In the lead-up to this trip, Mack spent all of his time building us a new canopy and tent set up for the back of the ute. It isn't quite finished yet, and I will write a post on our camping setup once it is.
Because we had this wonderful new setup (complete with shower!), we set ourselves a challenge to not spend any money at all on accommodation.
Is it possible - absolutely yes! Wikicamps is definitely your friend here. If you don't know what Wikicamps is, head here to my post all about it. You do have to spend a little bit of time looking at options and the comments, but free camping is not only an option, but something I would recommend (if camping is your thing of course!).
Our routine would be to check off our list of things to do for the day, and then around 2pm would start looking on Wikicamps for a campsite in the vicinity that had the following requirements, and also had some positive reviews:
- Toilets (although we did stay at a few with no bathrooms, and it wasn't the end of the world)
- Camp fires allowed
- Free
It was also a bonus if the campsite had drinking water available, but not essential as you can also fill up drinking water at RV dump points (which are also listed on Wikicamps).
In Tassie specifically, one thing to pay attention to would be if the campsite is 4WD only. Lots of the free camps are on or near beaches, or in places where the roads just are not maintained. We went on a few that said they were 4WD only, and were no problem. There was also one we tried to go to on night nine, that we probably would have managed if we had 2 vehicles, but we were not game enough to try the almost vertical trail on our own!
So here we go - where we stayed, what we thought of each spot, and a photo of the site and/or the view if I took one.
Enjoy!
Night One: Lilydale Falls Reserve
Our first night was spent at what is essentially a park with a large car parking area that allows camping and fires. We picked it because it was the closest camp to us that was free, allowed fires and had toilets, and also had a handful of great comments. We liked it. It was pretty quiet (maybe a little bit of road noise but nothing too bad), and there was another car staying there as well, even in June. I would strongly suggest having your own firewood with you. There are some sticks and branches, but not a lot, and it was so wet! All in all a great first night and I would recommend it.
Toilets: 8/10
Overall experience: 7/10
Night Two: Pioneer Lake
In this area of Tassie, free camps are a little scarce, and the ones that exist either didn't allow fires, were RV spots, or had some dodgy reviews. As much as I quite enjoy camping and don't really mind where we camp, it is still important to me to feel safe wherever we are! We discovered Pioneer Lake, and thought it looked pretty good. It was pretty difficult to find, and there is a lot of soft sand dunes, so definitely be prepared for that. But once you find the spot, the view was just gorgeous. Such a pretty, quiet spot. There was one other car there with us, and it wasn't a large area, so maybe only good for 3 - 4 cars. No bathrooms though, and fires allowed (bring own firewood). Lovely evening here - would highly recommend!
Toilets: none - but you can walk 15 minutes (one way) to the public toilets in Pioneer if you absolutely need to.
Overall experience: 7/10
Night Three: Cosy Corner South
This camp ground is one of many along the road from Binalong Bay to The Gardens. We picked this one over the others because it had little nooks where you could be away from everyone else (literally cosy corners). We were there alone, and it was just lovely - in Summer I imagine it would be crazy busy. There is one long drop toilet, BYO toilet paper, and no fire wood is available here (although there was wood provided at Cosy Corner North, we noticed). Also a lovely beach accessible from the camp - ocean sounds whilst you sleep. Loved this camp!
Toilet: 3/10 (I didn't use it)
Overall experience: 9/10
Night Four: River and Rocks Campground
This campground is one of the only options near Freycinet national park/Wineglass Bay that is actually free. The campground itself was OK. The toilet was out of order, and I imagine if it was wet this would be SO muddy! There were rangers building new fences and upgrading things whilst we were there, so maybe this area will be better soon. Gorgeous view if you drop down onto the beach though :).
Toilet: 0/10 (out of order)
Overall experience: 5/10
Night Five: Marion Bay Lookout
A random little lookout point that you are allowed to camp at and have fires. Clearly a 4WD hot spot! The road in is a dirt road (but by the time you reach here, I imagine this would not be your first gravel road haha). Again, another area of Tassie where free camps are few and far between. Spectacular views, no bathrooms. We felt a little unsettled here, and I can't really put my finger on why. It might be because there was noone else around, maybe because we arrived at this campsite after dark, I don't know. It was nice enough.
Toilet: none
Overall experience: 4/10
Night Six: Tahune Airwalk
Hobart has no free camps! There is one just past Huonville called Arve River, which we checked out, but a huge group had taken it over and there was no room - also, it is not a great spot for sleeping in the car. Tents better. So we continued up to the Tahune Airwalk, where you can camp in the carpark for free overnight with the purchase of a ticket to the airwalk. Cool idea! The area is very damp so we got a whole lot of drizzle, and lighting a fire was challenging, but it was ok. If you get there after the airwalk closes for the day, you can camp, and just pay the security guard for a ticket when he comes around. He never actually came around when we were there... :)
Toilets: 8/10
Overall experience: 6/10
Night Seven: The Pines Free Camp
The only free camp on Bruny Island. It had some terrible comments on Wikicamps - so terrible, we considered paying for a camp site! But when we checked it out, it was just a relatively flat area with spots for campfires. Nothing luxurious, but not bad either. There is no longer a toilet here, but you can walk 10 minutes to the beach, which had a pretty nice long drop toilet (paper and everything) - windiest pee though! Haha. I imagine this spot would get muddy in the wet also, but pretty good for us.
Toilet: onsite non - beach toilet 7/10
Overall experience: 6/10
Night Eight: Sarah's House
The easiest way to sleep for free in Hobart is to know someone! We stayed with one of my family members, which was lovely. Perfect option for us that evening, especially as we went to Dark Mofo and had a late night.
A dude we met at Dark Mofo did mention that somewhere near the tourist info in Hobart, there is really excellent public toilets and also showers! I'm not sure if there are any spots around Hobart you could get away with camping overnight, but I'm sure people do it.
Night Nine: Ellendale Bethune Campground
This was the night we aimed for the camp that ended up being at the top of some crazy 4WD track! Again, with another vehicle, we would have made it, but definitely be prepared. Instead, we ended up here. And it was lovely. It had clean toilets, with paper and sink. It had a shelter with picnic tables, and it was a quiet area off the road. Loved it! Such a pretty view too.
Toilets: 9/10
Overall experience: 9/10
Night Ten: Little Pine Lagoon Campground
After Hobart, we headed up towards the the Great Lakes in the middle of Tassie. This particular day, we had heard that there was a chance of seeing the Aurora - it is always hit and miss, but we figured it was a good day to make sure we had a good clear view in case it did actually happen. So we checked out 2 different camps in the area, and picked this one. This area had an OK long drop toilet (clean, no paper), but didn't allow fires. And it got COLD! Haha. It is a really stunning area though - liked the camp area. Yes we did freeze over in the morning, and no no aurora, but that's OK!
Toilet: 6/10
Overall experience:: 7/10
Night Eleven: Macquarie Heads **$7
Next up, we were heading to Strahan. And this was the only night that we cheated on this challenge and paid for a campsite. We checked out a free camp in the area, and it would have been OK (it was in the middle of a pine forest, no toilets, a little dirty), but we wanted a good view over the lake (again, possible aurora, but also, look at this view!). It was well worth paying for this one, and even though you can camp for free, I would recommend sparing $7. Great view, lovely caretaker, and we had little pademelons hopping around us all night. Loved it!
Toilet: 8/10
Overall experience: 9/10
Night Twelve: Trial harbour
There is a whole lot of nothing in Trial Harbour! No shops, no firewood, barely any people. It was so quiet and so lovely. We spent the afternoon at this camp drying out all of our gear, because it was breezy and warm, and everything needed to recover from the ice age we had 2 nights previously haha. We were the only people here, and the ocean view was gorgeous. If you are heading to Zeehan, I would camp here!
Toilet: I think there was one but I never used it
Overall experience: 8/10
Night Thirteen: Mole Creek Karst National Park Campground
This is where we stayed the day before we were heading to Cradle Mountain. It was a little bit out of the way, but it was free, allowed fires (even provided firewood) and had a good long drop (with paper). Well worth it! On the side of a river, a very quiet spot. Really lovely evening here.
Toilet: 9/10
Overall experience: 9/10
Night Fourteen: Upper Natone Reserve
We stayed here on the way from Cradle Mountain to Burnie. It was windy as, but it was a nice enough spot. It is literally a reserve where you are allowed to camp. There was some firewood around, and toilets had paper and sink. And had shelters and BBQ areas. We met one of the caretakers of this reserve - it is taken care of by a group in the local community, which I think is lovely. It is nothing super special, but it was nice.
Toilet: 9/10
Overall experience: 7/10
Night Fifteen: Boat Harbour Beach
Between Burnie and Stanley, there aren't many free camps. We discovered this one, and it was a great decision. Such a pretty beach, decent public toilets, BBQ areas and a cafe on the beachfront. You aren't supposed to have fires here, but you could see people had in the past. We didn't - we just cooked dinner on the BBQs. Lovely spot, not too windy, pretty calm ocean. Recommended!
Toilets: 8/10
Overall experience: 8/10
Night Sixteen: Marrawah Green Point Campground
We headed out to the very north west corner of Tassie, to the Edge of the World in Arthur River. The nearest campspot to here was this place. Nice campground, good toilets (even with soap) - I don't think you could have fires, but even if you could, holy hell was it windy! We lasted a fairly rough night until maybe 5am before giving up and packing down and heading on our way. The guy next to us had also clearly packed up his rooftop tent in the middle of the night and slept in the car. Gorgeous spot, not a solid night's sleep though.
Toilets: 9/10
Overall experience: 5/10
Night Seventeen: Kentish Park Lake Barrington
This camp is clearly a hot spot in Summer - it is so huge and clearly well used, right next to the lake. There was only one other group there with us in July. Toilets were a little walk away from most of the camp spots (maybe 10 minutes one way). There was some firewood around, but I would BYO. Very quiet, very lovely spot.
Toilet: 7/10
Overall experience: 8/10
And that's it!
Free camping is amazing - I would highly recommend it to everyone.
Join me next week for my detailed itinerary (hopefully!).
Hx
