A new online booking system for camping and multi-day hiking in Northern Territory national parks has gone live roday.
Parks and Rangers Minister Selena Uibo praised the new booking portal and said the Territory was now in-line with other jurisdictions around the country and their booking processes.
“The benefit is that campers will be able to see what’s available across all eligible Territory parks and what’s available based on seasons,” Ms Uibo said. “The online booking system will also allow our rangers to do what they do best, which is to conserve and manage land and alleviate some of the burden of the administration on their daily duties.”
The new NT online booking system is live.
The minister said there was a full team of customer service operators in the parks team who will be able to help customers in the transition to the new online booking system.
Ms Uibo warned that visitors who don’t book online might be disappointed if the spot they anticipated would be free was ‘taken because someone else has done the right thing and booked online prior to heading out’.
The NT News reports that the system is intended to create ‘greater certainty’ and to deliver a range of improvements to the Territory experience, as well as providing more planning options.
Parks and Wildlife Rangers will also be available to assist visitors to ensure a booking is secured prior to camping. Parks and Wildlife will also extend free Wi-Fi services for 12 months in Wangi, Karlu Karlu and Watarrka.
Anyone who is already on a remote park today will not be required to leave the park in order to to book.
The new booking system can be accessed by clicking here.
This works fine until people don’t turn up after previously booking a site. Happens a lot in Victoria. It’s most frustrating
or someone who hasn’t booked and takes up your booked spot and there’s no one around to sort it out.
So this will be disaster like all the other states. How do you book ahead when there is no mobile coverage – like the vast majority of the NT? The problem of people booking sites – sometimes for quite a while – and not turning up plus people on the site you have booked and PAID FOR when the nearest ranger is 500 kms away. Yes, it will work really well – for the accountants at head office.
What about all the vacant spots from people not turning up, happens all the time in WA they book and not arrive but does the governing body care not one bit they have there money te rest can get …..ed
Have seen how this system doesn’t work for the small booking fee people book with the intention of going camping there but don’t turn up witnessed 4 spots over a 5 day holiday break not used but where book online as not available
this is happening to often but the national parks don’t care less cleaning and maintenance of those sites but still getting paid for them pitying about the people that could have used those sites if there was more of a insensitive to front up and use the booking
So with the help of camp hosts that have a list of info of the people who have booked sites they are able to contact the Ranger by sat phone if there is no reception if there is any disputes between campers. Not much you can do if someone doesn’t turn up as they have paid for the site. I have seen campers come onto the site in the middle of the night as this could because of a breakdown during the trip. So what I’m trying to say is I think the booking system is a better way of doing things.
I tried to use the new booking system to book a hiking trail. Slightly different to booking a campsite but nonetheless it was a nightmare! Bookings opened at 10am and the system crashed straight away. I spent 2.5hrs trying to book a 5 day hike and in the end gave up. Very hard to plan ahead when the booking system doesnt open until 1 or 2 months before the trail opens!
this booking system is a disaster, nothing is working
where booking is required no internet connection is avaiable
the program is not designed to be used on phones
after 3 week traveling aroung the NT I will not comeback and vissit and parks as this is a nightmare
and i hope who ever developed the system doesnt get paid from tax payers
We have spent the last 2 months in the NT.
The online booking system is hopeless.
It took them 6 months to get it working with an iPhone.
Just about every site size was incorrect, there were no site descriptions and the photos were incorrect or did not show the full site.
People were turning up to find they did not fit onto their sites and without phone connectivity they moved to bigger sites, until the person that had that site booked arrived.
If you could find a park ranger they did not want to know about the problems.
We have also met many caravaners who simply turned around and left.
I wrote to them and told them that they were in breach of the Australian Consumer Laws selling products that were incorrectly described.
They have spent the last 4 weeks measuring sites and getting this up on their booking system. Still some of these are wrong and still no descriptions.
If you are not happy with the NT Government’s Park Book On-Line System send an email with your objections and let them know you can’t/won’t use it.
Don’t send it to the Parks Department send it to the top.
minister.fyles@nt.gov.au – First Minister
minister.manison@nt.gov.au – Minister for Parks
These are the people who need to know they have lost all credibility and will lose revenue.
They have also upped their prices in the last 2 years from $3.30 to $4.00 last year to $6.00 this year and going to $10.00 next year for a basic site and if there are amenities it has gone from $6.00 to $12.00 and will be $15.00 next year.
I think we will be giving the NT a wide birth from now on.
My wife and I have just returned from a round trip of Aus and we can assure you that our motorhome trip through the NT has left us with no desire to ever travel that part again because of the lack of Caravan Parks and more importantly, Free Parking spots, especially in Darwin.
It did cost us a fortune in fuel and Park fees to get to NT from WA…and while there were some beautiful swimming holes, the new Park Pass fees definately leave us thinking our neighbouring Asian countries offer a lot more for our hard earned money.
Absolutely hopeless system if you are just travelling and stopping when you find a nice place . No phone coverage so can’t book . I have now seen many National Park camp sites completely empty now because people can’t book online because of no phone coverage. Even the rangers I have talked to say revenue is way down since abandoning the self , on-site registration system . Many people now just camp out on the side of the road outside of the parks boundaries. It will work when phone coverage is 100% Australia wide but until that technology is there then online booking will fail