Caravan and Camping Parks Only, Is there a need?

caravan parks are not only there for the grey nomad...where do you think the grey nomad came from...from holidaying in caravan parks with there parents...with wonderful memories of great times and meeting like minded people..parks with facilities give parents some free time to enjoy there holiday. as well as the kids.. kids introduce parents to each other...creating activities for families to get together and in some cases forging life long friendships...my parents took me camping on the murray river when i was young...and i find myself subconciously heading there whenever i can

I'm with you Mazdave. I think there is a call for 'No Frills' caravan only parks but as you say it is not about to happen in the popular coastal regions when there are families willing to pay exorbitant fees.
BTW we are 'Grey Nomads'

Caravan Park owners are business people, and need to maximise the capital return per m2 area of their land. If they get far better returns with cabins, we can't blame them
Pity I agree that there are less sites, but what can we do and what do we expect them to do?

Over the years one have seen the demise of some campgrounds that, due to urban sprawling became 'closer' to the CBD, and all of a sudden the feasibility of a unit complex is more appealing than having campers.

As a side note you have Grey Nomads complaining to local councils if they reduce their 'free stay' areas and in effect not supporting the private camping grounds. They are not really a lobby group FOR private campsites are they

Gday,
I agree, but if there was more money in simple caravan parks the park owners would change back to them I suppose?
They're all in it for a dollar like any other business I suppose.
Maybe when their sold off to the Japanese like the rest of the country and they bring in their own workers they might get cheaper?

Cheers

Unfortunately I'm old enough to remember caravan and camping parks that were just that, a place to park a van or pitch a tent, no power ,no water, no drainage to sites. There was a toilet (of sorts), a cold water shower and a set of concrete wash tubs on the outside wall of the shower block. (None of these facilities would be approved in todays climate). You could get hot showers if you lit the donkey up, but then you had to make sure that no one beat you to the hot water. All waste water was thrown on the area behind your van and no one complained.
All caravans had fuel stoves and tilley or hurricane lamps, none of this electricity and gas stuff, that was a few years down the track.
It was just the way it was.
In those days it didn't matter that you showered about twice in the time you were camped there, no one else did either so no one noticed. Besides you all went for a swim at least once a day and that freshened you up a bit.

Now too many campers want all the comforts of home including pools, games area and rooms with pool tables and digital games so that's what the park owners have provided at great cost.
Someone in an earlier post quoted a figure of $20-35 K per site to set up a new caravan park so that's why you pay $40-50 a night.

If you could set up a basic caravan park today, just clean toilets and showers, power and site drainage with some shaded areas I reckon you would need a constant occupancy rate of at least 50% to have a chance of breaking even but I wouldn't be game to take it on with all the red tape required in todays precious times.

Good Luck to any one willing to give it a go.


Disco.

Hi Mazdave,

I agree that there should be more caravan parks that are caravan and camping only and that they are more of a budget orientated. I dont need all of the amenities that some cvan parks have, so i tend to avoid them with a passion if I can cause they generally cost more.

I like the basics, power and somewhere to put the waste water and thats it. I like what they done in Goologong NSW. Its got a park which is like a roadside rest area with a toilet, minimal is better IMHO.

Cheers Wilko

Amazing how some people do not read your post and head in a different direction. They will want to have children running around retirement villages soon.

I looked into the idea of Grey Nomad caravan park some time ago. Between Nambucca Heads and Noosa. Somewhere to get away from the winter but without all the bells and whistles. Peace and quiet, just power and some abolition facilities. BBQ area and perhaps a camp fire area for some social activity. Good place to head off for a walk in the morning.

Then there was council regulations, public liability, health department etc etc and the dramas just went on. It was all too hard.

i wonder if it is not a supply and demand situation.we are demanding it but there is no supply.i would hate to set up a cp that gave to all these demands and the supply did not turn up to support them.

The RAA here in S.A. used to do the caravan guide rating parks at 1* through to 5*. A few years ago they changed this to only parks with 3+*. Most of what 'Nomads' are looking for are 1&2*. The Camps 6 (now 7) goes some way into addressing this need. Maybe Badgers site, or some enterprising person can compile a list of basic facility sites at basic prices.
While writing I feel compelled to comment on the 'dog friendly', we travel with our dog and even though she is 12 and sleeps most of the time we still keep her on her lead. Many times I have wished that the same rule applied to children,(on a lead), especially when they play chasey and trip over the guy-ropes and race in between caravans. Another good reason to avoid these resort type Caravan Parks me thinks.