Yes, I know the first thing you think of when I say camping at Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) is snorkelling at the Tangalooma Wrecks. But what else is there to do on this beautiful sand island? Keep reading to find out my Top 10 Things for Families to do on Mulgumpin!
Mulgumpin is the traditional name for Moreton Island, given by the Quandamooka People. Quandamooka Country includes Gheebulum Kunugai, the Moreton Island National Park. Gheebulum Kunungai (Moreton Island) National Park covers 98% of Moreton Island. The Quandamooka People have carefully managed this cultural and wildlife sanctuary for thousands of generations.
Gheebulum Kunungai means ‘Lightning's Playground’ in the language of the Quandamooka People. In my experience, no trip to Mulgumpin is without multiple storms and a lot of rain – this trip was no exception!
Gheebulum and Kunungai are the two prominent sand hills situated in the national park. They tell the story of the creation of life and the legend of Lightning's Playground, which makes perfect sense as we always collect the lumps of crystals on the sand hills that have been formed by lightning strikes on the sand!
Quick links to BabyDrive's Top 10 Things for Families to Do on Mulgumpin:
- Kooringal, The Gutter Bar and Kooringal Oysters
- Blue Lagoon and Honey Eater Lake
- Moogar Bippo (Mount Tempest)
- Five Hills Lookout
- Tailor Bight
- Castaways for lunch (or breakfast)
- Honeymoon Bay, North Point and Champagne Pools
- A holiday within a holiday in the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent
- Rous Battery
- Little Sand Hills
We are very lucky to get to enjoy Mulgumpin and Gheebulum Kunungai National Park for three weeks with our kids over the summer holidays. We are driving the 2024 Nissan Patrol Warrior with the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent and Thule Overcast Awning on top and towing our Goldstream Storm camper trailer.
I know it's a lot to take and a lot to ask of the Nissan Patrol Warrior, but we want to base ourselves at one campsite with the camper trailer and have the flexibility to do a little exploring and camping around the island using the Thule Approach as well.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior (which my youngest daughter quickly nicknames the ‘Ninja Warrior') copes very well towing the camper trailer. Both vehicle and trailer are loaded up with all that's needed for three weeks off-grid for a family of four. Water, food, clothes, beach gear etc. You name it we took it and more!
Then, add the 68kg Thule Approach Large roof tent on top and the Thule Overcast Awning! The V8 Patrol Warrior had no problems at all!
To get your vehicle over to Mulgumpin from Brisbane, you take the Micat car ferry, which makes multiple trips per day and takes about 90 minutes to complete the journey. You need a four-wheel drive to drive on this sand island (and although we've also been here with all-wheel drive cars, including a Subaru Forester and a VW Tiguan, you get the sense that they would only cope with it once or twice in their lifetime before something expensive goes wrong). The drive down the highway to get on the Micat is very comfortable. The Patrol Warrior copes well towing everything, everyone is happy as they are comfortable, we have the music playing through the Apple CarPlay (new for the 2024 Patrol) and we all have a lot of personal space!
Being a V8, it is good to have the power behind the vehicle so it feels confident and capable on the road. Visibility is very good for all passengers, and the large wing mirrors (even without the towing mirrors) provide really good rear visibility. When not towing, the blind spot warning lights are useful on the highway, too. The adaptations made to the Nissan Patrol to create the Warrior include changes to the suspension and ride, so it's even better off-road and extremely comfortable on-road, too.
The 8am Micat is nice and easy – you simply queue in the relevant lane for your vehicle type and the staff check you in. There is an excited buzz in the air as everyone is happy and excited for the boat trip over and their sand island holiday on the other end! Everyone's checking out each other's off-road and camping setups, which we always find to be a source of inspiration, but this time, we feel VERY close to our idea of camping combination perfection!
Driving on to the Micat ferry is easy, the helpful crew direct you on, one vehicle at a time, and they are very good at playing Tetris so just follow their directions!
A 90-minute journey over to the island is enough time for a coffee, sausage roll or pie from the cafe, a few games of Uno and to let your tyres down ready to drive on the sand.
The view from the Micat as you approach Mulgumpin is beautiful. Turquoise waters, sand and the shipwrecks at Tangalooma (which we're not visiting, remember).
We switch the Patrol Warrior to sand driving mode and turn off the traction control as we exit the ferry and enter the sand.
It's high tide as we come off the ferry and so we take the northbound inland tracks up towards Bulwer. These run parallel to the beach and we can see how high up the tide is and how big the creek crossings have become.
The ‘Ninja' Warrior is full of excitement as we enjoy the view of blue sky and turquoise sea for the next three weeks! The Nissan Patrol Warrior copes really well with the drive on the sand tracks and we come out onto the beach.
The island isn't busy yet and you can tell by the tracks. The sand is not compacted or chopped up yet. It is pretty soft and fresh in places. It's a slight adjustment of thinking when you are driving on the sand. After not very long, it comes back, and I feel more relaxed once I feel confident driving the Nissan Patrol Warrior and know it can easily tow all this on the sand. Muscle memory kicks in after a few minutes and the drive through the bypass tracks, with all the family pointing out all the native flora and fauna has us all relaxed and getting into holiday mode. Having the rearview camera on while driving allows us to keep an eye on the camper trailer, shackles, and brake controller connections, which is handy!
Talking of brake controllers, I was keen to find out how the Elecbrakes EB2 electric trailer brake controller I first tested on our Kenilworth trip would perform during the more challenging conditions of Mulgumpin. I'm always towing with different vehicles for BabyDrive content, but quite a few of the models supplied for these purposes do not come fitted with an electric trailer brake controller (usually these are a dealer-fitted accessory or aftermarket installation is needed).
Instead of being permanently wired into the tow vehicle, the Elecbrakes EB2 attaches to the trailer itself and has a simple phone app for setting up the braking response (which also works with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).
My situation is pretty unusual, but for most families, the advantages of this design mean that if you have more than one tow vehicle in your household, you just buy the one brake controller (and it's easy to DIY fit compared to the ones that have to be wired into your car) or if you rent out your camper trailer or caravan on platforms like Camplify (think AirBnB for camping) you can make sure everyone who hires the trailer has a brake controller. I also know plenty of people who change cars more often than their trailers and a product like the Elecbrakes EB2 means your future vehicles don't need to have a brake controller fitted.
Given the 2024 Nissan Patrol Warrior now has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto I found it was safe and easy to adjust the trailer brake settings at any time through the media screen. Due to the way the trailer plug on this particular Patrol is set up, I have to drive with the headlights on to ensure the Elecbrakes EB2 gets enough power (which I had to remember each time, but at least the app in CarPlay quickly reminded me) and in any case, it's a good idea to make yourself as visible as possible when towing, especially off-road.
Apart from that, I found the Elecbrakes EB2 pretty seamless across the suburbia, motorway and off-road towing I did as part of the Mulgumpin trip. To me, it's a sign of a good product that you don't have to think too much about it and it just works (much like the Patrol Warrior). The one time it really came into its own was when a queue of vehicles slammed on their brakes on the sand due to a creek that had opened up across the path of travel, and despite the vastly different surface and the extra weight onboard compared to our Kenilworth trip, we pulled up confidently (changing course while towing and braking heavily on soft sand proved to be quite a challenge but the Patrol Warrior did us proud).
We arrive at Comboyuro campground, and luckily, a spot in our favourite area by the ocean is available so we set up camp!
You can not reserve an actual camp spot at Comboyuro Camp Ground, as it's first in best dressed. Comboyuro is a large campground that is shaded; the sites are nestled in the trees just behind the beach.
Comboyuro has bore water taps…
… a shower block with cold showers.
And drop toilets. Depending on where you set up camp, they are within a walk or short drive.
The addition of totem tennis makes for an at home feel and keeps the kids entertained while we set up!
And they even help with the setup!
The beach is very special just where we are and the first couple of days are spent just swimming and playing, it's a great place to slow down and reconnect.
The weather is beautiful and we soak up every minute of sun, sand and sea we can.
We can't spend all day in the sun so we retreat to the shade of our camp for lunch and little breaks throughout the days. In the afternoons when the tide is out, we drive the Patrol Warrior around to the beach to enjoy a little shade from the Thule Overcast Awning. It is very easy to put up and one of us can do it easily while the other continues playing with the kids.
Sunsets are beautiful, looking out across the ocean to occasionally see the mainland and the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance, or a boat moored up and people fishing.
We have our tradition of dinner on the beach every evening while the sun goes down. We watch the dolphins swim by and are unable to resist the urge for just one more swim!
Settled into our new environment and the island pace of life, everyone becomes eager to explore Mulgumpin. By day four we head off on a drive to the southern tip of the island.
And now for BabyDrive's Top 10 Things for Families to do on Mulgumpin (other than Tangalooma Wrecks).
1- Kooringal, The Gutter Bar and Kooringal Oysters
For me, the drive and the adventure are the best part of heading down to Kooringal! The creek run-outs are pretty big on the western beach, so instead of heading south from Bulwer and across the Middle Road, we head across the Bulwer—Blue Lagoon Road and down the length of the eastern beach.
The Blue Lagoon Road is beautiful. You drive through stretches of thick gum forest that suddenly open out into low scrub with tall black grass trees.
Driving out onto the eastern beach, the beach exits are always good fun. Soft churned-up sand and deep ridges where multiple vehicles have carved their way through the powdery surface. They are always different and always fun! With shouts of ‘Go Ninja, Go Ninja' from the back seat!
The Nissan Patrol Warrior is extremely capable in these situations. One of the things I like the most about the vehicle is that I never feel like it lacks ability, which reduces the chance we will get bogged. I have driven on Gheebulum Kunungai with many different vehicles and I watch other people driving and see them get bogged or struggling. Before children I may have found getting bogged and getting out of it fun but to be honest in the scorching heat with two kids on board I don't want to be digging the car out.
I always think perhaps I am over-confident in the Patrol Warrior's ability but it hasn't let me down yet! The 50mm lift the Warrior conversion gives the Patrol not only makes the drive more enjoyable for all on board because the visibility is that bit higher but the added ground clearance is great for off-roading too.
The drive down the eastern beach is lovely. A wide open beach with plenty of dry, firm sand to drive on, blue sky above and turquoise ocean to my left.
It's a great view out to the crashing ocean, and we all enjoy spotting the migratory birds and their babies along the shoreline.
There are a few trees down across the beach and waves are coming up to meet them by the time we get south of the Little Sand Hills at the southern end of the island. So we duck off the beach and use the little parallel tracks that wind through the dunes. Casuarina tea trees line the tracks with gnarly trunks and branches that wrap over and around the track.
With the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent on top, the Patrol Warrior takes up a lot of space and it's a tight squeeze through a few spots. We can see where other vehicles have trimmed the branches as they've gone through!
Making it through without getting snagged, we come back out onto the beach and take the Kooringal exit which provides a little soft-sand fun. After the giggling from the back seats subsides we're informed of rumbling tummies so it's just as well that we're heading to the Gutter Bar.
Everyone heads to the Gutter Bar at Kooringal for a well-earned cold drink and a feed. The kids love playing on the crab and turtle and rearranging the buoys—it's the closest they get to a playground for three weeks!
After a delicious feast of fish and chips…
… we head across the road to the mud flats/beach in search of soldier crabs.
We investigate all the little pools and find hermit crabs swapping shells and I manage to catch a soldier crab for a closer look!.
We don't have too long to play with at Kooringal because of the tides, so we grab a quick ice cream for dessert and top-up a few provisions from the pub's little grocery section. The Gutter Bar at the south and Castaways at Bulwer in the north are the only places on the island for buying anything you forgot to bring…
The Gutter Bar has a nice garden to hang out in, so we enjoy our ice creams there.
The tides that day mean we have to head back after only a couple of hours. We jump back in the ‘Ninja Warrior' to drive back up the south west of Gheebulum Kunungai.
There is a fantastic oyster farm we pass on our way across to the western beach but so full of fish and chips I don't stop this time. We drive along a thin sand track with mangroves on either side…
… and out onto the south west of the island. It is pristine and one of my favourite places on the whole island. Most people head back the way they came, up the eastern beach, but a few drive back on this western strip. If it's low tide, it's well worth the adventure.
It is best driven at low tide as often trees or objects can block the beach. As much fewer people use this route there's less chance of help if you get bogged and can't get yourself out too. In fact, this was the first time I'd been confident enough to drive here without a convoy!
There are lots of birds to spot along this bit of beach…
…and you are sandwiched between the turquoise Moreton Bay on your left and the Big Sand Hills on your right.
The Patrol Warrior is a great vehicle for this part of the island. I always feel slightly nervous driving this section of Gheebulum Kunungai, it feels like Robinson Crusoe land, like unchartered territory and anything could happen. I feel a lot less nervous in the Patrol Warrior. The sand is soft in parts but hardly driven on so you cut a whole new path. My kids are rolling their eyes in the back as they hear me say for the 100th time ‘look at how beautiful this is!”.
We pass the wreck of a huge boat at Sharks Spit…
… and the beach becomes much more chopped up and harder to drive as we approach the Tangalooma Bypass. This track runs behind the Tangalooma Resort, past the Desert where the main sandboarding is and joins Middle Road. This track is one of the busiest on the island, with two-way traffic on a single lane, with deep, soft sand. It's the place people get bogged the most in my experience. This time was no exception, and we were stuck for an hour or more while multiple carloads of schoolies tried to dig themselves out.
Grateful to be in the Patrol Warrior with no trouble climbing up onto the super deep and soft sand of the cuttings, where we could let people in less capable vehicles pass, we finally make it out onto the western beach. The tide is just high enough that we can watch the dolphins as we drive back to camp. The Nissan Patrol Warrior is a comfortable steed for a whole day out driving. Although we have all been in the car for hours everyone remains in good spirits with the personal space the interior of the Patrol provides, and the simple comfort.
You’ve got to be pretty lucky to go to Mulgumpin and not get rained on! The second week of our trip brought a lot of rain. Storms and heavy rain made for lovely ocean swims, and we looked at other things to do on the island. The Quandamooka People aptly named it ‘Gheebulum Kunungai, ‘ meaning Lightning's Playground. So we shouldn't expect anything else!
The heavy rain and storms coincided with king tides in the middle of the day, which made driving around the island a little tricky for everyone as the creeks running out across the beaches to the bay and ocean were fully flowing and cutting deep channels. The tide came right up to the dunes, leaving no beach to drive on. A lot of surrounding campers in tents left the island early as they were washed out.
After enjoying a couple of days of swimming in the ocean in the rain, we venture to places we can access with minimal beach driving. Because of all the rain, it is trickier to drive around the island than in previous visits so I’m glad to have the grunt of the Nissan Patrol Warrior and we use the bypass tracks a lot that run parallel to the beach.
The best thing about the rain on Gheebulum Kunungai is that all the nature that comes to life.
The frogs croaked and bellowed for more than 24hrs straight. Their bellow of bubbly chorus is so loud, which added to the shrill buzz and sizzle of the cicadas, that I constantly thought the camp kettle was boiling!!
The wet green foliage, rich burnt red, orange, silver and white of the scribbly gums and the glossy black trunks of the grass trees make for beautiful surroundings. Lichen and fungi seem bigger and brighter as we watch the local kookaburras bringing food to their nest.
2- Blue Lagoon and Honey Eater Lake
The best swim on the island is at Blue Lagoon! This natural freshwater lake is accessible from the north eastern beach. Misleadingly named, Blue Lagoon it is usually brown (but I've seen it look really blue once)! You feel so clean and refreshed from swimming in this tea tree enriched water that they have to put up signs saying no washing or laundry to be done in the lake! The fresh water in the Blue Lagoon comes from the underground water table that comes up through the sandy soil.
The drive into Blue Lagoon can vary depending on the preceding weather. This time, on our drive, there were reasonably deep puddles to drive through. A week later, after days of storms and rain, the road was flooded, and other people we met said it was impassable.
Blue Lagoon is another great place for camping, with toilet facilities and bore water taps. There are various campsites that are close to the amenities or much more secluded and remote choices for those that bring their own bathroom facilities.
There are camps right near the Blue Lagoon Lake or you can follow tiny tracks behind the dunes to beautiful little hidden camping spots.
Along the Bulwer – Blue Lagoon Road is a little turn out to park for the Honeyeater Lake. Pull over here for a five-minute walk to view the Honeyeater Lake from a lookout. This is a good stop for those with toddlers as it's a very small walk and they won't need to be carried!
The view over the lake is beautiful. I'm sure some people know a way to get down there for a swim but the rest of us can just enjoy its untouched beauty from a distance.
The rainy weather also means we have to get creative at camp. I always pack books and games for such occasions.
Art is my kids' go-to no matter what the weather and a pack of cheap acrylic paint pens can buy hours of entertainment in any location. I also took a few Christmas crafts for them to do too.
The girls collected shells, leaves and rocks and decorated them and collecting feathers for them to use like a pen and draw with.
3- Moogar Bippo (Mount Tempest)
The walk up Moogar Bippo (Mount Tempest) is only 1.5km each way including reaching the start of the trail from the parking area which is about a 500-metre walk. It's manageable for families with kids of all ages. Our family LOVES bush walking but as Moogar Bippo is 285 metres uphill the whole way, our two were squawking about their legs on the way up!
It's a beautiful walk up along the aptly named Dungal Yundi Bumbarra (Banksia Nut Walking Path), along a track lined with Banksia trees.
It's fun looking at the different shapes of the Banksia nuts as we walk up and hopping over the step-like roots.
The path is also littered with grass trees of all sizes. Considering their slow rate of growth of just 0.8-6cm per year, some of them are of incredible sizes and we all try to guess how old the trees are as we pass them.
We have a very hot walk up Moogar Bippo as the sun is beaming for the first part and it's very humid. The further up we go the greyer the sky gets and we snatch glimpses of the view across the island and out to the ocean.
As we get to the top the weather is coming in fast and we only get a couple of minutes of the view and as my youngest daughter sang ‘we are surrounded by a cloud in the rain'.
The grey clouds came gusting across, the view was completely gone and we were enveloped within a cloud and completely soaked and cooled off from our hot walk up there!
The walk back down is fantastic! Like a totally different experience as the rain brings everything to life, the frogs were croaking, the colours of the leaves, trees and bush all come to life with a richness that was bleached by the hot sun on the way up.
It is as if everyone and everything is refreshed and enlivened by the sound and feel of the hard cool rain and it's a wonderful contrast to the walk up.
Everyone is soaked through but very happy by the time we reach the car.
We find a spider hoping to hitch a ride on the Thule Approach Roof Tent and have to coax it off before we set off again!
The drive across the island to Moogar Bippo (Mount Tempest) is fun in the Patrol Warrior. We drove down the west beach and across Middle Road, which joins the west and east sides of the island.
Middle Road is divided into two one-way lanes so you don't need to worry about oncoming vehicles. The scenery is beautiful as you drive along Middle Road. Lots of tall Scribbly Gum trees with interesting markings on their trunks to look at as we drive past.
The Patrol Warrior really takes it in its stride. It is a very comfortable ride for everyone on board and no one is complaining of being travel sick which is fantastic! The ride height means everyone gets a really good view out of the windows and can see out really well at all the scenery. The rear aircon vents ensure everyone is comfortable too.
We pass slowly through the ‘Fairy Kingdom” as my girls have named it. Every time we drive on the Middle Road we get to see how it has changed and eroded with the weather and the colours of the sand are amazing!
The track to Mt Tempest cuts across Middle Road when you are almost all the way across to the eastern beach. The track to the trail head is another fun drive. There are a couple of interesting bits for the driver to enjoy, negotiating some slippery, muddy corners where you climb up some gnarly rocks. It changes with the weather, and so each time you come, you can look forward to how it may be a new challenge! Cheers of ‘Go on Ninja Warrior' from the back are fun and encouraging as the Patrol Warrior crawls slowly over them, knowing it's capable of so much more!
4- Five Hills Lookout
Five Hills Lookout is along the Bulwer-North Point Road and it's a good little walk whatever the weather.
It's an easy walk along a gorgeous sandy track with low heathland shrubs.
Spot the green sign and the road there is wide enough for a few cars to stop along the side of it.
We saw an abandoned birds nest constructed in the low shrubs, there are plenty of flowers and interesting things for kids to spot on the way up.
If you turn around on your way up, you'll be rewarded with the view.
This is a short 1km return walk, so it's a great one for the kids.
When you reach the top, the view is fantastic. You can see down to mangroves and a lagoon and out across the ocean on one side of you…
…and the undulating green of the hills and across the island on the other side.
This is a great little 1km return walk for families and the run back down the hill to your car is great fun!
5- Tailor Bight
Heading out of Bulwer towards the Blue Lagoon Road, the track splits. Blue Lagoon and North Point are to the right, with Tailor Bight to the left. Take this turning on the left and follow this fun road through some decent-size fresh water puddles!
Tailor Bight is a wide open beach that is very quiet. We love exploring here with the kids. There are usually some interesting shells that we haven't seen at other beaches and it's a nice wide open expanse of sand to drive around on. We like running around on it and exploring. It's so quiet here the kids can run around without any worry of other vehicles.
The kids collected the washed-up coconuts and used them as bowling balls in the ocean.
The drive in is great fun with lots of fresh water crossings to go through, which are great for washing the sand off the underside of the car! We went through there before heavy rains and storms and they were already quite deep so make sure you walk the crossings first to check the depth after heavy rains.
This is worth a look in on your way to North Point or Blue Lagoon. When you come back out along the road if you are turning left to continue on to North Point or Blue Lagoon, bear in mind that it's a tight hairpin with soft sand (where I've seen people get bogged) and a bit of a blind bend for oncoming traffic.
6- Castaways for lunch (or breakfast)
I have to admit that the thought of taking enough food for our family of four camping for three weeks was pretty daunting for me. I'm not a domestic goddess and cooking does not come naturally to me. That gene bypassed me and went straight to my brother!
Camping food after any length of time gets a little samey so everyone looks forward to a treat every now and then! Castaways is the shop and cafe at Bulwer a short 20-30-minute walk along the beach from Comboyuro Campground (depending on your kids' speed and how distracted you all get by the beauty of it all).
They do a mean full English breakfast and delicious barramundi, burgers and everything on the menu really! They also have a pirate ship, rope swing, enormous chair, lighthouse…
… and fairy garden. The kids really appreciate it if they are missing the normal forms of entertainment like playgrounds (it also means the parents get some time to themselves).
It is the only shop and cafe at the north of the island, selling a good range of fresh and dry groceries and are very reasonably priced. They also have fuel (very expensive), water and ice and good coffee!
We had to buy both water and fuel from Castaways during our stay as we were on the island for so long. I have to say that topping up a V8 Nissan Patrol Warrior at $3.50 a litre can feel a bit financially ruinous!
We enjoyed a few very good lunches at Castaways. Being a short walk, it was a nice thing to do with the girls to make a change to our daily routine and seeing what they found on the beach along the way.
The king tides and stormy weather washed lots of star fish on to the beaches.
We all enjoyed collecting them and taking them back into the water as we walked along the beach to Castaways.
On the walk back, we could repeat the process for any more that washed up!
7- Honeymoon Bay, North Point and Champagne Pools
A trip to Mulgumpin wouldn't be complete without a trip to North Point and the Champagne Pools, a must-do on most peoples' itineraries. With the storms and king tides, we timed it just right to get there when the tide was lowest and leave before it came right in.
Champagne Pools are named for the bubbly champagne-like froth that billows over the rocks while you enjoy swimming below it!
We love looking for the stripy little fish in the water that nibble your toes if you stay still long enough…
… and exploring the rocks where lots of wonderful sea creatures live. The kids like spotting crabs, barnacles, urchins etc,
Next we walk over to Honeymoon Bay.
It's a short five-minute walk across the headland, and you can see across to the lighthouse.
This is a beautiful, quiet little bay with amazing rocks to explore.
We had the whole place to ourselves and it was stunning. Playing in the ocean…
… and exploring the rock formations was so fun with the kids and we felt like the only ones around.
It was cloudy and wet when we went up to North Point, but that didn't put the local inquisitive pelican off coming to say hello!
The heavens opened and the rain set in so we headed back to camp back across the vast beach of North Point.
Past Yellow Patch, a bright yellow sand patch that contrasts all the sand that surrounds it!
There are some hidden remote camping spots here that you need to be self sufficient for with your own toilet etc.
The drive to North Point takes you along heathland sand tracks with limestone rocky sections and beautiful views out to the north east of the island and the ocean.
8- A holiday within a holiday in the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent
As the weather improved for our last week, the tides were still higher than normal, which made travelling to the bottom of the island back to Kooringal and the oyster farm tricky, so instead, we went for a holiday within our holiday, making the most of the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent.
There are ten campsites or zones around Mulgumpin, we based ourselves at Comboyuro Camp Ground on the northwest of the island.
We had our camper trailer here and used it as our home base for the majority of the trip.
Being here for three weeks, we also wanted to venture out around the island with the Nissan Patrol Warrior and the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent for a few nights camping along the beachfront.
We head out with a much smaller setup for this. Just table, chairs, sand toys, camp stove and food enough for a couple of days.
It's a really nice way for us to test out other options for camping and see how we go in the roof tent all together before we head off on more family adventures in the Nissan Patrol Warrior and Tule Approach Large Roof Tent later in the school holidays! You can check these out here.
We have the Thule Overcast Awning as well which provides really good shade for us to hang out underneath in the mornings and for the kids to play in the sand underneath during the heat of the day.
The Nissan Patrol Warrior has plenty of room in the back for everything we need for a couple of nights and it's nice to be able to fit everything we need without having to worry about space.
The Thule Approach L roof tent is fantastic! It's very quick to put up, which is great when you have kids.
It's very spacious inside and the four of us could all fit very comfortably all sleep inside it. Importantly for us it felt spacious too; my husband and I can both sit up in there and there is plenty of room for everyone to move around. The storage pockets on both sides held our books and torches easily.
It feels exciting to climb up here at night and all snuggle in for stories and to lay in bed and look up at the stars. In the morning, you wake up to the trees through the windows, which is quite magical.
I really like the combination of the Nissan Patrol Warrior and the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent because it's high up, so you feel nestled in the trees and connected to nature. We felt safe on top of the Patrol Warrior and even getting out in the middle of the night and climbing down and up the ladder for the inevitable “I need a wee” from the kids is easy. You are rewarded by the beautiful starry sky and snuggling back in when you climb back up.
9- Rous Battery
Coastal defence bases were located on Mulgumpin during World War II. Large defence battery complexes were built at Fort Cowan Cowan on the western side and Toompani Beach on the eastern side (the Rous Battery). The remains of the Rous Battery are well worth a look, with beautiful views out to the Pacific Ocean. There are also a few well-positioned campsites here, but you need to be fully self-sufficient.
As you drive down the eastern beach look out for the S11 yellow triangle marker on the right and the turn off is just afterwards. The green Rous Battery sign can be quite hidden by the trees in the dunes.
The drive in off the beach to the walk up to Rous Battery is not very far along a soft sand track, climbing up you round a corner and have an excellent view out at the ocean.
It feels like not too many people make the time to come here. There's an uphill walking track through the beautiful bush, with ferns, eucalypts and occasional fungi. The trees provide some very welcome dappled shade as it's a very hot day when we visit. My kids are even complaining, and they are seasoned bushwalkers!
I didn't know what to expect but after a short walk we arrive at a cement stairwell and doorway. Which is a stark contrast with the surrounding forest! It's quite intimidating and looks a little scary for the kids!
These defence bases included anti-aircraft emplacements, command and battery observation posts, underground rooms and accommodation for soldiers. We head down the steps into a small underground room. It's quite dark with just a skylight. With graffitied walls it has obviously become a hang out for local teenagers rather than its original use as an office or accomodation for the soldiers who were defending the country.
Continuing along the path, you come to a huge round gun mount. What remains of it acts a bit like an amphitheatre and it's fun with the kids to feel and hear your voice amplified when you stand in the centre where the gun would have originally been.
The view from here is incredible across the Pacific Ocean and south towards Stradbroke Island. You can see why it was such a great position for the defence base given the view.
There are two more rooms here that would have also been offices and accomodation for soldiers.
On the walk back, if you turn left where the path splits, you can continue on the 9.8km one-way walking track to The Desert. This is part of the walking track soldiers would have taken during the Second World War between the Rous Battery and a naval base and jetty that were built at Tangalooma. I started heading along this track with my kids but it is far too hot to do this in the heat of summer. We will come back to do that in cooler months. Instead, we headed back down through the bush to the comfort and aircon of the ‘Ninja Warrior!'
10- Little Sand Hills
While you are over on the southeastern beach at Rous Battery, drive a little further south along the beach and look out for a large white mattress-shaped rock on the beach and the yellow triangle marker saying S15. Here is the entry to the Little Sand Hills.
If I thought the Rous Battery track was rarely used, the Little Sand Hills track is deserted in comparison! The drive along the track in is great fun, its a twisty very overgrown track through gnarly tight trees that haven't been ‘trimmed' by streams of tourist vehicles like on most other tracks!
With the Thule Approach Large Roof Tent on top, there were a few corners that needed a spotter to make sure we weren't going to collide with the local flora or get some new pinstripes!
The track ends as it loops around for the return drive with a non-obvious spot to park.
Bearing in mind this isn't a well-trodden tourist track, and it's summer, we were snake-wary! The path through the bush out to the Little Sand Hills is great. You pass through some different patches of native trees and plants. There are always things for the kids to spot and point out, and we pass a little honeycomb on the floor and see the busy bees.
Going through the bush, you would have no idea you are going to arrive at the pristine white sand hills.
Nothing has walked on these sand hills yet today apart from the local wildlife. The kids love looking at all the different animal footprints and trying to guess what made them.
The sand dunes are great for running up and down with the kids and the feeling of being surrounded by endless white sand is fantastic!
Three weeks on Mulgumpin was magical! We all felt we had truly enjoyed a lot of family time together. We packed up most of the camper trailer, beach toys, etc, the night before we departed so we could make an earlier departure in the morning. Luckily, our latest of seven sets of neighbouring campers had a projector and were playing a movie on our last night, kindly inviting our girls to watch it with them. After three weeks of no watching or technology, our girls were excited by the prospect – which gave us a great opportunity to get packed away!
In the morning there's time for a final delicious breakfast at Castaways.
We have planned a day in the ocean close to where the Micat comes in as we're booked on the 3pm ferry but the tides are still very high. We notice a lot of people doing the same thing so they are not driving down the beach and negotiating the creeks at high tide. As we drive along the beach for a while, the sea is beautiful and I wish our three weeks were three months!
After a while the tide's come in a way so we use the tracks parallel to the beach. You get the beautiful view of the ocean as well as the native bush around you so to be they are the best of both worlds!
It feels like it might be a bit easier for the Nissan Patrol Warrior on this homeward journey.
Without all the water and food on board both the Patrol's boot and the camper trailer are a lot lighter! We park under a shady tree a good way back from where the Micat comes in as it gets a bit busy further up and we want to stay out of the way as we have hours before our departure.
The weather has really turned it on for our last day and we enjoy a day of swimming together.
We easily have room in the boot of the Ninja Warrior for our large fridge/freezer and our drawers with clothes and swimming gear so we can access everything we need for our day.
We enjoy a lovely picnic in the shade using up all the last fruit, veggies and supplies!
As we see the Micat Ferry pull in to shore it's time to dry off, jump in the Ninja Warrior and drive up to join the queue. My drive on to the Micat is fun and a shock to the system to be driving on a solid surface!
During our 90-minute ferry journey back to the mainland, we played high-low-buffalo, a game in which each of us said our favourite things about the holiday (high), and we all agreed that our least-favourite aspect (low) was that it had to come to an end!
Time to re-inflate the tyres and head home again!
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