MARS Enthusiasts 2019 NSW Camping Muster

by David Sloane | Jun 10, 2019 | MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group

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?

by David Sloane | Mar 12, 2019 | MARS Enthusiasts Facebook Group

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

by David Sloane | Dec 7, 2018 | Our Travel Blog, Weekend Camping Trips

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

Free Camping Near Robinvale On The Murray River

by David Sloane | May 16, 2018 | Cameron Corner & Farina

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.

Yadboro Flat Free Camp

by David Sloane | Dec 10, 2017 | Bushwalking, Day Trips

Yadboro Flat Free Camp

Yadboro Flat free Camp is inland from Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast. It’s approximately 200ks from where we used to live in South West Sydney, about 3 hours driving time. From Sydney it’s about 260ks or 3hours 45 minutes driving time. There is plenty of room in there for a heap of trailers along the back fence. In addition there are plenty of spots available in the middle and along the creek.

We drove down to Yadboro Flat to have a look at the free camp. A potential spot for a NSW State Muster with the Mars Enthusiasts Facebook Group.

Free Camping At Yadboro Flat

Being a free camp I can see this place getting absolutely packed out at peak times such as Christmas and Easter. However the good new is it’s a free camping area and dogs are allowed.

Yadboro Flat Heaps of Room Along Back Fence

The road in is a bit rough but we could get the van in there no problem at all so long as it was dry. Motorhomes and normal onroad vans need not apply. It would be a lot more difficult if not impossible in the wet. It’s 20ks of typical state forest logging trail with a few corrugated stretches and washed out bits either side of timber bridges. If you’re careful getting off and on to the bridges they pose no problem. Hit one at speed and you’ll be calling for a tow truck.

Yadboro Flat Road In

Facilities are limited. There are a couple of composting toilets and that’s it. Make sure you bring your own drinking water as none is provided. Fires are allowed but I am guessing they’d only be permitted at certain times of the year.

Yadboro Flat Composting Toilets

For the self contained camper suitably equipped to get in to Yadboro Flat it’s a great free camping spot. We will come back and camp here for sure, most likely during the winter months when I anticipate it being a lot quieter.