bell gorge

Hi,
Was there last year. The sites must be vacated by 10am, I recall, and people put the tag back on the board as they exit. There are not a lot of sites, so they are in demand. Previously, I've tried to get there around 10am to make sure I get a site. Last year, some sites were also out of action due to fire damage, further limiting the availability.
If they're all taken, the Silent Grove communal site is still quite nice, but having Bell's Creek beside you at the individual campsites is a nice sweetener.
Cheers,
Gerry

We were there late July 2006. We got the 2nd last tag off the board at approx. 10.30am on the morning of arrival but were instructed by the Ranger to hand it in to him upon departure, which we did. He said his aim was to have them all out by 7.00am, but that was 2006.
Yes, it was my belief they are meant to be “private” camp sites; yours for the duration of your time at Bell Gorge. However some people staying at Silent Grove didn't seem to be aware of any ticketing arrangement for the privilege of camping at a nice spot at Bell Gorge.

We were at No.2 camp location I think. It was called Water Lily Pad. They all have names with the relevant signpost at the entrance to the site. We stayed a week and several times had our peace in our camp briefly interrupted by people driving right in to our camp area asking for directions to the Water Lily Pad. We explained that that was just the name of our campsite. When they asked where did the track lead to we explained that it just went down to the creek. A couple asked if they could have a look for themselves. One lady looked at us in disbelief when we explained that these campsites were sort of “private” and that you had to get a tag off the board to be eligible. She said they were staying at Silent Grove, didn't see and hadn't heard of any such tag system.

Enjoy your time at Bell Gorge. It's delightful to have your own space and private track to the creek where you can cool off in private. But you might have some curious visitors depending on which site you get. There were 10 sites in 2006.
June

Our 'blog' entry for Bell Gorge :)

"Drove the rest of the way to Bell Gorge and grabbed the last camping tag available. There are only 10 camping sites actually nearish the walking track to Bell Gorge and you need to grab a tag off the board at Silent Grove to be able to camp at the named site. Funninly, two cars with campers had just taken off as we were pulling up. Half way down the road to Bell Gorge they were coming back and one stopped as they were passing us. He asked if there were any tags left and we told him that we got the last one. He replied that they should have read the board!"

GU goose,
We were there recently, about 3 weeks ago,and all the private tagged sites are closed. Spoke to the ranger about it and was told that when they built the toilets at the private sites they built them too close to the creek and all the sites were closed. We stayed in the generator area in Silent Grove, quite open but plenty of sites if you get in b4 lunch.
Humie and family