Free camping is a way of life for some
It’s the debate that simply won’t go away. The Coastal Leader newspaper reports that the concept of free RV and caravan parking is again under the microscope following the release of a report from the Caravan Parks Association of South Australia.
SA Parks reportedly says that while it fully support the idea of ‘bush camping’ and also the provision of roadside stops for safety reasons, it does have an issue with the provision of non-compliant camping areas in close proximity to existing caravan parks.
The SA Parks Roadside Camping Policy Paper calls for councils to consider the National Competition Policy and adhere to the Principles of Competitive Neutrality.
This would mean that councils and other parties would have to make these camping areas fully compliant with all the regulations that private caravan parks operators must adhere to.
They would also have to consider the actual cost of providing these areas, and subsequently charge a fair market price for them.
The organisation’s president, and the owner of two caravan parks, Richard Davis said free parks were allowed because consumer groups had successfully lobbied councils.
“SA Parks believes that councils are being misinformed to believe that offering low cost camping spots is the only way to encourage caravan and camping enthusiasts into their town whereas the caravan park industry has been attracting these travellers for years,” he told the Coastal Leader. “There is no such thing as free camping … these areas have to be maintained by someone. If the traveller does not pay any fee then the local ratepayer is paying.”
The new document said research indicated that persons staying in commercial caravan parks spend more per visit than those who free camp.
Mr Davis argued that caravan parks employed local people, and contributed significantly to the local economy. He said that caravan park operators acted as ambassadors for their local area, often encouraging travellers to stay longer in the area.
The popular tourist town of Kingston SE on the south east coast of South Australia is just one of the communities wrestling with the dilemma.
The Coastal Leader reports that Kingston District Council has discussed the benefits and disadvantages of various approaches to free camping at length.
“The idea of Kingston’s free parks is so self-contained RVs are kept in one place, so they are not parked everywhere around the town,” Mayor Evan Flint told the paper. “Council works to move on travellers who do not meet specifications of a self-contained RV, and we also continuously monitor the town’s free parks, but it is a hard thing to police 24 hours a day.”
Mayor Flint added that he and council would be only too keen to participate in discussions that would develop an agreement that worked for everyone.
What do you make of the SA Parks position? Comment below
I agree that the ratepayer’s are paying for upkeep of free camp spots but the also must remember that the free camper also cleans up rubbish left by locals and spends money in the local town getting food, fuel and drink. As well as going out for a coffee or meal while in the town. Caravan parks fees are a lot out of a tight budget which most travellers are on. We only use a small amount of power & water with a little piece of ground to park on and yet some parks want a lot for that. If parks charge a reasonable price for a site more travellers would visit them.
Totally agree with this comment
Totally agree with Mark, if it wasn’t for free camping most of the time we would not be travelling..and when we stay in a free camp that allows us to spend that money in the town sometimes spending up $200 in fuel and food, and if we can’t get a free camp we move on to where we can and that place benefits from our stay. Recently I spent $900 on tyres where we stayed in the showground of that town for a nominal charge.
Sure.. ratepayer’s pay for the upkeep of such areas… but don’t they also travel to OTHER places outside their LGA, and consume resources there that are paid for by those ratepayers? Don’t you expect, when you go travelling, that there are things like public toilets and parks and BBQ areas available that anyone can use? What IS going on in Australia these days??? I find this type of thinking by some local councils and some “concerned citizens” in those areas totally appalling.
I also totally agree with all of the above comments.
Most caravan park operators are only in it for the money and therefore charge high and provide little.
Couldn’t agree more. We spent 5 months last year on the road doing another lap of the country and were staggered at the prices some parks charge for an overnight stay. $35 to $40 was common but some were as high as $70 (Broome). This is not reasonable for an in by midday and out by 10am policy but simply a “rip off” and it is no wonder that us grey nomads look for free or low cost camping. Can anyone name another industry where governments and councils promulgate laws, rules or regulations to create a monopoly such as is developing for caravan park owners?
My husband and I travelled up to North Queensland in our caravan staying mostly in caravan parks, what we found was appauling. The amenities blocks were not kept clean, many only had 3 or 4 toilets and showers, that’s okay when the park isn’t full, they get really mucky with many users, one park we stayed in, you couldn’t even flush the toilets, many were blocked, laundry washing machines were not kept clean, most parks we stayed in did not have any sullage. We paid good prices, I have to say I would rather free camp anyday. The ones we stayed in when we travelled through NSW we’re not any better. So what I say is this, until the caravan parks are kept up to standard health wise, is to keep their mouth shut and clean up their act
I have to agree..at the moment we are traveling from Melbourne to Brisbane..and am disgusted with the state of the camping grounds…the owns that we have stayed at seem to be fill of cabins that are not campers but permanent residence..no harm in this ..I agree ..but areas are terrible..rubbish..bottle ..old furniture laying around..and amenities are filthy and very run down ..you can tell when cleaning gets done..and they charge high prices ..it would be better and healthier to parkand camp overnite elsewhere..is there no standards that these camping sites have to pass
The more caravan parks complain about poor us ect, the more we strive to avoid them. They will never learn.
I agree the more Towns tha stop free camping the less RVs are going to stop. I for one do not stop if there is no free camping. I’m on a pension and can’t afford the prices caravan parks charge.
When will they realize that so many of us don’t want to use – or PAY FOR – their pools, tv lounges, internet connections, travel agencies, games rooms, playgrounds, etc etc. We just want the basics at a basic charge. So many parks are trying to be holiday resorts – but NOT for us thanks.
I quite agree! We all have a budget and need to make our money go as far as we can. We would rather do more ‘free camping’ and be able to have the odd lunch or dinner ” out” than spend all our money in a caravan park with facilities we don’t need.
Totally agree, just the basics in a peaceful area.
Business is about providing what the customer wants.
The Caravan Parks are not giving the customer what they want.
There is a place for CP’s and what they provide but not everyone wants their take it or leave it approach.
Yes , thats absolutly right ..most times we just need a place to sleep so why are we expected to pay $34 for that ..we need to eat ..`
The misleading arrogance of the caravan park industry is found in the comment that they have been attracting tourists into their towns. The tourist looks for town and surrounding facilities and attractions before deciding on where to stay. The town attracts not the grabbing caravan park owners overpriced parking lot
Here we go again, the caravan parks complaining about loosing what they used to have.Firstly thats B S that we dont spend the same as the people who stay in parks,if we are at a good free camp and the town is friendly we make sure we spend in town.The caravan parks have been ripping us off for the past 5 years especially in qld where the mines have been paying there ridiculus prices and are now pulling out.I am sure I could name a dozen parks in gladstone and bundaberg area that I quote said [ we dont need tourists or old farts in vans we are fully booked to the mines] now they are desperatly trying to get us back.Well you have run into a generation that has long memories and are very socialable so we go out our way to pass on these kind of parks.We came down the qld coast the other week and attended a large happy hour at burrum heads c/p I think about 24 attended and about 18 had been ripped off in Bundaberg in one way or another.Just how many do you think will end up hearing that story in months time.Lastly my wife and i go out our way to leave our campsite cleaner than we found it.So like i said you had us,but lost us,Sorry we are too old and wise for that crap.In fact I believe there is a book being compiled of rv unfriendly towns, Id make sure I wasnt in it. STEVO.
What a great idea. I certainly would purchase a book that listed the RV UNFRIENDLY TOWNS AND CARAVAN PARKS. When on the road I stay in a caravan park about every 3rd or 4th night, and I usually try to do so in an RV FRIENDLY TOWN.
Too True the above comments.
Next we will hear the Service Stations forbidding us to decant spare fuel into our tank if we are too close, or the local shop says you can’t make a sandwitch in your van there.
The problem with CP’s are they are getting very expensive, and also the main concern for us is the time restrictions they have. In at a certain time and out at a certain time. When you want to be a easy as you go traveller, you don’t want these time restrictions. I will never go back to a CP now.
I am a self sufficient caravaner, I object to paying premium prices for playgrounds, jumping pillows, camp kitchens, laundry facilities etc if you get my drift. If caravan parks charged a reasonable rate to use a bit of power, water and a drainage point I would use them. I would be spending cash in their town and being a tourist also spending cash, adding to the towns finances. I believe these are the general thoughts of Grey Nomads I have spoken to about caravan parks.
There are times I use caravan Parks and times I don’t, and I always leave home with a budget that i almost always spend, only problem for the majority of businesses in towns, the more I spend in accommodation the less I spend across the town as a whole.
Also people who spend $60,000-$150,000 on a Motorhome or Caravan is not the type of person who is not going to spend at coffee shops, gift shops for relatives or to see things. But tell them that they can’t utilize their investment for what it is for, to be self contained to camp free then through word of mouth you will be avoided and have a bad rep with the 100,000+ Caravan and Motorhome owners and people who Hire the 1000’s of hire vans on the road at any one time.
South Australia needs to realise that in the past I have visited that state up to 4 times a year during Annual Leave specifically because of the free camping between Mannum and Swan Reach on the river and occasionally used this as a starting point to then drive the coastal routes. Stopping places will change if policy changes
Michael Rickard
There’s no way pensioners can afford to regularly stay at caravan parks. And that’s the bottom line.
We have been on the road now for 2 years now and have used caravan parks all the time on free camping at all.
We are on the pension only and the average cost for us of cp’s has been around $175 per week, we have travelles from east to west and all around the coast between Perth and Townsville plus inland Qld, NSW, VIC, SA and WA.
For us with cp’scand the pension we utilize rent assistance and seniors allowances, which equalls $235 a fortnight, if a cp is worth $350 a fortnight, 350-235=115, that means for us it costs 115÷14=$8.20 a night, and we don’t see the point for us when we have full amenities in a cp in a town for $8.20 a night.
Some are a bit dearer some a bit cheaper, case in point Mudgee Riverside cp $180 a week =$360 a fortnight less $235 = $125 or $8.90 p/night in town behind shopping main street, we stayed a month minimum fuel usage.
I understand fully for those just doing short trips or those still working but for our situation free camping for the differance of $8/$9 per night doesn’t fit the lifestyle we have made.
cheers Don and Denise
if caravan parks want the grey nomads they should stop making their parks into resort style places and charging so much, surely they can put part of the park aside for us oldies, all most of us require is reasonable prices, peace and quiet, as a lot of us are old age pensioners, power and clean amenities, possibly a dump station, maybe a concrete slab but not really that important, these days it is more cabins than sites, a motel is cheaper than cabins in parks in most places, and jumping castles pools and play areas. and those of us with our own accommodation are loosing out
I love bush camping in scenic locations. Free camping in a roadside stop beside a busy trucking highway with rubbish everywhere and sometimes a disgusting toilet is another matter. Towns that provide good clean facilities at the show grounds probably encourage people to stay another day and spend more etc. Everyone has been told to “live the dram” and get on the road and that is where they are. Free camps are now chock full and so are the caravan parks. So caravan parks have taken the opportunity to bump their prices to unreasonable levels of up to $50 or more in some cases. I think a lot of new grey nomads pay so much for their new van with all the bells and whistles, $80,000 plus, and then have to buy another vehicle for a similar amount to pull it that they then can no longer afford to pay site fees. Had they bought a cheaper van they could afford to stay in parks with amenities and free power. I recently went around Aust in 60 days and the 48 days were in parks. The total cost for site fees was $1,600 for the trip. Maybe some grey nomads are a bit miserable?
If you “went around Aus in 60 days” you didn’t see anything! I’ve been on the road for 2.5 years so far and free camp as much as I can. I travel with a dog so National Parks and many caravan parks are not an option. The free camping spots are what makes this lifestyle an option for many people, self funded retires like me and others on gov benefits. We could choose to travel overseas, instead we bought a van to see our country and we don’t want to spend all our money in fancy parks all the time. Yes, sometimes it’s too overcast for the solar to charge the batteries, but we love the freedom of the dog running through the fields and having a campfire, and going into town for shopping, a meal or a night at the pub.
I fully agree. I have been on the road for 6 years and love it. I have spent time in caravan parks and time bush camping. I am totally self-sufficient. Only need a dump point and to be able to top up water. I chose this life for my retirement and certainly cannot afford what many CPs charge for their facilities. So, I choose my CPs wisely. I have also been in CPs where they give you the worst site but charge you the same price as everyone else. Wake up caravan park owners. The mining boon has gone and like someone said we have long memories.
I pay rates too, which helps maintain local picnic spots and cleaning up rubbish left by day trippers, so it is not just free camping areas that cost the ratepayer. Also why were CPs allowed to put in cabins to the detriment of motels – they can’t have it all their own way!
Brenda said Also why were CPs allowed to put in cabins to the detriment of motels – they can’t have it all their own way!
That’s what they need a bit of there own back, in the and it will be all our way course we are many and the wingers are few.
Stevo
Well I live in a coastal town where city dwellers have been not only allowed to take over our local recreation ground but in fact thousands upon thousands of ratepayers funds have gone to converting our open space to 2 soccer pitches. Do these out of towners contribute to defraying the real
cost to ratepayers. Not on your Nellie.
Do the day trippers to our beaches pay for the beach cleaning,the parking,the lifeguards,the cleaning of the rubbish left everywhere,the water,the load on our sewer system. Not on your Nellie
A Shire of 16000 people is swamped by crowds of between 50,000_ 100,000 visitors and the ratepayer picks up the bill every year.
On the plus side there are jobs because most of the visitors leave money behind. Just because some Sir Humphrey claims that well worn phrase “competitive neutrality” it does not balance both sides of the leger.Councils are required to provide facilities for the public, caravan parks are business trying to relieve the travelling public of as much funds as they can without justification by not basing their charges on their real costs plus a reasonable margin for profit.Theirs is a commercial decision the same as any business so if they do not compete and offer the customers what they are prepared to pay for it is their problem not ours.
City dweller, your rates pay for the facilities in your town for everyone to use. Don’t forget travellers pay rates somewhere else and can’t use the facilities their rates pay for when they are on the road. Visitors to their home town can reap the benefit quid pro quo. It evens out in the long run.
“On the plus side there are jobs” ??? Wow… thanks for the 100k visitors to your area who provide the extra $$$$ that comes in to pay for those workers.
So – you don’t want us to come… and then business will contract or even die. Would your nellie be happy with that ???
Lots of small towns go out of their way to welcome travellers for the extra money they bring in
I think it’s well worth a few extra council dollars to provide facilities that even you locals might use from time to time 😉
We use caravan parks, free-camps and showgrounds. On average when we free camp we sprend $50 to $100 in the closest town. When we stay in caravan parks we have no choice but to limit the money spent in local businesses because in some parks we are paying $37/40 dollars per night. Like most we can’t afford the costs of parks and fuel. Showgrounds have proven to be the best value for us and we trend to stay a week or so and spend money in the town. We also let other travellers know the best value for money places. Word of mouth is alive and well amongst travellers. Perhaps parks should introduce variable rates, for example, a set basic fee then add ones if you want to use the pool or the jumping mat or the camp kitchen. If councils stop free camping in their owns then travellers will simply avoid them. What a shame.
I have been following the debate with interest as I was planning to “do the big lap” and was thinking of buying a self contained motorhome around $150k BUT with these greedy caravan park owners putting pressure on councils to prevent a cheaper alternative them maths are starting to favour staying in a pub instead. I don’t need a playground, jumping castle and all the child magnets. I just want a safe place to rest up and move on. Lets get real and cut out the BS The greedy caravan park owners are cooking their own goose. QLD is already of my visit list because of that loony “el supemo”s war on motorcyclists. Tassy is charging like wounded bulls too now so they too can get stuffed. What’s left? WA has been carted of to China. The Cook Islands it is then.
You have made a statement that Tassie is charging like a wounded bull well we are currently in Tassie (have been for the last 3 months) and there are some great free camps and some very good cheap sites. Some of the tourist attractions are expensive but you don’t have to go to these.
We freecamp as much as we can, and 99% of the time I’ll clean the toilets because I appreciate what the town has privided for us.
Just one instance recently a caravan park was adverising $30 for powered site and $28 for unpowered….. So if I book in and use my shower & toilet I should only have to pay $2 for the power I use???
Mr Davis must realise that van parks may have brought people to towns in past but the increasing cost of parks means that people will not stay as long in one place or will by-pass a town all together.
It is appreciated that parks also have increased costs but people looking for free camping don”t want or need jumping castles, swimming pools etc.
Why can’t they provide cheap site at back of park for people only looking for security, power and clean amenities at a cheaper price.
FULLY AGREE with the 3 posts above mine ?? — This debate has been going on for fat to long, i travel on a pretty regular basis, and soon to be fully retired will be doing lots more, I like a mixture of Independent and C/Parks. Of the 19 nights that i will be away from Good Friday onwards, I will be spending 7 Nights Independent, And 12 nights in 2 different C/Van parks,one is $22 a night, the Other is $25 a night, The last one is the smaller of the 3 caravan parks in this town, One of the others made a big fuss about 2 years ago, about Free camping, Guess why i did not chose him ?? — I think we should forget about Lobbying Councils about our Rights and the Benefits we can bring to a Town, ?? As The Caravan Park Lobby seem to be Either On the Council, or Have Influence over the Council, By being Loudmouthed, Oh Poor Is Me Type of Local Business ??
I feel we would get a better and Fairer Hearing, if we put our facts and figures together [And do NOT inflate them ] About how much money the other businesses are missing out on, ?? And send our Emails, Letters, or whatever other means we communicate by, to The Local Newspapers, and the Local Business Traders Organisations Etc Etc, !!
As NO ONE in Council or Caravan Parks seem to be thinking, [ or caring] about the lost $$$ that the Butcher, Baker, Garage, Cafe’s, Pubs, Mechanics, Gift shops, Supermakets, Etc. Etc. Etc. All these Businesses, READ THE LOCAL PAPER, and see the reports initiated by the Council on Information Recieved by The Caravan Parks, and Their Lobbies, ? The Locals read the Paper, and are Sympathetic To the Caravan Business, !! Because he is a Local, Really !! These other Types of Business’s Should Also have a voice,And realise what they are missing out on ?? So from this day on, all My correspondence , Will be directed To The Local Newspapers, and Local Business Organisations, Where hopefully BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY can be Heard and Evaluated By ALL
I have read all the comments with interest and note the common complaints about jumpy castles etc. My grizzle is many parks that provide the simple parking and often pretty old facilities that may be clean but provide a pretty average shower and the loo’s while clean again are often in poor shape. They still charge top dollar! No pretty toys just the basics.. We are now looking very closely at free camping and making the most of our fully set up van. We also believe if the CPs keep up the high prices they will soon find themselves looking at their empty grounds and wondering what happened.
i was a scout leader for quite a few years and now retired i have set up my van with solar and led lighting and a hot water system and we wont go into a CP unless we have to we know how to camp and look after the countryside we have portable toilets and showers and always make sure the trees in our camp area are left watered and the area clean if they dont want us in their town just say so we are happy to bypass them and spend our money in the next town
It always needs to be remembered that many of us spend lots in towns that do free camps. I always email shires and tell them how much money I spent in their town and thank/congratulate them for the initiative.
We have only been canning for 2 years. We love it and although we have a self sufficient van we still like to occasionally stay in a caravan park. Sometimes we may be late getting into a town and the caravan park owners are less than happy that we would like to book in. Most van parks have been reasonable in price but like a lot of other travellers we enjoy the peace and quietness of free camping. By free camping we are not forced to unhook and hook up every time we go into most caravan parks. If these people ever decide to caravan once their working life is finished will they still be so vocal about how much they have to pay for a few hours in a caravan park. Get a life and leave us caravaners alone. We have paid our taxes, helped build this country brought up our children and worked hard all our lives. Now we want to enjoy what’s left of our lives without you money hungry CPO trying to rip us off. Go fight with someone else
The President of the organisation making these comments “owns 2 caravan parks”, so is just seeking to feather his own nest and the whole report is just a scam to benefit greedy caravan parks.
Lat week I spent 2 nights in Adelaide’s (so called premium caravan park on the coast) The grandchildren in tow for the weekend cost us $64 per night, Neither the kids or us used any of their facilities as we have a fully self-contained caravan we went on lots of walks along the beach instead of the Ipads in constant use. Over the top pricing for a Friday & Saturday night.
When we travelled around U.K. in an old motorhome some years ago, we could stay in farmers fields that were set up to hold a few motor homes or caravans. It was a great idea and the reason why we don’t have it here is that there are too many rules and regulations when all people want is a place to stay for the night. Most modern RV’s have toilets and showers now so what’s the problem?
I Have stayed at kingston on murray caravan park it is a top tourist park cost me 35 a night and the sites weren’t that great no the facilities i wont be staying there again theres a park at moorong about 25k down the road that is half the price with power and water although not a lot of powered sites even with the increase in power prices a powered site should be no more that 30 a night anything above that is a rip off and charging extra for school holidays is another rip off some parks put up there rates by 50% during school holidays they wonder why we wont stay in there parks
I agree with most posts c.p. are just to costly for me as Iam single
person. I really like to keep to myself and like the bush creeks etc
but each to there own
I agree with the overpricing of caravan parks. Had a lease on a park for 7 years and was able to retire at 55, my wife at 45. The park was a modest one with onle the basic facilities. One retiring we travelled Aus. and lived in a caravan (sold home to go into park). We bushed camp for a lot of this period as all of the comments above about about the add ons that parks are now providing are in excess (and have to be paid for by all) of the basics needed by retirees. I read an article that one park in Cairns paid $100,000 to install a playground.
Travelled through the sth isle of NZ in a motorhome for 28 days and did not stay in a park for any night. Most towns had facilities for travellers with excellent toilets, showers, dump points and clothes washers. No town in Aus that I know of comes close to anything offered by NZ.
The presidemt.mentionedin the article ‘” owns 2 caravan parks” That is reason alone to ignore his biased and self serving attitude. We will free camp wherever possible and avoid towns that dont allow it. If and when they close all free camps..we will use rest areas provided for travelling public.After all..thats what we ARE.
It sounds like we all need to notify each Council of how much we spent in their town during our free camp. That way they will have data to base their decision to continue or improve what they offer.
STEVO AGAIN> Maybe we should start right now and email these replies to all caravan assns, papers tourist info centres. Because it certainly seems that they really dont know what they are missing out on.Just another fact comes to mind, years ago in a past life was a semi driver towing 40ft refridge pan,had to park up at friends at times so got a meter fitted by power supplier to premises to remburse for use of power and at no time did it cost more then $7 for five days of power.Yes i did say a refridge 40 pantec not a bloody caravan fridge,which is about all i use and most self suffient vans use nowdays.So like i said I am not going to be ripped off anymore. STEVO
“It’s the debate that simply won’t go away. The Coastal Leader newspaper reports that the concept of free RV and caravan parking is again under the microscope following the release of a report from the Caravan Parks Association of South Australia.” Absolutely the debate won’t go away. The Caravan Parks Association of all states seem to me to far better organised & resourced than a collective of individual grey nomads. They appear to speak with one strong voice & get access to the right ear & the press. A good lesson for us individual grey nomads. Maybe if we all sold our vans & moved into nursing/ old age homes govts. would have a significantly greater & more expensive problem to deal with. Who knows?
We have been on the road for 2.5 years. We are self sufficient. I reckon about 80% of Caravan Parks cannot fit us in, as we are too large being 15 mtres in total. So even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. I agree with most of the comments above, they are not considering the fact that Grey Nomads on an aged pension mainly, don’t need or want the frills, all they want a place to lay there head safely. So the sooner they make provision for that this will just keep on keeping on.
Well I guess you all have the picture now. FREE camping is a must , as advised above. We also travel & are traveling from Qld to Tassie for 4months. Travel with our 4 legged family & have found it hard as in some towns the c/p’s don’t allow pets, so we free camp.We spend monies at towns we stop at eg fuel,food,gifts (21grandchildren) & anything else we need. At free camp sites we clean up our stuff & often pick up other stuff.C/P’S we don’t need the showers. toilet, tennis courts, children’s play areas,putt/putt golf,swimming pools, all we need is a dump point ( or this can be anywhere in a town) & water to refill our tanks, we don’t even need power. So what are we paying for in C/P’s?????????? Show grounds as stated above are so much cheaper (some do charge C/p prices) We also just drive through towns that don’t offer free camps.Councils come to your senses & get in on the great people that are traveling the roadways.Visit the free camp sites & talk to us I’m sure you will be welcomed & may learn something………
The sonner we change the phrase “free camps” to something else we will have less debate. We have been on the road for 4 years and happily pay up to $10 per night to free camp if there are some facilities. As Easter is approaching and we are near a Capital city we are going to be paying $50 per night in a park – using only their power and water as we are completely self contained. We like having the choice to free camp or not but do not always get to make the choice.
Give me a break, when are these park associations going to get real. This is the same association (or their members) that claimed when the debate was raging at Murray Bridge that we Rvers use $40 worth of electricity each night. In recent studies it is claimed that only 15% of the travelling public avoid CPs like the plague and the other 85% use them full time or part time. When are they going to realise they are starting to really annoy that 85% with their constant whinging. Their attitude is unbelievable.
I loved that $40.00 a day of power use ! I recently stayed the lovely and very rv friendly town of Ardlethan NSW where power was available in their freedom camp (note there is also a cup in town)it is on a pay the coin in the slot machine and 12hrs costs…..$4.00, bit different from $40.00 eh?!
How stupid are these councils or are they mathematically inept , when I did the calculations it works out at 143Kw . I doubt if my fridge and LED lighting pull this power in 12 months . wish they got some common sence.
We did not ask anybody to build an up market caravan park so why should we have to stay there. It is not our fault they spent big money on their park.
I think what the caravan parks are missing here is that they are only one part of the market for caravan/motorhome accommodation. There are markets for low cost basic facilities such as showgrounds and village camping areas with some facilities. These low cost campsites are not competing with cp’s because the customers who desire low cost would very likely never be a customer of the cp anyway. We “Bush Camp” as much as we can and not because it is low or no cost but because we like it and in Australia we do have freedom of choice. We do use caravan parks when we choose to and the park has what we are looking to purchase in the way of facilities. The emphasis here is on freedom of choice. We will never be forced into a cp we don’t want to purchase facilities from. If there are not the facilities on offer that we want we will move on to a place that does have them. Where we live there are many free places to stay for a while and many people do. We as ratepayers provide these facilities for the travelling public in order to bring people to our shire so that our local businesses will benefit. We would like to think that other council areas would do the same for us when we travel. I would say to local councils that if you want people to come to your area then consider providing the facilities that will accommodate them so your local businesses can benefit and as a flow on your whole area will benefit. regards, Frank
Why has nobody looked at this “National Competition Policy”? It concluded in 2005-06 and has NOTHING to do with caravan parks!! it was a program of government economic reforms. http://ncp.ncc.gov.au/pages/overview We (self-contained) are currently staying at a caravan park in Perth WA for $49 per day and have cut short our time here because of the cost. Shopping? Essentials only. Going out for a meal? Not likely. Sigh.
“Free Camp” means freedom of space ..and we like to pay for what we need and use. There is room for both types of Caravan Parks. If in a town there is provided 2 types of CP the same as many types of Hotels,Holiday Units,Houses etc. then it would be fair. One CP that has swimming pool,playground,camp kitchen,units and bells and whistles…..also one CP that had nothing more than a dump point , fresh water tap and rubbish collection for a small fee— I can tell you which one would be the busiest. The less fancy would win everywhere.
I’ll bet the only reason that people who stay in Caravan Parks spend more than those in Free or Cheap Camps is that the cost of the Caravan Park stay has been included in the totals!
And, if real research had been undertaken, they’d see there is a long tradition of Free Camping all over our vast country. Caravan parks came after Free Camping.
Caravan Parks with cabins actually eat into the Motel/Hotel market… do they reserve the same respect they’re demanding? Are they considering “the National Competition Policy and adhere to the Principles of Competitive Neutrality”, when it comes to their own infringements?
And, just how many people are employed by one Caravan Park? Some I’ve seen only take a couple of people to run.
Most of the travellers on the road are retirement age or “Grey Nomads” and when are the caravan parks going to wake up and stop trying to make “Resorts” out of their parks. Most of only want a clean spot with power, water and toilets, we don’t need all the bells and whistles that go to make a resort.
The grapevine works extremely well amongst us GN’s and if a park had basic clean facilities at a reasonable rate word gets around very quickly. Some local councils and community groups have woken up to this as I have been told by some and moved to do something about it.
what are truck stops for and who cleans after them, this is all discriminatiing as truckies arent made to go to caravan parks and god help the parks if they ever are made to stop over at them, imagine 4 b doubles rocking up at midnight
We are travelling full time , in our large , self contained van , and have travelled extensively in the past years, sometimes in Caravan Parks , sometimes in rest areas . We are noticing that many of the caravan parks , that we have used in the past , are putting in cabins , at the expense of caravan sites, , in fact the one we are in tonight ,has put in a row of large cabins , where previously there were large sites for at least 8 vans. This has happened since we were last here in August . my question is , where do the caravan park owners expect those people who would have been using those sites go now ? I know a lot would choose to free camp ,if the caravan park owners and the shires would allow it .Would the motel owners be listened to if they whinged about all the caravan parks , installing cabins ?Would the restaurants , cafes , coffee shops be able to whinge if people bring their own picnics , and eat them in the parks ?, It all boils down to FREE CHOICE, and as far as I know , we still have freedom of choice in this country.
I object to cp’s because I am a lone traveller and still,have to pay for two people. Obviously I only use water and power for one. I am also not looking for jumping castles etc., in fact if I used one I might break a hip, could I then sue them because the facilities were supplied and I felt I should get my monies worth? I have been a cp manager so am able to see both sides of the argument, but,I do,feel that cps are not catering for a very large market group to the detriment of both groups.
Why is that a Caravan Park can have council or State Government legislation to protect their income and legislate to force self sufficient tourists to utilise their business. What other business has that protection, NONE. We the travelling tourist prefer to freedom camp and spread our disposable income over a variety of trades people, weather it be the Baker, butcher or the service station.
I will never ever stay at a cp unless I have allowed for it in my expences but I still do my shopping for fuel and groceries, the odd meal and maybe treat myself , we love shopping,but if there is nowwhere to park for the night we keep going and none of the above Happens, I was wondering how many Truckies, who free park for the night and in the morning go shopping in town.,
Hi Barry, my wife and I are planning a trip in 20/21 going up the west coast of Aus. Our plans are to free camp all or at least most of the time 95% at least over a 3 month period and will spend money in towns we stop close to for food fuel and whateva. I see you’ve commented on truckies maybe not shopping in towns they go through or stop at, well one reason for that is they have dead line to work to and most times that is not an option. They have a 5 hour legal working time and after that time are required to have a1/2 stop away from the truck.since the time limit reflects to out of the way/towns then that option is no longer available. Barry most or at least most of truck stops are card only and 2/3 trailer roadtrains would find it a little hard to pull up to your road side deli with room to spare. Enjoy your travels. Barb
I am a .LG Councillor & we have recently made available 10 sites in the Council owned CP for 2 nights for $10 per night at Coffs Harbour NSW.
We hope you stop & enjoy our hospitality. This offer is not available in School holidays.
The above offer applies to self contained RV’s.
Nan, does that offer include self contained caravans?
Its Wake-up Time! Travellers are visitors while many of the residents bought their way into their location. Yes we have to share this world even with others that may be beneath you. Caravan Park rates are well over charging in most areas. Even a family of 4 would only use a few dollars a night in services at the most and some will charge over $50 per night. It’s disgraceful and needs to change. None are worth more than $20.00 per night for a family of say 4.
Towns should provide free roadside stops on their north and south sides. Make them clearly visible with signs for that specific purpose. Do the same in town by providing bylaw signs warning of on the spot fines for street camping in non allocated areas. Your town employs rangers so let them do their jobs. And always remember residents can be just as bad as visitors. You only get visitor rights to live on this planet.
Travellers buy fuel, food and other products in many cases while travelling around all these areas. They support your local economy.
Many caravan parks have nearly all become unit parks now too and they’re thumbing their noses up at other users. Many have become permanent home and slum parks. Its time we started catering for tourism in Australia and not just rip off pricing that are ruining the industry for all concerned. Caravan parks need to be brought back to their initial purpose. No full time residents and to cater better for tourism. Full time residents should move into home unit parks designed for that purpose and not holiday parks.