Peacock Creek Campground, Richmond Range National Park, NSW.

Peacock Creek Campground.

We stayed the night in Casino so that we would have plenty of time the next day to enjoy the scenic Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive on the way to Peacock Creek Campground. The unsealed roads were in good condition in May 2019. 

Cambridge Plateau Forest Drive.

Peacock Creek Road.

We did the Culmaran Valley Walking Track and had lunch at the Cambridge Plateau Picnic Area and Lookout. We stopped to admire  "Old Spotty" a 200 to 300 year Spotty Gum and arrived at Peacock Creek Campground early in the afternoon.

Cambridge Plateau Lookout.

The campground is a flat open grassy area with a remote feel. There are non-flush toilets that were clean and a camp shelter with a table and wood fire place. There is a water tank but you can't access the water.

Peacock Creek Campground, Camp Shelter.

There was a great variety of birds in the campground. The most common being Bell Miners, Superb Fairy-wrens, White-browed Scrubwrens and Australasian Figbirds. 

Bell Miner

White-browed Scrubwren

Grey Shrike-thrush.

There were a few Green Catbirds and Satin Bowerbirds on the edges of the campground. Welcome Swallows had been nesting in one of the sheltered picnic tables and they liked to perch on top of the water tank.

Green Catbird.

Welcome Swallow.

Considering the time of year, there were a lot of butterflies about. We particularly enjoyed seeing the Small Green-banded Blues fluttering about in the sunlight; their iridescent colours catching and changing in the sunlight.

Small Green-banded Blue Butterfly.

Small Green-banded Blue Butterfly.

At dusk we saw bandicoots and sadly we saw a dead native bush rat near the water tank.

There are no designated walks from the campground but there are nearby fire trails. We made a convenient loop walk by walking east up the steep part of the road and turning left into a fire trail near the Richmond Range National Park sign and then turning left into a fire trail that ran alongside Peacock Creek before emerging back onto the road at the Peacock Creek Campground sign. On this walk we saw several Restless Flycatchers, a Pacific Bazza and a Collared Sparrowhawk. The photos of the Sparrowhawk aren't great but we are pleased that we finally have managed to take some.

Fire trail.

Pacific Bazza.

Collared Sparrowhawk.

Details for Peacock Creek Campground:
Where: Richmond Range National Park, NSW. From Kyogle: via Sextonville and Peacock Creek Roads. From Casino: via Richmond Road and Cambridge Plateau Road, easy 4WD. From Bonalbo via Peacock Creek Road. From Toonumbar Dam: via Iron Pot Creek Road and Peacock Creek Road, the northern section of Iron Pot Road was in poor condition requiring high clearance and ideally a 4WD vehicle. See comments below.
Access: Unsealed roads listed as 2WD in dry weather. However, I wouldn't take my small sedan in there. The roads didn't seem ideal for towing or large rigs as they are narrow in parts. We drove to the campground via the scenic Cambridge Plateau Road which is 41 km of unsealed road including Richmond Road. It was in quite good condition when we were there in May 2019 and we didn't need 4WD however, it is listed as Easy (in dry weather) by National Parks NSW and as Medium 4WD on my Hema Map. When we left we went down Iron Pot Creek Road to Toonumbah Dam and the "road' had water damage requiring high clearance and good tyres. Everyone we met had driven in via Bonalbo or Kyogle which indicated that those roads might have been easier options.
Bookings & Fees: No bookings. $6 per adult $3.50 per child. Place correct cash in pay station.
Sites: Undefined grassy sites. Suitable for tents, camping beside your vehicle, and camper trailers. Listed as suitable for caravans however the access roads didn't seem suitable for the average caravan.
Facilities: a couple of picnic tables, camp shelter with table and fire place (BYO wood), non-flush toilets. Quiet generators allowed. No phone reception. No bins. No accessible water.
Prohibited: No pets, no smoking, no gathering firewood. Noise restrictions.


Wildlife May 2019: Red-necked Pademelon, Red-necked Wallaby, Swamp Wallaby, Bandicoot, dead Native Bush Rat. Butterflies: Small Green-banded Blue, Lesser Monarch, Meadow Argus, Brown Ringlet, Common Crow. Birds: Pacific Bazza, Satin Bowerbird, Green Catbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pheasant Coucal, Pied Currawong, Torresian Crow, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Superb Fairy-wren, Grey Fantail, Australasian Figbird, Red-browed Finch, Restless Flycatcher, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Lewin's Honeyeater, Laughing Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Bell Miner, Australian King Parrot, Eastern Yellow Robin, Crimson Rosella, Eastern Rosella, White-browed Scrubwren, Grey Shrike-thrush, Eastern Spinebill, Welcome Swallow, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Whipbird, Golden Whistler.