This is a free campground that has to be booked, and boy, were we surprised by how good it was. Very dog friendly and heaps of walking tracks to go on and beaches and tracks to explore.
You do have to be self contained and unfortunately there is a no generator rule. When we saw that we decided to kept our stay short as we didn’t know how much tree cover we would have. It turned out we could have stayed longer as our campsite was quite open however as it was already booked we weren’t able to extend it. Other sites are not so fortunate, with some having a lot of tree cover.
Our campsite was sheltered by the bushes, good in windy conditions, but if there on a hot day it may mean a trip to the beach, which is only a 1 minute walk away. It is a very well laid out and it is easy to find your campsite.
If you come here with a dog, you will have to look at the website closely before booking, as there are, I think 2 which are NOT dog friendly, campsites C, D, E, F are dog friendly. Also not all campsite are caravan suitable, again check the website forms carefully for your requirements.
The toilets were flushing, and even had toilet paper there. Different campgrounds had different toilet blocks. There is also plenty of bins, and recycling options.
Overall it appears that they have done quite a lot of work here. There is a day area that has BBQ. Walking tracks with boardwalks in place that looked fairly new.
Campfires are allowed. Campsite C has a communal fire pit where as the rest that we saw had one at each site. You can buy firewood from the main office, but be aware it is expensive at $29 / bag.
Looking at the weather data, the temperatures look fairly steady throughout the year, and unfortunately the rain looks pretty steady as well. Just will have to be lucky in trying to avoid the rain. We stayed here towards the end of March 2025 and we had no rain.
Weather Averages – Marlo
Month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Temp Max C
26.2
25.5
24.0
20.9
17.8
15.3
15.1
16.2
18.3
20.1
22.1
24.0
Temp Min C
14.9
14.6
13.1
10.8
8.4
6.4
5.6
6.2
7.6
9.2
11.5
12.9
Rain Avg (mm)
72.5
66.5
83.3
100.9
58.2
89.8
55.5
63.1
63.6
84.7
76.6
139.6
This table will show the average temp min/max rainfall per month
We stayed at Lake Lonsdale a few weeks ago for a over night stop on our way to Melbourne. Besides the warning about blue/green algae which means don’t touch the water, even for our dog Shadow. It was a good, peaceful place with drop toilets, which surprisingly were clean and not smelly.
This campsite is massive and made up of smaller sections along the lake and all with drop toilets. We headed to section 2 and got ourselves a lakeside spot right under some trees which gave us some much needed shade as it was very hot.
3 hours from Melbourne and on the edge of The Grampians, I am sure it is a popular location for that weekend getaway. There is a ranger that comes round and he advised that we could have a fire only up to midnight as a total fire band was being put in place. Since it was 32 degrees, too hot for us.
Unfortunately for us at the time we were there, the lake level was low and algae had broken out in the lake. Normally you can swim in the lake however due to the algae it was not advisable. It looked nice from a distance. There were signs saying don’t touch, poisonous.
The drop toilets were a pleasant surprise, as any seasoned camper will tell you they are usually a ‘last resort’ however these ones did look reasonable new and were actually nice. Plenty of loo paper and a sink to wash your hands.
We would definitely stay here again and maybe in the cooler months. Be nice if the water level in the lake is a bit higher next time. The website link above will give you an indication of the current lake level.
This is a review of the Bordertown Recreation lake, a donation camp next to a lake and the town of Bordertown, SA. An excellent overnight stop, or stay for a few days.
If you are passing this way and need a place to stop overnight then this is a little gem of place to consider. For a very cost donation of $10 per campsite, it comes with decent toilets, bins, dump point, water and your choice of where to camp. This can be in the dirt area under trees or on the other side of where the toilets are located, on bitumen. The dirt section is a lot larger than the bitumen section.
This is a big park with plenty of trees and very flat. We didn’t need to level the van and put blocks under the car tyres only because the car is not level with the van. The toilets were clean with a hint of urine and flushing, a bonus in this class of camping. There is a dump point and potable water, though we didn’t need to fill our tanks.
We felt safe and is always encouraging when other caravans turn up and stay as well. There was a little bit of road and train noise, (the train tracks are not too far away), and other than that it was all good.
The only thing to note is that there are Jumping Jack ants, (also known as Bull ants), in the area, so maybe camping in tents may not be the best idea unless you can find a spot where the ground is clear. They didn’t give us any problems. Doesn’t matter where you go in Australia there seems to be ants.
This lake is not swimming one due to water quality, different depths and items at the bottom of the lake. In fact we saw signs that you can be fined if caught. The lake area was originally dug out out to make a bank for a road bridge and rather than fill it in, they decided to turn it into a lake. Interesting to walk around the lake on the walking tracks as there is some great art works to see along the way.
Jetty on the Lake, Shadow out for a walkThe Lake beyondBordertown Recreation Lake campgroundBordertown Recreation Lake campground
Lake Albert Caravan park is located in Meningie in South Australia right on Lake Albert. We stayed at this park for 9 days over the busy Australia day weekend. This park is located just a quick 5 minutes walk from the township of Meningie, a small town with all the basic amenities that one would expect to be there.
Due to us being a bit behind in our bookings, we didn’t realise that Australia Day was just around the corner. When searching for a place to stay, everywhere was already booked out however we came across this one and jumped on it. Unfortunately we could only get an unpowered site for the 9 days we needed. Turned out to be a great place as not only did we get a nice lake side spot, but it was also sheltered from the wind.
The park itself is well run with clean amenities. Our only item of note is that the amenities block was along way from the unpowered section of the park. Our smart watches counted approx. 350-385 steps to the amenities one way. We got our step count up each day and met our daily targets during our stay.
They put on an Australia Day event, which was well attended by the campers including cocktail bar! Plenty of drinking, music and dancing. It was a great afternoon enjoyed by all.
If you are into boating – kayaks, catamaran, jet skis, small boats and water sports, then this place is excellent. When we were they, there was a family party of about 70 people enjoying all the water sports and fun to watch. Plenty of places to launch the boat with a very easy grassy areas acting as a boat ramp and very shallow entry to the water. You could walk out about 50 metres into the lake and still be waist deep in water which makes it ideal for families. We saw people fishing, how successful they were I don’t know. Catherine did see some fish that were caught on her walks with Shadow so they are there.
Pics From around Camp
Lake Albert Caravan Park camp viewLake Albert Caravan Park camp viewLake Albert car and WaterSkiAustralia Day drinksShadow and Vincent in the lakeEarly morning fishingMeningie Town signMeningie Town BushrangerEvening get together
Our review of the Millicent Lakeside Caravan Park is a positive one. A nice picturesque park with lovely green grass, and level sites. If you are after somewhere to stay that is quite and centrally located to a number of attractions then this place should be on your list. There a cockateels there that do make a bit of noise at night but soon quieten down..
We stayed here for 3 weeks over the Christmas and New Year break. We loved it. It was a reasonably quite place, at a reasonable price. Not the newest place we have been to in our travels, but still, it was kept clean and felt safe.
The weather was a bit of a shock, since we are Queenslanders. Having to use the heater a few times in the evening was a shock. I can now understand why everyone heads south in summer. The weather was up and down, we did not get much rain, but the temperature ranged from 18 to 33 degrees, the average would have been 23. Overnight temps got down to as low as 13.
One of the best features of this caravan park is the Millicent Swimming Lake which is next door. This is a council run Lake, so all of Millicent have access to this lake. It is free and plenty big enough for everyone going to a max depth of 1.8M and safe for anyone. There is a pontoon you can jump off. We certainly used it on those occasional hot days that came along during our stay. It is NOT DOG FRIENDLY, there are NO DOGS signs everywhere around the lake.
Millicent Swimming Lake , a council run facilityMillicent Swimming Lake , a council run facilityMillicent Swimming Lake information signMillicent Lakeside Caravan Park campgroundMillicent Lakeside Caravan Park campgroundMillicent Lakeside Caravan Park campground un-powered sites
Attractions
There is quite a few things to do around the Limestone coast, with Millicent being at the southern end. If you like spending time along the coast, or exploring inland towns then there is a few things to do around here. Below is a list of what we got up to –
Mt Gambier, about 30 min away, A few things to look at around here, some things though are not dog friendly, Centenary Tower, Blue Lake, The cave Garden, Umpherston Sinkhole 🐶
Kilsby Sinkhole 💰💰 this is where you can snorkel and drive as it also has some caves.
Little Blue Lake, just outside Mt Gambier, you can swim here 🐶
The Barn, a high end restaurant, excellent meal 💰💰
Mt Burr, about 10 min away, a walking trail (dog friendly 🐶) and also at the local store – American Burgers yum yum.
Conunda National Park, sand 4wd, go to information centre for maps.
Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park, worth a look, you can snorkel here, or you could, it was closed when we went,
Mt Schank Volcano, a good hike up and around the perimeter
Naracoorte, which has an excellent museum, 30 -40 min away 🐶 💰
Penola, which is about 30 -40 min away, historic village here. 🐶
Beachport, Southend, Port MacDonnell, all coastal towns to have a look at. 🐶
There are wine trails, and more, this is just a sample of what is available. To see more have a look at our Facebook page at around the date January 2025.
Kennels
There are few things on that list which are not dog friendly. We left Shadow at the Weedon Springs Boarding Kennel and Cattery (Glencoe, SA), about half way between Millicent and Mt Gamier. They were excellent and are on Facebook.
Our Kohlhagens Beach Campground review is a positive one, a free campsite just west of Wagga Wagga, NSW. A place worth staying at for an overnight stop or maybe for a night or two if you want to explore the area.
Website:
Fee Category: Free
Booking: No bookings needed
Dog Friendly: Yes
Amenities: No
Pool: No
Telstra: Unknown
Starlink: May have problems with trees
Kohlhagens Beach Campground
Our Opinion
It was a surprise to find a sandy beach this far from the sea, and the sand, while a little course was good to walk on with bare feet. Just a warning though, there seems to be a bit of broken glass around.
A good camp, that is far enough away from the road, so little to no traffic noise. You do have to be self-sufficient though as there is nothing provided. The one rubbish bin we saw was full to the brim.
The entrance can be a bit tricky to find as it is next to a farm yard entrance. Wikicamps has it pinned pretty accurately. Once you find the road then it is about 1km down a dirt road to the campsite, nothing to arduous just take it easy.
The Murrumbidgee river, while muddy looking was ok for use to take a dip in, it was very hot when we were there so it was a welcome relief from the heat. We saw some fishing boats going up and down the river, so there must be some fish in there. Plenty of shade provided by the trees, and campfire pits dotted around the place.
There are some permanent people there, but they kept to themselves, also there is plenty of room as this is a reasonably large campsite.
What does it cost to travel around Australia in a caravan? This is probably the number one question asked, quickly followed by “will I still be married afterwards?”
Difficult questions to answer, when everybody has different expectations and budgets. We can only give our experience so far.
We started off on our travels in August 2024. Initially staying in Brisbane for 2 weeks while we got things tidied up, then heading north as far as Townsville, then all the way south to Millicent in South Australia.
5 months, and a few lessons have been learnt along the way.
Money
The number 1 question everybody seems to want to know is how much does it cost to travel around Australia. Well for us it has cost us this much, lets break it down.
2024 Expenses summary
This does not include insurance (car & caravan), or our storage fees. In 2025, this is looking to be about 10K combined.
Fuel
This is another favourite, how much fuel does it take to travel around?
Total Klm
11,539 Km
Total Cost
$4,604.58
Average L/100km
20.01 L/100
Avg cost/tank
$124.45
Note: this is a combined towing/not towing fuel figure.
This is what I expected, I did a lot of research about this, since we are driving a 5.6L V8 petrol Nissan Patrol, so before purchasing the vehicle a lot of things were looked at, safety, reliability, off-roading, towing. The conclusion I came to, it doesn’t matter what you drive, if your GCM is about 6+ Tonnes, your fuel consumption will be about this figure.
Unusual expenses
When back in Brisbane, we bought more accessories for the caravan and car, this was over $1000.
We had a wedding to attend, which involved us staying at an expensive caravan park (Over $110/night), plus because we were part of a group, there was plenty of eating out and drinking.
We bought a generator, it became obvious that you cannot always rely on the sun, and new portable solar panels, as the ones we had failed.
We bought a smart TV, as the one that came with the caravan was not smart.
Both of us had some medical issues, which involved CT scans, MRI’s and specialist doctors.
Summary
Now that we have been in the caravan for 5 months, I think it is safe to say we have most things that we need. Do we want more stuff, yes, but that will always be the case, every where you go you will always find new stuff to buy.
So unless stuff breaks, we should be able to travel a bit cheaper in 2025. Hopefully.
Average/month = $6,300 or 1,600/week
We hope 2025 can be a bit cheaper. At this rate we will run out of money in a few years time. ☹️
Plans going forward
We need to get our expenses below $5.000/month. So to achieve this we are going to try –
More free camps – caravan parks can be expensive, and now that we have a generator, we should be able to stay off grid longer.
Caravan park discounts– take advantage of the special deals that come around.
Less eating out/takeaways – This is getting expensive, for us it starts at $50 and can get quite easily to over $100. That’s almost a weeks groceries!
There you have it, we are very lucky to be able to do this at this time in our lives, but it will be a shame if we have to stop due to lack of money.
Stuart Town, located in the Central West region of New South Wales. Originally known as Ironbark, the town is famously immortalised in Banjo Paterson’s poem, “The Man from Ironbark,” which reflects its colourful past during the Australian gold rush era.
With a current population of approximately 240, it is a small place.
Lake Burrendong is situated nearby, this large water reservoir offers opportunities for fishing, boating, and camping.
No bookings, just turn up. When we were there we were the only ones there, one other caravan did turn up, otherwise the place was to ourselves. There are flushing toilets and a defibrillator. The sites were flat, so no problem levelling up.
The grass was full of Bindies, so dog boots needed for our little dog.
There really isn’t much else to say here, for an overnight stop it was good. Not much else around here.
What a place to visit, the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre and camp. Just don’t do it when it’s extremely windy, as was our stay, so much so we couldn’t cook on the BBQ or inside as the gas would go out! There goes the hot water – all good as only staying for 1 night. You just have to make sure that you have enough food to carry with you that doesn’t require cooking. In our case, we had bread and a toasty maker and had that for dinner instead.
The Camp
This was a donation camp, and you can camp to the east of the aerodrome itself. They had toilets in the building just past the Museum. An information shed with pamphlets you can take away with you. The best part is the good old dump point. We didn’t use it but nice to know it was there. All the necessary things you need on the road….
Plenty of open spaces, green grass and a few trees to park under. We did have to move our caravan into a position of least resistance to the wind! It was also hot so seeking shade was a must – we failed miserably on that front – parked under shade but the sun moved in the wrong direction. I think we need to get a compass. The ones on our phones are useless.
It was another hot, hot day and night and the wind on top of that kept us inside. We did try and sit outside for a bit but the dust blowing around made it a bit too uncomfortable, if ya know what I mean.
We were the first to arrive and by the end of the night there were 5 of us.
Well worth staying and is about 1.9 kms from town.
Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre
Since the very early days of Australian Aviation, Nhill has played an important part as a refueling station and later, during World War II a training facility for the Royal Australian Air Force.
From the beginning of aviation in Nhill in 1919 when a 100 hp De Havilland DH6 aeroplane landed on the Nhill Racecourse, the history of flight in Nhill has involved the community as much as the aircraft and the people who flew them. In 1930 Amy Johnson landed in Nhill during her record-breaking solo flight from England to Australia. WOW, who would have thought we would end up in a place like this.
In 1940 the Royal Australian Airforce established a training base at Nhill, which by 1945 had seen well over 10,000 service men and women live, work and train.
Today the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre is very unique in that it is situated on the original site of the RAAF training base and provides a glimpse of those times and life through informative displays and memorabilia including the four main training aircraft stationed at the base during WWII; an Avro Anson aircraft currently being restored, a Wirraway, Tiger Moth and Link Trainer all in working order.
They use this airport today and too windy for us to do the walking trail showing the displays. We will certainly check it all out on our next visit.
We wandered over to the toilets and saw the Heritage Centre was closed. However, this guy was inside doing the paperwork, saw us struggling in the wind (I’m sure he took pity on us) and let us in, including Shadow. Wow what a wealth of knowledge this guy has. He was great to talk to. Told me about the clothing on the female in the cabinet who was still alive today. She is about 94 and apparently, they wanted to do an article on her, thinking it would only take 5 mins, and she kept them there for over 1/2 hour – good on her I say. At 94 you can do anything. One of the other uniforms donated belonged to another person who was still alive as well. They must be very proud.
Vince was able to have a go in the first flight simulator built around 1929 and still working! He loved it although he needs a hell of a lot more lessons before getting into a real pilot seat for sure….
Nhill
Nhill has a lake and was part of a swamp. They top it up with boar water when it starts to get low. Back in the day it would dry out as the swamp was porous. We didn’t have time to explore it so saving for next time as well.
Interesting fact – Nhill was the first town to have electricity after Melbourne.
Some more history for you.
Early in aviation history the editor of the Nhill Free Press, Fred McKenzie, successfully argued that Nhill should become an important refueling location on the flight from Melbourne to Adelaide. As a result the Nhill aerodrome was visited by such famous aviators as Bert Hinkler, Charles Butler, Charles Kingsford Smith, Amy Johnson and Nancy Bird.
Nhill hosted the first East-West Air Race from Sydney to Perth in 1929 and the Brisbane-Adelaide centenary race in 1936. During World War II it was the site of a Royal Australian Air Force Base which resulted in approximately 10,000 Air Force personnel being trained at the base between 1941-1946.
Today the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre tells the story of the local aviation history with displays and memorabilia, including the restoration of an Avro Anson and a very early example of a flight simulator. In 2018 it added to its collection when a very rare restored Wirraway – the plane was used to train pilots during World War II, was added to the collection. It was constructed from literally dozens of old, broken Wirraways by Aircraft Engineer, Ben Sorenson. It is open 10.00 am – 4.00 pm weekends. For more information check out the Aviation Heritage Centre website.
Let us know what you think in the comments. I have way more pics too. I just can’t help myself….
Enjoy ……
De Havilland DH.94 Moth MinorThe Link Trainer – simulatorTiger MothAvro Anson aircraft currently being restoredUniforms of the day including Pilot UniformMap of Limestone Coast showing Nhill and Mount GambierCAC Wirraway – training and general-purpose military aircraft
Coonabaraban Golf Club campsite – Coonabarabran is known as the “Astronomy Capital of Australia” due to its proximity to the Warrumbungle Observatory and the Siding Spring Observatory. Apparently, every year around Labour Day long weekend there is a StarFest. Could be worth a look so check out their website.
This is a basic campsite with toilets at the club, which are available for use during club hours. Other than that you have to be self contained. There is plenty of space, no need to book. Great for Starlink.
The club asks that you buy a beer, and/or a meal. We decided to have a Chinese meal at the restaurant located inside, which was a decent size. If you have a dog and want to eat at the club, there is an outside balcony area where you can sit. You just have to bear in mind, that by the time you pay for your meal and a beer, your free camp has just turned into an expensive camp.
Also available is a shaded area with a bbq. Suggest you check if you can use this area first. Visitors can enjoy a game of golf as well.
The ground is on a slight slope, which depending on your gear (and where you park) it may mean that you can’t get your van level. We couldn’t get level but close enough. Other than that, it was a good place with only a few minutes drive into the town centre.
If you are driving through this area, then this is a good place to stay overnight – safe and quite.
A couple of pics
Coonabarabran Golf Club buildingCoonabarabran Golf Club playground
Have a look at our NSW Campsites to find more potential campsites.
Next year the Federal election will be held, and depending where you are there may be others. In Queensland we have recently just held the State elections.
If you are travelling around Australia, or going overseas for an extended period of time, then it is possible to advise the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) of the fact that you have no fixed address. What this does is stop the AEC chasing you when you inadvertently don’t vote at an election, which you may be unaware of, or may not even be able to vote at.
This process is to inform AEC that you are an itinerant voter. Which means you can vote if you can/want to, but if not then you won’t get fined.
As far as I know this applies to all elections, council,state and federal.
Below is an explanation of how I have gone about this. It was not as straight forward as I thought it should have been as there is no direct link to the form you need.
You need to use the People with no fixed address enrolment form.
How I did it
Go to this page on the AEC site and click on the Enrol to vote with no fixed address
After that you land on another page, click on No fixed address enrolment form
Select you state, then fill out the form using your last registered address., also make the selection as below.
Once this form has been submitted, you should get an email confirming you are now an Itinerant voter, this may take a few days.
Itinerant Confirmation letter
confirmation letter
That’s it, all done. One last thing to have to think about when on the road.
I hope this information may be useful to someone out there, and if there are any corrections to be made, please leave a comment.
The family at Faithful Bingara Riverside Camp West enjoying an afternoon drink.
Our Opinion
There are 2 campsites here, one on each side of the river. The bigger one is accessible off White Rd, while the one we stayed at is accessible off Gwydir Tce. Drive by the golf club on a dirt road, turn right into the camp ground. There are a few pot holes to navigate. This campsite is a lot smaller than the one on the other side of the river.
There are other campsite further down the river, which would be worth checking out, they all seem to get positive feedback on Wikicamps.
We enjoyed out time here, making some new friends with the campers already here. The river itself was flowing at a moderate pace, and we were right next to it. The site was level, the grass nice. You would normally pay for a site like this, we couldn’t believe our luck with this one.
You do have to be self contained, as there are no facilities. There are a few dump points around town so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
This is going to be one of our favourite places to be if we are in the area. Just depends how busy it will be on the day as mentioned earlier, this campsite is small, the other one on the other side of the river is huge. The town looked nice, we didn’t spend much time there.
A few Pics from campsite and lookout
Bingara bridge with the Gwydir riverThe view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham LookoutThe view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham LookoutH.F Batterham Lookout
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