Timbertown; great camping and a family attraction
We’re always on the lookout for good value attractions that the kids might love on our Lap of Australia. When we stumbled across Timbertown, it seemed like a no brainer to call in and check it out, and you can camp there for a very reasonable fee, and to check out the historic village.
Where is Timbertown?
You’ll find this beautiful little town directly West of Port Macquarie. It’s only about 20 minutes drive in, and we did this on our first day, to have a good look around and see what we could find.
Timbertown is right next to Wauchope, which is a much larger town with everything you need.
What is Timbertown?
This is a rather large private property that has been set up to show life as it was in the 1800’s. There’s a camping area next to the main attraction which is between the main road and a big paddock for the horses and bullocks, and has quite a bit of room for those calling through.
Timbertown itself is similar to the Herberton Historic Village, in terms of having old houses and shops set up. It’s not in nearly as well maintained condition, but its still fascinating to walk through and check it out.
For us though, we mainly went to do the different attractions for the kids, which include a miniature train ride, horse and cart ride, tractor ride, steam train ride, paddle boats and gold panning. All of this is included in your ticket, which makes it a pretty decent value day out.
How long do you need?
You’d fairly comfortably see everything in 2 – 3 hours, as long as you monitor the itinerary, and get to the different places when each part of the attraction starts. The steam train for example, leaves at 11:00, and if you miss it, the next one isn’t until later on.
We spent less time looking at the historic side of things, and left after about 2 and a half hours.
What does it cost?
We paid $94 for the family, which when you look at what you get, is pretty decent value.
It’s a work in progress
When you leave Timbertown, there’s a sign that expresses the fact that the town is a work in progress. They’ve had lots of hard times over the last 3 years, and are really struggling to get staff to help keep things in good order.
I wouldn’t say its in disarray, but it does need quite a bit of work to bring it back to a really stunning experience. Again, for the price, its absolutely worth it, and we really rated it.
Camping at Timbertown
We really enjoyed our stay at Timbertown. The camp sites start at $10 per night, and you get access to hot showers and flushing toilets. Granted, they’re rustic, but they are clean, big and not something I’d consider complaining about.
We camped overlooking the big horses, which were a whole lot of fun, and were far enough from the road for it not to be noisy at all.
There’s a lot of semi permanents here, and its not hard to see why. It’s a beautiful place, central to everything, cheap and has a great vibe.
Timbertown is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday
If you’re going to stay, please remember that its closed on these two days. We nearly didn’t realise this, and would have been in for a rude shock. We stayed two nights, and did Port Macquarie one day, and then Timbertown the next.
Is it worth a visit?
Yep, absolutely. We enjoyed our time at Timbertown, and thought the camping was really good too. If you are swinging by, its certainly worth a visit, and a night or two.
