Hi All,
As newbies to this forum we would very much appreciate any advice on good free/low fee camp sites between Cairns and Byron Bay? We plan to be travelling this part of our trip Aug/Sept this year. We hope not to prebook anywhere (other than School hols)...is that a problem? We have an all wheel drive car and a 16ft full caravan.
Many thanks for any tips and hints.
Lyn

Phew! Thats a heck of a distance to cover, advice wise. Maybe you should get the Camps Australia Wide book, bought from all good bookstores and newsagents. Camp 6 is due out any day.

One tip I can give you that I have taken on since being a member here is to have an exercise book beside the computer and I write down all the details of any places recommended by any other members. It always helps to have more than one line of info coming through.

The closer to the coast you get there are less free camps IN fact I don't know any

Hi Mate, Out side of Townsville (just North) is Blue Water, beautiful, 48hr stay, toilets, outside cold shower, water, nice walk around river and swimming hole.
St Lawrence, 7 days stay, toilets, water, free BBQ, shelters and a beautiful wetlands area. Nice little pub in town for meals etc, store.
As advised get Camps 6 , there are plenty of others on this stretch of road. Burnett Heads Lighthouse park is beautifull just out of Bundy, (not free but cheap).
We just had a couple of weeks at Broard Water Stopover park, 40min drive from Byron but half the price!! Just a couple, see our blog addy below for a rundown
Have fun and safe travels
Rgds Dreamcaster51 :o)
http://faerietrail.blogspot.com/


-- Edited by Dreamcaster51 on Monday 31st of January 2011 03:04:18 PM

Happywanderer wrote:

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Phew! Thats a heck of a distance to cover, advice wise. Maybe you should get the Camps Australia Wide book, bought from all good bookstores and newsagents. Camp 6 is due out any day.

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Sorry, I should have mentioned that we've got Camps 5 and haved used it extensively on past trips and will do so again. I was hoping that members may be able to share little gems that they have found. I also very interested in comments re not prebooking over the typically busy period. many thanks 

There's already some good spots added here I can put in my book for future reference. Thanks guys.

Don't know around Byron , I was pretty tired coming back from GC hosp . Oh well see if I can get a room for th nite @ Byron - Went to th 1st motel . I asked for th 2nd time how much , she told me - I said - I only want to rent it Not buy it . Tried Caravan park , nearly as bad . Told her th same thing . One good thing - It woke me up enough to keep driving the 2 & a half hrs home . Richo

Dreamcaster51 wrote:

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Hi Mate, Out side of Townsville (just North) is Blue Water, beautiful, 48hr stay, toilets, outside cold shower, water, nice walk around river and swimming hole.
St Lawrence, 7 days stay, toilets, water, free BBQ, shelters and a beautiful wetlands area. Nice little pub in town for meals etc, store.
As advised get Camps 6 , there are plenty of others on this stretch of road. Burnett Heads Lighthouse park is beautifull just out of Bundy, (not free but cheap).
We just had a couple of weeks at Broard Water Stopover park, 40min drive from Byron but half the price!! Just a couple, see our blog addy below for a rundown
Have fun and safe travels
Rgds Dreamcaster51 :o)
http://faerietrail.blogspot.com/


-- Edited by Dreamcaster51 on Monday 31st of January 2011 03:04:18 PM

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Thanks so much for this valuable info...much appreciated. Blog site is fantastic...well done. We shall follow your travels with great interest. Have you ever done the east coast in the Aug/Sept period? If so, is it problematic not prebooking sites when staying in a c/park?

 

We just came back from two lovely weeks at Inskip Point - on the coast in from Gympie near Rainbow Beach. I will be posting it on the free/cheap camp sites probably tommorrow. Thoroughly recommended.

inskip point is a great spot isnt it we go there often with the subaru club youve got to have a beach permit now and also pay to camp so its not a freebie for the person above that asked of free camps or low fee camps,but its a great spot bush toilets no showers but can camp right near thebeach hear the surf in the night and all day . drive on the beach,fish (not that its much good) have to take your own firewood too if you even get caught with so much as a stick in your fire from the bush you are in deeeeep trouble they are fanatic on the place nowadays. its off of tin can bay gotta take the tin can bay turnoff after gympie good luck with your travels and as for free camps they are right the more you stay on the coast the worse it is ,there isone though whilst coming down the highway take the landsborough turnoff that goes to steve irwin zoo way and after youve taken it you will taken another left turn as if you are goin to landsborough as soon as youve taken that left turn there is a set of lights not sure if you can turn right at them but over that side is a free place to pull up ,ive never gone in there but i see vans there all the time for 24 hours . safe travels guys

Behind the pub at Tairo - its in Camps 5 - and a place called Giru has an Eco Campground - was cheap and cheerful when we were there about 1k off highway 40k south Townsville - heaps of room, in 2009 was $16 powered - hope its still there - was really quiet. And if you are heading past Cairns to Cooktown - Endeavour River Escape is a fantastic place to camp - 8k out of town, just past airport. No power - solar showers etc., lots of room, they provide wood for fires as well.

Re booking - my husband and I very rarely booked ahead - and we travelled extensively - in fact on one trip of three months, I don't think we missed out on a spot anywhere - and that was in "grey nomad" season - Broome was a stickler - but they have "overflows", we had been told to go to the local rifle club - on road out to Broome Jetty - we liked it there, stayed the whole allowable five nights. 

Happywanderer wrote:

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One tip I can give you that I have taken on since being a member here is to have an exercise book beside the computer and I write down all the details of any places recommended by any other members.
It always helps to have more than one line of info coming through.

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What a great idea, thanks.