It really was as advertised – Paradise Valley!
We love to go camping! Getting out of the daily grind, going to remote places with beautiful scenery and plenty of space for the children to run and play really doesn’t have any downsides. Now ordinarily you might suggest mozzies! But funnily enough, Paradise Valley is not just paradise due to the setting for camping, but a paradise with very limited insects!
It must be perfectly in balance. That can be our only takeaway from our 5 days camping by the Macalister River in Glenmaggie. Harry played with frogs and fish in the river. Dragonflies buzzed overhead, lizards large and small lazed on rocks by the river and birds constantly moved from tree to tree. I’m sure even the kangaroos that hop down to the river for a drink at dusk probably do their fare share to ensure a perfect balance of nature at Paradise Valley Camping Ground.
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Just 2 hours drive from our home in the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, the Princes Highway takes you out to Traralgon, after which you head to Glenmaggie. Paradise Valley Camping Ground is actually a private property, 136 hectares situated on the Macalister River. A long, single lane road winds it’s way down to the homestead, where a small site office sits where fees can be paid, bags of ice collected and icy poles and cans of drink purchased. Clues to the properties use for farming and grazing are everywhere, as you head to the flat, clear, grassed areas of the camping grounds.
Paradise Valley doesn’t have allocated camp sites, so common sense prevails. We got there early, a couple of days prior to Australia Day, so were lucky to snare a prime spot right on the riverbank. The reality was almost 90% of a capacity attendance had waterfront views, but we liked ours due to the large beach area and shallow waters. It was heaven for our boys, who everyday were desperate to don their life jackets and get down to the river.
Although it was at capacity there was plenty of space. It really is huge, and the only real evidence of the number of campers that can be accommodated is a drive (If you choose to camp far away from it!) to the toilet block or a cruise along the river in an inflatable. One day was 38 degrees so we spent the day sitting in the river. It was like Moomba with a different type of inflatable or float coming past every few minutes. We saw unicorns, thongs, native animals, swans and of course the humble inner tube. Here’s a video on what we got up to at Paradise Valley:
Paradise Valley have powered sites available, but it’s far more compact and crowded, and going unpowered offers the opportunity for much more quiet and space. We took along our Ryobi 18v One+ Specialty Tools and this allowed us to live with creature comforts for the full 5 days.
Our boys loved to walk or row across the river to rob fresh blackberries from the wild. They honestly were the tastiest we have ever tried, and the boys over the course of 5 days collected over 5 punnets which didn’t make it home. We can only imagine what they might have cost in the supermarkets back in Melbourne! By Day 2 orders were being placed for Blackberry deliveries, and once they stopped it was up to Justin and Steph to float over and get our own!
We took a day trip to the Heyfield General Store, and to Lake Glen Maggie which will have to be a #todoing destination in the future. Many had set up their marquees by the massive lake, with swimming, fishing and boating the go. There was a great lookout at the dam wall, and you could walk right down to check out it’s sheer size.
We camped in our 12 man tent, which is really no where near that, like many tent manufacturer estimations. We added a marquee to our camping gear, which provided a great lounge room or outdoor kitchen for watching the kids play in the water.
We took a lot of stuff, as you would expect with a family of 5. Getting it packed and into the car was quite the work of art. Justin gathered all of the camping gear and proceeded to pack the car Tetris style. After finishing packing the car, fair to say Justin was happy, the family were ready to roll and all we had to do was grab our coffees and go:
Paradise Valley was an amazing place to visit. Just 2.5 hours from Melbourne, we will definitely be back with our family and recommend you try it out too. If you have a large heavy caravan it might be a bit of work coming in the single lane road and winding hill, but it will be well worth it.