V & C Impressions

Almost Grey Nomads in Australia

Tag: NSW

  • Kohlhagens Beach Campground

    Kohlhagens Beach Campground

    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
    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.

    Kohlhagens Beach Campground beach
    Kohlhagens Beach Campground beach
    Kohlhagens Beach Campground track
    Kohlhagens Beach Campground Track

    As always, if you have any comments, please leave them below.

  • Stuart Town Recreation Reserve

    Stuart Town Recreation Reserve

    • Website:
    • Fee Category: Donation
    • Booking: No bookings needed
    • Dog Friendly: Yes
    • Amenities: Toilets
    • Pool: No
    • Telstra: Unknown
    • Starlink: No problems experienced
    Stuart Town Recreation Reserve
    Stuart Town Recreation Reserve

    Our Review / Opinion

    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.

  • Coonabarabran Golf Club Campsite

    Coonabarabran Golf Club Campsite

    • Website: Coonagolfclub.com.au
    • Fee Catagory: Patronage at the club
    • Booking: No bookings needed
    • Dog Friendly: Yes
    • Amenities: Toilets during trading hours
    • Pool: No
    • Telstra: Data Flakey
    • Starlink: No problems experienced
    Coonabarabran Golf Club campsite
    Coonabarabran Golf Club campsite

    Our Opinion / Experience

    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 building
    Coonabarabran Golf Club building
    Coonabarabran Golf Club playground
    Coonabarabran Golf Club playground

    Have a look at our NSW Campsites to find more potential campsites.

  • Faithful Bingara Riverside Camp West

    Faithful Bingara Riverside Camp West

    • Website: WikiCamps
    • Fee Catagory: Donation
    • Booking: First in, no bookings
    • Dog Friendly: Yes
    • Amenities: No
    • Pool: No
    • Telstra: Data Flakey
    • Starlink: Depends on site, lots of trees
    The family at Faithful Bingara Riverside Camp West
    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 river
    Bingara bridge with the Gwydir river
    The view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham Lookout
    The view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham Lookout
    The view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham Lookout
    The view of the Bingara town from H.F. Batterham Lookout
    Sign for H.F. Batterham Lookout
    H.F Batterham Lookout
  • Platypus Point – Northern Rivers

    Platypus Point – Northern Rivers

    • Website: WikiCamps
    • Fee Catagory: Paid
    • Booking: by phone
    • Dog Friendly: Yes
    • Amenities: No
    • Pool: No
    • Telstra: Data Flakey
    • Starlink: Depends on site, lots of trees
    Our campsite at Platypus Campsite
    Platypus campsite

    Our Opinion

    Platypus Point is about half way between Casino and Tenterfield, with both being abut 50 min to 1 hour drive away. The small town of Tabulam is about 10 minutes away heading towards Casino.

    After spending the last few months in caravan parks, this place was a definitely a change of pace. Quiet, plenty of space, and secure, we liked it. It was a little bit unfortunate about the weather, storms most afternoons, we would definitely stay here again.

    At $20/night, we consider this to be reasonable cost. You do have to be self contained though, as nothing is provided. The hosts were friendly and helpful, allowing us to walk around and pick the site we wanted as we were the only ones there.

    We opted, due to the unpredictable weather to stay up higher, closer to the road. There is not much road noise and the site was reasonably level. The track to the lower level by the river looks steep and tight for a caravan, the hosts assured us other caravans have been down there. Also the lower level will be sheltered from the wind, if you want the breeze then this is not the place to be.

    Starlink will have a few trees to dodge, we found a good location with a clear view of the sky facing south. We didn’t find Telstra to be very good, especially with the data, slow and dropping out. This may be a deal breaker for some people. Solar seemed to work ok, but due to the days being overcast, we could not confirm this.

    Overall, considering everything this campsite is highly recommended.

    Access to the lower level (river side) campsites at Platypus campsite
    Platypus campsite access to riverside camping
    Platypus campsite
    Platypus campsite riverside camping
    A picture of our campsite at Platypus campsite
    Platypus campsite
    Platypus campsite
    Shadow chasing ball
  • Pic of the Day – Byron Bay Lighthouse 2016

    Pic of the Day – Byron Bay Lighthouse 2016

    Canon 70D, 20sec, f9, 17mm

    Processed using Lightroom and Topaz Studio.