trails, which we'll showcase in a separate post just on the painted silos soon.

The first of the silos from the northern end

I love the opportunity to sit back and relax whether it be doing some crafts, reading a book or catching up on my internet and blogs. What was a delightful joy was to meet a fellow crafter who camped there on our 2nd night. She creates hand felted fabrics and showed me the divine jacket she had made. She also crochets whilst her husband drives. A pity I didn't get any photos.(It was too dark for my photographic skills)

Riverside Free Camping near Rutherglen and it's Wineries

About 7km west past Rutherglen or 70km west of Albury, is Stantons' Bend. It is a fabulous free camping area that is certainly very popular on long weekends. As it happened there was a state side long weekend the weekend we were there.

It's a big area with lots of riverside camping spots though understandably these were mostly gone by the time we rolled in. Stanton’s Bend is a large reserve accessed via Moodemere Road off the Murray Valley Highway.(Its mostly a dirt with a bit of corrugation but at about 4km of dirt road, it's not that long or bad if you go slow and our friends in "Gary's Joy" a 30ft bus with a huge trailer could gain access.

Gary's Joy is some 18m long (38ft?)

I wouldn't try going there in wet weather as the roads would be quite muddy and thus potentially boggy also it is well known to flood in heavy rains. Once in through the gate, follow the main track which loops around the river with dispersed bush camping along the river. It is grassier about 700m further west but it is also more overhanging trees and more populated as the 'beach' area offers easier foot access for people esp those with kiddies. We choose a mostly sunny spot a bit further away from other campers and thus about 30m from the river which we could still walk into.

On the Monday we drove with our friends into Corowa where we saw a few vintage hot rods that had come up for some rally but we missed the majority much to Gary's disappointment.

 

We couldn't leaver Rutherglen without visiting at least a couple of wineries. I opted for 2 that also did fortified wines as I just love a good port. We tried some of the other wines, with all of us having different preferences as to which type of wines we liked best. I came away with a White Fortified Wine from Stanton and Killeen for something different to 'just' Port. I also picked up a gift for our son whose birthday was approaching. If you're reading this Allan, its not a bottle so don't get your hopes up, but Happy Birthday anyway!

The days are pleasantly warm to hot and happy hours shared with our friends were a part of every pre-dinner ritual with a couple of games of Sequence following dinner a lovely way to welcome the evenings. I also got to spend some time in "my outdoors crafts room". Meaning I love to craft under the shade of the gum trees. To have a view of the famous Murray River is just  an added bonus.

Sock Monkeys & Dolls

My Sock monkeys and dolls are available through my facebook page www.facebook.com/platypuscreations1.

Just one of my sock monkeys

 
50% of all sales go to a Rare Cancer charity called Without a Ribbon Inc

Is a 24 hours stay enough?

We have been free camping a lot since we were introduced to this lifestyle some 7 years ago and we love the freedom it gives us to come and go without have to plan and book days and weeks in advance. We would love councils and shires to consider longer free camping for the reasons we listed below. We recognize that businesses aka caravan parks need to have people pay to stay in their parks. However this post isn't about supporting free camping verses caravan parks. Maybe we will do a post in the future about our take on this part of the debate. However this post is limited to the recognition shown by some shires and councils to allow limited free overnight stops.

We felt strong enough about to this topic to send a  much shorter letter to the editor of Australia's largest motorhome & RV club (CMCA) magazine, The Wanderer, which was subsequently published in the March 2018 edition (Vol 33 no 3)

Our original unedited letter

I am writing in regard to free camping and how many towns and regions are offering places to camp for free or at low cost. I am especially grateful for these camps that offer 48-96 hours stay. Frankly I am puzzled by towns and councils putting in only 20-24 hour stays. By the time we arrive, settle down after the drive, cook, sleep, it is time to move on again, leaving no time to explore and look around your town, do some shopping and visit a restaurant or club etc.

Personally for my wife and I, we tend to move onto an area where we can stay a minimum 48 hours as we feel it is just not worth the effort of stopping for just one night.

I would like to suggest a minimum 48 hour stop would benefit your town so much more. Let's face it, every RV, if given enough time will spend more dollars at a more relaxed pace. We are not the group that just need a quick stop for break and to get a few basic supplies before moving on to our destination. For many of us, it is a lifestyle thing, where we are not necessarily on a tight time frame. We would like to experience what your region has to offer and we would like more time to do this.
 
Sure I can understand that a 24 hours limit is easier to control for councils, but at the same time it makes it easier for RVs who are self sufficient to not stop for long if at all.

There will always be a certain group that will only stop and stay within a caravan park. There is another group that can only free camp for a limited time often 2 or 3 nights before they need power etc. There is a growing number of dedicated free campers who can and do travel long term (and a small but growing percentage that chose to live in their RV permanently). 

By catering for longer stays you will attract more spending across a broader spectrum of businesses. I am reasonably sure the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Assoc) will have proof of how much spending occurs in towns if you need to back up what I say with proof.

Free camping at Joe O'Connor Park within walking distance of Yass where we often stop and relax & shop.

I am also very grateful for these free camps, not just because it is just that, free, but because it attracts a totally different sub culture of travellers whom we enjoy the company of and the second vitally important reason is because of the freedom it gives us when travelling. We do not have to plan ahead just where and when we are going to be at a certain place. If we like a place or meet wonderful people then we are very likely to extend our stay on the spur of the moment. We can't do this if we are restricted to caravan parks.

We all need fuel, food, water on a regular basis. Then there are miscellaneous expenditures from restaurants, pubs and clubs, motor vehicle maintenance and repairs, laundromats, camping and fishing supplies, hairdressers, pharmacies &/or doctors, books, magazines, etc. It is up to each council to decide how much they desire to attract such people, many of whom are baby boomers with the majority of debts paid off and now reaping the benefits of hard work by relaxing and buying things they couldn't or wouldn't spend in their earlier years. 

Free camp within walking distance of Hopetoun, Vic

Just as an example: On this trip to Adelaide we decided to see some of the painted silos. Because we were able to free camp at Lake Lascelles, we ended up staying and enjoying there 3 days using this place as a base to go sight seeing and visiting nearby silos. We also went into Hopetoun several times. We used the laundromat, bought lunch one day and a dinner another day there, visited the garage (for advice as they were unable to assist us at that time) and bought some groceries at the local IGA. Had we not been able to stay the 3 nights, we may have bought 1 meal there at the most but I doubt it.

Our lovely panoramic view from our motor home free camping at Lake Lascelles

 

Gin Gin Free Camp

Gin Gin would have to be the most RV friendly town in Australia even though it officially isn't recognized as such. Gin Gin is a small town in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, roughly 50 kilometres inland from Bundaberg on the Bruce Highway.

They have a 48 hour free camping on north end of town right on the main highway about 350km from Brisbane. There are also two toilet blocks. There's lots of grass and trees, and a covered picnic area with tables and seating. You are within walking distance of the shopping facilities in Gin Gin, which Rob took advantage of as he needed to suss out some information regarding satellite TV antennas, so he walked into town, it was that close!

The town is fantastic for  RVers of all sorts. There are two caravan parks and you can also camp at the showgrounds. Gin Gin is an extremely traveller friendly town with a good variety of shops, pubs, amenities, an information centre and more. The have lots and lots of caravan and big rig parking right in the middle of town (close to the IGA) with the huge park like divided road.

Around Gin Gin the country is very pretty. You will see lots of sugar cane fields, although there were also orchards as well as farms growing various fruits including pineapples, citrus, mangoes and macadamias.

Free camping at Calliope

Free camping at Calliope Rest area is wonderful. There are places on both sides of the river with most being reasonably level and grassy with toilet blocks on both sides.

Campers on the southern bank

There is a 48 hour maximum stay. We missed the turn off on the northern side. As it turned out, we are glad as we preferred the southern bank, not that we knew that at the time. That was just a happy coincidence. The southern side gives easier access to the boat ramp and swimming too if that's important to you.

A closer view

There is plenty of room for large rigs as well as caravans, and often plenty of sites but it was rather busy with the north side being almost crowded during our winter time stop. The temperatures are very warm this year, so much so, that some braver people than I were swimming. I guess there is fishing. It would be an ideal place for canoeing and kayaking too.

A boat ramp on the southern bank for water sports and fishing

There is an old bridge that has be closed to road traffic but you can walk from one side to the other. Being so close to Gladstone, it is a popular spot on weekends.

Michelle standing on the old bridge with the new one in the background

We took a walk to the north bank which is much higher above the river thus looking down. It is also more bitumen with grassy verge for parking but it is much more crowded. It is also closer to the museum and little takeaway shop which we enjoyed our chips there. We intend to come back another time for the museum when the markets are on as well.

Free camping at Victoria Lake

Victoria Lake was recommended to us and we probably wouldn't have thought to go there otherwise. This is what I like about chatting with other RVer's at free camps. They can be a wealth of information that you would not necessarily find at the information centres or even on the internet.

The fact that there are no facilities at Victoria Lake is part of the charm for many people - a true getting back to nature type of break.  There's a fine line between bush camping and free camping. I am not sure where the differences are. It is a quiet spot and it seems as though not many people know of it.

It is about 20 kilometres south of Dululu along a dirt road. We came up from Biloela which is a much longer dirt road.  Next time I think we'll come up the Burnett Highway and turn south from there and just travel a much shorter dirt road to the road leading into the lake. The campsite is about  one kilometre from the gate, but there are many locations along the lake you can choose.

Being a dirt road in a black soil area, the track into and around the lake can be quite rutted. You will need to take care. Watch also for the many low branches of trees too. We took a short trip to look at a couple of spots in the car, but choose a spot right at the first sighting of the lake as it was reasonably level there and there was a lot more open area for the sun to charge up our solar panels/lithium batteries we need.

There was one couple camping not far away and we asked them out of courtesy if they'd mind if we park within 20m of them. They were fine with that. As it sometimes happens, we became quite good friends. Barry and Lyn live not too far away and like to come here for breaks. They had some family camping in a different area around the lake. We enjoyed our happy hours together with Barry and Lyn.

There was supposed to be some red claw(freshwater crayfish) in the lake and Rob got out some traps but we didn't have much success, just caught the one. Still we live in hope and set the traps again. I did some hand washing and Rob cut up some fire wood for happy hour.

We caught some lovely sunsets over the water and I even got a decent photo of the moon where you can even see the craters.

We enjoyed a lovely quiet couple of days here but we cut our time sort here as there was threats of rain and this is a notorious black soil which would bog a vehicle in no time at all, even Barry cut his time short too for the same reason. We'll leave it for the 4WD enthusiasts that will undoubtedly come a churn up the grounds even more. Still it would be nice to come back another time.