Illaroo Campground, Yuraygir National Park, NSW.

Surfing beach in front of Illaroo Campground.

We have long been fans of Yuragir National Park as we love the Yuraygir Coastal Walk which stretches from Angourie to Red Rock south of Wooli. This trip we decided to camp at Illaroo South Campground to explore the area around Minnie Water and Wooli. We have heard many great reviews for the Illaroo Campgrounds and we were not dissapointed. We had a relaxing stay and found the campground to be very well managed. Our camping neighbours generously gave us a a bag of delicious home grown manderines. 

Drinking water station on Illaroo Road.

There are different sections to the campground. Illaroo South has a mixture of defined and open sites and there is a bollarded section with an open grassy area for walk-in tenting. Illaroo North seemed to be mostly defined sites. In the winter, we had no problem finding a great site but I would imagine that in the summer, it would be a good idea arrive early to find a site. There are no water taps in the campgrounds but there is a drinking water station on the way in along Illaroo Road. Further north, there are a couple of large-group camping areas but these need to be prebooked online. To the south of the picnic area, Rocky Point is a small walk-in campsite suitable for campers walking the Yuraygir Coastal Walk, however, it has no facilities. 

Beachside site at Illaroo South Campground.

Walk in tent site at Illaroo South Campground.

Defined beachside campsites at Illaroo North Campground.

Rocky Point Campsite.

Sunrise from our campsite at Illaroo South Campground.

There is a pleasant picnic area at Illaroo South with parking and a picnic shelter.

Illaroo South Picnic Area.

Lookout in Illaroo South Picnic Area.

There is an unpatrolled surf beach in front of the campgrounds and rocky headlands to explore. There is an area with continual fresh water run-off between the campground and the beach which created an interesting habitat for sundews and frogs. We could hear what we think were Striped Marsh Frogs but didn't manage to see any.

Beach access from Illaroo South Campground.

Interesting rock headland in front of Illaroo Campground.

Sundews.

There is a lookout in the campground and another in the picnic area. When schools of bait fish were prevelant we saw dolphins surfing and gannets diving into the sea.

Australasian Gannets diving for fish.

The main birds in the campground were White-cheeked Honeyeaters, Rainbow Lorikeets and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes. We shared our site with a Pheasant Coucal that seemed to sleep in the bushes next to our tent and come out during the day to sunbake.

White-cheeked Honeyeater.

Pheasant Coucal, Illaroo South Campground.

There were also lots of Masked Lapwings both in the campground and on the beach. 

The spurs are visible on this Masked Lapwing.

I will cover the walks in the next blog. 

Details for Illaroo Campground, Yuraygir National Park NSW:
Where: 53 km south-east of Grafton. South of Grafton turn off the Pacific HWY onto Eight Mile Lane. Turn right into Wooli Road. Turn left into Minnie Water Road. Turn left into Illaroo Road. The first campground is Illaroo South, then Illaroo North and lastly Illaroo Group Campground.
Access: The last couple of kilometers is an unsealed 2WD all weather road.
Booking & Fees: No bookings. Park entry fee of $8 per vehicle per day. (Or buy an annual pass before arrival for about $45). Camp fee $12 per adult per night. $6 child 5 - 15 year old. Under 5 free. Contractors come around at least twice a day, 7 days a week to collect fees. Cash only. Take correct change. The group camping area is booked online.
Sites: 60 sites in total. Some open grassy areas and some defined beachfront areas. Suitable for walk in tent areas, camping beside your vehicle and all rig types.
Facilities: Tables. Wood and gas barbeques. Fire rings, BYO wood. Non-flush toilets. Bins. Walks. Lookouts. There is a drinking water station just after entering the park along Illaroo Road, next to the information sign. No water at the actual campground. We received text messages but were unable to phone in or out with Telstra. I think the local provider is Optus. 4WD access to a short section of the beach is near the group campground. Fishing is allowed with a NSW recreational licence.
Illaroo South Picnic Area: Large shelter with gas barbeques and tables. Infomation. Walks. Lookout.
Prohibitions: No pets. No smoking. 


Wildlife: Lace Monitor, Micro Bats, Flying Foxes, Humpback Whales, Dolphins. Heard Striped Marsh Frogs. Butterflies: Black Jezebel, Cabbage White, Large Grass-yellow, Yellow Albatross, Common Crow. Birds: White-bellied Sea-eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Whistling Kite, Osprey, Australian Brush Turkey, Grey Butherbird, Pied Biutherbird, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Bar-shouldered Dove, Great Egret, Little Egret, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Australasian Figbird, Double-barred Finch, Noisy Friarbird, Australasian Gannet, White-faced Heron, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White-cheeked Honeyeater, Australian White Ibis, Sacred Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Masked Lapwing, Fairy Martin, Noisy Miner, Australian King Parrot, Australian Pelican, Pheasant Coucal, Crested Pigeon, Silver Gull, Grey Shrike-thrush, Little Shrike-thrush, Silvereye, Eastern Spinebill, Royal Spoonbill, Welcome Swallow, Black Swan, Caspian Tern, Pied Oystercatcher, Little Wattlebird, Willie Wagtail. Saw three Brolgas on private property on the drive out of the national park to the highway.