MARS Enthusiasts 2019 NSW Camping Muster

We’re back from Carrathool after attending the 2019 NSW Camping Muster with the MARS Enthusiasts Facebook group. This time at Pinkers Beach near Carrathool NSW on the mighty Murrumbidgee River. Amanda and I love this group.

Pinkies or Pinkers Beach Carrathool NSW

We Donated to Buy a Bale

Sean and Laura decided to do something different with prizes this year and that was to do a raffle and donate all proceeds to “Buy a Bale” to which on the night $270 was raised. This was a huge effort by all and it is something we should 100% do again.

Saturday nights dinner was camp oven roast and veggies with salads and also some home made desserts. There was a small army of helpers cutting veggies and wrapping trays and also deserts where made Amanda Sloane and Suzi Pallett. We were also treated to some tunes from Muster legend Spikey Singline who bought up all his PA and guitars and sang for us all. Spikey goes good!

MARS Enthusiasts NSW Muster 2019 Camp Oven Cook Up

Plenty of Firewood

We were all kept warm by the wood cutting crew. We cut some of the biggest logs we’ve ever seen on a camp fire ever. Mark was the absolute standout in this regard, dragging back what was almost half of a complete gum tree chained up behind his ute.

Camping Muster Pub Lunch

Sunday came and most of us decided to go and help the local Carrathool Hotel by having lunch their. This was a Muster first as we normally all stay on site and this was a great way of getting out and about and doing something different. This was a terrific idea and one we should definitely do it again.

Family Hotel at Carrathool NSW

Sunday night and something that started at National 2018 was a slap together meal with what ever we had left over and we all just picked at it. It was a bloody ripper meal and thanks go out to all that made something. My personal favourite was the curried sausages made by Leanne.

Learn How to Bush & Remote Camp In The Safety of a Group?

One thing I see posted a lot on social media groups is people asking if there are groups that they can get together with to go camping. I also see a lot of questions being asked about what it’s like to go to free camping places and how you go about doing it, is there a group they can join to get started.

The answer to both questions is yes. We have been a part of a Facebook Group called MARS Enthusiasts for about three years now and we have been camping with them on three occasions to official “Musters” and a few times to unofficial group gatherings as well as camping with individual families from the group. Each time it’s been at awesome free camping destinations.

Visit the MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group

2019 MARS National Muster At The Dig Tree

People in the group cover all demographics, old, young, inbetween, some with kids, some with pets, some no kids, some have dogs, some don’t have dogs, pretty much everyone you could imagine, Some people in the group have been camping for over 40 years, some are just beginning their camping “careers”. Some people prefer to go to their local caravan park, others like to get out on road trips to iconic destinations such as Uluru, Cape York, Cameron Corner, Gibb River Road, Birdsville. You name it and somebody in the group will have been there and can answer any questions you might have about getting there and what do do after you’ve arrived.

2019 MARS Enthusiasts National Muster Camped at Aboriginal Camp Tibooburra NSW

Members of the MARS Enthusiasts group are mostly owners of MARS Camper Trailers however this is beginning to change. There are now a fair few caravan owners in the group (us included) and everyone is welcome to join. All they ask of you is that you be willing to share tips, tricks, help with ideas for mods to gear, camp cooking ideas and stuff like that. Everyone has a different skill set, there’s always something you can help out with, you’ll probably surprise yourself!

So join the MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group and have a go!

Past MARS Enthusiasts Muster Locations

South Australian Muster 2020 @ Black Cockatoo Bush Camp (Naracoorte, SA)
Victorian Mars Muster 2019 @ Moonambel (Moonambel, VIC)
National Muster 2019 @ The Dig Tree (Coopers Creek, QLD) & Various other locations
QLD Muster 2019 @ Jondarayan Woolshed (Jondarayan, QLD)
NSW Muster 2019 @ Pinkies Beach (Carrathool, NSW)
South Australian Muster 2019 @ Lakeside Campground (Caurnmount, SA)
Victorian Muster 2018 @ Taylors Campground (Lake Eildon, VIC)
National Muster 2018 @ Burke & Wills Campground (Menindee, NSW)
Queensland Muster 2018 @ Queen Mary Falls (Kilarney, QLD)
NSW Muster 2018 @ Billy Grace Reserve (Wee Jasper, NSW)
South Australian Muster 2018 @ Lakeside Campground (Caurnmount SA)
New Years Eve 2018 Catch-up @ Blue Gum Flat Campground (Lake Eildon)
National Muster 2017 @ Jemalong Weir (Forbes NSW)
Victorian Muster 2017 @ Glendinning Campground (Rocklands VIC)

Visit the MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group

Wingello State Forest Free Camping For The Weekend

Wingello State Forest is only about an hour from where we live in Southwest Sydney so we often spend the weekend in Wingello State Forest free camping. As with all NSW State Forests it is dog friendly. If you are in to mountain bike riding then this is a great place for you. There are many marked mountain bike trails throughout Wingello State Forest. Many mountain biking clubs use Wingello State Forest for events.

There’s a main campground area in Wingello State Forest with drop toilets and we have camped there before. You can fit about a dozen vans/tents in there. It gets jam packed on weekends near Christmas and also over any public holiday weekends. If you’re a bit more adventurous like us there are at least half a dozen really good sites out in the forest itself where we are this weekend. If you are really adventurous (like us) and don’t mind getting your vehicle in to low range there are even more great sites down some little tracks.

Dog Friendly Free Camping Wingello State Forest Two Hours From Sydney

Wingello State Forest is only about an hour from where we live in Southwest Sydney. Distance wise it’s about 70 kilometres for us, plus whatever you need to add for getting to your camping spot out in the forest.

As with all NSW State Forests it is dog friendly. There is no drinking water available so you have to bring your own. Fires are allowed but with restrictions and only at certain times of the year. State Forest Rangers patrol the area.

Free Camping Wingello State Forest Sunset View

If you are in to mountain bike riding then this is a great place for you. There are many marked mountain bike trails throughout Wingello State Forest. Many mountain biking clubs use Wingello State Forest for events.

One last thing to keep in mind. Wingello State Forest is an actively logged area. Logging operations take place almost all year round so pay attention to logging trucks in the area when driving through the forest.

Camp Site Location

Camping By The River And Just Doing Nothing

A relaxing day camping by the river, enjoying homemade damper, exploring the area and appreciating simple outdoor moments. I got up early and got the fire cranking so we would have some coals to make a damper. Was a bit of a cool start to the day but be we were nice and warm overnight in the van. I don’t really get why people fit diesel heaters etc, we’ve had plenty of nights around zero and below and all you need are some warm clothes and a decent quilt. Was the same when in the old camper trailer.

Camping By The River Some Firewood Collected

Anyway, Amanda made us up some nice mini dampers in the camp oven. Normally we just do one big one but this morning she made up smaller bread roll size jobbies. They were very nice.

Exploring The Area While Camping By The River At Happy Valley Landing

We were camping by the river at Happy Valley Landing campsite on the Murray River near Robinvale. I went for a bit of a walk around the area we were camping in and found quite a few other nice spots. One of them even has a nice smooth walk down the bank of the river to a sandy beach. The track at that point had a tree fallen across it however you could clear that out of the way easily enough with a chainsaw and towing strap. Another spot had a massive old tree in the middle and then a circular track around it, could get maybe half a dozen vans all camped around the tree with your fire off to the side. It’d be excellent for a small group.

Mini Dampers In The Camp Oven

We just sort of sat around all day reading books and had another go at playing UNO. I got the chainsaw out and cut us up some more firewood. I also cut up a fair whack more to take home with us to use at the NSW Muster we are going to on the June long weekend with the Martian Enthusiasts Camper Trailer Group we are a part of.

Happy Valley Landing On The Murray River

All up it was a really relaxing day. Amanda and I love doing outback touring type trips but we have also rediscovered just how nice it can be to be camping by the river with a fire going and just doing nothing. It’d be great if we can do a bit more of this type of thing in the future.

Free Camping Near Robinvale On The Murray River

Free camping near Robinvale at Happy Valley Landing on the Murray River. It’s a nice, quiet secluded spot. I found it on WikiCamps not that far from Robinvale VIC. I’m not going to tell you the name of it or exactly where it is suffice to say it’s on WikiCamps. You can look it up for yourself.

It’s such an awesomely great spot that I’m not going to plaster it’s precise location all over the interwebs. Otherwise the nice quiet secluded spot could be overrun with people. Running generators 24/7 and blasting about on their quad bikes scaring the sheep. Send me an email if you are interested and I will give you the exact location.

Happy Valley Landing On The Murray River Near Robinvale VIC

From Berri To Robinvale

We drove through from Berri to near Robinvale in VIC, the roads were excellent. Most of the way we were on B and C roads so traffic was at a minimum. Mostly local trucks and a few cars travelling between small regional towns. If you don’t know the difference between what the M, A, B and C classifications for example “C727” mean for roads within Australia it’s worth your time to look it up. WikiCamps has a good explanation of it here. It can help you assess the quality of road and the amount of traffic you are going to encounter. All of the states we have been in use a similar system.

Free Camping Near Robinvale On Murray River

The track in is a bit tricky. It’s not too bad but you definitely need a 4×4 and an offroad camper trailer or SMALL high clearance offroad van to get in to it. No it isn’t suitable for on road vans. Same goes for semi-offroad vans, motorhomes or big rigs and you can forget bringing in your 5th wheeler. It’s quite sandy in patches with some fairly tight turns and some humps and hollows to climb up over or through. It’s really 100% guaranteed your effort if you can get in there though. At a few places the track forks off and it’d be worth your effort to get out and go for a walk down them to assess their suitability. All up I reckon there are about a dozen spots all spaced well well from each other along the track.

Awesome Spot To Get The Camp Oven Out

And there is heaps and heaps of deadfall firewood lying about for you to cut up. There’s literally more than you could poke a stick at. After setting up camp we got the fire going and sat around all afternoon reading or books and playing UNO, it was very relaxing. Just before dark a big mob of sheep wandered down the bank for a drink on the other side of the river. They were the only other things we saw all day, very peaceful.

Lamb Shanks In The Camp Oven

For dinner we cooked some lamb shanks in the camp oven and they were absolute monsters, the biggest lamb shanks I have ever seen. They were absolutely beautiful. Later in the evening while sitting by the fire and having a drink Graciee got all stirred up about something – scared shitless would probably be a more accurate description. Turns out it was an echidna that had wandered in to camp for a bit of a poke around.