Glamping, Camping & Tours
Located 14 km east of Lightning Ridge, Carinya Station offers more than a place to stay. It’s a working outback station where guests can slow down, spread out and experience a slice of real station life.
Carinya means happy, peaceful home, and that’s exactly the feeling we hope people leave with.
Our 6,600-acre family-owned and operated property invites guests to connect with the land, our animals and the rhythms of life in western New South Wales. This is not staged tourism. It’s life on a working farm, shared.
Stay your way, whether that’s in one of our glamping tents with thoughtful comforts, on a sandy bush campsite under the stars, or in a big rig with room to breathe. We also offer farm tours for guests wanting to head out the back and learn more about the country, livestock and stories that shape this place.
For travellers who are not fully self-contained, the famous artesian baths are just down the road.
We care deeply for this landscape. Our farming continues to move toward regenerative practices, and we encourage a simple, low-impact style of travel that sits lightly on the country.
We’re not a resort. There are no manicured lawns, camp kitchens or polished amenities here. What you’ll find instead is open space, campfires, dirt roads, wildlife, honest hospitality and a family farm shaped by the outback. Often dry. Always real.
If that sounds like your kind of place, welcome to Carinya.
Accommodation Packages
Please see below for our range of camping and accommodation options.
Glamping Packages
Outback adventure without roughing it. For guests drawn to nature, connection and comfort in equal measure.
Powered Camping Package
For campers who prefer space over crowds. Powered sites set across open station country, suited to tents, vans and big rigs.
Outback Bush Camping Package
For self sufficient travellers who value space and simplicity. Off grid bush camping across 300 acres for those who prefer open skies, campfires and a quieter kind of camping.
What you’ll find at Carinya
Space, simplicity and a genuine taste of outback station life.
- Just 10 minutes from Lightning Ridge, yet a world away.
- Spacious bush camping, catering from swags and tents through to vans and big rigs, with plenty of room to spread out.
- Private campfires welcome.
- Long drop toilets onsite. Please bring your own toilet paper.
- Outback Bush camping for self-sufficient travellers who value space and simplicity.
- Powered sites for those wanting a little more convenience without losing the bush camping feel.
- Glamping tents with thoughtful comforts for guests who want the outback without roughing it.
- We keep things simple here. There’s no camp kitchen, concrete slabs or caravan park style infrastructure, just open country, fresh air and an authentic station setting.
Included with your stay
A Glimpse of Carinya introductory farm tour is included for guests, offering a relaxed introduction to the landscape, livestock and life on our working station.
Farm Tours
Go beyond the opal fields and see another side of Lightning Ridge.
Our farm tours are a chance to get beyond the campground and experience real station life as it unfolds.
Join one of our guided buggy tours and head out across the property to explore livestock country, wildlife, native landscapes and a side of the Ridge many travellers never get to see.
These aren’t scripted tours and no two are ever the same. Every tour shifts with the season, what’s happening on the farm and the guests riding along that day. We tend to tailor each experience to the people on board, whether that means more time talking livestock, wildlife, landscape regeneration, or simply pulling up somewhere worth hopping out for.
Choose from our premium guided buggy tours, including Smoko and Sundowner experiences, or enjoy A Glimpse of Carinya, our lighter introduction to life on the station included with your stay.
Along the way, learn about station life in western New South Wales, the country we work on, native flora and fauna, and some of the stories this landscape holds.
For guests who like getting a little further beyond the obvious, these tours often end up being a highlight of the stay. Private and group tours can also be tailored for visitors looking for a more personalised experience.
Visit our website for farm tour bookings and availability.
Getting Here
Getting here is part of arriving. Carinya is reached via a short unsealed road from Lightning Ridge. It may be corrugated, dusty and, after rain, inaccessible. We are dry weather access only, and if weather affects access during your stay, we’ll be in touch.
Our road is suitable for caravans, camper trailers and motorhomes, though Carinya is best suited to travellers comfortable with unsealed roads and a simpler, more independent style of camping.
For many guests, the dirt road is where the outback begins.
Please don’t rely on Google Maps to get you here.
Use our map and directions for the best route.
Please do NOT rely on Google Maps to get you here. Use our map and directions for the best route. Download our directions here.
There are many different routes that can be taken when driving from any of the capital cities to Lightning Ridge. The following is an overview of the routes from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide that may help you in planning your Outback Beds experience.
| From | Routes | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Warrego Hwy <> Gwydir Highway <> Castlereagh Hwy | 730km |
| Sydney | Western Freeway >Castlereagh Highway | 792km |
| Melbourne | Hume Highway <> Newell Highway <> Castlereagh Highway | 1,225km |
| Adelaide | Barrier Highway <>Darling River Run <> Castlereagh Highway | 1,330km |
Towns & Touring
Lightning Ridge
Home of the beautiful Black Opal, Lightning Ridge shows its varying colours depending on how you look at it.
Outback Beds Flying Route
The Outback Beds Flying Route Map is an essential guide for Outback NSW & Queensland.
Contact us for information & bookings
For more information on rates, accommodation, bookings, etc, please contact us directly by visiting our website or giving us a call. We look forward to hearing from you!
Phone: 0427944775
What others say …
We bought farm eggs on our way out which are delicious and would dearly love to come back again. Overall 10 out of 10 experience for us.
Our daughter was in the animal kindy in no time playing with the baby animals or collecting eggs in the morning. Jacinda and the team went above and beyond to make sure that we enjoyed our stay, even getting a sample of one of her home cooked sauces. Thanks Jacinda, Bec and all the Carinya team for such a great time, I would highly recommend a stay here for anyone coming o Lightning Ridge!
Lightning Ridge has lots to do and see. It is an opal mining area.
Plenty of places to eat, see and shop for opals.
We highly recommend Carinya Station and Farm Stay!