Last updated on June 29 2021
Cheap camping in Australia
We had spent a lot of time in motorhomes in France and in the greater parts of western and eastern Europe. It is one of the best ways to travel in these countries, and extends our love of the outdoors and camping outside of our own backyard. However, we really don’t like staying in official campgrounds that much. We prefer to be off by ourselves, in nature, without all the people around us. That’s why we get out of the cities in the first place.
In France, for example, we have found two great ways of not having to park up in motorhome parks. In some instances, we use the Aires de Service, small areas run by the municipal councils, that provide basic facilities like fresh water and waste disposal. They can also sometimes be used as free overnight stops for motorhomes.
We particularly love France Passion, a network of farmers and landowners, who open up their properties to those in campervans and motorhomes to stay the night. It’s like wild camping for motorhomes. These are the opposite of the Aires, with no facilities, other than a beautiful, secure place to stay for the night. Often, you can buy some local product from them as well.
So, we were thrilled when we travelled to Australia and found a similar network of landowners, who also open up their properties to people like us. Australia is such a great country for road trips and camping that it just makes such sense to have something like this.
Youcamp was the brainchild of two landowners who realised one day that there are so many people on farms and large areas of land in Australia that are largely unused. Youcamp has been around since around 2013 and locations are continuously added to their site. With hundreds of these locations dotted around Australia, it’s the perfect way to get to meet some new people and spend some time on Australian farms and other properties.
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Youcamp – great camping sites for campervans and tents in Australia
Here’s one we stayed at in a rural area just outside Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. Whinpullen is the name of the farm, located 60 miles from Brisbane. Here, a family lives, running horses and an indigenous skills camp for local youngsters. Not far from their house, but far away not to be able to be seen or heard, they have divided up an area of land into campsites. They really only let one family/group stay here at once. If there were two groups of people known to each other that would be ok too. This is just perfect for those who love peace and quiet.
Because it is private land, there is no issue with having a campfire and there’s plenty of firewood to collect yourself. This also aids the owners in keeping the area clean. We couldn’t wait to cook in our dutch oven!
As our campervan does not have an in-built bathroom, we rely on using our Thetford camping toilet in this vehicle.
For more portable toilets, check out these reviews.
Youcamp is not free but it’s very inexpensive. We paid AUD$11 per night each to stay here and there was no hurry for us to leave the next day. All bookings for Youcamp sites can be made online.
Compare the best camping toilets here
About the Author
Carrie has loved camping and being outdoors since she was a small child. After travelling extensively throughout the world, Carrie and her husband Chad really found their love of exploring by RV. Even though this is their preferred mode of travel these days, you can still find them in a tent too. Wherever they are, you can be sure they are also enjoying good food and wine.
