Hardings Paddock

 14 - 15 September 2025

We still had  a night to fill in before we were booked in to the campground at Canungra so we settled on a return to Hardings Paddock, near Ipswich. It was not far out of the way, would help us avoid city traffic and is a nice peaceful spot. We left Barambah and took a detour to Kingaroy so we could buy a new GPS. I definitely didn't want to be relying solely on the phone. I actually like to use both at the same time - it works for me anyway.

Once we had the new GPS we fuelled up and headed off towards Nanango where we stopped for a cuppa. From there we continued on to Esk for lunch. Coming through close to Ipswich was easier than we thought it might be as it was a Sunday. We hadn't consciously planned it that way but it worked out well. The downside was that Hardings Paddock is a popular location for horse riders and the public area was very busy when we arrived. 

Late afternoon at the paddock

The campground must be booked in advance through the Ipswich City Council and a gate code is provided. Entry to the campground is restricted to those who have booked which makes it feel very secure. There was only a couple of other campers so we enjoyed a quiet and peaceful afternoon. Mick went out looking for birds of course. It was a very cold night and a communal fire ring is available but we hadn't thought to bring firewood with us.

Once again we had set up for a quick overnighter so packing up didn't take too long. We were soon back on the road and on our way to Canungra.

Hardings Paddock

13 – 15 October 2024

We left Chinchilla and headed towards a birding spot near Jondaryan. We stopped in Dalby to do some shopping and then continued on to a back road just out of Jondaryan. We knew we had the right spot when we saw other vehicles parked on the road nearby. Mick spent a fair while looking and then we drove back into Jondaryan for lunch.

We had booked our campsite at Hardings Paddock, and we weren’t too far away so we returned to the birding spot after lunch for another go. From there it was on to the motorway towards Toowoomba and then Ipswich. Fortunately we didn’t have to go right into Ipswich and, because it was a Sunday afternoon,  the traffic wasn’t too bad. We turned off the motorway and travelled on to Hardings Paddock.

This campground is managed by the Ipswich Council and is accessed via a locked gate. Bookings are essential, and the gate code is provided with the booking confirmation. There are toilets and picnic facilities in the campground as well as in the adjacent extensive day use area. There are a number of walking tracks as well as a couple of small dams.

We stayed for two nights and Mick enjoyed the birding opportunities. On the morning we were leaving, another of Mick’s birding friends who lives nearby, came down for a visit and they went out for a walk together while I did some packing up.

We left Hardings Paddock, another great spot, and started the journey to Warwick which would be a pit-stop rather than a destination.