The reaction to the new online booking system for camping in South Australian national parks has certainly not been as positive as its creators would have liked.
According to the Port Lincoln Times newspaper, wannabe campers have run into myriad problems including being unable to access the internet before entering a national park, finding people were already in a booked spot, and finding payments either not being processed or freezing up.
The new system, which came into effect on February 27, was part of a push to stimulate more tourism activity in parks … but changes to it are already on the cards.
Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources parks program manager, Chris Thomas, said the department was taking on board feedback about the system and was already making alterations to site dimensions and would use larger images of campsites and add individual campground maps.
“We are scoping future system improvements,” he said. “These might include people changing their booking online, as well as options for day visitors including potential wi-fi hotspots in the parks.”
However, some say the ease of use imagined by bureaucrats will never translate into the real world.
Esther Krahge was one camper who had serious difficulties. She told the Port Lincoln Times that she booked a single site at Memory Cove and arrived to find three unoccupied tents in her group’s site.
“It was ridiculous, you shouldn’t have that much stress going camping,” she said.
Miss Krahge said although some campers in a neighbouring site offered them space they still had to camp on the road.
She said it was easier when you could go to a campsite and choose your spot without having to book online.
While the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources says the new system has had its detractors, it says some people have found the process easy to follow and convenient to book a spot in advance.
The department’s Chris Thomas said people who weren’t confident to book online could still talk with booking agents in local towns to understand campsite options and make cash payments.
· Have you had problems with online booking for national parks … or have you found it helpful? Comment below.
Online booking is fine for folk who decide yes, my holidays are xyz date and am going to camp ground A. The online option is not good for many touring campers, caravanners etc as they might decide to camp at Campground A the day they are arriving in the region only to be waylaid or change their mind and stop at Campground C. The best idea is pay envelopes at site and or register online once they have found a site.
don’t bother going to national parks because of this especially if you just want a day out on the spur of the moment…don’t always have internet coverage living in the country..nothing worse than arriving to find other people in your campspot if you intend staying longer
This comment is for all National Parks in whatever state they operate. First of all as a traveller with no fixed dates or times on where or when I’ll be there, booking a site is simply out of the question. I do not know how long it will take to be get to X National Park, let alone a site. And as for booking on line. In your dreams. Where no internet access is available as you travel through these areas, (which is most of them), how do you propose to book on line? Also I have paid my taxes for all my working life, and the “up keep” is provided by the tax payers, I do not believe I ordered or need a stainless steel toilet to sit on in the outback! And to what other amenities is provided, little else, no water, nothing, so what are we paying the camp sites for?
Tried this system in Queensland, totally hopeless. People in our spot when we arrived (squatting), no ranger therefore no recourse. Some sites too small even for our camper. Won’t do this again, stressful.
All the above are true. After a lifetime in the Public Service I can see the hallmarks of a bored bureaucrat who has never left a capital city trying to justify his existence.
Do the designers of these On Line Booking systems ever go to a few National Parks to check that internet coverage is available. Sitting at a desk on the 23rd floor of an office, in a capital city, does tend to insulate a designer from the reality of the poor internet coverage over the entire country. Telstra only covers 17% of mainland Australia, and it is the major player here.
Hate this system. It only works for people who have set holiday itineraries. We are so locked into having to program our lives and depend on internet coverage. Where is the outdoor spirit here national parks!!
Why couldn’t we just pay for an annual camping ‘licence’ which would cover all of the remote areas? For the popular coastal areas, bookings could still be done on-line with a smaller additional fee.