The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is inviting Expressions of Interest submissions from qualified businesses to provide supported camping services in some of the state’s national parks and reserves.
The move is quite a divergence from the traditional camping model in NSW national parks whereby visitors book spots directly with the NPWS.
The organisation says it is offering licences to provide supported camping at 23 campgrounds across 16 national parks and reserves.
Camping support services may include tent or caravan hire and/or setup, equipment and bedding hire, as well as optional food and other related offerings.
Private operators will be able to book blocks of campsites at some NSW national parks.
The idea, it seems, is to draw in people who have not previously camped extensively.
Research published by Instinct and Reason in 2023 which showed 62% of adults in NSW are open to camping including 10 per cent who have never camped before but are keen to try.
“They are drawn to travel and nature but lack the necessary equipment or experience,” the NPWS said. “By offering a service that provides fully set-up camping gear, we can make camping more accessible, encourage more people to explore the outdoors, and help them gain confidence.”
An NPWS spokesperson told the Grey Nomads that as the popularity of the state’s national parks continues to grow, the NSW Government is continually exploring new ways to provide opportunities for more people to enjoy them.
“NPWS has developed the trial in response to growing demand from people interested in camping, but who lack the necessary gear and experience – which can be a significant upfront cost hurdle for first-time campers,” they said. “By offering a service that provides fully set-up camping gear, NPWS can make camping more accessible, encourage more people to explore the outdoors and help them gain confidence.”
NPWS says it hopes to see many more families trying camping without having to invest in or store equipment. Supported camping will also allow travellers from interstate and overseas opportunities to camp, without having to bring all their gear with them, which is often impractical.
“National parks underpin the nature-based tourism sector in NSW, delivering significant economic benefits to the state, driving over $18 billion in economic activity and supporting over 74,000 jobs, primarily in the regions (based on 2018 figures),” it said. “Supported camping will help unlock new opportunities for small businesses and tourism providers in regional areas.”
There are over 365 campgrounds in NSW national parks, so the 23 campgrounds selected for this trial of supported camping services represents approximately 6% of campgrounds.
There will be limitations on the number of sites that can be booked with the supported camping service and all campgrounds will continue to be available to the public for bookings. The providers of the optional equipment hire and set-up service will not have any exclusive use of any campsites.
The campground capacity remains the same, so the current limits on the number of people who can camp at each location will remain in place.
The fees NPWS charges for camping will remain the same, but it will be up to the service provider to appropriately price their optional supported camping services.
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Since the bullshit bookings started we don’t use those camps
This just sounds like more privatisation and commercialisation ideology. The ‘allowing people to experience camping’ line is just convenient window dressing.
yep … next thing Chalets .. fully guided tours including specially prepared meals .. restaurants ..entry fees escalate .. and the wilderness experience goes out the door ..
Can’t wait for the jumping castles, the genuine damper maker, the real cultural experience delivery complete with smoke and mirrors, the glamp tents with butler service.
About as genuine as a $3.00 coin.
Is this a back door to privatisation and “ resort “ development?
This will displace the people with their own camping equipment , tents ,vans, roof top tents etc and so restrict camping choices for the general camping community ..No mention of additional sites being provided for the additional people that will hire this equipment to camp..
Watch the camping fees go up..
Yes, government again abrogating their responsibility – “private entrprise can do it cheaper”, cf third party insurance, electricity, hospitals, toll roads etc. etc….
Yes all I can see for miles are smoke and mirrors everywhere and that guy feeling this doesn’t add up . Nobody can do anything in these parks that even looks like development. And world heritage protects from future tovts tampering with that model past gifts have initiated precisely to defeat attempted privatization occuring. Guess it about to be tested.
yep .. you betcha ..
Up go the costs to campers.
caravan pks have screwed the campers now the same will happen to NPs
Who in hell came up with this hair brain idea. Leave the parks as a natural area where the public can enjoy nature without commercialisation.
A better idea is for the shiny bums to get off their backsides and put more effort into maintenance of the existing services, access roads etc. That way more of the public will use this public facility.
I read a book by John Singleton in 1975 called Rip van Australia and the forward stated “everything the Government touches turns to shit” seems nothing has changed in 50 years,
Hi
They must limited to 1/4 of the camp sites at the camp no more.
Peter
As someone who has kidney disease and is on dialysis I would love to have my dialysis fluids pre delivered to my campsite as their weight hampers how long I can go away for
If that was an option I would be supportive
Wrong 0n so many levels!
Normalising the commercialisation of our national parks by corporations. Bullshit
Having been overrun with block booked community groups at our local sites more than once its a proceed with caution from me.
They universally commandeered the BBQs, the kitchen hut, and the showers. Didn’t teach the teens about boundaries or camp etiquette. We weren’t the only ones who had stuff nicked, err borrowed by accident, or interfered with. (My solar panels aren’t for charging your phone..)
How about opening a separate area for group bookings instead?
It is likely private providers will price supported camping at a prohibitive price for the people it is targeting. I noticed the high price of glamping which is essentially supported camping. I doubt many families can afford this. Also, this option will leave fewer spaces for other campers. I do think there needs to be a solution to ghost campers. We have gained the last place in a camping ground only to turn up to a near empty campground.
bulldust, bulldust……….
Camp grounds are getting overcrowded as it is without businesses making money, reducing spots available and introducing people with no experience. It’s a big no from me.
Obviously the ones who came up with idea have never gone camping and never would
You saying providers won’t have a right to reserve site in one instance then you say might be lesser number of spots left for ordinary camping a bit contradicted I think
I think it will get as expensive as caravan park with no services provided
Regards
Perhaps people who have not previously camped, should not be in the national parks until they’ve sunken their own costs and learnt the ropes first. Perhaps this is an opportunity more suited to caravan parks or let the local councils provide such supported campgrounds with such exclusive services. But to remove availability from.people who HAVE already made investment into self education, equipment etc is quite the slap and counter cultural.
Happening
Any investment is inherently risky, and any investor knows this is lesson number one. Perhaps I mean?
Maybe it is not to late to re-educate? The key is, as you mentioned, education! It’s never too late. Your gov will educate you ! The joys of change!
I mean perhaps? But alas, climate change ! We need more carbon out there, renewable energy and cages (for the savage thieves, wanting to borrow your solar cells to blow dry their hairs on one side and use the electric shaver on the other) perhaps?
Why would anyone not see the beauty of this? Corporations that decide everything perhaps? Think of the bliss of having everyone put in line, a never ending que, with issued tickets perhaps? Your time to use shower 240 minutes (neon sign?) .
Read a book or do some bird watching perhaps as you wait in line like a happy camper on the vine 🙂
Stop that complaining ! Nothing is forever ! Unless you know eternity stops never!
You’re not comming back here again dear, you been conned by that lying snare if that’s what you hear.
So off you go to the re-education camp, enjoy it, and make sure to send me a stamp!
Soon to be followed my a Macka’s
Well perhaps, but surely variety is the spice of life, and I demand a hungry jacks as well, in order to avoid the strife!
There we shall all sing with cordial joy, as we sit under the upside down golden bum, or does it all sound too coy? Don’t forget the blinking neon burger buns, all whilst we wait on our coffee runs!
It’s hard enough to get a booking as it is.
I believe the majority of comment agrees.
Say no to commercialising our national parks.
We say no to the commercial park!
Come let us all join with one heart ❤️!
Let’s marshall up the booking fees, and conqure natural lands with corporate GLEE! (Globalisation Lawyers Emerging Economies)
Indeed a perfect fit for thee, stop the fight and bow, just sit with me.
What can we do against the GLEE? Surely we can never flee, PERHAPS it will take SOME courage to be free!
NO NO NO, just WRONG WRONG WRONG,
It is just a sneaky way to commercialise camping. Most of us like to camp with our own basic equipment. We enjoy the serenity and freedom of nature.
This idea takes the freedom and fun out of camping. Please leave this underhanded idea to Caravan and tent Parks.
More private enterprise will result in the usual cost increases overall, this idea stinks of corruption, do your job NPWS
You Beauty.. I have finally found a place to set up my mobile icecream business… You all know the tune,dah,dah,dah dah dah deh..
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t that what they say? Perhaps, if I may?
The tune you say? How can we forget! In our ears and minds it rings forming double eights (8 am to 8 pm) of eternal bliss, joyous light rays.
Icecream will fill the land, so it’s time to take a stand.
Unless offcourse you don’t mind the sweet tune, more addictive than fructose and glucose combined, it’s sure to swoon!
Good for you Mr McIntyre, but please be quick, this opportunity is hard to beat.
Mobile ice cream business is the next AI, get in quick to avoid being hung up to dry!
That sweet tune is just fine, but jungle insects attacking my ice cream ? Now that’s a bad sign!
Good luck, just one humble favour? Or take it as a suggestion for your prowess and business success, up beats to savour. Allow me if i may.
Can you at least team it up with uber eats? With flashing lights and sirens your lovely tune to match. That would be a duo impossible to beat!
I’m sure NWPS would appreciate the safety measures, as would all we, who’d think we found some lost treasures! Perhaps I say?
Thin edge of the wedge for privatisation and eventually national parks for the wealthy tourist.
Another very bad idea. Privateers will hold selected sites for their anticipated demand. No doubt they will be the better sites. Just like the ghost bookings, campgrounds will appear empty. eg: “The Diggins and Island Bend, Gillards Beach, Booti Booti.”Get rid of the online booking system, nothing better than driving in to a campground and selecting the site of your choice. 1st in best dressed!!!
Guess what! You’re all about to be dressed ! No more autonomy, forget the rest. Do as they say, it’s for your best.
It’s time to change say the corprateers, it’s for your own good say the profiteers!
Now here you go, this is how it works, you need to book, it’s a solid system, no quirks!
What’s that you say? Ghost’s booking in, Camp grounds look empty? Open your eyes and you will see those crafty privateers, playing a game of puppeteers.
Selected sites they never keep, for you that is! isn’t that neat?
Demand and dollars is what they seak, ordinary australians from the land to remove and clean, sanitised with the top froth and cream, so forget that good Australian dream!
A bad idea? but you don’t see? the whip has changed hands, now bow the knee.
Now listen carefully, a private lesson on greedy craftfulness, they are care free:
You say Diggins they see digg in.
You see island bend they see the rules and land we bend.
You see Gillards beach, they see beaches up to our gills.
You see booti booti they see where’s our booty!
End of lesson. I hopped you’ve learnt the truth today, get up and boot them out unless they stay. Perhaps, if i might say.
Hi what a lot of codswollop .Half the fun when you first start out camping is giving it a crack with gear you borrowed or scrounged up that’s what it’s all about .Rember your first camping trip ?
Another example of lazy management practices. Fix the existing booking system (eliminate ghost booking) and add more camp-sites.
Keep National Parks as basic as possible, after all it’s about getting back to nature, not commercial gain.
Newbie campers can always hire, borrow equipment to see if they like it.
Fix the existing booking system, isn’t that what we all want written? Perhaps I say?
Don’t delay the train don’t wait, this bandwagon is here to stay!
Basic is what they excell at, so please don’t judge them lazy, they’re just pushing the buck like crazy.
If management is what you seek, then look elswehere, there’s no one here to meet!
Newbies in the business world? That’s ok they’ll teach us how they roll and whorl.
It’s already on the map, ice cream rental trucks, safety sirens lights and all, delivered right to your door!
What’s that you say, you’re by the creek? No problem sir we’re on uber eats!
Like I’ve said here before, it’s for the good of all!
So let’s not argue with the gov pupeteers lest they red list us and say: sorry but no booking space appears!
Now you know why reason why, ghost’s appear to camp all night!
Commercialization of NPWS campgrounds is the end of enjoying National Park camping in NSW. I, for one,won’t be availing myself of this ‘service’. Get back to basics and STOP MONETIZATION of our National Parks. I wonder how many of the NPWS directors have actually spent a night in a tent in a remote area…
Bad idea. More private, commercial takeover….
Privatisation by stealth. There should be no commercial agreementsover land st aside for recreation and conservation of natural and built heritage. Egregious, outrageous, and disgraceful from a state labor government. Unfortunately, the funding for staffing is critically low, and Parks don’t have the ‘manpower’ to properly manage protected areas. Under this ‘trial’ affecting apparently 6% of sites, that kust means they have 6% less to clean, manager and administer. Just imagine if you gave 6% of public hospital beds or 6% of kids/classrooms to a commercial lessee? Chaos, greed and un-doable. Essentially, parks are being loved to death but this is not the answer. Create additional, new campgrounds in parks, with sustainable wate management, properly constructed access roads etc. Just see what happens when fire season arrives and the glampers like others may have to leave when a park is closed. Insurance for these commercial operators will be high, which will be passed on to private users. Parks will then creep up their camping fees to be just shy of commercial operators. I could have written this sneaky proposal…. It’s just revenue raising for the Parks because government is failing to properly fund them. A shame and a disgrace.
So glad we’ve done our camping trips in Australia. We will NEVER stay in a National Park under the auspices of a third party organisation. Disgusted with you National Parks.
This will do little to entice genuine tourism and more about lining pockets of commercial operations. NATIONAL PARKS …for all not national perks for a few
Let them test drive the idea in Hyde Park first. See how they go there. NP are owned by the people… thats why they’re called National Parks!
This idea was introduced to Inskip Point QLD, All the good camping spots were taken up by these tents and a community mess tent . They had about 6 tent sites plus shower tents plus parking all on the beach front sites. The month our family camped near the designated campsite there was only a few times it was used. When it was it was by brainless f#£%s that should have stayed in a house in town and just did day trips out to the Point. The tents stayed erected full time and staff came out from Rainbow Beach township to clean etc when necessary. The idea got knocked on the head as it didn’t work.
Before you go encouraging others to camp education needs to apply. A bush camper for over 20 years, we’ve seen an increase in new Australians disrespecting our bushlands. We also had our state run campsite turned into a national park site.
No, I don’t like that idea at all. Let them set up these type of campsites at Hipcamps if required. Private commercialised campsites at private campgrounds.
Looking so similar to that of hotels having satellite grog shops in shopping centres.
Ghost bookings are just computer software creations, creating this amazing solution for revenue without any real solution.
Just shifting the responsibility.
Who ever thought of this doesn’t have the slightest idea about camping in general. Those that would partake in something like this would be better left in the inner city’s as they wouldn’t respect the bush or surrounds. It will look like the middle east or little India and unfortunately they trash the place. I’m Caucasian married to a Indian so I’ve seen it first hand traveling India many times. We don’t need the sites privatised or your booking system either, put it back to first in gets it as it operates just fine in any state forrest. From someone who spends lots of time free camping in the high country and introduce family’s to it every year. Family’s ie parents and children need to be taught how to shit in the bush, build fires safely, collecting wood, camp setup for a variety of weather, basic first aid and I think that comes from a experienced camper sharing the knowledge with a family who is new and keen to learn not this nonsense proposal. Go back to old Australian values, proud to be Australian we don’t need to reinvent it just go back to what has worked for generations and let bush users teach what we love.
I think national park is missing the point what is not surprising parks are designed and exist is to protect the environment and what is living in national parks are Crown land belonging to the people of Australia the national parks and the government try to turn national parks into into playgrounds for the rich interconnect more money to pay for the growing bureaucracy in this country it is a trial be the government planning for National Parks the government did exactly the cell with the local lands department all the Crown land been leased out two private interests
We really don’t understand why people with these huge luxury RV;s would want to camp in National Parks?
From our observations they never seem to leave their camps to take a walk in the bush.
They’re too busy polishing their rigs to keep up appearances.
National parks are for nature lovers who have an interest in the natural environment & wildlife.
We photograph birds to upload onto Birdlife Australia’s Photography Gallery.
This entails spending a large part of every day walking through the bush.
We rarely encounter anyone else out there. LOL.
Agree with comments belowNational Parks should remain that ie National Parks not for commercialisation use absolutely hideous idea…it’s about $$$ plenty of private Hipcamps and private caravan setup companies for those that are glampers!!!! Leave our NP’s alone….but you probably won’t listen
Agree Helen and if Hipcamps are anything to go by, for example, costs will be extraordinarily high.
I say No to the private business taking over National Park camping. . It will become another money making scheme for profiteers. May as well build caravan parks for beginners in all the national parks with all the Club Med trimmings,
The start of the commercialisation of Nature. Wasnt NP designed to be areas of human minimal impact??
If you are a human who cannot go it alone with preplanning, organisation and bring in and out your own equipment/supplies then no this is not a good idea for the natural environment or for other ‘real’ campers.
Inexperienced non campers/trekkers means a destruction of what NP basic camping is all about eg Back to the Bush if they now can just turn up and no actually be engaged or involved in the whole process.
Like other bad ideas out there
AirBnB in residential areas both are not sitting right with me!
It will mean that people who have no other interest except ticking a box will access these areas with no clue on how to camp. If people have a genuine interest in camping and visiting national parks then they will make the effort. We stayed at the Warrumbungles a couple of years back. This group turned up at 9 pm and started using their big asses torches shining them all around the site and into the sky making alot of noise for ages . Even though there were specific signage about not using torches to shine into the sky or around the camping area. The next day they all went off walking and didnt arrive back until about 10 at night on foot. Clearly they had no idea of how to behave in the Australian environment amd got lost.
I wont say anymore for fear of being called names but they obviously did not grow up in Australia.
If people want to camp they will make the effort. Who will help out the boffins who have no clue when things go wring and the corporates arent there to rescue them .
National parks booking systems already encourage the booking of several sites by one individual thereby limiting the number of real spaces available. This is a really bad idea as it would promote more of that and thereby actually reduce the number of visitors. Now, having a number of sites that cannot be booked thus allowing for spontaneous visits. That would be smart.
Another government con to privatize the npws with the business cronies
Why bother …they’ve not allowed anyone into National Parks in ages….but oh wow now businesses can with their dirty grubby paws….obnoxious grotty kids ….zero duty of care for the environment or wildlife………utter scumbags as is the NPWS ….
Agree with Paul (see below): Yet another way for Parks to make money…and a further extension of the ‘ghost’ booking/empty sites outcome that Parks ‘introduced’ a year or two ago…but continue to defend, without any system to prevent it from going on …and on…and on.
[See related GN’s article in this edition “‘Ghosts’ park campsites ……”]
Yeah not a good idea..camping should not become commercialised in national parks
Totally disagree that’s what caravan parks are for. Tents are inexpensive at the most basic level. New campers can purchase a cheap tent and borrow equipment from friends. This is what we all did prior to this ridiculous money grabbing approach suggested by NPWS NSW