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Date of Stay: October 2017 Rating: 4
Queenstown is a small town and this caravan park doesn't have the fancy swimming pool, playground, etc. But it does have a very comprehensive camp kitchen, outdoor BBQ gazebo, very friendly staff. And the piece de resistance in my personal opinion, the complimentary bath mats in the showers (there's a hamper for used ones ).
Also note the meat pies at Serenade cafe in town were extremely good!
Date of Stay: April 2014 Rating: 3
Chain membership - this park is now a Family Parks chain member rather than BIG4. Management were honouring BIG4 discount when we arrived due to previous bookings, which is nice.
New amenity block - when last we stayed, in 2012, this was under construction. This is now open, and has a camp kitchen facility at the end. On this stay, we had a cabin so did not enter the amenities to give details.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 3.5
Travelling west from SA this was far more appealing than the previous caravan areas - set off the highway with nice trees, not just a car park. Definitely the best choice for camper trailers or tents this side of Caiguna, all the others seemed solid bitumen. Park around the edges if you want less compacted dirt to peg into. Amenities about what you'd expect, though the ladies' demountable was newer and nicer than the men's double-brick. Rating was improved by the really nice people we met, both staff and fellow travellers. Went to the bar for dinner and drinks, not overpriced and the food was tasty and well-priced (pub grub). Would definitely aim for this spot again when hopefully doing the Nullarbor again - it's a great drive. Don't miss Head of Bight (especially if it's whale season, apparently), entry is only $5 per adult and kids were free I think. Fuel only varied by 12c a litre all along the Nullarbor - most expensive were Border Village, Nullarbor and Caiguna.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 3.5
Managed by Dept Environment & Conservation. This is one of Perth's favourite camping areas, being so close to the city, with pets allowed and a river that has enough water to swim in most of the year. So if you're planning to be here over the weekend, make sure you get in early to find a good campsite. There was a rumour of pre-booking during peak periods like Christmas. There are a few different camping areas within the reserve. Baden Powell is very popular for a couple of reasons: it has the best swimming and canoeing area, and; it's the first one you come to after the entry station, where the road is still bitumen. The popularity of this section means it can get pretty crowded, and with only two pit loos. Sites are numbered and all set amongst pine trees, so heaps of shade. Most sites are level. There are wood fireplace BBQs but not 'real' BBQs. Each numbered site has a picnic table. Campfires allowed approx April-October, not during fire ban summer periods, BYO wood. Day entry to the park is free, camping is $7 per adult per night. Other camping areas within the park that we like are Chuditch, where each site is set separately, there is a communal camp kitchen in the middle, 2 or 3 pit loos scattered around the sites, so some closer to the loo than others. There are drive through caravan sites here. Another good one is Nanga Mill, which is much further into the park and a bit bigger, so it is easier to get away from your fellow campers. The rest of the park after Baden Powell has gravel roads, though definitely 2WD accessible. There are maps for camping and walk trails etc at the entry station and the park roads are quite well marked, hard to get lost. Dwellingup town is 10km away, has all basic supplies plus a pub and a steam tourist railway operating some weekends. Not much chance of a decent coffee here though. If you're travelling through Waroona or Pinjarra the Pinjarra Bakery has great gourmet pies and loads of other nice things.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 3
We didn't stay here because when we arrived at the other campground (Le Grand Beach) there was only one space left - we could see that it was a perfect fit for our gear and didn't want to miss out so we didn't try Lucky Bay. We came down here the next day to check it out though. Similar amenities to Le Grand Beach - toilets, camp kitchen with BBQs (also the separate day use area BBQs) and camp hosts to collect fees and help with site placement. Different layout - two areas, one for tenting and one for caravans. The tenting area has a large car park and a bollarded area with shade for the tents. Not suitable for camper trailers unless you can set yours over a bollard. The caravan area is basically a large car park, similar to Devils Marbles in NT if you've been there. This was well organised, everyone lined up neatly, not as much shade as the tent area. Lucky Bay Campground is closer to the main attractions of the NP, 3-4 gorgeous beaches including Lucky Bay itself, and also the Frenchman Peak climb and view. Day entry to NP is $11 per vehicle (up to 8 people) and camping is $9 per adult per night, cheaper nightly rate for children. We're pretty sure that if you're camping multiple nights the entry fee only applies once. The NP is 50km+ from Esperance and no shops of any sort any closer so bring all supplies. Best option if you're camping with a group and you want to be close to each other, as sites are not separated.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 4
One of the best NP campgrounds in WA - good camp kitchen with seating, hot water sink, gas hotplates and BBQ, bins, plus flushing toilets and solar water heated showers (though if it's overcast they're more warm than hot). Individually numbered level sites, will fit most van and tent combinations, firm sand is easy to peg into but not boggy to drive on. Recommend this campground if you like a bit of privacy. Lucky Bay further down in the park is more open spaces so is better for groups (there were lots of backpackers there). Sites are tucked in amongst dune vegetation so somewhat sheltered, it can still get windy though. National Park entry fee is per car up to 8 adults, I think it was $11 but we arrived coincidentally on free entry day so didn't have to pay. Camping is $9 per adult per night, cheaper child per night rate. No that's not cheap for a NP, but it is WA where NP fees are higher than anywhere else. We only stayed one night but fairly sure that if you stayed more nights you didn't have to re-pay the 'day pass' entry fee. Beach is beautiful and you can 4WD on it. All NP attractions and views are within easy drive of this campground. No shops closer than Esperance so come prepared. Mobile range both Optus and Telstra 3G can be achieved if you stand on the dunes between the campground and the beach. We stayed in summer, when campground hosts were on site collecting fees and helping with site allocation. Not sure if they are there all year round. It's a very popular camping spot in summer so try not to arrive on a Saturday afternoon or you may not get a spot. And yes, the rangers do fine you for sleeping in your motorhome in the day use car park, we saw them bright and early.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 4
We stayed on a powered site at the end of summer - there was a pegged down green shadecloth and as the receptionist said "whatever grass is left". Fair enough, they're honest and it was a hot dry summer. Shadecloth was huge and ample for our needs. The rest of the park is manicured so assume there would be grass during cooler and less popular months. The powered sites are located backing onto Koombana Drive, which we thought might be noisy. It was during the day but not overnight, so didn't interfere with sleep. Huge level sites, wide as well as deep, and great shade from nice safe peppermint trees. Amenities nice and clean, but no footpath from rear sites so you tiptoed around the sites behind the amenity block or walk around the road a fair way. They did leave those sites vacant until last, it seemed, but it's still a bit of a pain if the place is busy. Ensuite sites looked nice, long but narrow - unpowered camping was nicely grassed and reasonable shade, the camp kitchen was adjacent to their amenity block so we didn't check it out. Tennis court was free but hire charge for equipment; pool was small but nice and backed onto a cafe. Games room and TV room in that area as well. Jumping pillow was in a 'village green' area, a huge lawn for all to enjoy, with seats under Moreton Bay figs and so on. Nice area, though the pillow seemed to die halfway through our stay, not sure what went wrong with it. Best thing about this park is the location, strolling distance to town shops, the local microbrewery and also to the dolphin centre. Koombana Beach is across the road, a quiet beach in the bay - if you want a more exciting beach with waves you need to drive around to Back Beach. If you haven't been to Bunbury for a few years, it has improved and expanded and is worth a new look. We would definitely stay here again.
Date of Stay: February 2011 Rating: 4
Nice but small park opposite the town foreshore, next door to the pub/motel - great location. It was howling a gale so we grabbed an air-conditioned 2 bedroom cabin for $100 (2 adults). One of the nicest cabins we've seen for the price - floorboards, nice new bathroom, good quiet split system aircon, queen bed plus four bunks - hence our positive rating. Would definitely stay in the park as a camper if it was less windy, though the sites were gravel/sand and oddly laid out so some folk might have trouble organising their spot. Probably not for tents/camper trailers, though all the annexes were pegged down somehow. Nice little town, could easily stay for a few days as it has all you need including a very nice recently redeveloped pub.
Date of Stay: January 2011 Rating: 3
Small park on the outskirts of town, though in Port Augusta that's not very far from town. Very nice people, but the park is about all you can expect in the area. It was 50 degrees so we chose to get an air-conditioned small cabin, which was very clean and had towel origami but otherwise unspectacular. Cabins section had its own laundry so you didn't have to go down to the sites area. The sites looked level but didn't have a lot of shade or grass, somewhat desert-like, the pool was small and didn't seem to have any shade during the day. Would stay again if passing through but probably it's really an overnight stop, the town wasn't as big as we'd thought. Could use this as a base for the Flinders Ranges but we'd probably rather go camping up there.
Date of Stay: January 2011 Rating: 4
Manager's name is Brett & Kylie Goodwin. A mid-sized park which is clearly undergoing renovation. Half of the powered sites had older-style power boxes, half had brand new ones. Grass looked new and healthy, many small trees are being grown to provide extra shade. Drive through, and very large sites available. Amenities block very clean, laundry small. Great camp kitchen - in a converted cabin with flyscreens and all appliances including TV with couch, even has proper crockery and cutlery. BBQ on the deck of the camp kitchen, the decking is brand new and set around a large tree, a great place to relax overlooking the kids jumping pillow. Separate BBQ shelter also has free BBQs - domestic-style gas BBQs not those slow electric ones. There's also a new looking kids climbing playground. Paid $33 per night during school holidays. It's a bit of a windy place, not worryingly so but just a strong-ish sea breeze most of the time. Town is small but cute and the microbrewery down on the dock is great - open Wed-Sun and note it's a brewery not a pub with meals. We stayed four nights and used this as a base for the whole of Fleurieu.
