Island Caravan Village - Port Stephens
Central Coast - NSW

Wow what a spot! The Island Caravan Village is in the more secluded part of Port Stephens, surrounded by forest and with an absolute water frontage, being on an island connected by a small causeway. You can’t actually park facing the water - there are cabins and weekender caravans there - but you can park side on to the water in the unpowered section and get excellent views of the waterfront and if you have solar this is the spot we totally recommend. The park is surrounded by a lovely forest and there are dozens of excellent walking tracks. These are also great for mountain bike enthusiasts.

The afternoon of our arrival resulted in a late thunderstorm and showers, which continued well past our bedtime. So we didn’t get to check out much of the park until the morning so the photos were not taken in brilliant sunshine.

Reception is an older style building, but very welcoming. Tom and Maryellen have been on site for 18 months and we were greeted by Tom and Kay, who with husband Col have just started as assistant managers - or to quote Kay - we have been here for 18 hours! The park was previously owned by GIO and is the only independently owned park left in the area. You receive a magnetic swipe card for the boom gate on arrival, the deposit is refundable on departure. Toilets etc. do not require keys.

There are only 16 powered camping sites situated near one of the two amenities blocks, roughly in the centre of the park. A large expanse of grass is home to 16 very generously sized non-powered sites backing onto bushland, plus ten streets of cabins/caravans which make up the 187 weekenders. Only 15 permanents are scattered throughout the park. If you were fortunate enough to be self sufficient, the non-powered area gives some excellent views of the beach and water. A boat ramp gives easy access for fishing. Fish cleaning troughs are also provided with lots of easy parking near the ramp.

Take care - most water in the park area is bore water. Rainwater for drinking must be obtained from the office. There is a phone box near the entrance plus a games room. An excellent book exchange operates in the office, plus supplies are available for sale, such as icecreams, drinks, milk, and very basic supplies. The small shop is open 8 am to 12 and 3 pm to 5 pm weekends and during school holidays and 8 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 5 pm weekdays. So if you have forgotten something, there’s no need to go out. . Paper and bread can be ordered the day before required and are then available at the office. You can even get your gas bottle refilled on the spot.

We found the lack of superfluous regulations refreshing after all the signs everywhere on the other side of Port Stephens. The onus is on responsible visitors controlling children and animals. You can see the effort Tom and Maryellen, with their two small children aged 9 and 4, are putting into upgrading the caravan village.

A word of warning - on occasions, fogging is used to reduce sand fly and mosquito populations. It is highly recommended that you use a good repellent at dawn and dusk.

BBQ’s and fires are allowed in suitable containers, but not on the open ground. We doubt there would be too many fires in recent times due to the fire bans in force throughout New South Wales. Amenities are spotless - there are mixer valves on wash basins, something we haven’t found in too many parks. Lots of hooks in the showers and yes they all have a small bench. Large bins are placed strategically around the park for garbage.

The birdlife in nearby forests and in the park itself was beautiful and we were awoken to the morning songs of many little feathered friends. Our early morning walk down to the waterfront showed what wonders the rain does to the grounds - instant tinges of green. From the boat ramp, I could see many little fish fingerlings, obviously happy with the clean quality river water. By 6 am there were already fishing boats out in the middle and an odd sailing boat, making the most of the freshening breeze, just in case the thunderstorms returned later in the day.

There are hectares of forest bordering the park and you can bushwalk for an half hour or so on well marked tracks. But beware the sandflies and mossies - wear a good repellent and yes your four legged friend can accompany you in the bush, even though he isn’t actually allowed on the waterfront on the park's sandy beach.

Speaking to long term visitor Brad, who comes down from the Hunter Valley most weekends, we were advised that the Island Caravan Village is a very friendly place, 99% of the time it is quiet - the exception is New Year’s Eve when the whole park has a big party.

There were initially only three other campers during our overnight stay and then a group of six families belonging to a 4WD club arrived Friday night/Saturday morning. At only $18 per night it was considerably cheaper than the Council run parks elsewhere in the area. Being semi-bushland style camping, it wasn’t as posh as the other parks, but was completely serviceable and very pleasantly managed indeed. We absolutely loved the place as you were sort of "bush camping" yet all the facilities were close at hand.

So to find this little gem please read on! From the Newcastle area, continue along Nelson Bay Road, past Williamstown and Salt Ash, you will see Bob’s Farm on the left, then about a couple of kilometers a turn to the left is Trotter Road, then to Fenninghams Island Road. The blue caravan park signs are strategically placed. The road is gravel for about 2.5 kms, fairly well graded with only little corrugations. For users of the great Holidaying with Dogs please watch out as their instructions are very vague indeed. We ended up ringing the park for expert directions.

We found the Island Caravan Village a haven from the general regulations appearing in nearly every park or beach area in the Port Stephens region with irritatingly monotonous regularity and would certainly recommend it to anyone wanting a friendly welcome where you could fish or relax to your heart’s content. Laid back are the words that come to mind. Absolutely recommended!

Rex doggie paw rating 3-1/2 out of 5.

Chrissy Eustace

Hema 23 E11