Buccarumbi Bridge Campground, Old Grafton Road, NSW.

Buccarumbi Bridge,

Our first stop along the Old Glen Innes Road/Old Grafton Road was at Buccarumbi Bridge Campground. Sometimes simply referred to as Buccarumbi Campground, this is an officially designated free camping area on the banks of the Nymboida River. There are no facilities but it is a pleasant riverside location. It was very hot when we were there in March and there is limited shade.

Nymboida River at the campground.

As we weren't sure of the road conditions, we decided to let our tyres down a bit before continuing west along the Old Grafton Road to Dalmorton Campground. However, this section of road turned out to be in pretty good condition and may have recently been graded. After the tunnel the road condition deteriorated and the corrugations got worse as we approached the Mann River Nature Reserve.

Letting the tyres down at Buccarumbi Bridge Campground.

Details for Buccarumbi Bridge Campground: 
Where: 51 km south-west of Grafton, NSW. From Grafton take the Old Glen Innes Road. Cross the Buccarumbi Bridge and the campground is on the left.
Access: There is some unsealed road before the campground. Care should be taken, particularly when turning into the campground from the road. We have good ground clearance so had no problems.
Bookings & Fees: Free Camp.
Sites: No designated sites. Large area. Not much shade. Suitable for tents, roof-top tents, camper trailers and caravans.
Facilities: There are no facilities. Fires permitted subject to bans. Dogs must be registered and on a leash. No phone reception.
Prohibited: Firearms. 

Spring Creek Road Scenic Drive, Boonah to Killarney, QLD.

Queen Mary Falls

After weeks of very dry weather it was finally raining and we thought it would be a great time to see a few waterfalls. On this road trip we chose to drive to Queen Mary Falls via the scenic route from Boonah along Carney's Creek Road and Spring Creek Road. This route is not suitable for caravans or heavy vehicles.

The small town of Boonah was looking great as the Jacaranda trees were in full bloom. There is an excellent Information Centre in Bicentennial Park on the Boonah-Fassifern Road. Free overnight camping is permitted in the car park for self-contained motor homes and caravans. 

If you are self-contained you can stay the night in the Boonah Information Centre Car Park.

Our first stop on the scenic route was Teviot Falls. These are intermittent falls best viewed after heavy rain. However, it's worth stopping anytime for the view.

Teviot Falls

View from Teviot Falls Lookout.

Our second stop was Carr's Lookout where there is a constructed walkway and lookout with an expansive view out over the surrounding countryside. Spring Creek Cafe and Cottages is also located here.

Carr's Lookout

View from Carr's Lookout

We continued on to Queen Mary Falls. There is a Day Use Area in the national park and the Queen Mary Falls Caravan Park and Cafe is across the road. Bird feeding is a popular activity in front of the Cafe. 

Queen Mary Falls Day Use Area

Queen Mary Falls Cafe and Caravan Park Office.

It is only a short walk to the lookout overlooking Queen Mary Falls.

Queen Mary Falls from the Lookout.

Continuing the scenic drive towards Killarney; Daggs Falls is the next stop. Here there is a constructed lookout and a sheltered picnic table but no toilets. Dogs are allowed.

Dagg's Falls Lookout.

Dagg's Falls

Browns Falls Park is only a further 1.2 km along Spring Creek Road. Here there are toilets, picnic tables and a children's playground. It is only a short walk of 600 m to Brown's Falls from here, however, the track is unformed and it is necessary to cross the creek three times so this walk is not for everybody. No sooner had we set out under the tunnels than it started to thunder and rain so we made the decision to retreat back to the car.

This is an excellent day trip. Choose between returning the way you came, cutting across to Cunningham's Gap or doing a circuit through Koreela, White Swamp Road and Carney's Creek Road. We choose to head into northern New South Wales.

Coomba Waterhole, Maidenwell and Harland Park, near Yarraman, QLD.

On our way from Bunya Mountains National Park to Jimna State Forest we stopped off at a couple of places of interest.

Coomba Falls

Coomba Falls

Coomba Falls is 2 km east of Maidenwell along Coomba Waterhole Road. The road drops steeply and is signposted not suitable for caravans. There are bins at the car park but unfortunately there are no picnic tables or toilets. There is a constructed stairway down to the waterhole. 

Looking back up the stairs.

The waterfall was not running when we were there due to prolonged dry weather but the waterhole was still worth the visit.

Coomba Waterhole

It is possible to camp in Maidenwell at either the Maidenwell Hotel or the Maidenwell Recreation Ground. We have not, as yet, camped at either place but they both have reputations as being excellent places to camp. Caravaners find Maidenwell a handy place to leave their vans while they explore Coomba Falls and Bunya Mountains National Park.

Harland Park

Harland Park

Harland Park is 6 km east of Yarraman on the D'Aguilar Highway. Free, overnight camping is allowed here. It is a large grassy area between the highway and Cooyar Creek. There is a picnic shelter but no toilets. There is access to the Rail Trail from here.

"These waters have been stocked by local funds and support from the Queensland Government Fish Stocking Programme"

Cooyar Creek at Harland Park

Judd's Lagoon, Yuleba, QLD.

Judd's Lagoon

Judd's Lagoon is a lovely free campground on the way to Roma. There is one pit toilet, a couple of picnic tables and bags of firewood are available for $6.

On Forestry Road, as we approached Judd's Lagoon, we spotted a pair of Australian Bustards. One was standing right in the middle of the road. It was an impressive sight; standing tall on lanky legs to a height of about one meter. By the time we pulled the van over, the pair had retreated to the long grass of an adjoining paddock. 

Australian Bustard

As we turned into Mongool Road we noticed a huge flock of small birds perched on dead trees stacked up in a paddock. After setting up camp, we walked back to where we had seen the mystery birds to see what they were. At first, we thought they had gone but thankfully they had just crossed the road and were now perched all over the small trees on the side of the road. We were delighted to discover that they were Plum-headed Finches. We estimate that there were at least 500 of them.

Plum-headed Finch, male.

Some of the Plum-headed Finches flying about.

The trees were teaming with Plum-headed Finches

We also saw a lone female Zebra Finch.

Zebra Finch, female.

Another bird that was of interest to us on our short walk was a White-plumed Honeyeater.

White-plumed Honeyeater

As might be expected, there were a number of water birds at the lagoon. 

White-necked Heron

There are a couple of mixed breed "ducks" that hang around the campground begging for scraps.

Details for Judd’s Lagoon:

Where: 420 km, 5 hours, west of Brisbane. Or 60 km east of Roma. 5 km from the eastern side of Yuleba, turn off the Warrego Highway onto Forestry Road and the camping area is another 3.5 km on Mongool Road.

Access: From the turnoff on the Warrego Highway is a narrow, sealed road. The entry is unsealed for about 500 m. There are a couple of boggy areas in the campground to avoid.

Facilities: Pit toilet with sensor light, fire places, bins, tables, phone reception. Pets allowed. Firewood for sale for $6 a bag. No water.

Activities: Fishing, kayaking, birdwatching.

Camping: Tents and all rig types.

Free: 7 night limit. No bookings. Run by Maranoa Council.

Birdlist: Australian Bustard, Black Kite, Grey Butcherbird, Cockatiel, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Little Pied Cormorant, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Torresian Crow, Intermediate Egret, Grey Fantail, Zebra Finch, Plum-headed Finch (approx. 500), White-necked Heron, White-plumed Honeyeater, Australian White Ibis, Jacky Winter, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Magpie, Masked Lapwing, Noisy Miner, Crested Pigeon, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail, a couple of mixed breed ducks. Heard: Tawny Frogmouth.

Swinging Bridge Park, Cooyar QLD.

Barn Owl

We have visited Swinging Bridge Park a couple of times while driving past but this time we decided to stay the night as the park has resident Barn Owls and sometimes platypus can be spotted as well. We were really happy with our decision because we did see a Barn Owl at night as well as several Brush Tailed Possums.

Brush Tailed Possum

We saw platypus in the afternoon and in the morning. They were shy compared to the ones at Maleny but we managed a quick photo of one peeking out of Cooyar Creek.

Platypus

The camping area is pleasant especially if you are self-contained but there is a toilet block not too far away in Memorial Park.

Swinging Bridge Park Campground

Memorial Park, Cooyar.

The swinging bridge is a pedestrian bridge and makes for a great spot to do a bit of platypus watching.

The Swinging Bridge, Cooyar

There are a surprising number of birds to be seen in a short walk around Cooyar.

Red-backed Fairy-wren

The Cooyar Hotel, established in 1903, is close to the Swinging Bridge Park and serves meals. Every second Saturday of the month there is live music and Pig on the Spit. You can also get a hot shower at the Hotel for $3.

Cooyar Hotel

Details for Swinging Bridge Park Campground:

Where: Swinging Bridge Park, off Fergus Road, Cooyar. Between Crows Nest and Yarraman on the New England Highway. Or about 195 km north-west (2 and a half hours) from Brisbane. 

Access: Suitable for tents and all rig types.

Fees: Free or $5 for power (pay at the Cooyar Hotel), no bookings. $3 showers are available at the Hotel.

Facilities: Picnic shelter with BBQ and Water Tank. No toilets but there are toilets nearby in Memorial Park. Bins. No phone reception.

Pets allowed.

Wildlife: 

Brush-tailed Possum. Platypus. Micro Bats.

Butterflies: Lesser Wanderer, Glasswing, Common Crow.

Bird List:

Barn Owl, Apostlebird, Pied Butcherbird, Cicadabird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Pacific Black Duck, Australian Wood Duck, Bar-shouldered Dove, Variegated Fairy-wren, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Restless Flycatcher, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, White Ibis, Azure Kingfisher, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Australian Magpie, Magpie-lark, Masked Lapwing, House Sparrow, Double-barred Finch, Red-rumped Parrot, Crested Pigeon, Rose Robin,Grey Shrike-thrush, Welcome Swallow, Eastern Whipbird, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail.

Kinbombi Falls, Queensland.

Kinbombi Falls 

While camping at Goomeri Caravan & Bush Camp we checked out Kinbombi Falls. The falls were down to a trickle due to the very dry conditions in the whole Goomeri area. 

There are lots of concrete steps to negotiate on the way to see the falls.

Steps down to view the Falls

From the falls we could see another lookout so we returned to the car park and made our way to that lookout. There were a few more steps to negotiate but our reward was a nice view over the gorge.

Steps to the second lookout

View of the gorge

There is a large flat area at Kinbombi Falls where free camping is allowed. For details see below.

Kinbombi Falls camping area

Datails for Kinbombi Falls Free Camp:
Where: Between Goomeri and Kilkivan, Queensland.
Access: About 5 km along Kinbombi Road; good gravel road.
Camping: Allowed. Suitable all rigs. Flat areas. We couldn't determine the time limit because the sign had been damaged.
Facilities: Picnic tables and bins. Flush toilets are down a flight of stairs. Pets allowed. We ran out of phone reception about halfway along Kinbombi Road.
Of Interest: Beautiful gorge. Waterfall and lookouts.
Caution: No disabled access to toilets. Several flights of stairs to see the waterfall. Very dry at the moment so the waterfall is just a trickle. Some water still in the gorge.

Jaysee Park, Mundubbera (The Black Stump), QLD.

This rest area is listed as Mundubbera Jaysee Park on Wiki Camps and as Black Stump Rest Area in my Camps 7. I can understand why people refer to it as The Black Stump. 

This is just a rest area on the side of a busy road but it's worth stopping by to see the Bimble Box Tree, commonly known as a Knobby Tree for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, the one here is in poor condition. We did see a much healthier specimen growing on the side of the road but it was not worth the risk of pulling up with a van on the back to have a closer look. Keep an eye out for it on the way to Gayndah, about 4.5 km from this park on the left hand side. 

Bimble Box Tree / Knobby Tree / Poplar Box Eucalyptus populnea

Artwork at the entrance to Jaysee Park

Details for Jaycee Park, Mundubbera:
Where: On the Burnett Highway about 2.5 km north-east of Mundubbera.
Camping: 20 hour rest area.
Facilities: Toilets, pets, water, picnic tables, phone, TV and WiFi reception, information signs, play ground,views. No longer has showers.
Of interest: The Bimble Box Tree.
Cautions: $5,500 fine for staying longer than 20 hours in every four week period.
Nearby National Park: Auburn River National Park, 41 km.

Ban Ban Springs, Queensland.

One of the things we have learned is that when you are on a roadtrip for any length of time camp fees add up! $12 - $25 a night seems cheap when you only go camping for a few nights a year on holiday but when you pay night after night it can have a serious impact on your budget. One way to get around this is to spend some nights in the many free camps scattered throughout Australia. Free camps vary enormously from something suitable for an overnight rest stop on a long trip to camping areas worthy of being a bucket list destination. We often drop into free camps to take a break on our travelling days and I usually take a few photos so I have decided to add posts about the free camps we see on our National Park Odyssey in the hope that this information will help encourage more people to get out there and see this wonderful country of ours; even if they are on a tight budget. I will label all the free camp posts so that our readers can find them on the right hand side of my blogs by clicking on Free Camp.

The northern half of Ban Ban Springs Rest Area.

The rest area at Ban Ban Springs is on the side of the road just south of the junction of the Burnett and Isis Highways: 28 km south of Gayndah and 37 km west of Biggenden. These are busy highways with continuous traffic noise. Overnight camping is allowed in this large rest area for up to 20 hours. Toilets, bins and picnic tables are available. There is a service station nearby and a seasonal produce stall on the other side of the road. There is a separate truck rest area to the south of the public rest area.

There are permanent springs at Ban Ban Springs that are sacred to the Wakka Wakka people. In 2005, the springs became the first place in Queensland to be formally registered as an Aboriginal Heritage Place on the Queensland Aboriginal Heritage Register. 

On our trip in July we stopped for about 15 minutes and saw quite a few birds. Blue-faced Honeyeaters mobbed our picnic table and a large group of squabbling Apostlebirds arrived. Other birds we saw were: Grey-crowned Babblers, Magpies, Striated Pardalotes and Red-backed Fairy Wrens.

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Apostlebird

Details for Ban Ban Springs Rest Area, QLD:
Near the junction of the Burnett and Isis Highways: 28 km south of Gaynder.
Nearest National Park: Coalstaun Lakes National Park, 18 km.
20 hour rest stop. Free.
Types of camping: caravans, motor homes and large rigs. 
Pets allowed.
Facilities: toilets, sheltered picnic tables, bins, wood BBQ's (BYO wood), turning circle. 
Of interest: Aboriginal history, permanent springs. Service station. Produce stall.
Cautions: Close to highway. Road noise.