While grey nomads travelling with pets often complain that they are excluded from certain camping areas, the shoe is very much in the other foot at one Broome caravan park.
The PCYC overflow park has a sign out the front which boldly declared: ‘For entry you must have a pet’.
The Shire of Broome allows the PCYC to take in campers during periods of high demand when permanent caravan parks are not able to accommodate travellers with pets.
The overflow park near Town Beach is open from June 1 to September 1.
“To come in here you have to have a dog or a cat,” said park manager, Wayne Rowles, who told the ABC he always had to be on the lookout for fake pets. “We don’t let stuffed pets in and we’ve seen a pretend cat … and some people come in and say they’ve got a dog and they don’t want to show us the dog.”
The policy has the benefit of ensuring that pet owners are surrounded by like-minded travellers.
Kersti Seksel, a vet who specialises in animal behaviour, said owning and travelling with pets had numerous physical and mental health benefits. She said it was a win/win, as long as the dog or cat liked travelling and had a temperament suited to travelling.
“It depends on how much they like being out and about,” Dr Seksel said. “And there are dogs and cats that get carsick so that’s not going to be fun.”
Dr Seksel said Australian towns needed to be more inclusive of pets.
“We always talk about being the most pet-friendly nation in the world, but we can’t take our pets to half the places we can overseas,” she said. “Every jurisdiction has their own rules and regulations about travelling with pets and where you can take them, and certainly there are some council areas that are not as pet-friendly as they could be.”
· Do you think only-travellers-with-pets caravan parks are a good idea? Comment below.
I am going to be travelling with two cats and I am grateful that our pet friendly parks out there. I’m looking forward to travelling with my cat because my cats are my best friends.
It used to be the overflow park for when all the caravan parks were full and anyone could stay there but then people stopped coming to Broome because it was too expensive and the caravan parks were never full so they clamped down anyone staying there unless they had a pet. I was there the day they imposed the ban a couple of years ago
seems like you pet owners are doing what you all complain the councils are doing. We used to stay at the PCYC because the money they raised went to helping the kids in the Broome area. Now they have banned me because I haven’t got a bloody pet. Hope you all enjoy every ones dog barking their guts out when left alone
I guess you can always make a donation Rob, or perhaps rescue a dog from the Animal Welfare League or RSPCA and travel with him/her. It really is challenging for pet owners, we can’t visit national parks and often find it difficult to find a place which accepts our dog. If everyone could stay there, they would no doubt have to send pet owners away. Keep smiling! Megan & Simon middle aged nomads
The Broome Pistol Club are also open to campers with pets for the same period.. as per the Broome Council ruling.We stayed there two weeks ago… $35 per night for a powered site and the volunteers there kindly puppy sat our dog while we went shopping and sight seeing one day.
My husband and I travel with 2 small dogs and the criteria for our choice of caravan park is that it is pet friendly so this park in Broome is a welcome change yo see. Thankyou for being unique and consideting travellers who don’t want to leave their family members at homecwhen they travel. Well done.
My late wife & i travelled for 14 years, and we had our beloved feline with us. She is a blue point Himalayan Persian. And oddly enough will not travel in the car, it has to be in the caravan.
So there you have it. Now we travel alone.
So from Robert & Zanda happy pet traveling.
We also travel with our cat and find that most caravan park don’t want us, especially coastal parks. Good to see change happening.
There is also an overflow park run by the Seventh Day Adventists which also stipulates you must have a pet. Well done to them all.
Great idea, and this time of year all non stop pet owners have plenty of choice for caravan parks in Broome with a no pet criteria. We will be there in a few weeks with our two fur baby’s.