Lemon Tree Flat campground is in the Kwiambal National Park located to the North of Inverell. Access is via 20klm of dirt road and is suitable for 2wd vehicles.
We arrived the weekend before Easter hoping to avoid the main Easter rush and we were not disappointed, only one other set of campers all the way through to Thursday. The Severn River borders the northern side of the campground and provides a great place to take a dip. There are no showers and the toilets are of the long drop variety but are very well maintained.
At the eastern end there is a picnic shed with a gas BBQ and Tank water. Wood BBQ's are scattered throughout the site and serve well as campfires too. A large supply of wood was also provided . The western half of the camp area is best suited for vans, providing ample flat areas and open space to accommodate large groups as well. No mobile phone reception at the campground but we did get Telstra reception about 1k back up Lemon Tree Flat Road. Fishing is allowed in both the Severn and Macintyre rivers (with a permit of course) so bring a line if you are into that.
Kookabitta is a second camp area that was opened in the last 12 months. It is more suited to tent camping but could accommodate small vans as well. Its facilities are similar to Lemon Tree. Access to the river is better at Kookabitta if you have small children.
There are many walks available at Kwiambal some leave directly from Lemon Tree. The Junction walk via the Dungeon lookout offers some very scenic views along the way and the Junction is a great place for a picnic lunch and swim.
A visit to the Ashford Caves is also high on the list of things to see. Bring good torches for this one, we spent a long time in the caves exploring all the different sections. If your kids are as adventurous as our lot then you will want to dress them in old clothes as well, they will get very dirty exploring the caves. Make sure you find a spot and turn off all lights.... wouldn't like to try and find my way out without a torch.
Macintyre Falls and the Plunge Pool are some of the other places to see while in the area.
Kwiambal unfortunately has both Tiger Pear and stinging nettle and while the camp area is largely free of them you don't have to go far to find them. Wear good footwear when away from the camp.
Over the last few months I have become a fan of Open Street Maps and have been adding details around our local area. I noticed there was little on their maps for the Kwiambal area so thought it might be a good activity to get the kids involved in. We ended up adding quite a few new details to the map including the roads, camp areas and all the walks we went on.
I can highly recommend Kwiambal as a great place to get away. The Rangers (who passed by most days) were very friendly and always stopped in for a chat and at night time nothing but the sound of water running down the nearby rapids.
Here are a few Pics of the area.
Lots of room and wildlife.
Lemon Tree Flat swimming
Ashton Caves
The caves have a resident bat colony
looking down at the Dungeon
The Plunge Pool
Macintyre Falls at the Eastern end of the Plunge Pool were a big hit
Watch out for the stinging nettle
You don't want to step on a Tiger Pear with bare feet... very nasty. It made short work of the boys mountain bike tyres too.
We arrived the weekend before Easter hoping to avoid the main Easter rush and we were not disappointed, only one other set of campers all the way through to Thursday. The Severn River borders the northern side of the campground and provides a great place to take a dip. There are no showers and the toilets are of the long drop variety but are very well maintained.
At the eastern end there is a picnic shed with a gas BBQ and Tank water. Wood BBQ's are scattered throughout the site and serve well as campfires too. A large supply of wood was also provided . The western half of the camp area is best suited for vans, providing ample flat areas and open space to accommodate large groups as well. No mobile phone reception at the campground but we did get Telstra reception about 1k back up Lemon Tree Flat Road. Fishing is allowed in both the Severn and Macintyre rivers (with a permit of course) so bring a line if you are into that.
Kookabitta is a second camp area that was opened in the last 12 months. It is more suited to tent camping but could accommodate small vans as well. Its facilities are similar to Lemon Tree. Access to the river is better at Kookabitta if you have small children.
There are many walks available at Kwiambal some leave directly from Lemon Tree. The Junction walk via the Dungeon lookout offers some very scenic views along the way and the Junction is a great place for a picnic lunch and swim.
A visit to the Ashford Caves is also high on the list of things to see. Bring good torches for this one, we spent a long time in the caves exploring all the different sections. If your kids are as adventurous as our lot then you will want to dress them in old clothes as well, they will get very dirty exploring the caves. Make sure you find a spot and turn off all lights.... wouldn't like to try and find my way out without a torch.
Macintyre Falls and the Plunge Pool are some of the other places to see while in the area.
Kwiambal unfortunately has both Tiger Pear and stinging nettle and while the camp area is largely free of them you don't have to go far to find them. Wear good footwear when away from the camp.
Over the last few months I have become a fan of Open Street Maps and have been adding details around our local area. I noticed there was little on their maps for the Kwiambal area so thought it might be a good activity to get the kids involved in. We ended up adding quite a few new details to the map including the roads, camp areas and all the walks we went on.
I can highly recommend Kwiambal as a great place to get away. The Rangers (who passed by most days) were very friendly and always stopped in for a chat and at night time nothing but the sound of water running down the nearby rapids.
Here are a few Pics of the area.
Lots of room and wildlife.
Lemon Tree Flat swimming
Ashton Caves
The caves have a resident bat colony
looking down at the Dungeon
The Plunge Pool
Macintyre Falls at the Eastern end of the Plunge Pool were a big hit
Watch out for the stinging nettle
You don't want to step on a Tiger Pear with bare feet... very nasty. It made short work of the boys mountain bike tyres too.
