Founder, CampWatch
Built CampWatch to fix the booked-out-campsite problem after one too many 6am refresh sessions on the NSW Parks site. Camps every chance he gets.
Campbell Duncan started CampWatch in early 2026 after refreshing the NSW Parks booking page one too many times. The pattern was always the same: a long weekend approaching, a campground sold out everywhere, and no way to know if a cancellation had freed up a site without checking manually. That's the problem CampWatch was built to solve.
What began as a small NSW-only tool — a Twilio number, a polling script, and twenty popular campgrounds — has grown into the SMS alert service for Australian campsite availability. CampWatch now monitors campgrounds across every mainland state and territory: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, NT and the ACT, plus the BookEasy and RMS Cloud operator networks. The promise hasn't changed: tell us where you want to camp, and we'll text you when a spot opens up.
Campbell writes the blog content and campground guides on this site. The aim is practical, useful camping content for Australians — booking system explainers, region guides, seasonal advice, and the kind of insider detail you'd only get from someone who's pitched a tent at the spot. If something on the site is wrong or out of date, that's on him — there's a feedback link in the footer.
Recent guides
1 May 2026 · 13 min read
North Queensland camping is the kind of trip most Australians do once and then keep coming back for. World-heritage rainforest meeting reef beach. Crocs in the river systems,...
29 April 2026 · 12 min read
Royal National Park camping is no longer a "rock up and pitch a tent" affair. If you've ever tried to book a Bonnie Vale weekend on the NSW Parks site at exactly 9am, six months...
22 April 2026 · 8 min read
It's 11pm the night before Day 1 of the Overland Track. Your gear is spread across the lounge floor. You can't find the spare gas canister you swore you bought, the head torch is...
3 April 2026 · 11 min read
The first thing you notice at Karijini is the colour. Not the blue sky or the green trees, the red. Red earth under your tyres, red dust on your boots, red cliffs dropping away...
31 March 2026 · 9 min read
Camping near Melbourne is better than most people realise. Rainforest campgrounds along the Great Ocean Road. Beach camping on the Mornington Peninsula. Alpine lakes surrounded by...
31 March 2026 · 11 min read
Twenty thousand years of Aboriginal rock art. Saltwater crocodiles cruising beneath lily-covered billabongs. Waterfalls plunging into plunge pools you can actually swim in, if the...
31 March 2026 · 11 min read
You've spent the last 20 minutes refreshing the NSW Parks booking page. Euroka, sold out. Wombeyan Caves, sold out. Every campground within two hours of Sydney is booked solid for...
29 March 2026 · 7 min read
A bad sleeping bag ruins a camping trip faster than rain, mosquitoes, or a flat tyre. You lie awake at 2am, shivering in something that promised "comfort to 5°C" but clearly meant...
29 March 2026 · 7 min read
There's a reason campervan camping in Australia keeps growing. The country has 35,000+ kilometres of coastline, vast outback roads, and more campgrounds than you could visit in a...
29 March 2026 · 9 min read
You want to sleep somewhere beautiful this weekend. A proper bed, maybe a glass of wine, definitely some stars overhead. But you also want trees, not traffic. Fresh air, not air...
1 May 2026 · 10 min read
Glamping Sydney runs the spectrum from $99 canvas tents on Cockatoo Island to $600 transparent bubbles in the Capertee Valley. Twelve spots within five hours of the city, sorted by what you actually want from a weekend away.
29 March 2026 · 6 min read
Most NSW campers never make it past the coast. The south coast, the central coast, the north coast. But Gundabooka National Park camping offers something those coastal trips...
29 March 2026 · 6 min read
You've probably seen Hipcamp mentioned if you've searched for camping anywhere in Australia recently. The platform appears near the top of Google for almost every camping-related...
29 March 2026 · 6 min read
Wilsons Promontory is Victoria's most popular national park, and getting a camping booking at Tidal River is one of the most competitive exercises in Australian camping. Close to...
28 March 2026 · 9 min read
Free camping in a quiet pine forest, roughly 90 minutes from Sydney, no booking required, no fees, and dogs welcome. Belanglo State Forest is one of those spots that stays under...
28 March 2026 · 9 min read
There's nothing quite like sitting around a campfire after a long day outdoors. The crackle, the warmth, the smoke that follows you no matter where you sit. But good campfire tips...
28 March 2026 · 7 min read
Christmas Creek sits in the Scenic Rim region of southeast Queensland, tucked between the Lamington Plateau and the McPherson Range. It's about 90 minutes from Brisbane and just...
28 March 2026 · 7 min read
Tasmania has 19 national parks, and you need a pass to enter any of them. That part is simple. The confusing part is choosing between six different pass types, figuring out...
28 March 2026 · 7 min read
Toolangi State Forest sits about 90 minutes northeast of Melbourne in the Yarra Ranges, home to some of the tallest flowering trees on the planet. The Mountain Ash here grow over...
28 March 2026 · 6 min read
Wombat State Forest covers 70,000 hectares of rolling bushland about 80 km northwest of Melbourne. It's one of the largest state forests in Victoria, and camping here is free. No...
27 March 2026 · 4 min read
If you're planning a Blue Mountains camping trip in 2026, check before you pack. Several campgrounds, walking tracks, and access roads are closed right now, some for months, and...
27 March 2026 · 6 min read
You've scored the campsite, packed the car, and driven two hours to a gorgeous national park. The last thing you want is a meal that takes 45 minutes, three pots, and ingredients...
27 March 2026 · 6 min read
Free camping in Australia is one of the best ways to explore the country without blowing your budget. Hundreds of free camping spots sit in state forests, along rivers, on coastal...
27 March 2026 · 5 min read
Western Australia has some of the country's most dramatic landscapes, and glamping is the way to experience them without sleeping on a rock. From safari tents overlooking Ningaloo...