I didn't realise it had been so long since I had made a post on our camping adventures! Apologies for being so slack busy
As usual, we've had to cancel a couple of trips again this year due to weather conditions, but we have managed to get out to a few new places
In the first six months, we have been to...
- Bargara Beach Caravan Park (Bundaberg - just a little more than our 2 hour driving limit)
- Cotton Tree Caravan Park, Maroochydore
- Big 4 North Star, Hastings Point
- Pomona Showgrounds (with the Family Caravan Club)
Normally by July we would have at least 6 trips completed, so we are a little behind... We had to cancel our trip to Lake Dyer in February due to the floods and hope to get there in September
It is definitely a beautiful place but for the 5 hour drive from Brisbane just didn't seem worth it to me. We are fortunate to live only an hour, or so, away from the beautiful beaches of the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, and I find it hard not to compare with places much closer!
We spent a lot of the time at the beach and a lovely little spot called Kelly's Bathing Reserve. The absolute highlight of the trip was getting to see the Turtles and the hatchlings, and that would be the only reason I would go back again during summer
Amenities are modern and (mostly) clean (being Easter the park is full so I don't mind cutting a little slack to the guys who run the park and I recommend you try to use the facilities in non-peak times). I love that there are shops across the road so I can stock up on fresh fruit & vegies easily, I can disappear for a coffee & cake or a quick browse through the shops. We can go out to dinner if we choose
If the weather is so so, head to Sunshine Plaza and catch a movie or partake in some retail therapy. There are also great walking paths along the beachfront, we enjoy going for an early morning walk. Markets run on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Caloundra markets are much bigger and run every Sunday - about a 15 minute drive away
Over the June long weekend we went on a trial with the Family Caravan Club to the Pomona Showgrounds. We had a great time with a lovely bunch of people! Everyone is really friendly and helpful and most said something on the lines of... "We used to have one of those vans... A great place to start!"
This was the first time we have stayed at a Showground and it was really quite good. The toilets were clean (and flushing) and the showers were hot so no complaints here! The sites were all powered and most had access to water as well. I didn't like the taste of the water... could even taste the chlorine after it was boiled, so in future I will be taking enough bottled water for my tea and coffee too! It was about a 20 minute drive to Eumundi so we did the Eumundi Markets on the Saturday morning
On Sunday it was wet & drizzly so we spent the day in Cooroy visiting relatives. Others went 4WDing or visited the Ginger Factory. The township of Pomona was really quaint and had all the necessary supplies. One of the "campers" did not to cook for the whole weekend and tried out all the local cafes and restaurants! If the weather had been better we would have been happy to just hang around the showgrounds a little bit more and mingle and let the kids play and explore
The Family Caravan Club meet every month (February - November) and hold a Christmas Rally (Late November with a visit from Santa) - Check out their website for more information
