The joys of beach camping
Absolute beachfront camping is easier and cheaper than you think‘Absolute Beachfront’ is a buzz-phrase that makes most of us go weak in the wallet. One good reason is that it’s seen as a finite pleasure in all the best spots, whether for a house, apartment, caravan or camper.
But you can venture along sweeping beaches backed by mountainous dunes, hike through wildflower-dotted heathlands and camp beside scenic waterways.
Too good to be true? No, it’s not.
It’s also pretty cheap. Try $6.35 per night per person plus a weekly vehicle access fee to the Cooloola Coast Teewah Beach and seven days’ sand-camping and exploring for two works out at just over $17 per night.
If that sounds costly, considering that you need to BYO everything, try pricing beachside caravan parks around Australia during school holidays. We just paid $82/night for a powered, small-caravan site at the excellent Reflections Holiday Park at Byron Bay’s Clarke’s Beach, where our neighbours were just a car’s width apart, while they were a short hike away at Teewah.
At Inskip Point, just a short barge-trip to Fraser Island, there are multiple beach camps that fill up in the Christmas/January holidays, but offer plenty of options a week or so earlier, or later. Same for Fraser Island, which has a huge expanse of beachfront.
For example, the Teewah Beach camping zone on the Cooloola Coast has camping availability for 2200 people.
Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia are all well-endowed with such places and with a little hunting around you can usually find a spot, even in school holiday high season.
Of course, you need to be prepared to enjoy beach camping. For a start, you need a 4WD, particularly if you plan to bring a camper trailer or a caravan. Yes, a caravan!
We’ve seen some mainstream caravans plying the Noosa North Shore beaches at low tide, but something with good ground clearance is necessary.
Then, read my recent caravancampingsales advice article on beach driving.
Stock up well
Next, make sure you're prepared to live self-sufficiently by bringing plenty of fresh water, a way to keep your food and drinks cool and at least a gas bottle and cooktop to prepare food.
Many areas allow you to light fires providing you bring your own wood, but it’s a slow way to have a morning coffee.
If you're staying somewhere like Queensland’s Inskip Point, you have a full working township with fuel, a pub, supermarket, restaurants and other specialty shops just a 20-minute bitumen drive away at Rainbow Beach.
But if you’re near the top of Fraser Island, or camped somewhere more remote, a visit to the local shops is a trip too far.
If you have a caravan or camper trailer with a battery and solar panels, you should be OK for several days’ energy in bright weather.
However, as most of us prefer to camp in shady places, a portable solar panel that can be moved into the sun for periods is ideal to keep a portable fridge – snd the beer or wine – cool.
Firstly, ensure your camping site is well above the highest-visible high tide mark, then check local weather reports for king tides. Remember that tides can be higher around full moon time.
Don’t camp near Mangroves. Crocs are often found there.
Also, check the beach for any possible signs of crocodile trails. Female crocs nest in the low dunes and get very antsy if you block their water access!
Also, check the prevailing winds. It doesn't matter what season of the year it is when you are beach camping, there will always be wind around, so setting up camp in the right place will mean the difference between a great time and a not so good time.
Coastal breezes can whip up overnight and a stiff on-shore breeze, like the easterlies that blow on Australia’s east coast and the late afternoon westerlies (on the west coast) can have sleep-arresting canvas flapping well into the night.
As a very general rule on Australia’s East Coast, a northerly-facing campsite is more likely to be tranquil.
If you have no choice, consider setting up a groundsheet, shade cloth, or your car, as a wind-break
Finally, if the sound of crashing waves keeps you awake at night, consider a tree-change holiday instead!
https://findapark.npsr.qld.gov.au
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation
http://www.4-wheeling-in-western-australia.com/beach-camping.html
https://northernterritory.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/camping
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