Many grey nomads are not enthusiastic supporters of online booking systems for national parks … and a new ‘misfire’ in the Victorian set-up isn’t going to do much to allay their misgivings.
Parks Victoria’s upgraded booking system crashed on its first day, and remains offline.
A notice on Parks Victoria’s website read: “We have temporarily paused camping and accommodation bookings for the 2023-24 season as we work with our booking system supplier to ensure system issues are managed.”
As part of its upgraded online booking system, Parks Victoria last week removed ballots from the last remaining balloted campground in the state – Tidal River Campground at Wilsons Promontory National Park.
A screenshot of the Parks Victoria website taken on July 8.
This meant that, in theory, campers could book every bookable campground across Victoria instantly with no need to wait to hear if a ballot application was successful or not.
However, things did not go according plan.
The South Gippsland Sentinel Times reports that Victoria’s opposition Liberal party was quick to criticise the way the upgrade had been handled.
“With Parks Victoria’s booking system shutting down on its first day, it turns out it is easier to get a Taylor Swift ticket than book a campsite in Victoria,” said Shadow Minister for Environment, James Newbury.
Mr Newbury also told 3AW radio that, while he supported the move to an online system, users had a right to expected it to work properly.
Parks Victoria has apologised for the inconvenience to would-be campers and asked them to be patient as it works with its supplier on a solution for the future to enable the release of bookings as soon as possible.
“Our priority is to get the booking system back up and running with improved monitoring and performance,” it says on its website. “We will keep you updated when further information becomes available about future booking releases.”
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I would just turn up and use any site, no one was at, for the time being, unless they have shut down all the parks. I don’t book anywhere on line at all, I don’t care where it is, I just do what I used to do, just rock up and camp at a spare site, dog and pay your money in the envelope leave in the slot for the ranger. I don’t believe in this stupid system, because you can no longer be spontaneous, and just arrive, no good if the park has no internet coverage, is it.
( I don’t camp with my dog, unless i am cycle touring and passing thru a park, and can’t get out before night fall comes)