Karumba Far north Qld - Caravan Parks, which is best?
Jetta7 said
09:15 PM Apr 7, 2014
Hi all, heading to Karumba in May 2014 and wondered if any one has recently (last 12months) been to Karumba and which CP did they stay in. Pro's and Cons. We are only staying one night, not into fishing but want to buy some barra for the freezer while there for the rest of our trip.
Any comments about the condition of park amenities would be great, we are in a Poptop van . (Currently see Karumba Point Sunset CP , and the Gulf country Caravan Park as having the best reviews. I noticed that somewhere a Karumba Point Service Station had a park as well but cannot find it on the web)
Cheers
Jetta
kiwijims said
09:44 PM Apr 7, 2014
Hi Jetta,
My guess is that, unless you are booked in at that time of the year, you will have Buckley's chance of getting in anywhere up there.
When we were up there ( no booking )we tried every C.P. not a hope. the parks we saw had the tennents stacked in like Sardines with those little "Ankle Bitters" screaming all over the place.....NO THANKS !!
If you are in need of a good hot shower, try the trucking depot in town, they were free when we were there.
K.J.
Jetta7 said
09:54 PM Apr 7, 2014
Thanks KJ , I am hoping to get a booking tomorrow but as you say May have left it to late, no problem with free camping so
Your shower suggestion may come in handy... Thanks for the info :)
Gwian said
07:11 AM Apr 8, 2014
Hi
We stayed at the Gulf Country park in August just near middle of town. Not as cramped as the Point caravan parks. Very clean and good amenities. If you cannot get a booking there is a free camp about 10 or 20 klms before town. You will also need to book Normanton and across the route if you are going in from the Qld coast. Contact me if you want exact details
Dougwe said
08:14 AM Apr 8, 2014
Welcome to the gang Jetta7, enjoy here and out in the playground.
mongrel said
08:20 AM Apr 8, 2014
Welcome from us as well Jetta7.
Jetta7 said
02:02 PM Apr 8, 2014
Thank You Gwian for your suggestions, I need to get my skates on then :).
Thank you Doug and Alan and Adel for your welcome.
I have been a trawler for a long time gleaning the knowledge from the posts, and the great group of people with heaps to share.
Thanks for the info re Kurumba, about to make a call and see how I get on. :)
Meredith said
03:31 PM Apr 8, 2014
When we were at Karumba last May all the parks were full and they were putting people into overflow areas which are basically paddocks with no power but you could walk (a long way) to the park toilets and showers. If you aren't into fishing you may be better off stopping at Normanton. We stayed at the Normanton Tourist Park for a few nights which was a reasonably good park and at that time didn't require booking (though I gather by June you normally should) and just did a day trip to Karumba from there. There were a few interesting things to see in Normanton, a very good tourist info building, history walk and the Gulflander museum.
-- Edited by Meredith on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 03:32:48 PM
kiwijims said
09:39 PM Apr 8, 2014
"Hey Jetta7," I've just been told to warn you, If you head to Normanton, don't be alarmed by the 9m Croc sitting in the Main street, it's quiet safe ( Made of Concrete ) and it's been there for a pretty long time.
Also take a camera with you when you have a look at the Gulflander at the railway Museum, apart from the old trains to photograph, the gardens around the station are really great, after seeing red dirt for weeks, it was very pleasing to see the green lawns and the colour of the flowers there are fantastic.
Jetta7 said
09:43 PM Apr 8, 2014
Thank you Meredith for your info, I managed to get spot for my friends and us at the Gulf Country park. They did say that it was filling up but have put us on a good site, so fingers crossed :)
thanks to all who have responded much appreciated, I have noted to spend time in Normanton as per Meredith's suggestion.
Best regards and safe travelling everyone
Jetta
Vic41 said
01:06 AM Apr 9, 2014
We decided to stay at the Gulflander Caravan Van park on the south side of Normanton (the one with the big Barra outside, also a motel in front).
We did a drive (75 kms of bitumen) to Karumba and had a look around and a visit to the Barra Nursery which I would recommend.
From what we saw of the CP's at Karumba, they were packed in like sardines and we were glad we didn't stay there, we enjoyed our stay at Normanton and did the part day trip on the Gulflander train departing and returning to the station (and station museum) in Normanton.
Some people were also camped on the Normanton River (in Camps book I think) you have to call into the Normanton Tourist Info Centre to register etc.
Our only regret was not staying longer at Normanton, it is a very relaxing place.
Jetta7 said
08:47 PM Apr 9, 2014
Thanks KiwiJims for the warning about the croc ... :)
I do take a camera with me so thanks for the tips re photo opportunity as well.
It's a shame I don't have the rest of my life yet, work still controls 46 weeks a year, have to wait till I pull the plug to hang around and enjoy the numerous side bits, oh well ! :)
Wizardofoz said
03:15 PM Apr 10, 2014
Both parks in Normanton are now owned by the same owner, the one on the south side was getting neglected and run down and was acquired by the other park, reasonably cheaply too.
Hi all, heading to Karumba in May 2014 and wondered if any one has recently (last 12months) been to Karumba and which CP did they stay in. Pro's and Cons. We are only staying one night, not into fishing but want to buy some barra for the freezer while there for the rest of our trip.
Any comments about the condition of park amenities would be great, we are in a Poptop van . (Currently see Karumba Point Sunset CP , and the Gulf country Caravan Park as having the best reviews. I noticed that somewhere a Karumba Point Service Station had a park as well but cannot find it on the web)
Cheers
Jetta
Hi Jetta,
My guess is that, unless you are booked in at that time of the year, you will have Buckley's chance of getting in anywhere up there.
When we were up there ( no booking )we tried every C.P. not a hope. the parks we saw had the tennents stacked in like Sardines with those little "Ankle Bitters" screaming all over the place.....NO THANKS !!
If you are in need of a good hot shower, try the trucking depot in town, they were free when we were there.
K.J.
Your shower suggestion may come in handy... Thanks for the info :)
We stayed at the Gulf Country park in August just near middle of town. Not as cramped as the Point caravan parks. Very clean and good amenities. If you cannot get a booking there is a free camp about 10 or 20 klms before town. You will also need to book Normanton and across the route if you are going in from the Qld coast. Contact me if you want exact details
Thank you Doug and Alan and Adel for your welcome.
I have been a trawler for a long time gleaning the knowledge from the posts, and the great group of people with heaps to share.
Thanks for the info re Kurumba, about to make a call and see how I get on. :)
When we were at Karumba last May all the parks were full and they were putting people into overflow areas which are basically paddocks with no power but you could walk (a long way) to the park toilets and showers. If you aren't into fishing you may be better off stopping at Normanton. We stayed at the Normanton Tourist Park for a few nights which was a reasonably good park and at that time didn't require booking (though I gather by June you normally should) and just did a day trip to Karumba from there. There were a few interesting things to see in Normanton, a very good tourist info building, history walk and the Gulflander museum.
-- Edited by Meredith on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 03:32:48 PM
"Hey Jetta7," I've just been told to warn you, If you head to Normanton, don't be alarmed by the 9m Croc sitting in the Main street, it's quiet safe ( Made of Concrete ) and it's been there for a pretty long time.
Also take a camera with you when you have a look at the Gulflander at the railway Museum, apart from the old trains to photograph, the gardens around the station are really great, after seeing red dirt for weeks, it was very pleasing to see the green lawns and the colour of the flowers there are fantastic.
thanks to all who have responded much appreciated, I have noted to spend time in Normanton as per Meredith's suggestion.
Best regards and safe travelling everyone
Jetta
We decided to stay at the Gulflander Caravan Van park on the south side of Normanton (the one with the big Barra outside, also a motel in front).
We did a drive (75 kms of bitumen) to Karumba and had a look around and a visit to the Barra Nursery which I would recommend.
From what we saw of the CP's at Karumba, they were packed in like sardines and we were glad we didn't stay there, we enjoyed our stay at Normanton and did the part day trip on the Gulflander train departing and returning to the station (and station museum) in Normanton.
Some people were also camped on the Normanton River (in Camps book I think) you have to call into the Normanton Tourist Info Centre to register etc.
Our only regret was not staying longer at Normanton, it is a very relaxing place.
I do take a camera with me so thanks for the tips re photo opportunity as well.
It's a shame I don't have the rest of my life yet, work still controls 46 weeks a year, have to wait till I pull the plug to hang around and enjoy the numerous side bits, oh well ! :)
Both parks in Normanton are now owned by the same owner, the one on the south side was getting neglected and run down and was acquired by the other park, reasonably cheaply too.