A group of councils representing a number of communities in inland New South Wales have pledged to do all they can to attract grey nomads to the region.
The Namoi Group of Councils – Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Uralla, Walcha and Tamworth Councils – have acknowledged the economic benefits these older travellers bring … and are looking to adopt specific ‘grey nomad friendly’ strategies.
“Regions with a rich diversity of built and natural attractions, which are RV friendly and actively market their region, stand to gain real and sustainable economic benefits from the grey nomad visitor,” said the Chairperson of Namoi Councils, Cr Col Murray.
The councils have been energised by studies that show RV travellers typically spend in excess of $100 per day in a community on such things as caravan parks 17%; fuel 30%; groceries and food stuffs 21%; dining out 6%; tourist items such as tours and admission fees to entertainment venues 5%; RV vehicle maintenance 14%; and incidentals 7%.
And it seems the councils are all too well aware of the power of the grey grapevine.
“Treat a grey nomad RV traveller badly and a significant number of their friends and family will hear about it, either by way of mouth or online,” said Cr Murray.
The Namoi Group of Councils has now started costing a dedicated Grey Nomad RV Traveller Regional Strategy. It says it wants to highlight the region’s unique natural and built attractions, experiences, events, venues, services and facilities.
What do you think these communities should do to encourage more grey nomad visitors? Comment below.
I know it’s a cliché but the saying “Build it and they will come”
It’s true that if you supply what people want they will use what you have.
I do use CP’s but I like many others don’t want all the bells and whistles. I am totally self contained and can survive for a week or two on solar, I have plenty of storage for fresh water and holding tanks for grey and black. But I do want to see what is around me and many of the places mentioned have things I want to see and do.
It seems that these councils have realised that there are many travellers who also don’t want the CP’s with all the bells and whistles just a space to park and maybe power. Lots use CP’s for fresh water and Laundry and showers but prefer to independent camp most of the time. Most of the shires mentioned would have Laundromats and some would have places to shower, eg, Swimming pools etc.
There will always be a minority that will abuse whatever is provided but the majority would be pleased for these forward thinking councils are putting their brains together and working for ALL the businesses in their towns.
I have just returned from a road trip up through this very region on my way to and from Tamworth.
I am already planning to return for a longer tour in May/June while it is cooler and more comfortable for walking and my dogs.
I found the area well serviced with rest areas and no frills camp sites, perhaps some more show ground or basic style CP camping with access to power would be nice, I especially loved Gulgong Showgrounds for it’s peace and good basic facilities and power if reuired.
My only issue really was as a solo driver there were few obvious signs to take me to suitable on street parking in lots of towns….reverse angle parking is a tad difficult in a motorhome!
Looking forward to heading back up that way soon!
Hi Annie, in regard to visiting my old home town of Tamworth, if you travel out of town a short distance there is a dedicated motorhome parking area opposite the airport.
It is not hard to find as there is a large tourism billboard in the parking area it is quiet and from my experiences very safe.
Yes you are correct, go back there in May/June and beat the heat.
As for the Gulgong Showground, I could not agree with you more, even when the place is full there is ample room for all and sundry to spread out without being cramped. I rate it highly.
Enjoy your travels.
Just to say thanks to the Namoi Group of Councils – Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Uralla, Walcha and Tamworth Councils – for making this sensible win-win decision.
I would also like to thank the Councils concerned about us Grey Nomads and their interest in providing Free Camping sites for our Self Contained Motor Homes and Caravans,
All I need is a Flat, Solid, Level, patch of Dirt near a Creek, River, Weir, Dam, Beach, Some thing with a bit of a view, Just a Pleasant place to park for a while,
I prefer a place with out Crowds, Like Caravan Parks, Etc,
I live in the Shire of Yarra Ranges, That covers Mt Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley,
I have Retired, But I still pay my rates whether I am travelling or not, I do own a House,
My rates cover Tourism to the above area’s, I dont see any of it, But this area relies Heavily on Tourism,
We have Toilets and Info centres, There are plenty of places to Freecamp here in my area,
So when I go travelling, I do expect other Councils to be Reciprocal in their approach to Travellers, Like me,
There are Plenty of Caravan Parks and Motels Here, B and B;s, Etc, Ooddles to do here as well,
But I want to see the rest of OZ, And I dont want it to be inside a Caravan Park, Etc,
I am also 36 feet long, Approx 11 Metres, Weigh 10 Ton, I need a lot of room to turn around or park, It is my car, I drive my Coach to the shops,
In the long run, Its just economic sence, Free Camping benefits every one, The Grey Nomad First, Then the Towns that make us welcome, Benefit financially from us,
The People that use Caravan Parks will more than likely continue to use them, They do need all the amenitys,
You would probably find that people that like Caravan Parks,
Like the Crowds and being in Groups, I cant see that changing,
I would say to these councils…build enough freedom camps with reasonable stay times to allow us to go and spend…fresh water and dump points would be the most helpful things we need…and we don’t mind paying a few dollars to help maintain these freedom spots…and yes then we can support your towns…
Ok you want a response..
Here goes in bullet form..
– Cheap [$5-$7] Free is Best..
– Access to a Dumping station[Well designed]
– Access to a Water fill Point if Possible..
– Access to a Laundry[coin if need be]
– Access to Toilet’s..
– If you Offer a Powered site maybe [$10-$14] per night.
– If your Worried about the facilities getting vandalized.. Maybe Look at getting a rotation of Grey nomad’s to Look after the site for you.. Provide them with a Specific Spot that has access to Dump/Water/Power.. All you would need to do is see what they need..
[For Example a Small Group of Grey nomads Camped at Greens Lake Vic for an extended period of time.. They did some minor job’s like make sure that the toilet block was clean..[Quick Hose out]
> Reported the Brown snake that was in the area of the Toilet[To the Police]
> Generally Looked out for area..
The Main Thing is That most Grey Nomads are RETIRED and they might not have to much money to spend on things Like Caravan Park Fees that charge $30+ for a Site.. Powered or Un-powered.. Most Caravan Parks Only Care for their Own Pocket’s..
J
Totally agree, great idea re Grey Nomads looking out for the area. Most times we do anyway, it is the norm, as far as I am concerned, like picking up rubbish, left by younger less thoughtful persons, most of the time.
In response to Juergen I stayed at Bedford weir in Queensland for 3 weeks with a fantastic group of people. We didn’t expect to stay that long but were having such a great time,al, of us women cleaned toilets showers and tidied up generally around the area and the boys did some small repair work even though it was used by locals as well but thought it was the least we could do for such a great free place to stay.
I also must say when we added it all up our group over the 3 weeks spent close to two thousand odd dollars within the surrounding towns
The thing that annoys us the most is not having somewhere to leave our van (unhooked) when we don’t want to stay the night but do want to have a good look around the town. We may decide to stay if we see that there is enough to keep us there.
It is amazing what caravan parks charge per night. I recently paid $37 per night for my van = $259 per week. When I retire and rent my house out I will get a return of around $350 per week LESS thing like council rates etc and the costs of repairs and maintenance. I have an under 10 year old house with 2 bath rooms & 2 Living areas as well as extensive paved entertainment area and undercover parking for 6 vehicles. So what do I get from a caravan park – a small patch of ground (often poorly maintained) a small amount of electricity and small amount of water. My 30 ft van is self contained with LED lighting and I always use my own BBQ. I have little or no interest in jumping castles & water slides or games rooms and camp kitchens. I think you can see my argument van park prices are too steep for Nomads.
Try $56 per night in Perth !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We do pet/housesitting to combat the problem and let the pension build up.
You obviously didn’t stay at Karrinyup Waters in the Perth suburb of Gwellup. A great Top Tourist Park with 2 big pools, a great place to stay for under $40 per night
Well Done to this group Yes it would attract to the local business’s also. As most R.V’s are now self contained, Water and Dump Point are essential requirements, with power a bonus. We always like to support the smaller supermarkets, service stations, Laundromats etc and don’t mind paying a little extra to do so. Looking forward to a visit to your region. A great pity there are not more councils doing just what you are. Well Done
Can’t agree more Juergen. I think Councils could be talking with School Committees probably both pubic and private about opening up their grounds for minimal cost. Would be most useful for self contained rigs. I for on hate paying ever increasing over the top prices for average and below average C Parks. Then they need to get the information out there. Not sure how but shouldn’t be to hard. Just thinking.
For us to come and spend our money in the towns we look for
1. Free or reasonably priced camps so we can afford to stay and spend our money in town.
2. Dump point
3.Access to top up the water tanks, dont even mind paying a small amount for our water.
There are some great places we would like to stop for a while and explore but when we are forced to pay huge prices for a very basic site, especially when we are fully self sufficient we tend to move on until we find a more reasonable priced or free site. We also find travelling with dogs and a very large rig and trailer we cant always fit into the sites.
Would just like to add that an area to pull up in or close to town for large vehicles, especially when we want to do the shopping. Mostly we have to unload the car and drive in so usually we keep going till we can find somewhere to pull up and shop without unloading the car trailer.
We spend a lot of time at Chaffey Dam near Tamworth. Fairly basic facilities at $5 per night plus $1 showers is why we go there. Spend our money at Woolomin, Nundle and Tamworth. Many more shires should take a look. Lots of room to park, shade if you need it, water and a pleasant outlook is all we need. Coopernook State Forest is another good example of a free camp.
Love the towns who love us – we are in a motorhome, so love places that allow room for us so we can shop. Love camps right in towns – walk to the shops – must be good for the local economy!
Well done to the shire. It is an area I have family to visit and I will definately be back up there this year. I is true there will always be a small % who spoil it for others but on the whole the GN’s I have witnessed are thoughtful and considerate of others and the area around them. After all for many this is their home and their back yard……carrying a shopping bag on our walk to pick up rubbish is the norm for most of us.
At last some councils are starting to see what there towns are missing out on, I would also like to add the importance of parking too many towns have only reverse parking, I only have a tiny van but still can’t find parking, I just keep going if there was enough parking near or at the tourist centres to get info and some basis camping near the town (free or sensible price) I would probably stay a few days, as a solo traveller and a pensioner to stay in a caravan pk I have to pay the same as two people so I can’t stay more than over night now and then and never see the area or spent any money there
Too many Councils seem to work on knee jerk reaction.one bit of vandalism or some one dumps rubbish there reaction is close it and everybody suffers including the town because of one idiot it doesn’t matter that there has been hundred of people there without damaging anything.
Agree with all of the above so won’t repeat it all. What I would say that it would be good if the local councils under their charter Australia wide would look at this as a model to be implemented then the benefit to the whole would be amazing. All local councils could set about their own particular process but be part of the total collective . That together with “word of mouth” would provide big time and the return to the various councils would be a plus for them. Brian.
It’s not just grey nomads that are travelling. We are a family of 5 with 3 kids under 5. We travel in a camper trailer and we like areas that are dog and child friendly. A playground for the kids to play at makes a massive difference as to how long we stop. We are happy to stop for a week if the kids have someone to do also. We are not all retires that are travelling , we work on cattle stations for a few months and funds the next leg of the trip. Best to do it and give the kids a proper education and see things whilst they are still there
Have recently stayed at a terrific free camping area beside river, close to the lovely town of Bingara NSW.It has free camping beside the river for several km’s up towards Copeton Dam. Town has clubs, cafes, nice bakery & supermarket – plus friendly staff at Visitor Information centre. Well worth a stay!(Also good area for fossicking).
Lovely to see Councils and communities welcoming us. I believe we should go out of our way to support these towns. When travelling through NSW during drought years, we stayed at the tiny town of Burcher where the community provided amenities with hot showers and even powered sites. Friendly and welcoming townsfolk said I didn’t need to make a donation (of course I did) just to “Tell your friends to come”. They said they just wanted people to visit them. This was greater than the money. Following this rewarding experience and visiting other towns with free and low cost campgrounds in rural NSW, I had a mission to promote the idea, promote the places that welcome us, and say “Worth going out of your way to support towns that welcome us” as a win-win.
As Jenny said.. Bingara is a great example to councils. Gwydir river camps have no facilities..council doesn’t need to do too much at all..but it’s always got caravanners on the riverside. There is no rubbish problem even though the nearest bins are in town.
A lot of good comments posted here re free/low cost camping.
My question is- Do these comments get sent to councils that are trying to stop free/low cost camping?