Thoughts on Campsites

Being non-campers, non-caravanners, and non-4WDers, we didn't really know what to expect at campsites.

First of all, there is the power/no power dimension. Since our rented Apollo campervan has a 240v power inlet, getting a powered site is important for convenience, but knowing where we were going, we did not expect powered sites to be common. The briefing where we rented the vehicle spooked us a little, because young Brett warned us that the van engine would not charge the "house" battery, which runs the fridge, very well, and we should use a powered site after 2 or 3 days. Well, we went 7 nights in a row without a powered site, and frankly, the house battery and van fridge held up quite well. We guess the good mileage we did many days helped the battery recover quite well.

Commercial campsites in towns tend to be powered, but the really attractive national park and wilderness sites (El Questro, Bell Gorge, Windjana Gorge) never do, and neither did the campground at Mt Elizabeth Station. We had powered site at Victoria River Roadhouse. Unpowered sites sometimes manage noise, by specifying times that generators can be used (for those who have them, e.g. El Questro) or by dividing the campground into "quiet" and "generators" areas (Windjana Gorge).

Some campsites allocate spots, others do not. With a motorhome as we have, non-allocated sites can be a problem, because you can't really leave anything behind to maintain a claim on a good site. Generally, with non-allocated sites, it's a first in best dressed approach, but this works fine if the camping area is not too crowded. We managed to get the same good spot two nights in a row at Windjana Gorge. At Wyndham, the powered sites were laid out with kerb and guttering, but the manager there lets you go and choose the site you like (and he cooks you Barra and chips for dinner too, if you like).

Allocated sites are booked out like motel rooms at most commercial town campgrounds, you get a site number, and you can freely drive in and out of that site. Trouble is, the commercial campgrounds tend to have small sites, close together, just like our friend Jack said he experienced in New Zealand. We actually paid for a site on the lake in Kununurra, and abandoned it because it was so crowded, and moved on to the next town, Wyndham, for a much more relaxed location. A tag system was used for the few private sites (about 12) at Bell Gorge, and we were very lucky to get one. We drove in at about 4pm and caught a lady returning her tag to the board. This was a miracle! They must have changed their minds about staying overnight, because the tags are put out at 7:00am, and are usually all gone soon after. We were also lucky at El Questro, although we orchestrated that luck by following advice and arriving there at about 9:30am. The site "Wren" we got was fantastic, highly recommended to anyone.

Most campsites we have stayed at have hot showers. Some, like El Questro's, are 2km down the road from our private campsite. But at Bell Gorge, the showers were 10km down the road from the private sites. And at Windjana Gorge, the showers were cold water only, but it was so hot there, that a cooling shower was very appropriate. Some campers don't like cold showers - we saw one guy rig up a heat exchanger and pump to warm up water real time for his wife, and others used solar heated hot water.

We have been very impressed with the quality of the toilets we have found. You expect clean flushing toilets at commercial sites, but we also found these at really remote places like Bell Gorge and Windjana Gorge. At El Questro, there was an "Eco-Loo" near our private site which was a high tech above ground modern looking contraption using no water, but was clean and odour free. We have been warned not to expect any such luxury in the Bungle Bungles when we get there!