Caravilla Caravan Park Lakes Entrance Victoria

Caravilla Caravan Park Lakes Entrance Victoria

We were told we were just a little bit crazy trying to find somewhere to stay in Lakes Entrance during the Christmas school holidays. After cruising through the town we chose this park because it was out of town, and from the highway it looked nice and open with heaps of shade. The park is on the side of a gentle hill and all roads are kerbed gravel. Of course it had to be raining on our arrival and the temperature had plummeted to just 13 degrees despite it being Xmas. The park has a nice bushland feel and you can see little sign of civilisation from most sites. Despite being very close to the coast you can't actually glimpse the water or hear the surf. In fact even though Lakes Entrance is a seaside town very few parks are actually on the water. None at all are on the surf beach, as the only access to the beach is via a footbridge. A great idea really, as everyone then gets to share the beauty of nature without paying an exorbitant price.

Lovely gardens at the entrance

No problems turning "in"

This park is a typical country town overnight stop or short stay park, and of course it is right on the highway, which means you can't escape a wee bit of traffic noise. This is not too bad, as few semis use the Princes Highway, and we heard just about none at night. There are lots of permanents, but most are well away from the tourist sites. The big plus for this park is the adjacent camping area. This has a lot of excellent well established shade trees and is well grassed and it has a lovely country outlook.

One of the most stunning views on the coast!

There are quite a few shady level sites suitable for campers and travel trailers. There is no power to this section, but power is available to tenters using normal van sites. There are no annex pads on the tourist van sites making them ideal for tents. We thoroughly recommend you use the grassed camping area if you can get away without power as the grass is really thick and luscious. The best sites are right at the back near the rear boundary fence followed by the ones in themiddle.

Our shady campsite

There is an overflow section called the "Camping Paddock". This is right next to the highway and has about zero shade, but the grass cover is excellent and yes it was in use during our stay. We passed by again on New Years day, and the area was totally full. At first glance the camping area looks a bit disorganised. This is not so, as management escorts all campers to their site - all done on a mini bike! The system works well and the area tends to fill up in an orderly manner as it is quite popular. There are a few BBQs, tables and water taps in the camping area as well. Wash up sinks with hot water are located a long way from the campsite behind the amenities and are easy to miss. There are no key deposits or boom gates. There is ample room for kids to throw a ball around well away from cars etc.

The excellent non-powered area

The office also has a small on site kiosk selling basics only and they fill gas bottles. Tourist info is in plentiful supply. Free freezer storage is also available - a nice touch. The amenities are a little on the old side, but quite adequate, as there is hot water to the sinks, tiles on the floor, natural brick walls and the lighting is OK. To dry your feet you reach up and get a plastic stool down - rather quaint we thought! A rather odd feature is a row of open air showers located outside the amenities both on the gents and ladies side. Do nudists clubs perhaps hold their conventions here? There is a separate baby bath and a good laundry - $2 a load for wash or dry. There is a fairly ordinary pool and an excellent play area for the littlies with a great adventure section. This area is nicely landscaped, but a bit too close to the busy road for our liking. The camp kitchen is well equipped, but a long long way from the campers! Maybe this is to work up your appetite? Telstra CDMA and digital mobiles work fine all over the park and there is a Telstra phone right at the front gate.

The view just up the road when walking

Pets are allowed here 365 days a year - full marks to managers John and Lorna Needham for helping all of us long suffering pet lovers. Our welcome on arrival was cordial and extremely helpful, but not over friendly. The park has a nice atmosphere and there aren't signs all over the place - they let common sense prevail which is the way it should be! TV reception is brilliant and water quality acceptable and of course is on town supply. All powered sites have individual sullage and water. Shared taps have thoughtfully been fitted with adaptors with separate little taps. Power poles don't need an extension lead. In peak times the amenities let this park down as one has to queue for both the toilets and showers. A great improvement would be to build a new small amenities block within the grass camping area. This would also solve another wee problem - what to do when you get caught short when they are cleaning the only toilets! Odd isn't it - over 50% of parks share this same fault! Mornings are quite nice as the park gets invaded by lots of pink headed Galahs. The cows in a back paddock also join in the chorus adding to the country ambience.

Walking opportunities without first driving are not too good - the same with bikes, BUT if you go into town it is fantastic, particularly along the waterfront. You can of course take a short morning walk north to the superb lookouts about 2.7kms away - take care though as there is no footpath at all, but you are rewarded with the most fantastic views.

The choice of things to do in this area covers all pursuits so just peruse all the literature you picked up in the Information Centre. There is a good map for finding the Information Centre at http://www.dejavu.com.au/map.htm. For more information contact John or Lorna on (03) 5155 1821 or write to them at 2021 Princes Highway, Lakes Entrance 3909 Victoria - about 330 kms from Melbourne . At present they are sadly not on the Internet.

Cost of a powered site during Xmas 2000 was $26 for two which is slightly above average for a park 2kms out of town. Highly recommended for non- powered sites and distance from town is not a problem unless you are a super keen walker. Yes we recommend this park to fellow campers - much better than being right in town.

Bob and Chrissy Eustace

Click on the compass for a map of the area