travelling in 2013

Thanks for all your info. Could you let me know whether you stayed in caravan parks or free camped and if you did could you let me know the names of all the good/ bad ones please.
Thanks Julie

Hi Julie, sorry for the delay in replying.
We travelled in a 2WD Kluger with an off road camper trailer, with 3 children for 15 weeks, here is summary below of our accommodation:
Accommodation summary:

MILDURA -Deakin Holiday Park Big 4 - 2N - $124.00($62.00/N)
Ensuite site, jumping pillow, nice pool, shopping centre out the back gate, close to town, friendly staff

CLARE VALLEY- Clare Caravan Park (Top Tourist) - 2N - $84.60 ($42.30/N)
Jumping pillow, bushy, open grassy area, good but cool pool, emus & kangaroos at back fence, good clean facilities, friendly staff, close to the riesling trail

PORT AUGUSTA - Big 4 Holiday Park - 1N - $72
Ensuite site, large clean gravel sites, great refreshing pool, beginning of the insects

COOBER PEDY- The Underground Motel- 1N - $188.00
Novelty sleeping underground, not as cool as expected, fans for cooling, great outdoor setting facing east, lots & lots & lots & lots of flies,

ERLDUNDA- Desert Oaks Roadhouse - 1N - $48.00
Small unexpected oasis, small grassed sites, fantastic pool, good facilities, saw first frog in the toilet, friendly staff, well stocked shop, servo & dining area, like all central Australian stops-not cheap but reasonably priced, noisy smelly generator near front of park but did not affect the camping area

YULARA - Ayers Rock Resort Campground - 5N - $252.50 ($50.50/N)
Large dusty park, facilities good, very good pool, visited resort pool which was large but a bit cool, family friendly at Outback Pioneer Hotel, buffet fantastic

KINGS CANYON - Kings Canyon Resort - 4N - $192.00 ($48.00/N)
Nice park, site facing the canyon although a bit obscured by trees, great large pool a little cool, generally good facilities, tennis, basketball, grassed area for cricket, gated toilets for dingoes, dingoes present at night, expensive fuel & food & supplies

ALICE SPRINGS- Big 4 MacDonnell Range Holiday Park - 7N - $464.00 ($66.00/N)
Excellent park, grassy sites, great friendly staff, ensuite, 2 large shaded jumping pillows, games room, 3 pools, pancake Sunday, astronomy night session, live music & more, close to town

WYCLIFFE WELL - Wycliffe Well Holiday Park - 1N - $48.00
Moderate sized park in the middle of nowhere, stoney sites, no aliens to be seen, donkeys roaming the park, lots & lots & lots of insects, lots of frogs in the toilets, facilities 'tired' but ok, indoor pool, lookout of mount Wycliffe not worth the 5min walk, expensive for what was provided, fantastic night sky & sunrise

DALY WATERS - Daly Waters Pub - 1N - $24.00
Grassy sites, friendly staff, clean & adequate facilities, toilet/shower cubicles, great food & vibe at the pub, interesting & unique decorations & memorabillia inside the pub, a few mozzies, great pool to swim in under the stars

MATARANKA - Mataranka Cabins & Camping, Bitter Springs - 2N - $40.00 ($20.00/N)
Friendly staff, nice grassy site, clean facilities toilets/shower cubicles, frogs in the toilets, wallabies at dusk, 10min walk to bitter springs thermal pool

KATHERINE - Katherine Big 4 Holiday Park - 1N - $49.50
Friendly staff, large grassy sites, great toilet/showers, HUGE fantastic pool

LITCHFIELD - Litchfield Tourist Park - 2N - $84.00 ($42.00/N)
Camped under a 'carport', near the large grassy area for tents, great pool, a bit of a walk to toilets, adequate amenities, nice helpful staff fixing odds & ends

DARWIN - Hidden Valley Tourist Park - 6N - $438.00 ($73.00/N)
Friendly staff, clean ensuite, close to town, great pool, mozzies/sandflies/midgees a nuisance

KAKADU/JABIRU - Kakadu Lodge - 3N - $114.00 ($38.00/N)
Great location, nice campground, near a huge beautiful lagoon pool with an overlooking bar and grassed area, saw a snake slithering over the grass to remind us we were close to nature, adequate amenities, our 'biting' friends a nuisance

KATHERINE GORGE - Nitmiluk Gorge Campground - 3N - $120.00 ($40.00/N)
Great location near gorge, gravelly camp sites a bit small, amenities average showers need some work, free washing machines, beautiful large pool, lots of noisy bats hanging from the trees, resident wallabies very friendly but also like getting into your belongings at night, resident olive python Esmeralda was thankfully not to be seen

TIMBER CREEK - 1N - $47.50
An unexpected camping ground at the roadhouse with a pool, adequate facilities in portables, shady sites under big trees

ZEBRA ROCK MINE - 1N - $20.00, unpowered
Our first unpowered site, very friendly 'down to earth' owners, adequate amenities, lots of frogs at night, fantastic opportunity for a family to experience their tours without it being too expensive, fabulous fish & chips cooked for us, our first open fire (even if it was the next morning!)

LAKE ARGYLE -Lake Argyle Resort - 1N - $51.50
Large grassy sites, friendly staff, good clean amenities, toilet/shower cubicle, and the gorgeous, beautiful infinity pool, large seated area for dining & relaxing, unfortunately this closed too early

KUNUNURRA- Kimberlyland - 4N - $156.00 ($39.00/N)
1st 'booked-up'/crowded caravan park with residents, good clean amenities, great pool close by, friendly staff, situated on the lake with many 'freshies', great base to explore the area

THE BUNGLE BUNGLES- Bungles Caravan Park- 2N - $70.00 ($35.00/N)
A new developing caravan park, tours conducted from here into the National Park, lots of space as not many sites available yet, great large dining/eating/communal area under a huge tent/sails, huge warm camp fire at night, adequate toilet/shower facilities in portables, friendly helpful staff, would expect to only get better


FITZROY CROSSING- Fitzroy River Lodge- 2N- $90.00 ($45.00/N)
Fantastic large grassy sites, good clean amenities, pool a fair walk from our camping site, pool ok, a bit cool & not as great as many people had said it was,

BROOME- Cable Beach Caravan Park- 9N- $554.00 ($61.50/N)
A great massive caravan park, site close to a great swimming pool although a bit cool, great amenities, large shower cubicles, friendly, helpful staff, mozzies & flies a pain initially, 15min walk to beach, short drive into town

CAPE LEVEQUE-Kooljaman Resort- 2N- $178.00 ($89.00/N)
Camped in a beach shelter, great little campfire with cooking plate, fantastic location facing the beach 20m away, views of beautiful sunrises, millions of stars at night as we camped outside of the shelter, beautiful clear swimming beach, road coming into resort quite sandy, road to our beach shelter very, very sandy, cafe/restaurant great view, prices ok given the location, friendly, helpful staff, good amenities right next to shelter

80 MILE BEACH- 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park- 1N-$47.00
Large caravan park, site close to adequate amenities, staff not overly friendly or helpful, lots of grey nomads set up for the winter, had some loud drinking folk opposite us but did quiten down, short walk to the beautiful, never ending beach that is not really good for swimming, lots of shells to collect and very popular fishing spot, lots of quad bikes/4WD driving on the beach to find a private fishing spot away from the crowds

AUSKI ROADHOUSE- 2N- $90.00 ($45.00/N)
Ok caravan park next to a busy roadhouse, accomodation provided for lots of workers in the area, just adequate amenities, lots of galahs, staff helpful

KARIJINI- Karijini Eco Resort- 2N- $80.00 ($40.00/N) unpowered
Very spaced out sites, long hike to good toilet/ shower but one toilet not working & no toilet paper on one day, great, friendly, helpful staff

NANUTARRA- Nanutarra Roadhouse- 1N- $25.00
Adequate, dusty sites that turned to mud after the rain, busy roadhouse, good clean amenities, lots of frogs in toilets, good cheap accomodation

EXMOUTH-
It was here we our camper trailer was a write off! So it was unfortunate from here on we had to find different accommodation, usually a cabin/apartment or something self contained........but we did try to stay in caravan parks as there was more for the kids to do & hopefully still meet other travellers along the way. So the following prices aren't camping sites.

Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort- 8N (only because we were sorting out our predicament)
Friendly, helpful staff, 2bd s/c cabin with washing machine, hairdryer & coffee machine, great huge swimming pool, great Italian resturant attached to the park, but expensive

CORAL BAY- Bayview Caravan Park- 3N- $495.00 ($165.00/N)
Small, open plan, very dated 'shack' s/c family unit, no ensuite, short walk to adequate amenities, some staff friendly & helpful, great heated swimming pool, fantastic location- walk to beach, shops & pub

DENHAM- Tradewinds Apartments- 3N- $420.00 ($140.00/N)
Spacious 2bd apartment, good old fashioned washing machine, bbq not working, lovely big dining table, friendly, helpful staff, walking distance to everything in town, 20min drive to Monkey Mia

KALBARRI- Kalbarri Beach Resort- 4N- $470.35 ($115.00/N)
2bd s/c apartment, great shower, short walk to town, friendly staff, fantastic huge pool but too cold to swim, spa baths available,

CERVANTES- Pinnacles Caravan Park- 1N- $115.00
Small, outdated, open plan cabin, not much bigger than the eagle!, no ensuite, short walk to adequate amenities, staff not overly friendly, Seashells cafe attached, with great coffee, views & playground

BUSSELTON- Friends Family Holiday House- 4N
Great base for exploring Margaret River Region

WALPOLE- Coalmine Beach Caravan Park- 1N- $109.00 (TopTourist Park)
Small open plan, dated, s/c cabin, no ensuite, short walk to good, clean amenities, great location, friendly staff

ALBANY- Friends Family Home- 3N
Fantastic location to explore the region

ESPERANCE- Pine Grove Holiday Park- 3N - $450.00 ($150.00/N)
2bd, slightly dated, s/c cabin, oven did not work, washing machine $3, dryer $1 but had to put in on x3, friendly staff, great shower, park ok, beautiful sunny weather

BALLADONIA- Balladonia hotel/motel - 1N - $180.00
Comfortable room with ensuite, fridge, kettle, heating, flat screen TV, no cooking facilities, for a remote place very up to date & well presented

EUCLA- Eucla hotel/motel - 1N - $105.00
Very basic room with 2 sets bunks & small table, no heating/cooking facilities/bathroom, clean amenities

CEDUNA- Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park (Top Tourist) - 1N - $126.00
Great 2bd cabin, ensuite, flat screen tv, heating, not much hot water at night, friendly staff

PORT AUGUSTA- Big 4 Holiday Park- 1N - $26.00 (with vouchers)
Dated 1bd cabin, ensuite, heating, flat screen tv, friendly staff, slow check in, had to collect tv remote & frying pan

ADELAIDE- Corfu Units 'La Mancha' Glenelg- 3N - $420.00 ($140.00/N)
Great spacious, 2bd s/c apartment, in a fantastic location

HORSHAM- Wimmera Lakes Caravan Resort- 1N - $126.00
2bd s/c cabin (too cold for the pool & jumping pillows)

Hope this helps, you will get lots of recommendations along the way, so just go with the flow