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australia:vic:campgrounds_summerbeach

summer holiday beach camping in Victoria

Introduction

  • heading to the beach is THE most popular destination in Victoria for summer school holidays - BAD NEWS is: THEY WILL BE BOOKED OUT UNLESS YOU BOOK MONTHS IN ADVANCE and there are almost no free camps adjacent a beach in Victoria (with few exceptions such as Golden Beach)
  • you may have to resort to expensive accommodation such as an AirBnB
  • to save time planning, go to Parks Vic booking web site and enter your dates and check the map to see where vacancies may be
    • NB. bookings may not open for the summer period until the preceding July - then its a mad rush by everyone to book when it opens!
  • if you have young kids, they will probably have more fun at a commercial park with its kid-friendly facilities such as playgrounds, games room, swimming pool and other kids

PLAN A: get a beach camp

  • you will need to book months in advance!
    • even for weekends in Feb you may struggle to find a spot without booking in advance!
    • DO NOT rock up thinking you will get a spot without a booking - you probably won't!
  • beach locations are generally severely over-crowded often with long traffic jams and long queues for meals at shops
  • there is often very little shade at these beaches - bring sun protection, shade as well as insect repellents and plenty of water
  • there are no guarantees you will get “beach weather”
  • Do your beach camping in Feb-Mar, preferably mid-week
    • weekends can still be booked out in advance
    • no school aged kids mid-week except school camps
    • uni students can dominant sites in late Feb
    • there are the Chinese tourists along GOR for Chinese New Year in mid Feb to compete with
    • Labour Day weekend in March will be fully booked in advance
    • much more likely to have beach weather
    • water is at its warmest (~19degC in Bass Strait)
  • Do your beach camping in Oct-early Dec preferably mid-week
    • weekends can still be booked out in advance
    • no school aged kids mid-week except school camps and schoolies can take over some areas in last week or so of Nov
    • uni students can dominant sites last 2 weeks of Nov and early Dec as well as late Feb
    • there are much fewer march flies to annoy you but weather can be very fickle and the water is at its coldest (~12degC in Bass Strait)

east coast

free campgrounds - 1st in gets a site

  • 90 mile beach:
    • unfortunately, you can't swim or surf there as the cross-currents are too strong, in summer, there tends to be lots of flies, mozzies and possibly sandflies and fishing is not great
    • best for young adults who want to camp with a fire (if permitted) and chill out, even better when its not summer
    • Golden Beach - camp sites are separated from beach by large dunes, nearby cafe, toilet and coin shower
    • The Honeysuckles
    • McGauran Beach - popular with campervans as they can get quite close to the beach
    • Woodside beach
    • McLoughlins beach

Parks Vic camp grounds

    • this is perhaps the number one destination in Victoria but it gets packed with its 450 camp sites
  • Bear Gully, Walkerville
  • Paradise Beach
    • unfortunately, you can't swim or surf there as the cross-currents are too strong, in summer, there tends to be lots of flies, mozzies and possibly sandflies and fishing is not great
  • Corringle Slips near Marlo
    • as for Paradise Beach but there is an estuary of the Snowy River there for additional options
  • Far eastern Vic:
    • these are more remote, have more wild life such as large goannas and unlike most other parts of Victoria, has paralysis ticks as for the rest of the east coast of Australia
    • Banksia Bluff, Cape Conran (does have a dog area)
    • Thurra River
    • Mueller inlet
    • Shipwreck creek

Council camp grounds

  • Mornington Peninsula

Commercial campgrounds

  • lots of these
    • Mornington Peninsula: Rosebud, Sorrento, etc
    • Phillip Island - Cowes, etc
    • Westernport Bay - Lang Lang
    • Bass Coast - Kilcunda, Cape Paterson, Inverloch, Venus Bay, Walkerville
    • Lakes Entrance

west coast

free campgrounds - 1st in gets a site

Parks Vic camp grounds

Council camp grounds

  • Princetown reserve - not far from beach

Commercial campgrounds

  • lots of these
    • Bellarine Peninsula - esp. for younger kids as bayside with exposure to large surf waves and currents
    • Ocean Grove
    • Barwon Heads
    • Torquay
    • Anglesea
    • Aireys Inlet
    • Lorne
    • Cumberland River
    • Wye River
    • Kennett River
    • Skenes Creek
    • Apollo Bay
    • Marengo
    • Port Campbell
    • Peterborough
    • Warrnambool
    • Killarney Beach
    • Port Fairy
    • Narrawong
    • Cape Bridgewater coastal camp
    • Port MacDonnell (just over the Sth Aust border)

PLAN B: go to an inland lake

  • these can be very exposed to strong winds
  • toxic blue-green algae can be an issue in summer particularly
  • many of these sites can be booked out in advance
  • Lake Eildon
  • Lake Hume near Albury
  • Lake Eppalock near Heathcote
  • Cairn Curran - Welshman's Reef (commercial)
  • Greens Lake, Corop
  • Lake Burrumbeet near Ballarat - a good option for kids as tends to be shallow and warmer water
  • Lake Bolac
  • Lake Colac
  • Lake Lonsdale near Stawell
  • Lake Lascelles near Hopetoun
  • Rocklands Reservor (eg. Glendinning) west of Grampians
  • Deep Lake Recreation Reserve, Derrinallum (near Camperdown) hot showers, donation
  • many other options
  • if everything else is booked out there is usually still plenty of space (albeit > 700m from toilet block) at Green Hill Lakes Camping Reserve, Ararat
  • check for flooding and access issues after severe rainfalls and don't camp under river red gums which may kill you
  • many of these sites can be booked out in advance or full if a free camp unless you get there early before the peak or after the peak has resolved such as by 2nd or 3rd week of Jan

northern Victoria

eastern Victoria

  • Warburton
  • Walhalla
  • Avon River
  • Blue Pool, Briagolong
  • Paradise Valley, Macalister River (commercial)
  • Macalister River north of Licola
  • Mitchell River
  • Snowy River

western Victoria

free camps

commercial camps

  • there are a multitude of these on rivers, here are just a few
  • Goulburn River:
    • Thornton Riverbend Holiday Park
    • Breakaway Twin Rivers, Acheron
  • Marysville Holiday Park on the Steavenson River
  • Powlett River, Kilcunda - not far to a beach of sorts
  • Paradise Valley, Macalister River

PLAN E: give up on a swimming destination and find something else to do

australia/vic/campgrounds_summerbeach.txt · Last modified: 2024/01/15 20:31 by gary1

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