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Words: Penny WatsonProduced: Simone Kealy
5 spectacularly beautiful free camping sites in Australia
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Even better than pitching a tent amid spectacular scenery is not having to pay for it. Here are five campsites where the views, swimming, fire-pits and fresh air are free.
It may be a basic, unpowered campground but what makes it special is it's hop-skip-jump distance to the crystal-clear swimming spot, The Boulders.
The Boulders   
Babinda, QLD
Spend your days picnicking on the smooth boulders, swimming in the family-friendly water hole and exploring the walking tracks.
Just south of Cooktown on the Cape York Peninsula, it's hard to leave this slip of land overlooking the shimmering Coral Sea.
Archer Point
Cooktown, QLD
Hemmed in by national park , this is rough camping. Fortunately, your tent views stretch from croc-inhabited mangroves across dreamy white sand to the turquoise shallows. 
A throwback to a ‘70s childhood, you can pull up unannounced here and stay up to four weeks if it suits. 
Swimcart Beach
Bay of Fires, TAS
Its beachfront camping with sands as white as it gets. Come off-season to have the place to yourself, or time your run for whale-watching season.
Kalymna Falls, in the Pomonal region east of the Gariwerd, sits creek-side at the base of the spectacular Mt William Range. 
Kalymna Falls
Gariwerd, VIC
The six campsites are immersed in a bird-filled bush garden. Just beyond, a rocky escarpment looms, beckoning walkers to the nearby trailheads.
This wild and woolly southern end of Tasmania's pristine Cockle Creek promises a special kind of remoteness.
Cockle Creek
Southwest National Park, TAS
There are two campgrounds along the beach road. At the north end, Recherche Bay Nature Recreation Areas (20 sites) has pit-toilets, fire pits, and is dog-friendly but you’ll have to BYO water.
Pictures: Kyle Rounds, Liam Neal
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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/web-stories/free/herald-sun/5-of-australias-most-beautiful-free-camping-sites