Whilst the name is very deceiving as we did not see the “waterfall” it is a gem of a place to stay. Whether you are visiting for a day trip or longer you will not be disappointed if you are looking for serenity and to be surrounded by beauty.
From the campground you can opt to do the short 500m Valley Walk to where they say after heavy rains you will see a waterfall or if you are more athletic there is the 2 days, 21km endurance walk. Yes, we did the Valley Walk however decided we would pass on the 21km Endurance Walk!!
The surrounding areas are well suited to 4wd and trail bike enthusiasts who are able to explore the terrain especially in wet weather more so than those, like ourselves in a 2wd.
Reasons you should stay at the Waterfall Campground
- Free campground
- Drop toilets
- Picnic tables
- Fire pits provided with BBQ plates
- Walking tracks nearby
- Close proximity to wineries
- Scenic surrounds
- Kangaroos
Our experience at the Waterfall Campground
Again I will say it’s a gem of a free camping ground that we stumbled upon by accident. We had originally set off on a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of Melbourne city life to Ararat. After spending a night at the scenic Greenhill Lake Reserve Ararat and exploring some of what Ararat had to offer we opted to head to Avoca.
We’d never explored Avoca and the friendly guy at the Visitor Information centre at Ararat spoke highly of the road trip to Avoca and they Pyrenees area. Without hesitation we hit the road in our camper van and made our way to Avoca. Being Spring time the road trip was beautiful with the spectacular show of the brightly yellow coloured canola fields.
Why we choose to stay at Waterfall Campground & not Avoca RV Park
We first stopped in the old gold mining town of Avoca before exploring the roads of the Pyrenees. We had spotted a lovely scenic free camping ground, Avoca RV Park, along the Avoca river within 5 min walk to town which is where we thought we were going to spend the night. Until we found the Waterfall Campground totally by accident.
We chose to stay at Waterfall Campground over the Avoca RV Park as the RV Park was within walking distance to the Avoca town and houses were situated across the road. Our camping preference is to try and be with nature as much as possible.
The afternoon was disappearing quickly after we had explored the Governor Rock Lookout Tower which to get to is on a windy unsealed road but well worth the visit. On the way there we saw a sign to the “waterfall”. After being amazed by the view we witnessed at the Governor Rock Lookout Tower off we headed to the “waterfall”.
Whilst we did not find a waterfall as such, we instead found a free camping ground to spend the night. There were already a group of people who had set up camp and others that were visiting the campers. With their music blaring we were unsure whether to stay the night or not. As the group had a number of young children with them we decided to stay.
Although their blaring music dampened the serenity of the area, it was at least music we didn’t mind, the people were well behaved and apart from their music we wouldn’t have known they were nearby. They were set up in the grassed camping area, we opted to set up camp in the camp sites closer to the sheep paddocks and dry creek. The camping area is quite spacious.
We had a lovely evening cooking on the roaring campfire in the fire pit provided, then just sitting and relaxing watching the sheep in the nearby paddocks. We witnessed kangaroos jumping down into the valley and across the sheep filled paddocks and ended up across the dry creek bed from us. As we watched them fight with each other the kookaburras were laughing from the tall trees above. Now this is country Victoria!!
When we awoke in the morning there were only 3 lots of campers left and all the visitors had gone. We were impressed to see that the surrounding area was spotless. With our usual camp feast of bacon and egg sandwiches we headed off with full bellies on the short Valley Walk. The 500m walk was within easy walking distance to our camping spot.
After our short stroll on the “Valley Walk” it was time to pack up and make our way back to Melbourne.
Our 7 Tips:
- Bring drinking water
- Bring water to extinguish fires
- Don’t forget your toilet paper
- If it’s a long weekend go early to secure your camping spot to avoid disappointment
- Explore the nearby areas
- Don’t expect to see a waterfall!
- Take a cricket bat/ball or a footy
Places we explored on our weekend getaway
Avoca was part of a weekend road trip for us. Leaving the hustle and bustle of Melbourne behind we spent a night at Ararat, the day exploring Ararat before heading to Avoca then back to Melbourne. If you would like to read up more on our weekend trip and places we explored click on the below links.
- Historical town of Ararat
- Alexandra Gardens Park
- Green Hill Lake Reserve
- J Ward Asylum
- Avoca Chinese Gardens
- Valley Walk, Percydale
- Governor Rock Lookout Tower, Pyrenees State Forest
- Maryborough
Nearby free campgrounds
You can also follow our 3 day itinerary Melbourne – Ararat – Avoca – Melbourne by clicking on the link.
You can also follow our 3 day itinerary Melbourne – Ararat – Avoca – Melbourne by clicking on the link.
Another great place and what we consider a must go to place to explore is Halls Gap, Grampians. Check out our following link to see how we have spent 3 nights at Halls Gap, Grampians which is approximately 120km, 1hr 34mins from Waterfall Campground, Percydale.
We also enjoyed our 3 day escape at Mt Franklin reserve which is a free campground situated on an extinct volcanic crater and is within an easy drive to the popular tourist destination, Daylesford
Waterfall Campground Location
- Approximately 196km, 2hrs 23mins from Melbourne CBD
- Approximately 13km, 17mins from Avoca
- Approximately 75km, 57mins from Ararat
Feedback/Comments
We loved our time spent at Waterfalls Campground and exploring the nearby areas. It is definitely a place we have not finished exploring, whilst we are limited with where we can go as we are in a Camper van we’d love to hear of any suggestions you may have for us to explore.
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