Our roving reporters Clare and Phil Davis have just spent five days at Jenolan Caravan Park in Oberon NSW and they sent in this report and photos:

“The park is well maintained, quiet and very close walking distance to the town, all sites are large with many having power and water. Park is still pet friendly (conditions apply) and we would recommend this park as family friendly.”

The park have new managers, Aiden and Benita Clark. The park has a new amenities block and the partially enclosed Camp Kitchen has been upgraded. The park has a clean dump point.

Roving reporter Alan Lymbery of Wagga Wagga in NSW sent us this review of Red Rock Holiday Park in Red Rock NSW:

“Lovely quiet park directly behind the sand dunes. Very good rates and amenities are quite good. No reticulated drinking water - use a bucket/jerry can to get from the water tanks next to amenities. Great park if you just like laying about and/or fishing. Nothing fancy but well worth the $22/night for seniors.”

Access to the beach at Red Rock Holiday Park NSW

Riving reporter Sandra Bailey of Bairnsdale Victoria sent us this review of Inglewood Motel and Caravan Park in Inglewood Victoria:

“Was doing some work in the area and thought I’d give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised at the standard of accommodation - very nice room, comfy furniture and good bathroom with good shower head! Very affordable and nice people too. A reasonable bistro meal can be had at the local Empire Hotel.”

Aboriginal cultural performances are now a part of the Lane Cove River Tourist Park activities program. In a bid to reintroduce Aboriginal culture to the Lane Cove Valley and to educate international and domestic visitors on Aboriginal culture, the park in association with The Tribal Warrior Association is hosting twilight cultural performances.

The performance starts with a traditional welcome. After that, guests will be encouraged to learn an Aboriginal song and dance some Aboriginal dances all the while having the story behind each dance and song explained.

“We believe this is a world first in a tourist park” said Tribal Warrior CEO Shane Phillips. “To be able to provide this window into indigenous culture to so many visitors is something that we are very pleased about. People can learn about our culture, the oldest living Indigenous culture in the world through this activity” he said

The Aboriginal performers are more like translators with the ability to translate the meanings behind the songs and dances to the audience. The songs are sung in traditional language. Each dance and song has the origins explained and the performers are very keen on audience participation.

“The artists really get a buzz out of the audience interaction – just seeing the youngsters getting up and getting into this vibrant and rich culture is a real outcome.”

The performances represents the next step in the Lane Cove River Tourist Parks comprehensive sustainability program. The park has already been widely commended for its positive environmental contribution and is now proud to be offering this innovative educational program to the public.

Performances are scheduled every Wednesday night from 6:30pm through to the end of April, a small admission charge is payable. Anyone interested in joining one of the performances should call the Lane Cove River Tourist Park on 9888 9133 for further information.

Members of the Tribal Warriors Association at Lane Cove River Tourist Park

Our roving reporter Dianne Telfer sent in this report on Victoria Lake Holiday Park in Shepparton Victoria:

“Very friendly Park. Managers Ben & Melissa went out of there way to see everything was great for our stay. Conditions in the park are a bit dry at the moment as the Lake is being renovated and the water is limited. The emenities are old but very clean. Once the lake renovations are finished and there is water back in it, watering to keep the park green can start again. Yes we will be going back to Shepparton and victoria lake caravan park. There is so much to see in Shepparton.”


View Larger Map

Roving reporter Douglas Grayson of Toowoomba Victoria sent us this review of Riverglen Holiday Park in Belmont Geelong Victoria:

“Our stay at RiverGlen Holiday Park, Geelong, was a most enjoyable time. we had planned on a 3 day stay but due to dental problems we stayed for 9 days. The staff were very helpful arranging for a local dentist to see me and then got a referral to a surgeon who fitted me into his busy schedule with very short notice. The staff went out of their way to make our stay in Geelong as pleasant as possible and the park facilities were 1st class and the park very popular. I would definitely recommend this park to anyone stopping off in Geelong.”


View Larger Map

Our roving photo journalist Patrick Kelly sent in this detailed report on BIG4 Pioneer City Tourist Park, Swan Hill Victoria:

“We had a 2 bedroom cabin the weekend before Australia Day, very reasonable at $105 a night less Big 4 discount (total $184 for 2 nights). Park is extremely green and well grassed, quite a novelty to see sprinklers going everywhere with the water restrictions in Melbourne!

Cabin was very comfortable and well equipped, full size fridge and full gas cooker. One bedroom had a double bed, the other 3 bunks. Outdoor furniture provided but it is on its last legs! And no covered verandah but plenty of room to spread out. We had the basic cabin option but there are other choices such as family and deluxe spa cabins which looked very good.

The kiosk is well equipped and licensed with beer, wine and alcopops available for reasonable prices. Don’t be concerned that it is situated on the highway the traffic noise is minimal. We were also provided with a list of businesses in town that gave discount to Big 4 members.

Kids are provided with a games room, bikes for hire, playground, tennis court (equipment available for hire) go-cart type bike track and bouncy pillow (although it was deflated when we got there – don’t know what happened!!) DVDs and board games are available to hire in the kiosk.

The only downsides we could see were that the pool was probably not big enough for a full house (park about 3/4 full when we were there), there is only a small wire fence between the park and the motel next door, and there is not a lot of shade around the powered sites, some tents were there and we wondered how they would go in the 37 degree weather we had! Also there is no boom gate security, but as the park is on the edge of town it didn’t seem to be an issue, but still unusual to see things so open to the highway.

Make sure you go to the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement, amazing collection of period items, and a paddleboat cruise available too on PS Pyap with good commentary and on-board bar. The Swan Hill Tourism website also has a district and city self-drive tour which is really interesting, and the tour at the pheasant farm is definitely worth doing, thanks Kevin and Neville!

Overall however a very well run park and would definitely return.”

Our roving reporter Craig Martin from Traralgon in Victoria sent in this report on Easts Dolphin Beach Holiday Park at Moruya Heads in NSW:

“Nice park but starting to show its age. Lovely new pool. Close to the beach. Friendly staff. Timer on hot water in the shower didn’t allow enough time for my wife and daughter to wash their hair. Reasonable value compared to other parks on the south coast.”

Access to the beach from the Holiday Park

In real estate they say location is everything and I am sure this is the case with Tourist Parks. Below you will see two stunning aerial views taken of Christies Beach Tourist Park in Adelaide South Australia:

Magnificent coastline at Christies Beach South Australia

Aerial view of Christies Beach Tourist Park Adelaide South Australia

Our roving reporter Roger Oldham of Melbourne sent us the following report about Forest Glen Holiday Resort in Forest Glen on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland:

“We have stayed at this park for the last 3 years and have noticed a steady decline in the condition of the sites and amenities, the later of which there are too few for the amount of sites in the park. Last year was the worst, with leaking taps, half finished plumbing works and a dump point that has to be the most primitive contraption in Australia! This park is very expensive and until significant maintenance is carried out, does not rate its current 4 stars. We will be looking elsewhere to stay in future.”

Drive through ensuite site at Forest Glen Holiday Resort