Another free camping area in New South Wales is to be closed due to the poor behaviour of those visiting the scenic spot.
The Illawarra Mercury reports that the Yalwal camping area west of Nowra on the south coast has now been shut indefinitely from November 4. Council staff recommended the closure of the Danjera Dam campsite due to a number of incidents that caused damage.
Although the site may not have been a favourite with grey nomads, the sort of behavior which led to the closure decision will be a concern to all travellers. According to reports, the list of problems at the site include firearm misuse, illegal trail bike riding and group 4WD activities, vandalism, damage to facilities, unsafe behaviour involving vehicles and alcohol leading to serious injuries, and threats to campers and the adjoining landowner.
“We’ve had rangers present, police present, but we can’t be out there 24/7,” Shoalhaven Water director Carmel Krogh told the Mercury.
The newspaper reports that attempts to transform the site into a paid-for camping area failed due rot the fact that the area is surrounded by critically endangered species, and land can’t be cleared to create a safe bushfire escape route.
Council will apparently remediate the site, and reopen it for day use only around June 2018.
Most of the problems sound just like locals out for the day.
There is a really simple solution! Install hidden solar cameras at all free sites sending a WIFI signal back to a base storage. This will identify offenders who can then be charged & fined & made to pay the cost of cleanup. Is not that hard to do & would be very cost effective; however cameras should not be identified but a sign at entry stating the site is under surveillance. Tired of loosing great free facilities to the bogons & tossers. Perhaps another way is to use the same system as road tolls on entry road, that way everyone pays a token fee of say $5 per night.
great idea their is a 4×4 club that stay at free camps they clean the camp site and report any bogans to local shire they are welcomed at all camp sites and do receive some sort of payment which they donate some thing to think about
How easy for the council to organise a few hoons to go terrorise a place, then insist on shutting it down… bypasses all the flack if they just went ahead and shut it down. They ‘remediate’, but only open to day camping… ??! . It sounds suspicious.
It’s not the grey nomads. We don’t go bush bashing or wreck things. We just enjoy the surroundings with a quite drink and nibbles. Make it for self contained vehicles only. That cuts out the riff raff.