West Australia’s Ningaloo Coast campsite booking trial has been extended for a further five months in a move designed ‘to build on recent improvements and provide greater certainty for campers planning trips’.
Back in February, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) introduced a new approach.
The new system releases campsite bookings on the Park Stay WA website in monthly blocks, six months in advance, at 10am on the first Tuesday of each month.
DBCA Assistant Director Visitor Services, Rod Annear, said booking releases during the initial trial period delivered progressively smoother performance and fewer issues for users.
Yardie Creek in Cape Range National Park is part of the new booking trial. PIC: DBCA
“Recent adjustments have reduced delays and congestion on the booking system and we thank campers for their feedback which has helped guide further improvements,” he said. “To build on this progress, DBCA is extending the trial so we can continue to refine the system and ensure it performs well during peak demand periods.”
The extended booking trial applies to campgrounds across Cape Range National Park and the Nyinggulu Coastal Reserves.
The system used for booking campsites in WA national parks has long come under fire from many grey nomads and other travellers.
Feedback on the Grey Nomads website has certainly been largely less than positive.
One contributor said it appeared that national park staff were simply not familiar with how grey nomads travel.
“To book for August 3 on February 3 is illustrative of the lack of knowledge of their clients,” he said. “It’s just not practical to book six months ahead if you live in Tassie and want to ‘do the lap’ at leisure.”
Another pointed out a common issue with the online booking system everywhere.
“When we were over there, all sites were booked but when we drove down through the sites over 50% were empty,” he said. “The excuse was the people may be coming later … mind you this was 3pm when we were trying for a site.”
The scourge of ghost camping is proving a difficult problem to stamp out, and it is scaring some grey nomads away altogether.
“Having been a camper since early childhood for the last 70 years I’ve given up on trying to book a national park site and have modified my travels to avoid the disappointment of being ghosted out of destinations,” said one. “Some lovely places have been discovered by looking further afield than national park sites, which are now being treated as a cash cow for the bureaucracy.”
However, one grey nomad who says he has been a regular camper at Cape Range National Park says he is familiar with the issues there, and is pleased that at least an effort is being made to fix them.
He did though have some suggestions, including that a 14-day limit per person be put on during peak time in each park.
“As it is there is nothing to stop someone booking 28 days, then booking a further 28 days with a one-day gap and so on,” he said. “They could also consider setting aside two or three of the less desirable sites in each campground to be booked no more than say, seven days ahead with a maximum of seven days.”
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They book like that to stop travelers from seeing the sights. Plus most times they will never park a van or pitch a tent. I was in one camp spot and it was empty side by side and it had been like like that for 3 months. plus I was told not to park it that space because they might come.
Ghosting can be minimised but not entirely eradicated by people having to pay camping fees in full at the time of booking with the knowledge that there will be no refund for no shows. At least the DBCA will be able to use the money for park maintenance/improvements.
What needs to happen is they need to have a latest time in the day to arrive. If they cannot be there by say 3pm then they either contact the booking agent and tell them what time they will arrive or they lose the site. Thats not a difficult rule to impose.
There should be a Park Ranger at the gate with a camping site layout plan. I only stay at campsites that have “camp hosts” who allocate an available site. Never any problems, just not enough of these campsites still operating. National Parks have just sacked the rangers & put up the prices.
What about those campers who are travelling on a limited budget? They might not be able to afford to pay ahead and it makes the travel less spontaneous. We would love to visit the WA coast at some point but if there is pre-booking it could be problematic.
Why not disallow campers who ghost? Surely that can be done. Make the ones who don’t respect others be the ones who have restrictions placed on them
Good suggestion Katie. Ghosters should be given a strong incentive to cancel their booking as soon as they know they won’t be using the site, to free it up for others.
We certainly won’t be going there with this draconian system. Sorry Ningaloo Coast residents.
Isnt there a rat plague there atm eating everything ?
It should be if you cancel and the spot is taken – refund. As long as you cancel 24 hours out and they know the site available. If you cancel a clear week in advance – refund. if you dont cancel/inform your intention then bad luck pay.
Camping sites have definitely become a problem over the last few year, especially for Grey Nomads. It may appear nonsense, but maybe restricting future bookings need to be reduced to only a month, and $$$ penalties need to be enforced on those who do not turn up at their booked dates (unless legitimate reasons are provided for no shows, within a reasonable time frame). More travellers/Nomads on the road, yet CP’s and other sites are unable to facilitate.
Nomads who live on the road, are worse off, as the periodic holiday traveller, appear to be given advantages. If they cant find a booking, choose another option or stay home. Nomads do not have a fixed home to reside in, so are greatly disadvantaged and dramatically affected.
There are ‘smart’ people/admin in this country, maybe they need to widen their search for a better solution.