Description:
A family-friendly, dog-friendly caravan park and camping ground located just an hour from both Brisbane and/or the Gold Coast that accommodates even the biggest of caravans/campers.
Bigriggen Park is far enough to “get away”, yet close enough to spend less time travelling and more time enjoying. It’s the perfect place for a weekend escape which is exactly what we did. ‘Relax and unwind amid peaceful surroundings and natural wonders just waiting to be explored’ is what it says on their website. And while it didn’t go quite that way for us, we still thoroughly enjoyed our stay and highly recommed that you check it out.
Everything about Bigriggen is picturesque, even the driveway. The tall trees, wooden fences, and rolling hills were just lovely. The lady at reception who greeted us was charming as she fluffed the freshly cut grass off the doormat.
It wasn’t hard to find the ‘perfect spot’- an unpowered site not far from the little BMX track and close to the entrance to the swimming hole/creek. Within minutes – well, almost, we were all set up and the kids had disappeared on their bikes. I wandered over to check out the amenities, which weren’t too bad for a bush retreat. Three toilets, three showers and as clean as they could be considering everyone’s shoes were covered in mud and freshly cut grass! There was a mop and bucket that was used every now and then and not a drop toilet in sight.
There is a lovely little creek/river/swimming hole that would be lovely in Summer! Kids (and adults) were scooting down the rapids on all sorts of inflatables – coming back up through the bush and doing it again. It would need to be a tad warmer for me to get that wet! I had a quick dip in the swimming hole, and that was enough for me.
The huge open spaces at Bigriggen are just what kids love – and all sorts of games were going on around us. Cricket, frisbee, soccer, volleyball and tag were happening alongside people relaxing, laughing, eating, drinking, reading, playing with their dogs, preparing the fire for when the sun went down, and all sorts of other ‘weekend activites’.
We were told to be prepared for lots of wildlife to come out at night, but we didn’t see anthing other than a horrible looking spider that one of our friends moved (yes, MOVED – not killed) for me.
The next day we set off to explore some of the ‘natural wonders’ but ended up with a broken CV/drive shaft. We spent most of the day waiting for the boys to comeback with tools to put the broken Hilux back together (which they did quite well!).
This leaves us wanting to return for another weekend, perhaps even a long weekend, so we can really explore the area, and spend some time just relaxing and enjoying the park.
We loved our stay at Bigriggen and we will be back soon, that’s for sure! 🙂
Activities:
- Walking & Relaxing
- Swimming
- Cycling (there is a small BMX track)
- Fishing
- Canoeing
- Bird Watching
- Platypus Spotting
- Nocturnal Wildlife Spotting
- Cooking & Conversation around a campfire (20kg firewood for sale or BYO)
Facilites:
- Amenities block (an extra one opens up during peak periods)
- DumpEzy dump point
- Flushing toilets
- Hand basins with soap dispensers
- Hot showers that require $1.00 coins
- Kiosk
- Bait
- Firewood
Staff:
Lovely! The lady was charming upon check in and everyone was concerned and trying to help when we phoned for help.
Sites:
100 acres, 45 acres of high hilltops and bush and 55 acres of gentle river flats for Camping (all unpowered) Plus 30 powered sites
Positives:
- No set camp sites for unpowered
- Site is accessible with 2WD
- Numbers capped in peak times (so it doesn’t get crowded)
- Plenty of campfire drums to use when no fire ban is in place
- Location (so much to nearby!)
- Outdoor Activities
- Pet-friendly
- Close to Brisabe/Gold Coast
- Great for kids
- River/Water
- Fairly cheap
- Kiosk is well stocked and well-priced.
Negatives:
- freshly cut grass was everywhere (I’m sure this doesn’t happen often)
- most scenic drives nearby require a 4WD (only a negative if you haven’t got a 4WD!)
- fire wood is a bit pricey but great quality
Sunrise
Heading down the rapids
Just before we broke it
There is so much open space!
Us
