We Stayed 4 Nights at Blacks Beach Holiday Park — Here’s Why Nobody Wants to Leave

Blacks Beach Holiday Park is worth the twenty-minute drive north of Mackay — especially if you don’t mind a camp kitchen full of people swapping fish stories. Four nights on site OB-23 was enough to convince us: sites on the small side, but a location and a community that more than make up for it.

We rolled in under grey skies, wipers going, wondering if we’d picked the wrong week for the coast. By the next morning the rain had cleared to blue and stayed that way — mid-20s by day, a cool 15 or 16 overnight, exactly the kind of winter escape we were chasing.

Pauline clocked it first: half the park wasn’t here for a night or two. Rods leaned against awnings, sun-worn eskies sat by the door, and every conversation in the camp kitchen circled back to what was biting off the beach that morning.

Where Is It? 📍

Blacks Beach Holiday Park sits about twenty minutes north of Mackay, in the quiet stretch known locally as the Northern Beaches. It backs onto Blacks Beach itself, close enough to walk to the sand in a few minutes. From the beach you can see the southern Whitsunday islands sitting out on the horizon — a nice surprise this far south.

Exhale Moment 😮‍💨

After weeks of outback sites you could turn a road train in, backing Sunny onto our reverse-in spot at Blacks Beach felt like parallel parking a bus in a shopping centre car park. We got there in the end, unhitched, and levelled up without too much fuss.

Once we were set up we wandered fifteen metres to the end of the park, where a couple of chairs sit looking straight out over the beach. Half an hour just watching the waves lap in was all it took — the tight squeeze, the long drive, the whole day, gone.

First Impressions 🚙

Check-in was smooth — no queue, no fuss. We were handed a map with directions straight to OB-23 and a quick rundown of where everything was.

Before backing in we did what we always do and walked the site first, working out the best angle for Sunny and where Ernie would sit once he was unhitched. It’s a habit that’s saved us more than one three-point turn.

Most sites here are reverse-in, including all of the beachside Ocean Breeze sites. If a drive-through matters to you, ask for one of the handful near the office when you book.t.

The Sites 🏕️

Every beachside site is reverse-in, ours included. If you want a drive-through, there’s only a handful near the office to choose from. Ocean Breeze sites run on the smaller side for a coastal park, but there was room for van, awning and car in some configuration on every one we walked past.

OB-23 was grass with a concrete pad under the awning — a small detail that mattered more than we expected with rain most mornings. Nothing shaded the site itself, though a couple of big trees nearby gave us some relief through the middle of the afternoon.

Good to Know 🔊

Most sites here are reverse-in, including all of the beachside Ocean Breeze sites. If a drive-through matters to you, ask for one of the handful near the office when you book.

Big Van Friendliness 🚛

Roads and turning circles inside the park were fine for a 20’6″ van and Ernie — nothing we couldn’t manage — but after weeks in outback parks with acres of room to swing around in, it all felt tighter than we’re used to. The site itself was deep enough to fit Sunny comfortably, and we unhitched as usual for the stay.

Amenities & Facilities 🛁️

The camp kitchen was one of the best-equipped we’ve come across — hotplates that actually worked, a proper sink, a microwave, and a fridge, all under cover. There’s a giant TV in there too, which came into its own with the soccer World Cup on.

A young Dutch couple were doing a working stay at the park, cleaning the amenities and camp kitchen each day, and living out of a rooftop tent on their ute. Off shift, they practically lived in the camp kitchen glued to the football — a genuinely lovely couple, and it showed in how spotless everything was kept.

Showers and toilets were clean every time we walked past, which is no small thing in a park this size. The laundry had enough machines that we never had to wait, and the pool — shaded and resort-style — looked more inviting than we expected for a caravan park.

Exploring the Park 🐾

This is a small park — just three roads run through it — with the camp kitchen, pool and amenities clustered near the front. The real drawcard is at the back: direct beach access, a small BBQ area looking straight out over the water, and the chairs we mentioned earlier for watching the waves roll in.

Beyond the layout, what really gives this park its character is the fishing. A good chunk of guests are long-stayers, some three months or more, and there’s a noticeboard in the camp kitchen plastered with photos of everyone’s catches.

Every evening the same conversation seemed to be happening somewhere in the park — who caught what, and the one that got away.

Our own small-world moment came on one of those mornings. I stepped out of the van just as a bloke came out of the caravan opposite, and neither of us said a word for a few seconds — brains still catching up with what we were seeing.

It was Carlos — vice president of the junior football club back when our kids played together in Melbourne, nearly thirty years ago. I was president for years while he was on the committee, so we’d crossed paths plenty back then, just never expected to again.

We ended up talking for hours over the next couple of days, the kind of catch-up neither of us saw coming.

Food & Drink 🍔

Don’t expect much from the park itself — the office stocks a few cold drinks and ice creams, and that’s about it. For anything more you’ll need to walk or drive.

Five minutes on foot gets you to The Golden Sun, a Chinese restaurant and takeaway that punches well above its weight — genuinely one of the better feeds we’ve had on this trip. There’s also a tavern nearby running a free shuttle bus, and the usual takeaway options within a ten-minute drive if you can’t be bothered cooking.

Exploring the Region 🌄

This stop wasn’t really about sightseeing for us — we were in Mackay to visit Pauline’s sister, who’s currently very unwell, so most of our four days were spent with family rather than out exploring. If you’ve got more time up your sleeve than we did, though, there’s plenty worth the drive.

Cape Hillsborough National Park is the big drawcard — kangaroos and wallabies feed on the beach at sunrise most mornings, about 45 minutes north of the park.

Closer to home, the Blacks Beach stairs — known locally as the “Hell Stairs” — are 72 steps right near where we stayed, a local favourite for a fitness hit with a view.

If the ocean’s too rough for swimming, the Bluewater Lagoon in Mackay’s CBD is free, stinger-free and covers three tiers of pools.

For something further afield, Finch Hatton Gorge in Eungella National Park is about ninety minutes inland, with rainforest walking trails and swimming holes worth the drive.

For the full rundown of what this month on the road cost us, including this stop, have a read of our June 2026 caravan budget.

Who This Park Is Perfect For 🎯

Blacks Beach Holiday Park won’t suit everyone, but for the right traveller it’s hard to beat.

Who it suits:

• Keen anglers and long-stayers who want to fish straight off the beach every day
• Couples and retirees after a relaxed, sociable coastal base rather than a big resort-style park
• Rigs up to around 20–21 feet that don’t mind a reverse-in site
• Anyone happy to walk or drive a few minutes for meals rather than eat on site

Less suited to:

• Big rigs needing drive-through access or huge sites — there are only a handful of drive-through spots
• Travellers wanting resort-style extras like an on-site restaurant or bar
• Anyone who hasn’t booked ahead — this park fills most nights, especially outside the wet season

FAQs ❓

Final Thoughts 🌙

Four nights at Blacks Beach Holiday Park gave us exactly what we needed — a comfortable, well-run base close to family, with enough going on to make it worth the stop in its own right. The sites are tighter than we’d grown used to out west, but between the beach fifteen metres from our door and a camp kitchen that easily earns its reputation, we never once felt short-changed.

It’s the kind of park where the small moments stick — half an hour watching waves lap in on our first evening, a noticeboard full of other people’s catches, and running into Carlos after almost thirty years. That’s not something you plan for, but it’s exactly the sort of thing that makes a stop memorable.

We’d stay at Blacks Beach Holiday Park again without hesitation. Sunny Says four stars — solid, welcoming, and worth booking ahead for.

Next Stop 👉

Next we headed just 130 kilometres down the road to Brandybottle Caravan Park & Golf Course — a golf course and a licensed bar at a highway stopover, of all places.

Join the Conversation 💬

We’d love to hear from you — have you stayed at Blacks Beach Holiday Park, or anywhere else along Mackay’s Northern Beaches? Are you a fellow angler who’s fished this stretch of coast, and what’s the best thing you’ve pulled in? And if you’ve ever had one of those small-world moments on the road like ours with Carlos, we want to hear about it — drop a comment below.