AROUND-OZ MOTORHOMES

This quietly hidden haven is 7km north of Coopernook, which, in turn, is 91 kms south of Kempsey or 28 kms north of Taree and 13 kms from Lansdowne. So if you're heading from Brisbane, watch out for a sign on the left hand side giving all these mileages at a T intersection with Forest Road on the right hand side. If you are coming from the south pass through Moorland and it's only a coupe of kms ahead. Now just why are we giving you such specific directions? Easy - we goy hopelessly lost on our first visit and actually traveled 32 kms from the highway, arriving in the dark - but it was a lovely scenic trip! We used the Camps Australia Wide book, but Phil please fix up the directions old son! On our second visit we noticed a family following us. It appears that they tooooooo had done the grand tour of the forest. Apart from being an ideal overnight stop for those travelling along the Pacific Highway this is a great spot to rest a few days and recharge as it is wonderful for bike riding, walking and forest driving - it even has a waterfall. There is a treasure trove of information in the little covered hut.

New South Wales Forestry certainly leads the way in Australia at present, and truly deserve accolades of praise for their efforts, as they actively encourage free camping in any forest and the facilities in some rival those found in National Parks. This is an enormous help to those travelling on the pension for instance. We met a couple who traveled from the Victorian border to the Queensland border staying only in State Forests with their two dogs. Not a bad effort! We stay in them simply because we love the total peace and tranquility. Please tell the rangers how much you appreciate their efforts.

So back to our "foolproof instructions" which incidentally have been checked! At the turnoff 1.1 kms inwards you will see a sign saying Coopernook State Forest on the left. At 1.4 kms the road changes from bitumen to dirt. Continue inwards till at 2.8 kms you see a sign saying Forest Headquarters and picnic area stay on the left hand side of the Y intersection. The road is very slightly corrugated at this point and we would give it a 3 out of 5 rating. At 3.2 kms you will go over a small wooden bridge and at 4.2 kms you come across a large mown grassy paddock, complete with two covered tables and benches, BBQ facilities and even flush toilets. There is tank water as a bonus. There is more fresh water behind the rangers house.

Best of all, as with all state forests in New South Wales, it is FREE! So the Rex brigade can run and chase a ball to their heart's content. We stayed both on the way south and north and both times there was only one or two other camping families - must save heaps when you have several children.

A word of warning we arrived at dusk on both occasions (hence the darkish piccies) and found the mozzie population absolutely delighted with the prospect of having us for their dinner. Wood is supplied, but neither we or the other campers lit a fire bearing in mind the recent Christmas 2001 bushfires. The cool afternoon breezes were most welcome. The rangers residence is nearby, but we didn't see any sign of action - we must have been behaving. Rubbish bins are provided, but we took our rubbish out with us.

Tall stately gums surround the well cleared grass area and you get sunrise and sunset through the trees plus moon rise - what more could you ask? We had a wonderful "Happy Hour" getting to know our fellow campers. Well both CDMA and Digital receive quite a strong signal and we even had to try the TV aerial as one of our favourite British comedies was on. Yes we got all the channels 2, 7, 9, 10, and SBS - right in the middle of nowhere - maybe our elevation had something to do with it.


The information hut with lots of historical photos	Table with the flushing toilet in the background


The campsite looking east	The campsite looking west


Plenty of shade if you so desire	Another shot of the road in