I found this site after a workmate mentioned how they had stayed at a caravanpark on Lake Atkinson. As you may have already noticed, we aren’t so keen on the whole caravan park thing, preferring the peace and serenity of the natural world … without all the crowds. When I noticed that this site catered tocampers, well, I was sold. I contacted them directly via email, and was sad to find the email address was out of date. I then noted that the website hadn’t been updated since 2005.
09.07.11 Pardise Valley
Another beautiful clear and crisp Winters day for camping. This weekend we are off to Paradise Valley, a small, privately owned campground along Lions Road and only 18k's from the NSW border. Since we won State of Origin through the week, it's probably a good idea not to venture too far into the losing state.
At 0900 we are on the road and heading towards our destination. Glenn has picked this site for the weekend. The day is cool, clear and we are both wearing jumper and beanies!
At 0900 we are on the road and heading towards our destination. Glenn has picked this site for the weekend. The day is cool, clear and we are both wearing jumper and beanies!
25.06.11 Sheep Station camp Border Ranges NP
Another late start at 0930, but we don’t have far to go, so not a worry for us.
Not so for the Camel Camper family down the street who were pulling out at 0800. I wonder where they were going, swags packed upon the camper top, car brimming with gear and people? It’s school holidays, so perhaps they were off to somewhere for a week or two … maybe doing a few nights here and there. Lucky them! Might nick down the street when they get back and find out what they’ve been up to. A great way to meet the neighbours I guess. That’s if they come back!
11.06.11 Glen Rock via Centenary (Thornton) Park Laidley and home via Atkinson Dam
Queens birthday long weekend and the weather prediction is rain, rain, and more rain. Perfect weekend for camping? Maybe … We are heading to Centenary Park or Thornton Park as it’s right in Thornton. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but still manages to have 2 road frontage.
From Laidley continue south till you reach the Ipswich Rosewood road, and take a right. Continue to follow the signs to Mulgowie, specifically the pub which I believe does a great meal, then Thorton. It’s not hard to find, but comes up on you suddenly none the less. It’s between the Mt Mistake and Little Liverpool ranges, and Castle Mountain very noticable on the drive down. My grandfather used to own Mt Mistake and grazed cattle there. Now it’s a national park. Dad remembers it being very scrubby and only good for horses to access to gather the wild cattle that it ran.
28.05.11 Charlie Moreland
Glenn decided on Charlie Moreland some weeks ago, but being Easter, we opted for somewhere a little quieter. Now with Winter days away, we thought it a great idea. Crowds would be down due to the blast of snow in the air ... no we don't get snow, just freezing cold winds that head our way, like they've come straight off the snow ... Barrington Tops has had snow in the last week or two.
So I reckoned 2 hours and we would be there and I wasn't far out thankfully. We made our way over the Gateway Bridge and up the highway, passing Caboolture and turning off on the Steve Irwin Way (formerly the Bruce Highway) towards Landsborough. The day was perfectly crisp and clear
So I reckoned 2 hours and we would be there and I wasn't far out thankfully. We made our way over the Gateway Bridge and up the highway, passing Caboolture and turning off on the Steve Irwin Way (formerly the Bruce Highway) towards Landsborough. The day was perfectly crisp and clear
24.04.11 Glen Rock Regional Park
So it's 145k from home and we were aghast at the changes the council are making to the creek ... right from the start of the Tenthill Valley. Every single crossing has had major works done to it. I'm not really surprised as they had a few weeks where the Tenthill Creek on www.BOM.gov.au was around 6 metres or so before it started falling.
We also passed some soft floor campers and a roof top camper on the way out, so hoped we'd have our favourite spot. So we pulled into the campground, to find our favourite spot vacant!
30.04.11 Butinga - Update: Now Closed
UPDATE: Tried to make another booking here and have been told that this place is closed for good. Unless you are family or a very good friend ... no chance of camping here any longer.
Yes ... we've decided to spend the Labour Day weekend out there in the CT as well! We have decided to go to Butinga. I've made arrangements with the owners to spend 1 night babysitting their cows in their cow paddock! Magic. It'll just be us and the cows.
So we loaded up the camper and headed out on a brisk morning, as you do. The day was crystal clear and beautiful. It didn't take us long to get where we were going either ... which is always nice.
16.04.11 Poplar Flat - Main Range National Park
Booked in here site unseen ... just hoping for the best. We'd heard alot about Gordon Country and Goomburra Valley, and the photo's on their websites looked nice. So we were hoping that alot of walks through the National Park would keep us entertained if all else failed.
02.04.11 Stinson Park
I got to drive this time! Yay! All the way there and all the way back. Was nice to be in control of the vehicle and camper for the entire trip. We reached the campsite at Stinson Park, south of Laravale and along Christmas Creek in an hour and a half. Bit slower than usual, but I like to see the views and enjoy the journey.
12.03.11 Mt French then Flanagans Reserve
So we thought we'd check out Moogerah Peaks NP as a campsite. Go south from Boonah and turn right here ...
and keep following the signs. It's okay if you have a tent. Shitty if you have a camper trailer. The 2 areas are right on either side of the road in and out (it's a ring road and you are at the start of it). So we decided to pass on this one. Would be okay if you had a view of some sort (which you don't). The road in told us many stories ... all of them hoons on bikes. And the notice board said stuff had been stolen from cars here on a "regular basis". Fantastic picnic facilites though.
26.02.11 Heifer Creek
This week we headed to Heifer Creek which is a rest area and 48 hour roadside stop, 39k's from Gatton and about 27k's down the Clifton - Gatton Road. We noted that after all the flooding in the area, it's really hard to tell where it occurred ... if at all ... but the place is wonderfully green. I'm sure the locals are still living with thoughts of it ... but have picked up the pieces and are putting things back together with surprising resiliance. I made some calls to Main Roads before leaving to ensure we could make it to the site and that the site was still in good condition. The Engineer for this road gave it the Thumbs Up but did warn us that the onsite toilet hadn't been tended to in a while (I'm sure they meant the compost pit cleaning and not the physical toilet itself).
19.02.11 Andrew Drynan ... Puppies Big Day Out
We decided it was about time the Puppies in our lives got to have a holiday as well. Sort of a test run for behaviour, containment and various other criteria that Glenn deemed necessary. And (thankfully), all Puppies passed the test. Not necessarily with flying colours, but they weren't too much hassle ... except when the camp was approached by a stranger and they took our a corner pole on the awning.
It's just over an hour from home, 104.5 k's to be exact ... which incidentally is my favourite radio station's number. The day promised to be hot and steamy ... and it was ... mostly. As we headed to Beaudesert, the sky was covered in heavy looking, low lying, clouds.
It's just over an hour from home, 104.5 k's to be exact ... which incidentally is my favourite radio station's number. The day promised to be hot and steamy ... and it was ... mostly. As we headed to Beaudesert, the sky was covered in heavy looking, low lying, clouds.
12.02.11 Spring Gully Stays
From home, we travelled down the M1 (Pacific Highway) till we got to this sign and took the turnoff.
Then we followed the signs to Canungra. From here we took the road directly opposite The Outpost Cafe, which leads to Lamington National Park. We followed this for approximately 10k's, passed a large vineyard with a beautiful old Queenslander amongst the vines, and continued another kilometre of so, till we came across Sarabah Road.
29.01.11 River Bend Country Bush Camping
We decided to go somewhere closer to home this time. The weather forcast is for showers and Glenn is a bit irritated by that ... being that we have the whole 80% rain guarantee thing to shake off ... and as we set out the day is decidedly gloomy, and the "chance" of rain looks more and more certain.
Roughly 1 hour by road and 80 kilometres from home, River Bend Country Bush Camping is directly opposite James McD Sharp Park (named for the Beaudesert Shire Council chairman from 1936 - 1961 ... quite a stint, so I guess he must have liked the job) on Coomera Creek. This is the closest camp to home so far.
Roughly 1 hour by road and 80 kilometres from home, River Bend Country Bush Camping is directly opposite James McD Sharp Park (named for the Beaudesert Shire Council chairman from 1936 - 1961 ... quite a stint, so I guess he must have liked the job) on Coomera Creek. This is the closest camp to home so far.
22.01.11 Waterfall Creek Reserve
Yes, it's been awhile since we've been out. Four whole weeks!
Due to the flooding in the Great South East (and pretty much everywhere in Qld) it's been hard to get anywhere we like to go. My heart felt heavy when I heard about the "Inland Tsunami" that went through Toowoomba, Murphys Creek (Escape especially ... another good camping spot), Grantham, Gatton ... just to mention the more (now) famous towns. I feel so badly for those caught in that weather event. They never knew it was coming and it's a complete tragedy for those little towns. However, we intend to support them, by visiting Glenn Rock as often as we can and buying our goods in town (Gatton). If you can belive it ... they had 6 metres going over those 16 creek crossings.
Due to the flooding in the Great South East (and pretty much everywhere in Qld) it's been hard to get anywhere we like to go. My heart felt heavy when I heard about the "Inland Tsunami" that went through Toowoomba, Murphys Creek (Escape especially ... another good camping spot), Grantham, Gatton ... just to mention the more (now) famous towns. I feel so badly for those caught in that weather event. They never knew it was coming and it's a complete tragedy for those little towns. However, we intend to support them, by visiting Glenn Rock as often as we can and buying our goods in town (Gatton). If you can belive it ... they had 6 metres going over those 16 creek crossings.