Jugiong Dog Friendly Free Camp NSW

Jugiong Dog Friendly Free Camp NSW

Hello Jugiong free camping!

4th to 6th February: So, it was time to leave Gunning, we’d only planned on an overnight stay, and in our usual style hadn’t really thought too much about where we were heading. We knew there were several options further down the Hume Highway, and we figured we’d just drive until we found something suitable with enough room for us, that was a free camp, dog friendly camping, and of course suitable for kids. It turns out that place was Jugiong.

dog friendly camping nsw

On arrival we found a tiny town, with a huge showground, which is where the free camp is located. Next door is the local pool which has hot showers, a definite plus for travellers, and there’s a service station just down the road with all the basics you’ll need as well as a top little cafe across the road that boasts lots of local tasty treats.

Another bonus – A kids playground. It turns out it was everything we needed with plenty of space, and we even managed to score a shady campsite, what more could you ask for.

camping with kids

dog friendly free camping

Generally when we arrive in a place, we set up then head off for a bit of a look around, there is lots of gorgeous farmland around Jugiong and the Murrumbidgee River flows just behind the showgrounds too, perfect for taking the kids for a fish.

hume highway free camp jugiong

For a quiet little place, Jugiong turned out to be quite an eventful little stop for us. We tested out the Weber with our first ever roast, and we weren’t disappointed in the least.

Byron lost his 2nd tooth in two weeks.

Byron also learned how to skateboard, totally unrelated to the loss of his tooth by the way, and Amahli, not one to be beaten decided she couldn’t let her little brother beat her to learning a new skill, so gave it a try too. The flat road made a perfect skate arena.

camping with kids hume highway

We made friends with a couple of horses in the paddock behind the swimming pool, cheeky things they were getting lots of pats and we couldn’t resist giving them a carrot each in reward for their cheeky charms.

hume highway free camping

If you’re ever travelling down the Hume, then we can definitely say that Jugiong is  a great little town when you’re looking for campsites between Sydney and Melbourne, with  lovely locals. It’s a nice way to spend a few days relaxing, fishing and enjoying the space and peace.

Week one on the road – Free Camping at Bulahdelah NSW

Week one on the road – Free Camping at Bulahdelah NSW

Jan 28th to Feb 3rd: It’s a surreal existence when your dreams are happening around you. It’s a spectacular sense of accomplishment, mixed with a dash of disbelief, a slight twist of vulnerability, and a nagging sensation that it’s all going to crash down around you sometime soon. At least that’s how it felt to me.

Our first few days on the road, well I guess, closer to a week were spent catching up with friends and family before we travelled off into the sunset to enjoy our nomadic dream. It was nice, and a sort-of in-between, where we were officially on the road travelling Australia, and yet floating around the familiar tracks of our past lives, not yet truly on our way.

The 28th of January saw us drive out of Matt’s Nan’s driveway with no real idea of where we’d stop for the night, it was everything we’d wished for; point the car in the direction we wanted to go, and just drive. Take things as they come, trust the universe would lead us to where it was we should go, and enjoy the journey, after all, the journey really is the destination!

travelling australia in a caravan with kids

As evening began to hit, we decided to pull up in Bulahdelah. This is a pure case of deciding to take a chance on a place we’d driven through probably hundreds of times before, and yet never really looked around. Living on the Mid North Coast made Bulahdelah the fuel and toilet stop of the Pacific Highway when travelling to Sydney; a nice mid-point. But, the highway has since by-passed the little town, and we’d noticed there was a free camp in the area so it was worth a look.

Truly, camp sites don’t get too much better than this one. It’s a dog friendly and family friendly free camp.

free camp at Bulahdelah NSW

We arrived to find a nice big vacant area right on the bank of the river, with a jetty to our left and the walkway to the bridge not too far away. There wasn’t any shade in our new found yard, but we figured we were only staying a night or two, so it we’d work around it.

Van up, table out and a couple of chairs, and we were dishing dinner before we knew it. We’d anticipated a late arrival so had thrown a big feed of beef stroganoff in the Dream Pot before leaving, it was perfect by the time we were ready to eat, and a nice reward after the drive and set up.

fishing with kids nsw

There was no time like the present for the kids. Bellies full, they had the rods unpacked, bait net in and were keen for a fish. It didn’t take long before the bait net was host to a small fish. Jackson didn’t like the look of it, with a few ominous spikes giving a warning not to get to close. He gave a yell to Matt to come take a look, and before Matt made it to the Jetty, a lovely guy in the campsite near went to take a look and not wearing his glasses put his hand in to retrieve the little thing.

Ouch! He’d been stung, and boy did we feel bad about it! First night in camp and we’d already inflicted an injury on some poor bloke! We dug out the bites and stings book and I enlisted the help of good old Google to identify the sucker, which we soon realised was a Bullrout. Luckily we carry plenty of pain relief and creams in the van, so we offered him some, and then advised to wash it with hot water as per the first aid directions, also assuring him if it got too bad we’d be happy to run him up to the hospital for them to take a look. Thankfully it was all fine and not too major, but lesson learned for the kids, not to let others touch their nets until we’re there. I’d hate to feel responsible for something bad happening to someone else, even if it’s unintentional.

Crisis averted, Matt and the kids fished well into the evening, before it was time to hit the sack, we figured we’d stay another night, and then see where the road led us.

fishing camping with kids

This plan, to leave the next day happened for several days, and we ended up staying there for five nights. We didn’t realise at the time that the site actually has a 3 night maximum, but it wasn’t full and we spent money in town every day which we thought the small businesses would appreciate so not a major issue.

camping with kids

Our days were filled with swimming, fishing, wandering through town to stock up on supplies, and hanging out with our new friends, the resident geese and ducks, who would often make their presence known and had quite a bit of character about them.The kids enjoyed having a go at camp cooking, and even washing the clothes, although the fascination wore off pretty quickly 🙂

cooking with kids when camping kids camp cooking

 We chatted to locals, met lots of other travellers, some who’d been on the road for some time, others who were testing the waters and deciding whether to dive in and head around Australia full time on the big lap. (of course we told them to go for it, life’s just too short, we hope to meet up with them on the road) 🙂

family camping nsw best spots

If you’re in the area, then we can highly recommend this free camp. It’s an initiative of the local Lions Club, to help aid the community after the highway bypass.  You need to be pretty self-contained, there is a tap on site for water top-ups, and there are toilets just a short 100 metre walk across the bridge, we carry our own shower, so that wasn’t an issue for us but I think there may be a shower at the showground for a fee.

free camping nsw

Please, if you do decide to stay, support the local businesses, it’s a great spot, one of the best we’ve experienced, and by doing some groceries, going to the pub just for a drink or even for dinner, topping up with fuel, or grabbing lures from the hardware like we did it helps prove that the camp is bringing income into the town, as there have been rumours that there has been some objections to the existence of the camp there. We injected around $400 into the town, and most other travellers we talked to spent relative amounts depending on their length of stay, so the small businesses are truly getting extra income from travellers like us, and goes some way to show that towns offering free camping as an alternative definitely benefit.

family friendly caming nsw

It was definitely a difficult place to leave behind. Our deadline for reaching Melbourne to sail on Spirit of Tasmania was looming, and we knew we needed to be there by the 8th of February, so we had to give in to the demands of time and wave goodbye to our riverside home and continue on our way.

 

Camping With Kids: The Perfect Budget Family Holiday

Camping With Kids: The Perfect Budget Family Holiday

As a a family who’s always gone camping with kids, we often forget that for other families, camping isn’t their first choice of holiday, and perhaps they’ve never been camping before and aren’t sure where to start. It’s easy to overlook the basics of family camping, and we often get emails asking for advice, so here’s our rundown on getting started with camping with kids.

Why you should go camping as a family.

Budget, freedom, fun. Those 3 words describe the family camping experience perfectly. If you’ve never headed into the wilderness with your children, and are a bit worried about the logistics or doing things the right way, the first piece of advice is to relax. Half the fun of camping is that you get to leave the stress and worry behind and enjoy spending time with nature and with each other. 5 Reasons to go family camping:

  • Time together
  • Time with nature
  • Freedom
  • Exploring
  • Inexpensive

family camping trip

What gear you need to go camping with kids.

Over the years we’ve collected all kinds of wonderful camping accessories to improve our camping experience, but I can honestly say that the best camping trips are often the most basic ones. The problem with collecting lots of gadgets to use and then dragging them all with you is that you have to unpack them all when you get home. It will take a bit of time to figure out what suits you as a family, so trial and error will occur, but it’s best to start basic with things that you really need, and then build up from there.

  • Accommodation – Tent, Camper or Caravan etc
  • Water – Take plenty of fresh water if you’re camping in National Parks or remotely without water supply
  • Food – Easy food is a great idea, some snags for the bbq, plenty of snacks that keep well, like nuts. Fruit and drinks.
  • Food Storage – You’ll need an esky or portable fridge to keep things cool, and plastic tubs work a treat to store food in and stop ants and wildlife getting to food.
  • Cooking Gear – You’ll need a way to cook, either gas cooker or use of a fire if allowed are the usual choices.
  • Supplies – Clothing, towels, a camp shower or bucket for bathing, first aid kit for camping, sunscreen, hats etc.
This post on getting prepared to go camping has more information.
This post on choosing a family tent should help too.
One thing is definitely DO NOT pack too many toys, they’ll just get in the way and be pushed aside most likely, or get lost and cause tears!
Where to go camping with kids.
If you’re struggling with the idea of camping remotely, then the first step is to head off to a caravan park, to experience the joys of camping with the conveniences you need still available to you. Choose somewhere a little special, preferably a park that allows you to be close to nature and have a great first run on “roughing it”. Once you’ve got your confidence and are feeling a bit more adventurous, try places like National Parks that often have toilets and (cold) showers and some facilities such as ice and firewood. You’ll still be camping in nature, but have the essentials you need. Over time you’ll figure out the best gear to suit your family and can adjust to suit your needs and experience.
camping with kids and fishing
What age to first go camping with kids?
We get this question a lot! The best answer I can give is any time! All of our kids went camping as small babies, were bathed in buckets, and crawled around in the bush eating grass and getting covered in dirt. That won’t suit everyone of course, but it’s definitely an experience! Of course, toddlers and preschoolers can be a little bit of hard work when camping as they’re eternally curious and have little sense of fear, so you’ll need to keep a close eye on them. We would often build temporary fences to keep our kids in the campsite when they were at difficult ages. Now, they are almost 6, 8 and 10 so they love the freedom and adventure of camping and are very easy going.
I hope that answers some of the questions we’ve received. If you have any more thoughts of questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line via email or in the comments below. 
Happy Family Camping!
Great Ocean Road Budget Camping for Families – Torquay to Lorne

Great Ocean Road Budget Camping for Families – Torquay to Lorne

The Great Ocean Road offers a special road trip opportunity, that allows families to make the most of some of Australia’s most unique landscapes and stunning coastline delivering a wilderness playground right at their fingertips.

Our feature series on the family travel along the Great Ocean Road began with a general introduction, and now continues on to some great budget family camping and cheap family accommodation ideas for a fulfilling family road trip adventure.

While it’s not possible to go Free Camping along the entire Great Ocean Road journey, it is possible to plan your trip to make the most of the options that are available. If you’re not familiar with some of the considerations that are important when free camping, then don’t forget to take a look at our free camping tips.

Due to the large  number of sites and camping options to cover, we’re breaking down our coverage into a couple of posts to make it easier to read through. The first is covering:

Free Camping Along the Great Ocean Road…. Part 1 Torquay to Lorne:

Free Camping from Torquay to Anglesea

The council has ruled that there is no Free camping within residential or commercial areas along The “Surf Coast” of Victoria, which encompasses the beginning of the Great Ocean Road near Torquay right through to the Lorne area, also taking in the towns of Anglesea and Aireys Inlet. The region has quite strict rules when it comes to free camping, and has ruled that the only Free Camps are within National Parks across the region.

Camping is only allowed in allocated camp zones, and these are few and far between. For the most part, camping near Torquay, right thorugh to Aireys Inlet will need to be done within caravan parks. If you choose to take the risk to free camp, you can expect a $125 fine from the council rangers.

Bells Beach Victoria

Major caravan parks in the region are:

Torquay Campgrounds: Torquay Holiday Park, Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park and Jan Juc Holiday Park. Pricing starts at around $25 off peak/mid week for 2 adults. Basing on an average of 2 adults and 2 children for families, you can expect to pay from $40 to $70+ per night for a powered campsite. Unpowered sites are mainly offered during Peak seasons, but are available at some parks.

Anglesea Campgrounds: Anglesea Beachfront Family Caravan Park with sites starting from around $31 – $71 depending on the season for a powered site with 2 people with extra charge for children. Big 4 Anglesea with family camping at powered sites costing from around $60+ per night

Tip: If you’re starting your Great Ocean Road travels from Late December right through January, then Barwon Heads which is not far from Torquay, offers Riverside camping with over 220 unpowered sites at a great price of only $220 per week for 2 adults and children included. This option is great for peak season travellers who are on a budget and are self sufficient.

 Free Camping from Aireys Inlet to Lorne

As we move down the Great Ocean Road toward National Park areas, free camping sites start to arise. These great spots are most commonly within National Parks, so will often be some way from the main road, and will generally require some level of self sufficiency whilst camping. Please be sure to take your own drinking water into these campgrounds.

Aireys Inlet Paid Campgrounds: Major park is: Aireys Inlet Holiday Park which offers camping for families around $40+ a night for 2 adults/2 Children in a powered campsite depending on the season.

Free Camping Near Aireys Inlet: Hammonds Road Campground (Great Otway National Park) is around 10kms from Aireys Inlet. There is around 9km of dirt road, offering 10 tent sites and 5 caravan and camper sites, it is open all year around  and has a 4wd recommendation. It offers drop toilets.Great Ocean Road - Erskine Falls

Lorne Paid Campgrounds: Lorne Foreshore Caravan Parks are 5 parks offering a range of camping options, all looked after from the same office. All camp sites are powered and range from around $43 + depending on the season for 2 adults and 2 children.

Free Camping Near Lorne: Big Hill Track (Great Otway National Park: Around 12 kms on the Lorne-Deans Marsh Rd . 20 campsites with access for caravans, campers in dry weather, and tents. Toilets available. Closed from June to end of October. Cora Lynn: Erskine Falls Road – Required to walk in approx 1km via Cora Lynn Cascades Foot track to 2 small camp spaces. Allenvale Mill Site: Allenvale Rd (Great Otway National Park): 20 campsites in forest beside creek, a short walk from car park, open year round, toilets available. Sharps Track – Via Allenvale Rd, turn onto Garvey track, then Sharps Track. No toilets, 8 camping spaces available, Access to Kalimna Falls, but no toilets are available here.

Just down the road from Lorne is Cumberland River Holiday Park – Paid camping sites for a family of 4 range from around $55 off peak, variable depending on the season.

Jamiesons Track is on the way South of Lorne and offers bush camping, without facilities. It’s accessible only by 4wd, subject to seasonal access.


View Great Ocean Road Camping for Little Aussie Travellers in a larger map

Use the map above to take a look at the locations for the camp grounds we’ve mentioned. The $ signs are paid campsites and the tent symbols offer free camping options.

It becomes quite obvious, that the more self sufficient you are as a camping family, the easier it is to find camping areas along this route. While some of the caravan parks along the way are pet friendly, it’s important to remember that travelling with dogs or other pets into the National Park is illegal, so it will make it impossible to camp there without making other arrangements for any pets you may be travelling with.

Next up we’ll be covering free and budget camping from Wye River, right through to Port Campbell. (We’ll update the post when it’s finished)

 

 

How to Prepare to Go Camping – 5 tips to make your life easier!

How to Prepare to Go Camping – 5 tips to make your life easier!

This sort of goes without saying, but it needs to be said. It is SO much more enjoyable to plan and execute a camping trip if you’re prepared. I have to admit that I’m a last minute packer, that means trying to grab everything at the last minute and throw it into bags and tubs and load it into the car with a flurry of “mum can I take this” and “where are my shoes” and “Matt…. have you seen _______ (insert a long list of things right here!)”.  I’m the first to admit however that this is NOT the best way to start your camping trip.

We love camping across Australia with our kids, and lucky for us, our kids for the most part, seem to like camping! It may have something to do with the fact that they all started camping at only a few weeks of age and it’s been a part of our lifestyle their entire lives. While this advice is targeted toward shorter family camping trips, if you’re heading off long term it can definitely help you too.

1. Pre Packed Camp Gear

If you’re regular campers then I can suggest that keeping allocated tubs of camp gear stored and ready to go is a sure fire way to make packing as easy as it can be. These tubs should be organised (labelled if  you’re into that!) and full of essential items that you drag along each and every time you go camping. An example is keeping a kitchen tub full of plates, cutlery, cooking utensils, frypan, tea towels etc, etc. Another useful tub if you camp regularly is non perishables such as sugar, tea, coffee, tinned and packet products that you always seem to use, oil etc. One more idea is to keep your first aid kit either in your car or ready packed and handy. There’s plenty of other things you can store pre-prepared that will save you time.

 

2. Lists & Notes:

Lists: If you don’t camp regularly or are a little disorganised like we are sometimes 😉 then it pays to make lists. Lists are your friend! The only way I manage to survive the “last minute pack & run” when we camp is to have lists preprepared that allow me to check things off as I throw them into bags and the car. You can create lists for everything and almost every camper I know has pre-prepared lists to help them ensure they don’t leave behind essentials. Main list ideas are: 1 list for each member of the family, a list for cooking items, a list for tent/accommodation/bedding, a list for electricals, a list for pets if you’re taking them, and anything else you can think of!

Notes: Australia is a big country and if you’re heading into new regions, or even if you’re visiting an old favourite destination there are some things you should note down before you head off on your trip. Where is the location of your campground? Where is the nearest town? Directions for how to get there (step by step), a contact list of emergency or important numbers for the area, meeting times and numbers of people you’re meeting up with. It might sound primitive to make notes (I recommend on paper) but the reality is that there isn’t always mobile phone service, and what if something happens to your phone or gps device and you don’t know details. It’s important to stay safe!

3. Essential Items

There are a couple of vital things we always take with us on a camping trip, so here’s a quick list of essential items we recommend you pack during your preparations, we find that these things may not be on the top of everyone’s list but they are really handy. If you’re going on a long term trip of course these items will be important but there’s many more you need to add. This list is great for short camp trips.

  • Torches – enough to go around (one is generally NOT enough)
  • Sewing kit – has many purposes but most people don’t carry one
  • Batteries!- Easily forgotten and needed for many items (especially torches)
  • Water – If you don’t have your own water storage bottles, grab at least a 10 litre container/s from your local supermarket
  • Washing up tub – Don’t forget this, it makes cleaning up so much easier!
  • Toilet paper – You have no idea how handy this is until you need it and don’t have it!
  • Billy/Saucepan for boiling water along with a sharp knife and chopping board (makes life a whole lot easier)
4. Pack Smart – Don’t Overdo it

Even after years and years of camping experience we still tend to over pack. Now that might not sound like a bad thing right? But in reality, for short camp trips if you pack it to take it with you, you have to unpack it when you get home. forcamping set up longer trips, you really don’t want to be carting around excess “stuff” it not only adds to weight but takes up valuable room too.  Going back to step 2 will help reduce the risk of overpacking somewhat. List all the essential items you will need for each family member and try to stick to this. Tips for packing smart include:

  • Know the weather forecast and pack accordingly
  • Don’t take excess toys – your kids will have much more fun if they can explore nature without being tempted by things from home
  • Research facilities – When we camped at Copeton Dam we didn’t realise there were hot showers and carted our gas water heater unecessarily!
  • Pre-plan your meals – have some idea of what you’ll be cooking and resist the urge to pack excessively, especially true for perishables!
5. Plan your arrival time

This little gem can make all the difference to how enjoyable your camping trip is believe it or not! Be sure you know the approximate travel time to your destination, and plan to arrive in daylight! We’re pretty experienced at setting up camp in the dwindling light, or even dark but can definitely tell you it’s so much easier and faster to set up in daylight! Another consideration is the time of year you’re camping. If you’re travelling over the holidays or during a popular camp season, then you can be sure that there will be plenty of other campers looking to nab the best spot too, so if you’re going somewhere there’s likely to be crowds, give yourself plenty of time to get there and get a great spot, or if possible book ahead and request any specifics you might need if possible. It’s always a good idea especially when travelling with kids to plan to arrive when it’s not a major meal time, if you can’t escape that, then be sure to have an alternative easy meal planned or good snacks to get everyone through until camp is set up.

What are your tips for Camping Preparation? We’d love to hear in the comments below!