1484 Noosa Rd.
Tandur, QLD.
April, 2014
Mr and Mrs M.
We'd been trying to get away for some camping for a couple of months and finally found some time at the end of April, which is really as late into autumn as this cold frog would want to go! It was our first time trying a privately owned camping ground, rather than a national park, and while there were a lot of differences, overall we had a great time and loved all the extras that come with private places. Uncle C and Aunty F came with us again, as did Missy and Boyo of course.
It was Anzac day weekend, and while we arrived on Thursday afternoon to many campers spread throughout the huge property, by Saturday it was very busy everywhere. Mr M and I are the kind of campers who love to go mid-week if we can (which is rare), for the peace and quiet. However, with so much space everywhere, it really wasn't a bother at all. We were on one side of the property with a huge expanse of grass in front of us where a lot of the children played, so we still had a lot of space to ourselves.
Our first night was very cold, but as Gympie is only 15mins away Mr M and Uncle C were able to make a short trip for a blanket and a couple of extra supplies! Reception does sell a few basic items, such as water, marshmallows and iceblocks. They also sell firewood, $15 for a big 20kg bag, and have the swap n go gas tanks.
As I said, the property is really big. We walked around and explored the place and came across quite a few different areas tucked away where a large groups of campers could set up. There is a fantastic day use area that has a huge shelter which holds a big camp kitchen, able to be used by a few different families at once, and long tables and bench seats. Next to the shelter is good access to the creek for those with kayaks, canoes, tires, or those wanting to swim. The creek has a clay bottom, so the water looks very muddy and brown, but that didn't seem to bother the many children we saw playing in it. Missy convinced Uncle C and Daddy to get in with her, and Boyo paddled at the edge. The creek gets deep very quickly, so make sure young children are with an adult!
The other way to access the creek is from the opposite side. As you follow the main drive through the property, it crosses the creek at a dry point. There are many campsites up along the creek here, but keep in mind you will have to walk back across the creek to reach the toilets and showers if you want to use them. While we were visiting the creek was still gorged from recent rains, so looked pretty muddy and messy. But it only seemed to turn off the grown-ups, many children spent the whole day playing there. The owners have a couple of kayaks and tire tubes for public use, but they are limited in number and very popular.
The owners also have a collection of old bikes and go-carts for public use, and many children could be seen riding round the property on these. Boyo had one of the go-carts down at our campsite and used it as his racing-fire-engine-ambulance-rescue-car. The other great attraction for the children were two flying foxes set up on the large area of grass that we camped beside. One had a saddle as the seat, and the other was wrapped tightly with what looked like carpet and duct tape, though it looked like it had also had a saddle at some point. Our children absolutely loved these, as did many others, including the group of teenagers camping nearby.
One of our favourite features of this place was the block of hot showers! There was some coordination required in making sure our clean feet and PJ's didn't touch the wet floor once we were done, but the lovely hot shower was so worth it. Previously we've set up our own shower, and we enjoyed having this convenience done for us. We saw two toilet blocks while we were there, each containing four toilets of the eco-friendly kind. I don't really like those sort of toilets, but I was very impressed with these ones. Even though it was just a pit, with no flushing system of any sort, there was no smell at all (until Sunday, when they'd put up with a very busy long weekend), and the owners kept them very clean.
Beside the shower block is another sheltered camp kitchen, with two gas BBQ's, a single burner with kettle, a double sink, hot and cold drinking water, washing up liquid and cloths, and a variety of cookware, dinnerware and utensils for public use. We made the short walk up here twice a day to wash and dry our dishes. It also features a big table and bench seat for extra space.
The thing we missed most while we were here were the sounds of the birds we usually hear in the national parks. Bell birds, whip birds, the typical sounds of camping for us... they were replaced with cockatoos and magpies (also very lovely), and some others like noisy miners and butcher birds, and crows. Also lacking were the lace monitors, bush turkeys and possums. Not that we missed those particularly, it was actually nice to not have to worry about our rubbish (which we left out overnight) or pantry food getting broken open.
The 'wildlife' we did see included a few horses (one by the name of George, who apparently has a habit of getting out of his enclosure and finding popularity with the children), one very friendly cat, a resident caged bird up at reception by the name of Louie, and some dogs. Cobb & Co is a dog-friendly campground. We were unsure how nice this would be (expectation: inquisitive dogs, barking, jumping up at our small children, barking, wet dogs getting too friendly, barking.... can you tell we're not exactly dog people?). But I have to say that we barely even noticed that any dogs were there. They seemed to keep to their own campsites/families, and I can't remember hearing any barking at all. The owners also have a dog that came to greet us when we arrived, but it was in no way pushy or intrusive, and stayed with its owners. There was one exception however, with a dog from a neighbouring campsite. He was very (too) interested in our campsite and had a keen nose for anytime we were about to prepare food, or happened to have dropped some food on the ground. His owners were paying him little attention and usually didn't even realise he was visiting us until we brought him back. After asking them to keep their dog tied up (we were trying to cook) they watched him more closely and we had no trouble. Clearly this was the exception to what was actually a pleasant experience of a dog friendly campground.
Unpowered campsite rates:
- $12 per person per night
- $7 per child per night
Facilities:
- Hot showers, no charge
- Clean eco-friendly toilets
- One fully-equipped camp kitchen: two BBQ's, one burner, a double sink
- One very large camp kitchen: two sets of BBQ's and double sinks
- Water taps at camp kitchens only - BYO drinking water
- Fire rings at each campsite
- Firewood to buy: $15/20kg bag
- Swap 'n Go gas tanks
- Kiosk selling marshmallows, soft drinks, water, iceblocks
- Limited number of public use kayaks and tire tubes for the creek
- Free loan of the many bikes and go-carts there
- Two flying foxes
- Swings, and two seesaws (the seesaws are currently broken)
- Small stage set into a half shed
- Generators are not allowed
- Bins available
- Creek for swimming, clay bottom so expect brown water
- A very large property, providing ample walking and activity space
- Assigned camping sites (flexibility to choose your own once you arrive so long as you let them know)
- As with all privately owned campgrounds, reasonable rules apply and are expected to be adhered to. Cobb & Co state that one warning will apply before police will be called upon (we find this a reassuring aspect that can't be applied in national park settings).
