More families are choosing NSW for a camping holiday

More than 701,000 families are likely to take a camping trip in NSW in 2017, choosing the State’s picture-perfect campgrounds for a memorable family holiday.*

10 January 2017

Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said, “Families love camping in NSW. There are thousands of camping spots in impressive locations across the state that will suit every family’s camping style, from all-encompassing holiday parks with pools, jumping pillows and bike tracks, to back-to-nature beachside camping spots.”

“For many families a camping trip is about reconnecting, getting away from technology and enjoying quality time together. Choosing the right camping spot is the first step to having a wonderful and memorable family holiday together.”

Holiday Park owners and Tourism Hall of Fame recipient, Lynda White from Big 4 Deniliquin said, “Camping holidays give families the chance to get back to nature and enjoy being active and adventurous”.

“At Big 4 Deniliquin there is a community where all the kids play together and families have fun water skiing, fishing, canoeing, swimming and spending much needed quality time together.”

Here are some tips for a memorable family camping trip in NSW:

Glampers or bush campers

If you don’t have all the gear, you can still go camping. There are plenty of campsites that hire canvas safari tents already set-up with beds, camp chairs and everything else you will need. Many holiday parks provide camp kitchens and free BBQs, as well as hire out surf boards, kayaks, bikes and stand up paddle boards.

Ocean Beach Holiday Park at Umina on the Central Coast has safari style tents with all the added luxuries – real beds, fridge and your own BBQ. The park also hires out electric bikes. While beachfront safari tents at Tathra Beachside on the edge of the sand comfortably fit a family of four and include a private ensuite.

At Durras North Holiday Park the ‘Canvas Kingdom’ includes a two room tent, stretcher beds, picnic table and chairs, and best of all your own private camp fire. The holiday park also rents out kayaks, surfboards and surfoplanes.

Camping doesn’t mean you have to rough it

Holidays parks come in all shapes and sizes. From basic bush camp sites where you bring everything and get back to basics, to all-encompassing holiday parks with modern cabins and glamping tents, ensuites and lots of kid friendly activities – jumping pillows, water play parks and swimming pools. Choose the camping experience you think your family will love the most.

Australian Tourism Award winner in 2015 and recently inducted into the NSW Tourism Awards Hall of Fame in 2016, BIG4 Deniliquin Holiday Park in the Murray Riverina is all encompassing. Located on the bank of the Edward River, the park has 400m of grassed riverfront in a peaceful bush setting. The park has something to offer the whole family – water skiing, slalom course, boat ramp, fishing, giant jumping pillow, go-karts, playground, basketball and tennis courts, mini golf, camp kitchen, BBQs, solar heated resort pool and water splash park, and Pontoon Hire Boat.

At the other end of the spectrum is Euroka campground in the Blue Mountains National Park. This superb bush camp surrounded by majestic eucalyptus trees and popular for kangaroos, is just a stone’s throw from the Nepean River and features only picnic tables, BBQs and toilets.

At Copeton Waters, near Inverell, you can camp amongst native bushland on the edge of the lake. Cabins and powered sites are available, as well as an unlimited number of rustic bush campsites set within 900has of bushland. So pack the marshmallows and enjoy camping out under starry skies.

Kids go wild for wildlife

Camping is all about the experiences you have together as a family. Bush campsites let you camp amongst kangaroos, wombats and possums, and spend your days hiking and mountains biking and nights wildlife spotting. While camping by the coast and inland waterways lets you enjoy fishing, kayaking and swimming.

Share your campsite with wombats and peacocks at North Nowra Riverfront Caravan Park on the South Coast. While at Pebbly Beach, near Batemans Bay, camp by the ocean surrounded by kangaroos grazing around the tents and on the beach.

Enjoy spotting resident koalas and yellow-tailed black cockatoos at Kylies Beach campground at Crowdy Bay National Park near Port Macquarie is a peaceful beachside campground.

Pitch you tent amongst the kangaroos and enjoy spotting King Parrots at Lake Burrinjuck in Southern NSW, an unspoilt Australian bush campsite on the Southern escarpment of Mount Barren great for fishing, canoeing and hiking sections of the Hume and Hovell walking track.

Location, location, location

The beauty about NSW campsites, they are all in amazing locations. You can choose to be beachside, by the river or surrounded by national parks – your holiday is literally on your door step.

Enjoy spectacular views from your tent at the award winning Merimbula Beach Holiday Park on the far South Coast which offers clifftop campsites and five star ocean view beach houses. Enjoy stunning views of the sea and spray misting on your tent all night long at the clifftop campsites at North Coast Holiday Park Bonny Hills near Port Macquarie and Boorkoom Campground in Yuraygir National Park near Grafton.

For more on caravan and camping in NSW visit - http://www.visitnsw.com/things-to-do/caravan-and-camping

Share your favourite NSW camping spot with us on social media by using the hashtag #NewSouthWales. For more information visit www.sydney.com and www.visitnsw.com

*NSW received 2.4 million domestic caravan and camping visitors in the year ending September 2016, of which 700,000 were family groups. This was a 21% increase from year ending September 2015, when NSW received 577,000 domestic family groups taking a caravan and camping holiday.

NSW received 38% of all domestic family groups taking a caravan and camping trip in Australia in the year ending September 2016.

(Source: National Visitor Survey YE September 2016).