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
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
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