Camooweal Billabong; epic free camping
Keen on an easy to access, free camp site with incredible bird life only a few kilometres from the QLD/NT border? Camooweal Billabong Camping is absolutely magic, and comes highly recommended by many, so we called in to check it out.
We love visiting water holes where the bird life is good, and this is up there with the best camping we’ve done near one.
Where is Camooweal Billabong?
You’ll find this place literally a couple of minutes out of town, towards the Northern Territory border. Cross the bridge, and hang a right, which gets you on the main track towards the Billabong. You can peel off to the left in a heap of places, and continue heading down for a very long time.
What does it cost to camp?
Camping here is completely and utterly free, which is absolutely amazing. It takes it from a beautiful free camp that you might spend a night or two at to one that could comfortable be worth 3 or 4 nights if you’re heading through.
Do you need a 4WD?
No, and we saw a number of 2WD’s come through, with some of them being larger motorhomes. However, as usual, if you have a 4WD, your access is improved dramatically, and the spots that are a bit rocky, or that need a bit of clearance are within reach.
Where can you camp?
There’s a ridiculous number of camp sites near the water that you can camp at, and plenty more further away. Don’t go too close to the edge though, as its deceptively soft and we saw some pretty nasty bog marks where people had taken a bad choice of line.
Stick to the main tracks and you’ll have no issues, but basically anywhere there is a clearing near the Billabong (starting from right near the bridge and heading out), you can pull up and stay.
We did a lap in one direction and didn’t see many spots left, with probably more than a hundred setups already in place, but a quick detour the other way and we found a magic spot in a couple of minutes.
What birds do you see?
We saw a huge array of Herron, whistling kites, brolgas, and plenty of other birds that we have no idea of. If you have a telephoto lens, or a pair of binoculars you’d do very well.
Are there crocodiles?
Apparently there are no crocodiles at all here, which is a relief for camping nearby, but I still kept a bit of a distance away!
Overall, if you’re looking for a magic campground on your way between the Northern Territory and Queensland, you won’t go wrong with here. It’s fantastic.
