Sandstone Park: A caravan park that gives travellers room to breathe

Somewhere along the way, a stay at a caravan park became a resort holiday. Pools gained waterslides, cabins multiplied at the expense of caravan sites and the list of facilities grew longer. For plenty of travellers, that’s a good thing. These parks make holidays easy and welcome people who don’t own a caravan or camping setup.

But for those of us who arrive with our own bed, kitchen, fridge and enough power to keep the essentials running, the appeal can be different. Most of the time all we want is a campsite large enough to spread out, a few practical facilities and somewhere worth pulling up for.

On my recent family camping road trip to Carnarvon Gorge, Sandstone Park reminded me how appealing that combination can be and how much I missed it.

The largest caravan sites I have ever stayed at

The two biggest selling points at Sandstone Park are straightforward. It’s the views and the size of your caravan site.

The sites are a minimum of 16 metres by 25 metres. That’s 400 square metres for your camping setup, which puts a much more enjoyable spin on the usual routine of squeezing a van, tow vehicle and awning into your allocated rectangle. It’s a generous patch of ground, especially if you’re used to sites where opening the awning leave little room to spare.

Then there are the views. Sandstone Park advertises 360-degree views of the surrounding Carnarvon ranges, with flat, drive-through unpowered sites and an individual fire pit at each one. Here, the Carnarvon Gorge landscape is a major part of what you’ve come to enjoy and the campsite gives you the space to appreciate it.

To put the size of your campsite into perspective, the photo I took below is taken at the front of our campsite at the bins and we have parked our vehicle and van about 5 metres off the back fence at the back of our campsite.

Unpowered worked just fine for us

There are no powered sites or showers at Sandstone Park. That is something to understand before booking, particularly if you rely on plugging in each night or prefer a park amenities block for your daily shower. For us, a few days without a power connection or water hooked up at the campsite wasn’t a big deal.

Many RV travellers already carry the equipment to manage that kind of stay. Solar panels, batteries and onboard water storage can give you considerable flexibility, provided your setup suits what you want to run and how long you plan to stay.

Of course, keeping a fridge and a few lights going is a different proposition from running air-conditioning. Your power use, battery capacity and the weather all matter. Water needs planning too, particularly if you’re using an onboard shower.

But if you’ve bought and equipped your RV to spend time away from powered sites, a park like this gives you a chance to use that capability while still having some useful facilities nearby.

Basic facilities, done really well

Sandstone Park provides toilets, potable water (for a fee) and a dump point. The toilets are portaloos, and I know that word won’t fill every reader with excitement (myself included). However, these were the cleanest portaloos I’ve ever experienced and I actually chose to use them over our compost toilet they were so clean.

Basically, a simple facility that is clean and well looked after makes a better impression than a more elaborate one that isn’t.

For most caravanners, it’s enough. You’ve got somewhere to empty your toilet cassette, toilets around if you need them and you bring the rest according to your own setup.

A handy base for Carnarvon Gorge

Sandstone Park is around a five-minute drive from the main walking tracks at Carnarvon Gorge, making it a top spot for exploring this bucket list destination.

Although we weren’t travelling with our dog on this occassion, I was really pleased to see that the park is pet friendly. In fact, its the only park at Carnarvon Gorge that is and they even offer day-hire kennels for when you’re exploring the National Park.

What are we actually looking for in a Caravan Park?

I don’t think every caravan park needs to follow the same formula. A family wanting a pool, organised activities and a cabin for the grandparents has different priorities from a couple or family touring in a self-contained motorhome or caravan.

But there is room for more parks that put the needs of people arriving in RVs at the centre of the experience. That might mean generous sites, straightforward access, well-maintained basic facilities and a location you want to spend time in. For those of us who don’t use (or want to pay for) a long list of resort facilities, it’s an appealing reason to choose one park over another.

Sandstone Park is a good example of how appealing that approach can be and I hope other parks might take notes. They understand the value of giving travellers room, letting the setting do much of the work and providing the facilities that caravanners actually need.

After all, we’ve already brought a little home with us. Most of the time, what we’re looking for is a great place to park it.

Planning a visit to Carnarvon Gorge? Sandstone Park welcomes caravans, motorhomes, camper trailers, tents and swags. Bring a setup suited to unpowered camping and arrange your own shower facilities. Check Sandstone Park’s website for current rates, availability and booking information.

With thanks to Sandstone Park and Queensland Country Tourism for hosting our stay.

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