Camping in New South Wales, Australia

After Queensland, our Road Trip in Australia led us to the New South Wales. From North to South we discovered this state of beauty to finally reach our final destination Sydney. We already regret our beautiful days in Queensland. But we don’t know yet what New South Wales is hiding for us, some incredible, beautiful and amazing surprises.

We got the chance to meet a lovely Australian lady, who was travelling around the state of New South Wales for almost 6 months. She gave us all the good spots to see and visit in this state. I asked her for the 2 best spots she would recommend and gave me more than what I was expecting. We spent 2 hours talking and exchanging about our experiences and she gave me all the great spots to discover from the Australian point of view.

In total, we spent 10 days travelling around New South Wales for free (apart food, our camper van and fuel), some were more loaded that others but we always took time to relax and enjoy the beauty of Australia.

If you want to discover New South Wales Coast side off the beaten tracks, read and follow our itinerary. 

Nimbin

Nice road leading to this small town if you are driving from north to south.
Stop there to discover the rain forest and its wild life if you are lucky to have a sunny day.
This is the hippie Capital of Australia, for us it is apprentice hippies but worth a stop.
Unfortunately we were there on a rainy day, the road was dangerous and slippery.
Our first day in New South Wales was not the easiest we had while camping in Australia, we call this king of days « Mud Day ».Check out our post about our day in Nimbin here.

Byron Bay

Don’t miss the light house and if you are there in the right season you can chill more and enjoy the  Dolphins and Wales from the eastern point of Australia.
From the light house,there is a walk down leading to a beautiful view. One last thing, going up the light house in also free!
Camping: We ended up in a nice camping north of Byron Bay, since it’s the only free one in the area, it was crowded.  check it out on the « Wikicamps » App …
Walk around the city streets, enjoy the beautiful and colorful streets full of cute cafes and chic restaurants. (it was a bit pricy)

Lennox Head

We originally stopped there to check out the famous look out but we ended loving more the lake side of Ainsworth Lake.
It’s Gorgeous lake 2 meters away from the beach, the picnic area is wonderful, you can meet local people with their kayaks and their paddle boards and if you ask, they will definitely borrow it to you for free.
We enjoyed our picnic lunch and paddling in the lake.

Yamba —Angourie

For adventure lovers, the place is really worth the stay. There are 3, 7, 10 and 13 meters cliff jump into natural colored pools and ropes to swing into the water.
It is a beautiful Spot, camping is awesome here but sometimes rangers can be piky.

Coffs Harbour

The only think we saw at Coff’s Harbour is the SkyPier. A look out overlooking the entire city and the surrounding sea and mountains. If you are not willing to stop by Coffs Harbour, it is a great spot to stop for breakfast or a drive break, use the toilet and enjoy the view :D. Of course it is free.

South West Rocks Area

• Arakoon Beach is a hidden beach located in a immense bay, we had lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing there. The sunset was breath taking. It is one of our favorite spots in New South Wales.

Tip: Enjoy for free the wild life around the camping, wild kangourous are everywhere, even behind the bars of an old jail!

• The South west Rock, is one of the most beautiful places we camped in. The morning view that you get when you wake up is worth a million dollars.

Tips: The camping is not allowed in the 1st parking lot but you can camp in the rear (2nd parking) (no camping sign). The ranger came to check but did not say anything. Check out our article about this magical camping night.

• Smoky Cape is a light house that offers beautiful views and you can spot whales passing by the shore from the top. The Captain Cook Look out is stunning.

 

Port Macquarie

If you want to see Koalas for free you can stop by the Koala Hospital. Worth the visit. If you are willing to go or to stop by Newcastle (further south), the reserve there is even better, but it is just my opinion 😀 The souvenir shop prices are cheaper compared to other shops and are donated to the Koala hospital.

Diamond Head

One of the most relaxing camp grounds in New South Wales. The Head is WOW and the beach is huge. We loved our day is this campground located in the Crowdy National Park. (20$ for a night in the camping)
For trekking, we did one of the most scenic and panoramic walks departing from the Dimaond Head campground. It has unforgettable cliff top views.
Tips: If you want to be surprised by resident wild Kangourous, this is the place to be. They are friendly animals.

Forster City

Great lakes, beautiful « day use » in front of the tourist center ( check it on « wiki camps » app).
We did not stop here and wanted to discover the Great Lakes, we regret it a bit because we did not enjoy the great lakes that much as they are huge.
Stop for lunch here and enjoy the cristal clear water.

Seal Rocks

This  small picturesque fishing village has many things to offer. First, it has a beautiful Look out (around the lakes), we hikked up to the light house to get an amazing view on the many beaches of this area.
Its beaches are WOW, if you want to spent an afternoon relaxing and enjoying great view, this is the place to be. We fall in love with this little village.

Port Stephens (Nelson Bay)

Enter this bay and you will be surrounded by water anywhere you go, so make sure you get a map or a GPS before or you will be driving in circles for a while :D. My husband got lost several times but it was funny.

• Gan Gan Look out, is the perfect spot to try to understand the immensity of Nelson Bay and its surroundings. It is crazy to see the beauty and complexity of this bay… Gan Gan Lookout is also a good spot to see the giant flowers , Gymea Lilies (Spring is the best season to spot them).
• Worimi Conservation Area / Anna Bay: You are in the city and a second later you get to a desert of sand. We were definetly not expecting it at all and when we reached we were blown away.
  Around Anna Bay starts the WORIMI Conversation Area, the desert of sand dunes (nothing compared to the Moroccan desert but it is definitely worth a stop if you are at Port Stephans, tours are organized very day in the Dunes.

Tip: wake up in Anna Bay in the middle of the Dunes of the Worimi Conservation Center, we parked our camper van « Flitzi » in the lower level of the Anna Bay day use area and spent the night in the middle of the desert for FREE (check it out on WikiCamps App).

• Tomaree National Park, hugs in the coastline in section between Shoal Bay and Anna Bay, this 30 minutes treck to the top of the mount, is 1000% worth it. Walking trail will take you to breathtaking views. For better view, take your binocular with you, especially when whales are migrating. Check the pictures (Always better when it’s sunny and of course good spot for sunset pictures). At the top of the Tomaree Head, get one of the most panoramic view « we saw » until today and in the New South Wales. We met kids, elders doing it, so do not stop your self from going up.

• For wine and Oyster lovers there are plenty of oyster farms and winery in the region… The hinter lands are a well know area for wine and it has beautiful settings. We did not have enough time to go but it is definitely recommended by all travelers that we met in the New South Wales.
• If you are willing to spend more time here, you can do a dolphin and whale watching cruise. We really wanted to swim with dolphins but the prices were way too expensive.

Newcastle

We had lunch in Newcastel in a lovely park and Went for a walk on the seaside. The scenery is not as beautiful as the North New South Wales. It is always good to chill around and walk. there has swimming pools in front that looks like Miami pool in Casablanca (nothing spectacular)… It is a nice city for a quick stop…

Lake Macquarie

Before reaching to Port Macquarie, we heard that it was so big that you do not get its beauty and immensity.
Well, maybe they were right, but we reach this magical place at sunset time and YES, It was the most beautiful sunset we saw in the New South Wales. Take you camera, sit in the bench of the pier, where fisher men and locals meet, relax and enjoy the view. 

Sydney 

The last but not the least is definitely our favorite big city in the world. If you ask us today, where would we like to live, the answer is SYDNEY. We fall in love with this city as it is cool, easy to live and also full of wildlife and nature. When you live in Sydney, you consider the Week End as holidays because you do not need more than 5 minutes drive to be in a completely different landscape.Check out our article about Sydney for Free or Cheap…

Best Spots In New South Wales:

• Our best spots in New South Wales for camping, the Worimi Conservation Area, New South Rocks (2nd parking Lot) and Diamond Head campground.
• Our best spots in New South Wales for beaches, it definitely Arakoon  Beach and Seal Rocks Beach.
• Best spots in New South Wales for Whales watching, Smoky Cape, South West Rocks. The most crowded one Byron Bay.
• Our best spots in New South Wales for sunset, Lake Macquarie and Arakoon Beach
• Our best spots in New South Wales for picnic break, Forster Day use area, Ainsworth Lake day use area.
• Best spots in New South Wales for adventures,  Angourie day use Area (Check it on wiki camp application)

Australia, you have been amazing, hope we will be back soon.

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JerryPeps by AGBackpackers.com