Wide Bay Getaway – Glamping Bush Camp at Bidwill opens

A once-basic bush camp, which has been transformed into 12 acres of eco-glamping offerings soon to feature tiny houses and a bar is tipped to become a popular tourist attraction. DETAILS.

What started as a basic bush camp is now an eco-tourism resort under the Fraser Coast Regional Council’s planning requirements, fully sustainable and completely off-grid.

A 12-acre glamping bush camp has opened in Bidwill, offering a new tourism attraction for the Fraser Coast.

Steve and Nicola McNamara came to Maryborough six years ago to purchase the city’s largest caravan sales and repair business in Tinana.

The Wide Bay Getaway – Glamping Bush Camp at 506 Bidwill Road has been a passion project for the McNamaras for the past four years, with hundreds of hours spent at weekends and after work completing earth works and paved walkways, building scores of covered picnic tables, a fenced dog run and children’s play area.

Two man-made lakes now adorn the property, and 1500 tons of large sandstone boulders and coppers logs have been used to define the pathways and park entrance.

What started as a basic bush camp is now an eco-tourism resort under the Fraser Coast Regional Council’s planning requirements, fully sustainable and completely off-grid.

Without electricity or town water, bore water is passed through UV filters to meet the park’s potable water needs and all amenities are solar powered.

The Bidwill glamping park is part of 161 acres of bush purchased by the couple not long after they arrived in Maryborough. It was originally Bidwill Rock Quary, with two open quarry areas covering 12 and 8 acres.

“We found we were pushing the boundaries of a bush camp with the amenities and facilities we wanted

to provide, so we had to upgrade our plans,” Steve said, explaining it had taken three years of solid work and negotiation to get the park to the standard he wanted.

The site is licensed to carry 50 vans and RVs and will soon have eight tiny houses with timber decks overlooking the dam for weekends and longer stays.

After a recent agreement with Ergon, there are also plans to power sites which are on grassed areas with access to 10 picnic gazebos with tables for family get-togethers. A further three shelters with wooden verandas are built around the lake.

Fraser Coast Tourism and Events General Manager Martin Simons said the glamping bush camp was at another level to most in the region, providing variety for those who wanted an off-grid peaceful escape.

The Wide Bay Getaway – Glamping Bush Camp is located at 506 Bidwill Road.

Without electricity or town water, bore water is passed through UV filters to meet the park’s potable water needs and all amenities are solar powered.

“The Wide Bay Getaway has most of the facilities of a modern park with the relaxed atmosphere of camping in the bush. Those up early enough will see wallabies grazing near the tree line of the park grounds.

“Steve and Nicola have done an amazing job to present the park fully set up with every detail of a bush experience catered for at a park only 7km from Maryborough”.

Steve and Nicola are originally from the Gold Coast where Steve, a cabinet-maker by trade, had his first foray into the recreational vehicle industry, converting large coaches into touring vehicles with kitchen, bed and shower facilities.

Two man-made lakes now adorn the property, and 1500 tons of large sandstone boulders and coppers logs have been used to define the pathways and park entrance.

They then owned businesses in Gympie and Tin Can Bay before moving further north.

The Bidwill glamping park is part of 161 acres of bush purchased by the couple not long after they arrived in Maryborough. It was originally Bidwill Rock Quary, with two open quarry areas covering 12 and 8 acres.

The 12-acre block is now the glamping park where the McNamaras have also built a home, and they have longer term plans to convert the second eight acres into a children-free over 50s park.

As well as planting many trees on the block, Steve is also an avid collector of “garden art” and scoured marketplace sites to purchase old trucks, tractors, several windmills, the odd boat or two and even a twin-engine Cessna 310 which now give the glamping park additional character.

There are also several walking trails through the nearby bush with one track taking you to Jumpo Creek, which flows into Tiana Creek before reaching the Mary River.

More than 120 people attended a weekend concert in one of the property’s super-sized shed to officially open the facility.

The shed also features a collection of memorabilia which Steve hopes to convert to a licensed venue in the future.

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