New ‘no camping’ signs have been installed on streets in Byron Bay.
The New South Wales coastal town which is a notorious hotspot for backpackers and van packers has been coming under increasing pressure to deal with the issue of illegal camping.
The Northern Star newspaper has previously reported that a local doctor had documented dozens of examples of vanpackers camping illegally near Tennyson St and defecating in the town’s streets, sports fields and parks used by children.
Dr Lincoln Gillam, a respected radiologist with more than 25 years’ medical experience, told the paper that the town was at risk of contracting deadly diseases common to developing countries if the practice continued.
As a result, the local council erected two large signs on Monday, while bollards at the end of Tennyson St are scheduled for replacement to prevent vehicle access to Lands Department land.
The council has also ramped up patrols and, in the past two weeks, 31 no-camping infringement notices have been issued in the vicinity of Tennyson St.
While young ‘van packers’ are the main target of the clampdown, older travellers will also be affected.
The Northern Star spoke to grey nomads, Michael and Marlene Porter, who have been travelling long term in their Winnebago which has cooking facilities, shower, toilet, as well as water tank and grey water systems.
“The van packers give us ‘leave no trace’ campers a bad name,” Mrs Porter told the Northen Star. “When we spent 10 months travelling Australia we probably stayed in three caravan parks in total.”
The couple said councils had to acknowledge the fact that self-contained RV (recreational vehicle) campers didn’t want to pay park fees when they could just as easily stop by the side of the road and cause no problems with waste or litter.
“Most caravan parks are too expensive for us – some charge up to $60 a night – and we are fully self-contained,” said Mrs Porter. “There is an anti-camping mentality in many places – Byron Bay and Noosa are the worst for free campers.”
Irresponsible is the operative word… people with no respect for others. If van packers fouled the area where I live I’d be mad as hell too, so I agree with Byron Bay’s action to prevent free camping by irresponsible people. It’s unfortunate that it adversely affects those who do the right thing but it seems there’s only one way to rid an area of undesirables, and that’s to make the area inaccessible to everyone.
There is no need for it as Byron council provides a very nice rest stop at Yelgun, twenty minutes to the south of Byron where free camping is allowed. there are clean toilets and free BBQ facilities there, but I guess laziness is the overriding factor easier to foul peoples parks.
Governments and councils usually respond to pressures from groups by accommodating those groups be it the local library, surf clubs, recreation ground facilities etc. Public money is used to provide these facilities that not everyone uses or wants but provided they are.
Why is it when there is a simple answer to these problems of tourists requiring low cost overnight facilities our governments and councils do not act in the best interests of all concerned.
Banning tourists is not the answer, build proper facilities at low cost and the problem should lessen. Many areas of Australia offer such stopovers so why not Byron Bay.
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The Victorian government just spent another $51 million to pander to the grand Prix crowd, a crowd that numbers around 100,000 in reality. They claim huge benefits to the economy that are grossly exaggerated. Why is it that a much larger group of travellers throughout the whole year not just a weekend are not accommodated when the economic benefits gained far outweigh that of the indulgent Grand Prix.
Why not bring back the old rule when we first went travelling many years ago, namely no free camping within 20- 30 kms of a commercial caravan park. If Caravan parks are full then bring in an “overflow policy” to open up local show grounds etc. and work with the caravan park operators to support and promote this. I wouldn’t like free campers on my doorstep if I’m paying big rates etc. both as a resident and as a caravan park operator.
Allow showgrounds/recreation grounds etc to take in the budget traveller. Have a system of certification for self contained travelers aka the CMCA. If travelers cannot show their certification for self containment then they are fined or moved on to the budget campsites or campsites with toilet facilities. Re funding for the Grand Prix, it is far more “sexy” than the traveling public!
vanpackers are the main culprits,why should well equipped nomads take the flak for these disrespectful visitors,maybe if van hire companys where billed for the clean up they would become more aware of the antics of some of their clients
the problem is the backpackers they don’t care about anything but them self’s they have ruined it for all of us that are fully self contained,
and when they do stay at caravan parks they stay up all night to party on
I do not appreciate how you seem to be tarring ‘vanpackers’ with the same brush. My boyfriend and I have been travelling down the East Coast for over 3 months now and consider ourselves to be tidy and hygienic campers. If there are no public toilets available in an area we have parked we will drive to find some. We do not defecate in the streets. Not all of us can afford self contained campers like yourself but that does not mean we are disrespectful to the local area. Rather than pointing your fingers at who is to blame and making derogatory remarks about those less equipped than yourself, campers should be united in trying to find a fair solution to this problem.
The latest van packers site on Bangalow Rd was strewn with toilet paper and tissues.But the cost of an unpowered site at a caravan park in the town area of Byron Bay is $45 . A cold shower and toilet block with a system like in National Parks ie envelope for payment with tear off ID strip that you put on dashboard.The ranger goes thru at 5am and any vans without the ID strip or payment can be fined.
What do the van packers contribute to Byron? They live on the smell of an oilly rag, so apart from Woolies, & bottle shops there is no monetary gain or benefit for the rate payers & residents. If they don’t want to pay for accommodation or camping fees & then treat our town like a toilet, wheel clamp & fine them.