We arrived at the Big Valley Campsite – Margaret River in the early afternoon, we had the usual greeting, and then we were guided to our site, which was in the Rear Paddock, a quieter area.

We stayed here for 6 nights, it turned out there is a lot to see and do, and 6 nights is not enough.

Our Experience

We had a powered site with water, with grey water draining directly onto the ground. We were placed in the “Long Paddock,” which offers large sites but no protection from the wind. Fortunately, the wind was coming from the opposite side of our awning, which worked in our favour.

If you’re placed in the Long Paddock, expect plenty of space. Most sites throughout the park appeared reasonably level, though a bit of adjustment may be required. In terms of safety and security, this is about as good as it gets, being out of town certainly helps.

The park caters to a wide range of setups, from rooftop tents through to large drive-through sites for big rigs.

Closer to the amenities block, things become noticeably more crowded. It seems the rooftop and tent campers are generally positioned in this area, which makes sense given their reliance on facilities.

The amenities were consistently clean and well stocked. The layout is a little quirky — for example, the wash area is outdoors — but it adds to the overall camping feel of the place.

Location-wise, it’s hard to beat. You’re within easy driving distance of Augusta to the south and Busselton to the north, and only about 10 minutes from Margaret River. This makes it an excellent base to explore the entire Margaret River region.

The park is very dog friendly. While many attractions in the area don’t allow dogs, there is a local lady offering dog-sitting services at a reasonable cost — which worked out well for us, with Shadow spending a couple of days there. There’s also a nearby off-leash dog area, which is a great bonus.

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Activities & Attractions

This is a working farm, so if you’re travelling with kids, they’ll enjoy visiting and interacting with the animals.

For everyone else, there’s no shortage of things to see and do in the region:

• Wineries & Breweries, too many to list, enough to keep the most enthusiastic wine connoisseur happy for a month, there is that many.
• Food, Chocolate, plenty of boutique food type places to try,
• the small historic towns, each with their selection of shops to check out.
• Lighthouses, one at
  • Augusta – Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, we liked this one, a good climb to the top.
  • Dunsborough – Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, missed out this time.
• Caves, we went to Jewel Cave, we thought it was excellent value, one of the bigger caves we have been through. there are others, we saved those for next time.

Some Pics

Summary

We would stay here again. It’s well positioned for exploring the lower south west of WA, and you could easily base yourself here for a month or two without running out of things to do.

It’s a popular spot with Perth travelers, including families. In summer and during school holidays, it gets busy, so booking ahead is a must.

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Thanks for reading Big Valley Campsite – Review. Shadow, the van, and the two of us will catch you at the next campsite.

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