Camping in the South West of Western Australia

Camping in the south west of Western Australiajust something really peaceful about sitting around
is as easy as heading out your door. With thea campfire at night, maybe with marshmallows,
right things in hand of course.and spotting the local possums and kangaroos.
It was school holidays and I'd managed to arrangeThe season will also often dictate where you go
some time off to spend with the family. I felt likecamping. In the hot summer you'll want to be
being a bit of a democratic dad at the time, andnear water, and there are plenty of camping
told the kids we would decide as a family whatareas right on the beach, or perhaps in the forest
we would do over the holidays. The kids yellednear a freshwater river. In the winter, the deep
"Camping!", and I wholeheartedly concurred. Igreen forest tends to be more attractive to
noticed that my wife wasn't quite as enthusiastic,most people.
but still responded with "hmmm...yes, that wouldSo where can you go? There are literally
be...nice!". Anyone who has been camping with twohundreds of places. If you want the established
(or more) energetic children would perhaps knowcamping parks, you'll find one in every major
what she was thinking.town in the south west. The price will depend on
But there was no time for that now, we hadthe season and whether you want power or not.
things to do. We got out the maps and decidedOr if you're after something a little less formal,
where we wanted to go. On this particularwe've found a couple of resources that offer
occasion we decided to try a little spot on theloads of information. First, get yourself some
Blackwood river between Balingup and Nannup.maps of the south west. On most of these maps
We packed the car to it's absolute limit with all ouryou'll find all the camping spots. The second
required gear and set off. Even the dog wasresource is a fantastic book by Steve and Sue
excited.Collis called "The Guide To Free-Camping in the
There are countless places to camp in the southSouth West of WA". It contains over 115 spots
west of Western Australia. And where you goto camp or picnic around the south west.
depends on many factors including what time ofCamping is something that people always
year it is, what kind of scenery you want, howremember. Especially the kids. Here's some advice
far you want to travel, and your budget.though - particularly for parents. You WILL forget
At one end of the scale you've got thethings and have some minor dramas during your
established caravan parks where you can have atrip. If you don't accept that from the beginning,
nice shady grassed area, with power if you don'tyou're likely to get frustrated. You need to go
mind, where you can camp along side all the othercamping with the expectation that you will run into
people and you have hot running water, flushingminor "challenges" during your trip. That way,
toilets, and a laundry. This kind of camping has it'swhen you realize that you forgot the can opener,
moments, and is often good when you're campingor you find that your daughter has used all the
with friends, or have young children, or areband aids within 10 minutes of arriving, you can
staying for more than a day or two.take it all in your stride without blowing a fuse. For
At the other end of the scale is the type ofus on our recent trip, it was realizing that what
camping my dad used to teach me. Find a nicewe thought was my son's air mattress was
forest somewhere, preferably near a river, andactually a blow up sofa chair. We spent about 5
set up camp in the bush for a night or two. Thisminutes working out how we could still all have a
kind of camping will leave you dirty, and withoutcomfortable sleep, and then it was discussed no
the creature comforts of home, but gee it's fun.more.
The kids will love the campfire, the bush, theSo what are you waiting for? Clean air, wildlife and
wildlife, and jumping in the river. To me there'srelaxing times all await you.