No big summit, no epic trek this time. Just four campsites, a car boot full of groceries, and the exact pace a short break was supposed to have.

A silver SUV parked beside a wide lake, hills rolling into the distance under a clear blue sky Somewhere on the shores of Lake Glenbawn, one of four very different campsites on this loop.

How This One Came Together

This trip started with a fast decision rather than a long-planned one: book four nights of campground the night before departure, keep the itinerary loose, and actually rest. After a run of bigger, more demanding trips, the goal here was simply to chill, and booking it quickly, without overthinking, turned out to be exactly the right call.

Trip Highlights at a Glance

Wollemi National Park: Rocks and a Cliff Walk

The first full day started slow and a little rushed all at once, groceries sorted the night before, arriving after dark with not much to do but eat and sleep. Morning made up for it: a shakshuka breakfast, then a short drive to a walking track near the water inside Wollemi National Park.

There were three route options at the trailhead, and the instinct at first was to skip the hardest one. That lasted about five minutes. Once the climbing started, up onto huge sandstone rocks with a cliff dropping away on one side, it was clearly worth every bit of the harder option.

A person standing on a large rock outcrop, looking out over a forested valley with a lake visible below The cliff-edge lookout, partway through the Wollemi walk. Rock climbing turned out to be more fun than expected.

Cudgegong Waters Park, Windamere Dam: Burgers, Fishing, and a Fire

From Wollemi, the drive continued toward Windamere Dam and Cudgegong Waters Park, a straightforward, well-signed campground right on the water.

The entrance sign and gate for Cudgegong Waters Park, with a visitor walking through Arriving at Cudgegong Waters Park, gate code and all.

Lunch here was simple and good: a burger by the water, with enough of an afternoon left over to fish from the bank. The site itself sits right on Windamere Dam, calm water, a light breeze, and just enough chill in the evening air to justify lighting a fire once the sun went down.

A cast iron pan of tomato-based stew cooking on a portable camp stove, with a wide lake and hills visible behind Dinner cooking lakeside at Windamere Dam.

Lake Glenbawn: The Best Campsite of the Trip

If this loop has a standout, it's Glenbawn. The site sits looking straight out over the lake and surrounding hills, and mornings here started with coffee on a hill, wind picking up now and then, the whole scene looking more like a coastline than an inland dam.

Dinner the first night here was cooked on a hilltop over a big fire, salmon, potato, and asparagus, and it tasted like exactly the kind of meal a good campsite earns.

Two plates of seared salmon, mashed potato, and roasted asparagus, cooked on a portable camp stove Salmon, mash, and asparagus, cooked on the portable stove at Lake Glenbawn. Easily the best plate of the trip.

The next morning brought some of the best photos of the whole trip: lake, hills, and a car roof used as an impromptu photo platform more than once.

A person standing through a car's open sunroof, arms raised, overlooking a lake and green hills Making the most of the view at Lake Glenbawn.

A person sitting on a wooden fence rail, looking out over a wide lake dotted with small islands, yellow wildflowers in the foreground A quiet moment taking in the view before heading off for the day.

A wide view of Lake Glenbawn with small islands and rolling hills in the distance, dry ground in the foreground The lake stretching out from the campground, islands and all.

Lake St Clair: Rain, Fishing, and the Last Morning

The final night was spent at Lake St Clair, arriving with plenty of daylight left to watch the sunset settle over the water and surrounding mountains.

A car parked beside a wide lake in golden late-afternoon light, a large tree standing beside the water Arriving at Lake St Clair with the light just starting to turn gold.

The last morning turned properly wet, rain settling over the lake and mountains and making the whole scene feel calm rather than gloomy. Breakfast was bacon and eggs cooked under the cover of a screened-in camp kitchen, a small but genuinely useful piece of gear when the weather turns. A quick stop in a nearby town for water, then the drive home, with an Indian dinner on the Central Coast to close out the trip.

The Food, Campsite to Campsite

Wollemi NP: shakshuka for breakfast, the kind of proper start that makes a cliff walk feel earned
Cudgegong Waters Park: burgers by the water, cooked lakeside as the afternoon wound down
Lake Glenbawn: salmon, potato, and asparagus over a hilltop fire, easily the best dinner of the trip
Lake St Clair: stir-fried noodles and a simple Mexican-style dinner the first night, bacon and eggs to close out a rainy last morning

The Numbers

Trip length: 5 days, 4 nights, self-drive camping loop across central NSW
Total cost: ~$400 AUD per person, all-in, covering fuel, food, and groceries for the whole trip
Campsites: Wollemi National Park (Ganguddy/Dunns Swamp), Cudgegong Waters Park (Windamere Dam), Lake Glenbawn, Lake St Clair
Group size: 2

Tips & Tricks: Planning Your Own Trip

Season: September, spring: mild days with a genuine chance of rain, so pack for both. Spring keeps the campgrounds on this loop noticeably quieter than summer, without the harsher cold of an autumn or winter trip.

Booking: Wollemi (Ganguddy/Dunns Swamp) is a NSW National Parks campground booked through nationalparks.nsw.gov.au. Sites are marked by number on the map above, and each has its own fireplace; Cudgegong Waters Park, on Windamere Dam, is bookable directly through the park office on (02) 6358 8462; the site includes a camp kitchen, cabins, powered and unpowered sites, and a boat ramp. Lake Glenbawn is part of the Reflections Holiday Parks network, bookable through reflectionsholidays.com.au; the site sits on Glenbawn Dam, Wonnarua Country, with cabins, camping areas, and a full foreshore to explore.

Final Thoughts

Not every trip needs a mountain to be worth writing down. This one was booked on a whim, planned the night before it started, and built almost entirely around campsites, water views, and whatever was in the cooler that day. Four nights, four completely different lakes, and not a single moment that felt rushed. Sometimes that's the whole point.

5 Days, 4 Nights: A Blue Mountains to Central Coast Camping Loop