Yarraman Caravan Park - North West of Brisbane

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Yarraman Caravan Park - North West of Brisbane - Queensland

We normally set a limit of two hours from Brisbane for our weekend jaunts into the country. Yarraman is a wee bit outside this limit, but we stumbled onto some info on the Internet on the area, so thought what the heck. We weren't disappointed! So Yarraman is 2 1/2 hours and 180 kms north west of Brisbane on top roads and fairly easy towing. You only strike a few long steep hills in the Benarkin area.

View from the park - south

The office and kiosk at Yarraman

Driving up to Blackbutt and Yarraman you pass through Moore - the sign says Eat Moore Pies! A great scenic detour is to stop just before driving through Moore, and turn right and head up to Linville - 8 kms. It is a beautiful little country town and it is only a short detour. You can then easily return to Moore with a detour of only around half an hour and then continue on towards Blackbutt. Those into history should look to the left in the cutting just out of Moore and you will see an old ruin beside and behind a white farm house. These very old stone ruins are the remains of the old Coach Staging Post and hotel. Oddly enough this is not marked as an historic site although many old homes in the area are sign posted. These ruins were the old stables where the coaches used to exchange their tired horses for fresh ones before travelling further up into the ranges.

View from the park - north

The hill in front of the park

A wee bit further along this road is a station property called Taromeo. If you travel into the farm house and grovel just a little you may get lucky and receive permission to inspect the old Coach Staging Post here. It is in excellent condition and is well worth a visit for those with a passion for history.

Almost all sites have an annex pad

The excellent ensuites

If you ask nicely and have a 4WD you may also be allowed access to the Old Taromeo Coach Road. If you intend travelling on this road, a four wheel drive is essential and the driver needs to be well experienced as there are a few "hairy" spots on the track. Be cautious too as this is brown snake territory. Once you reach Blackbutt there is a back road which leads to Crows Nest. This is an interesting dirt road with occasional locations where scenic views can be found. Quite obviously it is not a "towing" road!

Covered area near the camp kitchen

The excellent camp kitchen

Heading towards Yarraman you pass by "Ted Pukullas Weir". There is a dirt road on the left where you can obtain a reasonable view of the weir. Once you have established yourself accommodation wise, there are quite a number of things to see from Yarraman. Finding the park is not hard and the signposting is excellent.

Neat and tidy ensuite cabins

Units at Yarraman Caravan Park

The park is on the other side of town and is very easy to find as the sign is huge. Entering Yarraman for the first time is a lovely experience as it unfolds in front of you as you crest the final hill. The town is at the bottom of a small valley and it spreads slowly up one side. A tiny creek meanders right through the middle. It is very Olde English and totally gorgeous. The park is located on the top of the hill about 200 metres past the crest. You can't actually see the park from the road, but the signposting on your left is impossible to miss and it is very well lit up at night as well. The entry is quite impressive as it is a tree lined avenue up a slight rise. The eucalyptus torreliana are a fast growing good shade tree, BUT when in flower, they drip a sticky resin which can be corrosive if left on the paintwork of cars. Most of the year this is not problem - just take care if it is flowering season and you decide to park there for the shade when visiting the office.

Part of the excellent brochure display

Reception kiosk area - spotless!

We were most impressed with the very personalised check in and with young owner managers Lee and Pam Evans themselves. We were given just enough brochures to whet the appetite for more and to give us something to read over our first cuppa here! The Guest Information sheet is an idea that all parks should adopt. It starts off with all the local emergency numbers including doctors, lists office hours, dump point location, all about the water, walks from the caravan park, and where to get food and fuel etc.

The cabins from the Olympic village

The sign says it all!

We were also shown how the extensive brochure system worked - an area each for walking, driving, sightseeing and wineries. The office/kiosk/reception area is spotlessly clean and totally functional and very roomy. We loved the bird feeders out the front. One thing we should mention though for weary travellers is the office is open 24 hours for check-in. Now you certainly don't come across that too often do you? Great if you want to arrive late on Friday evening after work as is so often the case with us.

There are quite a few established trees

Lots of lovely greenery!

We wanted a drive through ensuite site, so young Ian a "local" guided us in, as the ensuite sites aren't really drive through. You might well be wondering how ensuites come about in a park way out in the bush? Well it's all to do with Tarong Power Station just 25 kms further up the road. This is actually the largest coal fired station in Queensland. During construction, the workers needed accommodation, so four purpose built caravan parks were made in surrounding towns. All have top class facilities including ensuites to all sites. Yarraman originally had 139 sites all with ensuites! Just the same we can't ever see Yarraman putting up the "No Vacancy" sign.

All roads are kerb and gutter bitumen

One of two drive through sites - has a fireplace!

Memorial in town

Waiting in the kiosk!

Of course now the station is finished this is total overkill for a small country town, so lots of the ensuites have been sold off. However, they didn't gaze into their crystal ball deeply enough as they are about to add another unit to Tarong and will be needing accommodation once again. This has been solved in a rather unique way. The "dongas" used in the Olympic Village have been leased and popped on site and they look quite lovely with stunning views out over the township of Yarraman.

Yarraman Railway Station to nowhere!

One of many displays in the Historical Village

For those new to caravanning and haven't a clue what an ensuite is - it's your own private toilet and shower right next to your van. Great idea also for those carrying lots of "accessories" like we seem to always do. You can put everything in the ensuite and free up a lot of space. We love them, and the couple of dollars extra usually charged is well worth it, particularly on long stays. If you haven't tried one go ahead and spoil yourselves!

The old station - wonderful stuff!

Typical Yarraman cottage - interesting!

The park consists of three long bitumen roads all kerbed and channelled. There is not a lot of shade in the centre sections, but there is some and of course our visit was in the middle of winter so no shade was actually a bonus! There are quite a few permanents scattered throughout the park, but they seem a quiet lot and most were friendly and helpful on our visit. You always make friends quickly in an A'van simply because of the curiosity factor as all A-frame campers already know! There are only two truly drive thru sites. One is fantastic as it is adjacent to the only wood fire in the park. So if you enjoy a fire this is your only choice, but it doesn't have an ensuite. The other drive thru sits next to the Dump Point! A rather odd choice we thought. Both are clearly marked Drive Thru.

Yarraman Police Station

Main road through peaceful Yarraman

The ensuites are mostly grouped in fours and are very clean, but some of the plywood interior finishes are starting to age and no exhaust fan was causing roof problems with ours. There are no community toilets as such. Campers use groups of "ensuites" painted a blue/green colour. Nice attention to detail here - a mop hung up on the side of each one. We have NEVER be in a park with so many toilets - there are even two more on the end of the laundry! Remember this was once a huge park!

The nearby bacon factory - worth a visit

Walks from the park start here

The laundry is fantastic! A long building with glass windows all down both sides making it very airy - not a cobweb in sight either. Lee and Pam never seem to stop working and during our stay we never once saw Pam with her "working" gloves off! Being ex-caravanners themselves they know exactly how to run a park. Anyway it has six deep stainless steel sinks for hand washing, six Maytag washers - 2 X $1.00 coins, four dryers at $1.00 for 15 minutes, a huge ironing board with the iron available from the office and finished off with a couple of nice pot plants. They even have a reading corner with a full set of encyclopaedias and a comfy lounge chair. They really do bend over backwards to make you feel right at home. The park has two sources of water - creek water and tank water. Creek water services the laundry and ensuite facilities. The locals prefer tank water for drinking and there are two tanks strategically placed. However Lee and Pam ask that you don't use these to fill up your van tank as water is a precious commodity, especially at the dry times of the year. The town water is quite hard so you need conditioner as well as shampoo.

Wow!!! the best in the business!

The laundry is airy and huge

The camp kitchen has the lot and is spotless. Pam and Lee built this themselves and are obviously very proud of their achievement - how about slate tiles on the bench top and splash back! Beautiful work guys! Anyway, it has a good community fridge, spotless BBQ, wash up sink with hot water and even a grill oven come toaster. All in a lovely open air setting with undercover seating. A nice touch is a movement actuated lamp to let you find the light switch. The lights by the way are all the insect proof type. This area is ideal for small groups as there is enough space to put up a couple of large tarps. Similarly the pool area has a couple of covered areas with a gorgeous table under one of them and a good wood BBQ with lots of wood provided. Lee told us that they actively encourage clubs and offer excellent discount incentives.

The excellent ironing nook

The fantastic camp kitchen

TV reception using a C10 Explorer is absolutely brilliant. We noticed the "locals" all had super high boosted antennas - one had three on the one mast all aimed in different directions! Couldn't help but wonder if they also had three TV's! On check in Lee did tell us that TV up here is very "iffy" without a booster. We were absolutely amazed when channel 2 came in clear as a bell as we had resigned ourselves to no "Bill" on this visit! The only FM radio is ABC Classical, however the AM Brisbane stations come in weak but just OK. The park is nice and quiet at night and goes to bed early. You do get some slight traffic noise from cars coming up the nearby hill in a 100 kph zone. If this worries you at all just ask for a site on the eastern side - these incidentally have the best views, but no ensuites and back onto the fence.

Beautifully made BBQ table

Love their television!

The dawn birdsong is rather lovely and the kookaburras don't get a look in here! Lots of birds and getting up early reveals glorious sunrises. We saw rabbits and kangaroos during our walks, but no wildlife as such in the park, but we certainly heard the possums as it's mating time.

The camp kitchen with the lot!

Lovely picnic area on the Forest Drive

Yarraman makes an ideal base for exploring the surrounding area by car without the van in tow! Nanango is just up the road about 20 kms. There is a beautiful park full of historical features and a photographers delight. It is only ruined by a food vendor's old caravan. There are fantastic wood carvings everywhere in the main street rather like those found at Lakes Entrance in Victoria. There is an excellent caravan park with even nicer ensuites than Yarraman as they are all brick and huge!

The main street in Nanango

Old buildings in Nanango

Beautiful example of a slab hut in Nanango

Excellent displays and all free

Delightful wishing well - Nanango

There are dozens of these

There are the Seven Mile Diggings just South East of Nanango. It is great for camping, swimming, fishing and fossicking. Gold, garnet and sapphires can be found here. You might like to check this one out if you are more into bush camping. You should also not miss the Berlin Gem Historical Museum - it is excellent. Tarong Power Station is well worth a visit - remember it is not open on weekends though. If you plan to picnic in the Tarong Community Park with its lovely sandy beach be sure to leave your dog at home or back at the caravan park! You can link a visit to the power station with the Yarraman Forest Drive. Both the coalmine and Tarong put out excellent brochures.

Typical road in the forest drive

Another view of Tarong

Open cut mine supplying Tarong

Forest drive lookout

You could visit Kingaroy the Peanut Capital of Australia or even have some pumpkin scones with Flo Bjelke Peterson! The more adventurous could carry on up to the Bunya Mountains National Park. Don't forget that caravans are banned from being towed up there. Going the other way one can explore Emu Creek and Benarkin State Forest. You can camp with your pooch in Benarkin. There is the Palms National Park. It is small, but it is interesting. Further up this road is Cooyar where there is the swinging bridge and Coomba Falls. A really great swimming hole and picnic area. The driving possibilities are all listed on the Driving Mud Map available free from the office. As we said before - there is heaps to keep you occupied in the area for several days - you could easily extend to a week and really relax.

The Tarong power station

From the forest drive lookout

Walking wise this is one of the most organised parks we have ever come across. First up the walks available from the park are listed in the hand out. Next they supply a mud map of the walks - very well done too! They have taken it on themselves to develop some of the walks in conjunction with The Yarraman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and have implemented a series of coloured arrows. Lee has even done his bit and "cleaned up" some of the trails near the park. This couple deserve success as they work so hard. There are nine walks around the town and into the countryside ranging up to full day jaunts. This is great if you have a map, BUT there are no obvious signs apart from one down from the pub, we could find anywhere in the town advising one of just what is available. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce should look at this? Plastic containers holding maps work well in State Forests - maybe copy this idea? If you have mobility problems it is best to forget about walking into town from the park. Getting there is a breeze as it's all downhill. Coming back is a real slog! We walked around the town for an hour or so soaking up all the beautiful old Queenslanders. Mission Brown is the most popular colour in town!

Walk markers at the park front gate

A fantastic idea!

Map at the start of the Forest Drive

Sites are generous in size but not drive thru

We loved the town and its people - so friendly! The place stays open on Sundays with the supermarket open all day and even the newsagent just taking a short break for lunch. There was a small Sunday market open during our visit. Very popular for fruit and vegies. Oh yes don't miss YARRA - MAN too. He is right next to the pub - get your photo taken with him! If you are into trains, there is the old disused Yarraman Railway Station at the end of the Creek Walk. The Rosalie Council deserve a huge pat on the back for the lovely gardens and impressive entry to Yarraman. The provision of caravan parking right in the middle of town certainly is a big plus and encourages caravanners to stop and SPEND! We couldn't help but contrast this to Fernvale on the way home where we were forced to park right out on the edge of town due to NO caravan parking at all heading south.

This is "the" Yarraman!

What a wonderful sight!

We have very few negatives on this park. The laundry and camp kitchen hot water is not hot enough - you can leave your hand in it. There is a wee bit too much mess around the park particularly right up the back. Lee mentioned that he was working on that as soon as the new "dongas" were finalised - not a problem in the main camping area though as everything is spic and span with nicely mown grass. It would be great if a more open area could be developed for those wanting a more "bush style" camping area with say fire rings provided and this would surely attract campers who don't enjoy being too close to neighbours. There is a large property next door, partly home to a herd of cattle, which adds to the country feel of the park.

Sites with the best views don't have ensuites

Yarraman shopping centre

For those touring the area suggested next stops for those travelling west is Crows Nest Caravan Park - pets most welcome. Those heading south might like to try Esk Caravan Park and again pets most welcome. You will find reviews for both of these parks on this site in the Newsletter section. Those heading east you can't go wrong with Woodgate - Barkala Caravan Park - pets most welcome. It is right on a 16 kms long pristine beach and surrounded by National Parks. A review is coming up soon. Yarraman do have a web presence, but the site does not do the park or the area justice, and one page has a huge photo that takes quite a while to download, so please be patient. They do have a page on the Q Parks site. The best site for general information on the area is Walkabout Australia. There is a very good story by Martin Bowerman in Camping in Southern and Central Queensland on page 130. The Great South East TV program had been here two weeks before our visit, so if you go though their archives there will probably be a story. Watch out for a new episode of the program and there should be an up-date. You can contact the park by phone on (07) 4163 8185 or write to Yarraman Caravan Park, D'Aguilar Highway, Yarraman, 4614. You can email them on yarramancp@telstra.easymail.com.au.

The delightful pool area

BBQ and covered area near the pool - ideal for clubs and well away from the camp

Cost for a powered ensuite site in August 2001 was a very reasonable $17.00 - must be the cheapest ensuite sites in Australia. If you stay three nights then there is a $5.00 discount off the 3rd night. There are very generous club discounts - down as low as $13.00 a night. As there were not many other visitors being the middle of winter, we asked for and received a late checkout on Sunday - no extra charge. All in all, a very visitor friendly atmosphere, fantastic hard working owners, so we absolutely recommend this excellent country park.

Bob and Chrissy Eustace

Click on the compass for a map of the general area