You never know who may be using the road ... even in remote camps.
A couple of horrific caravan park accidents in the past few weeks has once again highlighted the need for grey nomads and all travellers to remain vigilant in what can be a constantly changing camping environment.
Late last month, a 17-monthold girl died after being struck by a 4WD vehicle at a park in Lake Conjola on the New South Wales South Coast. And, more recently, a man sleeping in a tent at a caravan park at Deloraine in Tasmania was inadvertently run over by caravanners returning to their site after dark.
The tent had been set up while the couple were out for the day close to where they had previously been parking their car. The 46-year-old man inside the tent suffered minor chest injuries.
While investigations into these specific incidents will be ongoing, the broader lesson that caravanners and motohomers can – and should – learn is that they should always expect the unexpected.
With children sometimes running and skating around erratically, and stressed travellers often preoccupied looking for their sites, it is easy to see why accidents are so common in caravan parks. While many parks try to make things safer by implementing 10km/h speed limits and introducing speed bumps, there is no way you can legislate for the unpredictable behaviour of others.
Solo traveller Gwynnie Cahill says she has noticed a growing trend for campers, particularly those from overseas, setting up close to other campers. She recalls a recent incident in Western Australia where she parked well away from others and settled in for the night.
“You could imagine my surprise as I climbed down the stairs of my rear door opening slide-on camper the next morning and actually tripped over the tent ropes of the tourist camped next door,” she said. “They would have been in a precarious situation if I had reversed back, instead of going forward!”
Tony S has also had experience of people camping ‘almost under the awning’ and says it is normally done to offer them a sense of security.
“On one occasion, behind the pub in Triabunna, Tasmania, we had a trio of girls from France set up their tent so close to our awning that if we stumbled coming out of our van, we would have ended up in their tent,” he said. “They told us that, when making arrangements in Europe to travel Australia, their main concern was of being attacked or harassed so they were advised to camp very close to ‘people like us’, which I suppose was a compliment.”
• Have you ever had an accident or a near-accident in a caravan park?
One night a few years ago at a freebie South of Katherine a vehicle load of backpackers set up camp so close to our caravan I had trouble opening the van door. after much animation they shifted. Enjoyed a beer and a talk with them. They admitted they were a bit frightened of the bush.
Had a situation in a park at the gold coast a couple of years ago. A kid playing with a ball dived under my car as I was reversing to hook on to my van. I was looking backwards and just glimpsed him going under to retrieve the ball. Obviously he got abused in a loud voice. Hope his parents heard it.
Hi just starting our travels and was wondering how to take our cat with us. Any tips would be appreciated.