As a family who regularly camps along the coast line, we were pretty keen to try something new. Worlds End Gorge had been on my radar for quite awhile, and it looked like a great winter camping spot to get a fire going and have the kids roast some marshmallows.
The forecast for our weekend away originally looked quite nice, with temperatures in the high teens and no rain. As we got closer, things changed slightly, with a little “windy” icon appearing on each day of our time away. Undeterred by the weather warnings that kept appearing on my phone, I surveyed the camping grounds on Google Maps, and decided that it was sufficiently protected from the westerly winds. Turns out I was wrong.
A Short Drive North from Adelaide
Worlds End Gorge is less than two hours drive from Adelaide, making it very convenient for a quick getaway. There was an annoying amount of roadworks going on, regularly reducing our speed to 60 and even 40 kilometres per hour. I find it interesting that a newly laid road is limited to 60 km/hr, due to ‘loose surface’, yet an off the beaten track dirt road in far worse condition is 100 km/hr.
Even so, despite the kids doing their best to derail our departure time, we arrived at Worlds End Gorge camping ground around lunch time.
Worlds End Gorge Camping Ground
Arriving at camp, we were surprised to see just how expansive the camping area is. It stretching a long way start to finish, over two huge areas. My plan to escape the wind was to get as close to the hills of the gorge as possible. Unfortunately, the campground doesn’t extend that far. The wind was howling and there was no escape. The campground is on a lower tier to the main track in, so it’s less windy at the campground than up on the road, but even so.. WINDY!
We moved back towards the centre of the camp area, and had ourselves a nice clearing in close proximity to one of the three toilets on site. With a creek running one side of the campground, and private property on the other, taking a shovel for toilet duties isn’t an option. The nearby toilet is very handy with the kids in tow. The toilets themselves (the two I visited at least) were very near full, but even so, did not smell at all. They are the newer type of composting long drop, and it works very well.
We had some serious wind pick up in the middle of the night, and thankfully the camper trailer didn’t crumble down around us. On pack up I did notice a bend and crack in one of the frame poles, so there will be some repairs to be done. Just another gentle nudge from nature that it’s time to upgrade to a hybrid!
Campfires
Campfires are permitted in the designated fire pits – large steel octagons with swivelling hot plates. There are quite a few of these scattered throughout the campground, but that didn’t seem top stop people making their own. There were a number of little rock rings contained piles of ash around the place too. At least they were in considered locations, and not ruining any spots that might otherwise be camped on.
There is no firewood available here – whatever branches might fall from trees would be quickly scooped up by the huge number of visitors. So bring a sufficient supply. The wind gave us some respite in the late afternoons and we were able to get a little fire going to cook up some lamb chops on our first night. The kids plowed through almost the entire bag of marshmallows before we cottoned on, and we forcefully made them save a few for the following night. They begrudgingly accepted this was a good idea.
On night two we got some good coals going early and a leg of lamb in the camp oven, with some roast potatoes too. Delicious! I often completely miss the timing on the spuds, but nailed it this time.
Things To Do at Worlds End Gorge
Whilst the wind made things difficult to do too much, we enjoyed having a few little hikes along the gorge. There was plenty of little water holes, and a flowing stream to mess about with. The kids favourite thing was a rope/tyre swing in one of the trees. Unfortunately we spotted that one after we’d set up camp, or we’d have got a bit closer to it.
I understand you can hike further into the gorge, but we didn’t do it on this occasion, due to tired little legs, and the wind.
We went for a drive to nearby Burra, and checked out the old copper mine lookout. Not a bad view of the very green lake at the bottom. The “Midnight Oil House” is not far from Burra. This old ruins was used as the album cover on one of the Midnight Oil albums. There is an area to pullover and take a photo, but you can’t actually walk up to the house. Still, it was pretty popular as a steady stream of vehicles pulled over to take a photo. Us included.
Then back into town to see the old Unicorn Brewery. You do need to get a key from the visitor centre to get inside here. It has cellars underground to look at it. Having seen the photo, we couldn’t be bothered getting a key so headed back to our campsite!
In nicer weather, sitting around camp with a nice fire going nearby would be ideal for the adults. For the kids, the campsite is linked by long dirt roads, making it perfect for zipping around on bicycles.
Amenities
As mentioned above, there are three long drop toilets at the camp ground. Given the popularity of this camp ground, I’d expect some lineups in peak periods!
There is no running water or showing facilities. Aside from the long drops, it’s very much a self sufficient affair. Just how we like it.
There are plenty of bins scattered through the campground, and this had a noticeable effect. The campground is very clean
Are We Heading Back?
We wouldn’t mind experiencing this again in kinder conditions. Whilst there isn’t heaps to do here, it would be a great spot just to chill out with friends. Hopefully we can convince a few others to join us next time (maybe without the cyclonic winds, would help).
Worth pointing out – this campground is run by the local council, and is completely free! You get toilets, firepits, bins, and a very spacious campground all for nothing. That’s incredible in this day and age. It beats most National Park campgrounds (where they squeeze you in tight).
The council could put up a donation box to assist with costs of rubbish removal etc but don’t. A refreshing stance when compared to Yorke Peninsula council doubling camping fees to $20 a night. You’ll be lucky to get a bin for that.
