Suggestions for free camping < 3hrs from Bendigo?

[Jemmo]

Hi All,

We are wanting to give free camping our first go over the Easter break and looking for suggestions.
A couple of pointers to assist any of your thoughts:
- we will have a couple of dogs with us, so i imagine that puts any national parks out of the question
- we like water, so a river or lake would be good
- we havent properly free camped before, so a little unsure about what the "rules" are about where you can set up and stay etc.
- looking at the map, along the Murray anywhere from Tocumwal to Tooleybuc would work?
- or should we look at some of the other rivers in sthn NSW (Edward etc)

Any suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers, Jemmo

 

[Dobbie]

Depending on weather, I'd guess the Murray sites would be busy, but possible if you get there earlyish.

Check out wiki for some real possibilities.

Suggest wherever you go that you approach your first free camping (4 days?) with some reasonable preparation....make sure all phones etc are fully charged before you get there, take some extra water containers ...filled before you set up....and take a largish bucket to deal with the sullage...probably easier than using the hose. If necessary separate drinking water from shower, washing up water....maybe a slab of drinking water...it keeps it separate and safe so there's no confusion.

Obviously....Torches etc, plenty of gas, and make sure batteries are fully charged

and an umbrella in case the inevitable happens. If it does rain many of the Murray sites become difficult in terms of access and get very muddy.

"Rules"? Just don't infringe on other campers...most just want peace and quiet...keep your waste to a minimum and take it with you unless they provide bins (sullage, general waste etc). and noise level kept to a minimum.

Check to see if fires are allowed...many places don't...

And have fun!

 

[Smergen]

A couple of suggestions quite close to Bendigo.

1) Green Lake Campground
2) Mt Alexander Regional Park

But really 3hrs can get you a long way. Grampians, Murray, even the foothills of the High Country. And then wikicamps would be your friend I think.

 

[bigcol]

I would say Wikicamps, and lots of research
also
as said, get in as early as you can, quite a lot of these places are snapped up quick as a flash, so have 2 or 3 possibles when you head off

rules (quite a lot of people dont know its not a 4 letter swear word, so they rarely use it)
just be aware there are some out there who are not quite the people you would normally associate with under normal circumstances, but appearances can be deceiving - that BCF ad with the guys paying death metal to scare away other campers from a spot comes to mind, and I have actually seen that happen before

above all else, enjoy, even if you have to grit your teeth several times over something
its all a great learning curve

 

[17triton]

Town beach at Tocumwal is a cheap place at $10 a night flushing dunnies and has a manager to collect fees. a nice spot for free over the other side of the river. Not free but Old Man Emu Stay at Halls Gap is great for $15 a night and can have fires there just need to be self contained as in have your own toilet. Mt Alexander is great. High country around Mansfield and Jamieson area just have to watch where you go with the dogs.

 

[chartrock]

No idea what this place is like but it arrived in my emails tray this morning.

 

[17triton]

I may just add at Easter everything is crazy busy and need to get in early to nab a good freecamp spot.

 

[Drover]

@Jemmo , we just had a week of free camping at Hopetoun on the banks of Lake Lascelles, you can free camp but you have hot showers and loos nearby, a dump point and potable water available, town is a short walk.
http://expandasdownunder.com/threads/hopetoun-vic-mallee-bush-retreat-lake-lascelles.10034/

 

[Jemmo]

Thanks all, have just downloaded wikicamps and doing some research - will let you know where we end up.....
Cheers, Jemmo