Hi Everyone and Merry Christmas,

First time post! Be kind!

Family of 4 about to throw the camper on the 4×4 and disconnect (no tech) for 3 weeks after Christmas and just a little apprehensive this time. Decided to be spontaneous and decide on destination when we get there but heading sapphire coast. Taking the 2 dogs this time and little worried it is going to be hard to find a spot due to the peak season. Kids have kayaks so wanting somewhere near river/lakes/inlets.

Am I over thinking it? Surely there’s plenty of free camping spots in our great big beautiful country?

Any tips on travelling with furry friends would be greatly appreciated.

You won’t be able to use National Parks as your furry friends are not permitted.
There aren’t many free camping spots on the east coast of this country due to the local government backed caravan parks; prepare to spend lots of $$$.
glanyard

Hi Winterdaze,
Welcome to the FaMILY and Forum.

I have one negative comment first the heat will make it not enjoyable but im aware 7you already took that into consideration..
Ive Never Been But everyone keeps telling me bout tassie in summer,far more pleasant and plenty of water sports places freecamps right beside water I believe..

Other than that im with DT the doggie will be an issue in NP’s.


I do however hope you n yours have a tremendous holiday…Rod

Hi Winter,
Welcome to the forum.

Yes two dogs that entire coast is almost NP after NP.
School holidays makes it even harder even to get into a caravan park.
One spot could be Nullica River State Forest but sounds like you will need a four wheel drive.
This camp is south of Eden, see the green tent in the attached map. I personally have never camped there so cannot comment on its suitability. JR

Welcome to the mad-house, Winterdaze; here’s hoping that Christmas & your Holiday plans are kind to you!

Things do tend to get pretty busy on the Sapphire Coast during the Holiday Season, and many places between Bateman’s Bay & the Border are usually well & truly booked out more than a year in advance!! Still, while I’m not sure how things have gone there since their last bushfire, there are a few ‘pet friendly’ places at/near Tathra, or if you are that way inclined, Tathra Beach, or even the Bega River Mouth. Most of the free camping sites near the towns & facilities in the area tend to fill fairly quickly, but you never know, you might be lucky! For what it’s worth, most of the PAYG caravan parks/camp sites etc tend to cost anywhere from $35 or so a night on up, often bumping prices for Peak Season too!!

How wedded are you to the Sapphire Coast? There’s always more room just a little inland, with many places sorta off the beaten track but still reasonably accessible without a 4WD. Yowrie & Peak Alone come readily to mind, heading inland from Cobargo up towards Two Rivers Plain, and IIRC there’s even a campsite right on the River just before the track turns to a 4WD recommended Fire Trail & starts climbing into the tall timber & tree ferns of the temperate rain forest on the Escarpment (great walking & bird/native animal watching!) Going further inland & up into the Mountains a bit, there’s usually campsites around many of the Snowy Scheme Water Storages & not all are actually IN Kosci Nat Park, altho if you aren’t up for ‘bush camping’ & need facilities like toilets etc, you’ll probably find that not only would you hafta pay, but they are probably all booked out too!

Still, you never know unless you try; and if you’ve got a 4WD & can handle bush camping, there’s a lot more camp sites than you might think hidden away in the bush & State Forests of the region, especially once you start climbjng the Escarpment, just not so much call or place for kayaks up that way!

Hope you find something that works for you!

Hi everyone……. What a lovely place to chat………………

Its seems my stars have aligned…….

My biggest concern apart from the furbies was entertaining the 7yo after his big brother fly’s back to Melbourne after 4 days into our trip.

Given I’ve instituted a tech ban these holidays I was worried a free camp spot may be a little boring for a solo 7yo, but I have managed to find an un-powered sight in Kalaru which will have plenty of kids activities, jumping pillow and pool to keep him busy for rest of our stay.

Much looking forward to this much need break.

Merry Christmas to you all and happy holidays.

Tanya