Destinations that offer more than the basic ‘dogs allowed on leads.’
Riverside walk at Nyngan Tourist Park, NSW
As mentioned in a previous issue, we were travelling from Western Australia to Queensland via South Australia and New South Wales with our three dogs.
We found a few spots that offered more than the basic ‘dogs allowed on leads’ and thought we’d let other CMCA members know about them.
In the last article we covered a few places in WA, SA and NSW. Now we continue through NSW and into QLD.
NEW SOUTH WALES
NYNGAN RIVERSIDE CARAVAN TOURIST PARK, CNR BARRIER AND MITCHELL HIGHWAYS
Good for overnight or longer, what an oasis this place is – exceptionally clean and the facilities are immaculate. It’s pet-friendly, with a wide range of camping and accommodation options and pets are allowed in the cabins, albeit for a fee. There’s a dump point on site at the caravan park, opposite the amenities block. Despite being located on the intersection of two main routes, we didn’t feel the traffic noise was too bad. It’s fine for all sizes of RVs, with drive-through sites, some of which have private ensuites.
The park has a gate that leads out into a very large area near a bridge over the Bogan River that was excellent for running the dogs. Crossing the bridge takes you into town if you feel like taking the dogs for an on-leash stroll. You can also walk down to the river inside the park for a riverside stroll. A good spot to rest up, recover and perhaps do some laundry.
GUNNEDAH SOUTH STREET RV PARK
Good for an overnight stop, it’s across the road from the railway line with several trains going through during the night. The rail system isn’t just used for moving mining commodities – cattle also get loaded there too, so it can be noisy. But for an overnight stop we were willing to accept the noise, just as we do on roadside stops outside major towns.
The RV park is fenced off and forms part of the local dog show complex. For a facility run by a dog club it seemed a bit restrictive, requiring dogs to be leashed and not having a sanctioned off-leash area. We were able to walk through to the point where dog shows occur and as no one else was using it, it became our off-leash area.
The park has a maximum 72-hour stay policy; a caretaker is onsite and fees are collected in the afternoon. There is power and water on the sites and there’s also a dump point. Gunnedah is a great small town with lots of useful shops and services.
GLENREAGH RV STOP, BRIDGE STREET
Great for overnighting or a longer stay, Glenreagh is a small town in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. It’s a great base if you want to explore the Clarence Valley region and an easy drive east takes you to Coffs Harbour or you can drive on to Grafton.
The site has showers, toilets and bins, and water is available. Pets are welcome, with a sporting oval right by the RV sites to exercise your dogs. Locals also exercise their dogs there. There’s a caretaker on site and the 72- hour maximum stay rule applies.
A local shop and pub are an easy stroll away from the RV stop; in town, a market is held on the second Saturday of the month.
Local horse clubs and owners use the equestrian facility which is fascinating to watch, but do make sure you are able to control your dogs so that they don’t annoy the horses.
It’s a dog’s life – a lazy afternoon in Maryborough, QLD
QUEENSLAND
A word of warning: For those, like us, who like to freestyle camp around the country and stop when we find somewhere of interest or peaceful, it’s not always possible to do so once you cross into Queensland between June and September.
The coastal strip north of Brisbane, all the way to Cairns, is often full of people camping to escape the cold weather down south.
Our impression was that free and low-cost camping spots are noticeably absent or thin on the ground, once you hit major tourist areas, and that caravan parks were often full. This was really detrimental for us as we were passing through and just wanted overnight stops.
Roadside pull-over areas also seemed to be less frequent than we had found in the other three states we had travelled and we wondered how people coped with breakdowns or taking a break from driving?
MARYBOROUGH SHOWGROUND AND EQUESTRIAN CENTRE, 1KM NORTH OF WALKER STREET EXIT OFF THE BRUCE HIGHWAY
This stopover is great for larger RVs and caravans and is a welcome halt for those travelling with dogs and horses. However, the short 48-hour maximum stopover limit isn’t nearly long enough to do justice to what the town and surrounding areas have to offer.
The centre has a dump point, a very large shower block and sites with power and water. There are plenty of sites, even when there’s an equestrian event on, but it’s worth checking availability in advance with the regional council. The complex is huge, so it’s easy to find a place to run the dogs and tire them out so they are settled at camp.
Obviously, we camped at a lot of other places on our epic journey across four states and only the ones we felt were exceptional have been mentioned.
We’d love to hear about any other dog-friendly spots you’d recommend to members.
