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This website is no longer actively updated.
It has been left as a reference point only.
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Glendon Station - South West Queensland |
| Glendon Station is a semi bush camping area 38kms west of Warwick in South West Queensland on the Cunningham Highway. On paper it looks great - powered sites, hot showers, drinking water, pets allowed and low tariff. We saw this place on local TV and it looked fantastic - even had a mini golf course and yet it was billed as bush camping. On arrival we were a tad disappointed as the TV was possibly an "advertorial" and only showed the highlights of the place. It totally failed to show the piles of mess in some spots. We always try to photograph camping areas "warts and all" so if you read about a place here, then there hopefully wont be any nasty surprises when you eventually have a visit! But keep reading as our attitude did change towards the end of our stay! |
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Glendon Station main entry |
Not a lot of grass in winter in some spots |
| However, once we had calmed down and got to know Bob (the owner), we really warmed to his way of life and this quaint place began to grow on us. They are very genuine people trying to make a living out of seasonal trap rock country. The creek beside the camp wasn't running, but no matter as Bob showed us several delightful billabongs down stream a bit. What we didn't realise initially was the spread was over 2000 acres and yes, you can camp anywhere that takes your fancy. |
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The Golf Clubhouse/Kiosk! |
Plenty of grass in the overflow area |
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Rubbish pile near camp - Glendon Station |
Main camping area - Glendon Station |
| The whole area is a time warp. The showers have just been "upgraded'! They now consist of three 20 gallon drums joined together vertically. This is mounted on top of a fireplace and a flue run up the back. Water from a large dam further up the hill supplies water to the bottom. The thing that intrigued us with this typical "bushies" set up was the safety valve. You see, whilst the showers are running, all is well. When they are shut off, the pressure really builds up as it is really a very crude boiler. Bob is very proud of his safety valve solution of a one inch plastic pipe running 30 metres up the nearest tree! Bob told us the system uses three tons of hardwood a week! The "old" shower system is still there as well - a sealed 44 gallon drum working on a similar principle. |
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Mark 2 hot water system |
The Mark 1 showers! |
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Corrugated iron amenities |
| The showers themselves are huge at 6' by 6', but there is no hot water to the basins. You won't get a hot shower early in the morning either - the temperature was 2 degrees first thing in the morning during our July visit. From midday onwards though, there is heaps of very hot water! |
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Old original how water system! |
Hot water "safety" valve! |
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Rex wood fired old stove |
One of several delightful billabongs |
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Special Glendon nails! |
A laundry in the bush? |
| We originally planned to stay a week. What killed it for us on our visit was a couple of camps with young children with motorbikes. Some of these kiddies were only around six years old, BUT the noise was completely off putting and, of course, created a dust problem in an already dusty environment at this dry time of year. Pets are most welcome and most dogs roam around off lead with zero problems. |
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The source of all the noise and dust! |
More mess at Glendon Station |
| We couldn't check the TV reception as our Orion televideo refused to go into tune mode. Telstra CDMA and GSM both had zero signal even if you made the effort to walk miles up the hill. In an emergency the homestead of course has the phone and it is on site. There is some campsite lighting at night and the toilets and showers are lit all night. There is no site numbering and bring a long lead. Drinking water is at the "kiosk" and in the white hose near the top gate. Other taps are not potable water, so best to be careful. All taps are labelled with symbols. |
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Free wood is provided |
The Golf Club! |
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One way to fill up an abandoned mine! |
Typical trap rock country on Glendon Station |
| This is a very interesting place if you have grand children with you, as it truly is a fully working station with both sheep and cattle. During our visit cattle were being ear tagged and with a tick treatment on their backs. Bob will show you around in his 4WD if you wish - nothing seems to be too much trouble and you are really made to feel welcome. There is a huge 140 acre foot dam within easy walking distance. You can also walk up to the abandoned gold mines. This is about 3 kms up a slight hill. |
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Ear tagging - everyone helps |
The truly wishing well! |
| You can actually climb down into some of these mines, but it is pretty hairy scary! Some pits are full of water and others have sadly been filled with rubbish. All in all though, this is all extremely interesting and great for photos with some fantastic example of bush carpentry. The mines go for miles and you see just how rugged the earth is as some mines go down through solid rock. Life in this environment would have been harsh to say the least. Little rain to soften the hard rocky earth would have made digging a slow, laborious process. Any gold or other precious metals gained in this away would have been hard earnt. |
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Giant ants nest - Glendon Station |
Fascinating gold mine |
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Would you go down this ladder? |
Superb bush workmanship |
| If you are set up for self sufficient camping the best spots are found just over the creek. Just turn immediately left BEFORE entering the camp ground proper. This area is mown and fairly level. There is shade for summer and open grass for winter. Plenty of rock fireplaces and most have a good BBQ plate and plenty of rubbish bins. Whilst this area gives a good bush feel it is only a five minute walk over the creek to the showers. |
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The best camping area - no power |
Same spot as left plus Rex the Border Collie |
| The mini golf course is "different"! There is even a "clubhouse'! This doubles as the local shop since it is 38 kms back to the nearest supplies. The kiosk opens each afternoon and sells basics only. It is not expensive. We loved the old fashioned cash register. The open air dining area adjacent has lots of hand made tables and is lit up at night. There are half a dozen permanents, but these are spread out and during our stay were very quite. |
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The "Golf" course proper! |
Community BBQ area with lighting |
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Beautiful Apostle Bird |
Fred Flintstones car |
| You do need a mountain bike to ride here as all roads are really 4WD. Walking is good with plenty of variety. Nearby sight seeing is easily done on day or half day trips. Back towards Warwick is Leslie Dam. The Washpool camping area is quite good and right on the waterfront, quite well run with an onsite manager and all facilities including a small kiosk. Most publications show pets allowed. This is no longer so. |
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Leslie Dam |
Picnic area Leslie Dam |
| There is good fishing info on http://www.ausfish.com/wwwboard/fresh/messages/531.html. Leslie Dam is well worth a visit and is also a good smoko stop as it is only 6 kms off the Cunningham Highway. Unlike many places in NSW, such as Lake Keepit where an horrific $7 daily use fee applies, Queensland does not charge for the day use facilities in many areas - Washpool is one of these. There are a couple of good free camping spots in the immediate area. These are described in Camping in Southern and Central Queensland by Martin Bowerman - page 115. Glendon does not have an internet site, but there is a small item in the Great South East archives, but we failed to find it this time round! |
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Water views at Leslie Dam |
| By the end of our stay our views/attitude towards this place had drastically changed. We ended up loving it as long as we "forgot" about the bikes! Looking at it from the financial angle it is the cheapest powered camping available in Queensland PLUS your laundry is thrown in for free. If you come at it from the angle that you are here for an "outback adventure" you will totally enjoy it. You are miles from anywhere yet Bob takes the trouble to go and get bread and milk for you AT NO EXTRA CHARGE! On the mess - Bob, a couple of days work would transform the place!! You can get more info by phoning Bob on (07) 4667 4756 or writing to "Glendon'' M/S 848 Warwick 4370. If you are driving from Warwick on the Cunningham Highway it is on the left. Look for a sign on the RIGHT side of the road. Turn left at around 36 kms from Warwick and go about 2 kms on a rough and ready dirt road - no nasty hills though! It is marked on most maps. We used the RACQ map, Gold Coast and Northern Rivers, |
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Main entrance to Leslie Dam camping |
Lots of trees Leslie Dam |
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Cost in July 2001 for a powered site was $5.50 per person. We only recommend this place if there are no motor bikes - best to ring ahead to check. This is NOT the place for you if you must have all mod cons, but having said this try and give it a go as you may be pleasantly surprised, particularly if you let yourself get involved in the station activities. Apart from the bikes we really did enjoy our stay and Bob was a real character. |
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Click on the compass for a map of the area |
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Last updated:
08/02/03
