Comment: Free Camping - What is the real cost?

Submitted: Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011 at 21:16

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Free Camping - What is the real cost?

Story: Baz – Landy (Updating the original – May 2013) One of the things that make Australia great is our ability to travel the wide open spaces and find our own little piece of Australia where we

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Hi Landy
Can i ask a few questions.
Do you still go4wd in the Campervantrailer you have in your photo do you free camp or do you go into national parks
Do you only go for a couple weeks holidays a year??????
Do you stay in RV tourist parks ????
I donot understand where you are coming from in your coments ????
I go out for the long haul when i go IE we were in Tasmania for six months 3 months on the road and 3 months house sitting.
I was threre when the story broke about the OTER puting out there media release about free of cost camping being stoped.
WE in 09 went around Aus for 8 months and in WA we could not carry a large amount of food or fuel and in WA there in the top end there are hundred of k between towns. With such a large fuel cost you want to see the most for your dollar and we stayed weeks at a time in Free of cost camps. as we traveled through towns of all sizes we had to spend money on food and fuel we could not carry huge amounts of food to last us between large towns where there were large supermarkets or compition between fuel station in fact up there you do not go past a fuel station with out topping up on fuel so you have to pay the high cost of fuel at the Road houses.
Your coment about (private sector investment in tourism you will see a decline in tourism infrastructure over time) I think this coment is not about the RV Tourism at the lower end of the market. The lower end of the RV market do not want all the bells and whistles of a 5 star tourist facility. The RV Tourist at the lower end of the market do not care or want 5 STAR tourist facility.SO they do not care about Investment by the private sector at this end of the market . I hope i am making my self clesr enough.
My Wife just comented that the Caravan park in Birdsville may complain about the camping on the simpson desert and the Desert park pass and that would have to be increased to $40 PER NIGHT LOL
WHAT this would do is stop people going out there then the whole tourism industry would colapse (this is in theory only ) out there

Regards Terry
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Reply By: The Landy - Wednesday, Mar 04, 2015 at 01:10

Wednesday, Mar 04, 2015 at 01:10

Hi Terry

You say that you don’t care about private investment, fair enough, but here’s why you should. Eventually the demise of the caravan park as we know them today will place extreme pressure on ‘free’ camps, especially those in proximity to towns. Do you really believe ratepayers of these towns are going to continue to fund and subsidise travel by a select, and rapidly growing, group in this community? You know, the one’s, the budget conscious people driving around in $100,000 plus worth tug & van, or RV. Eventually you will end up with sub-standard areas to camp... And what about those who actually want to stay in a caravan park? Do we just forget about them in pursuit of self-interest?

The purpose of this blog has been to highlight that in some cases the true cost of free camping may lead to the downgrading of facilities in the future, and that this needs to be considered carefully. And I am a great believer that all those with a vested interest should work to resolve this issue together, calling in the umpire generally means a resolution that no one is happy with. This vested interest group includes the caravan park associations, and the RV and caravan associations, and also those making the vans & RVs. You can be part of the solution – or you can do as many are suggesting, take your bat and ball and hit the road for somewhere else, but what will that achieve?

Many have recently written to politicians’ regarding the issue in Tasmania expressing displeasure at the suggestion that free camping be closed down. But let’s take that to the next step and you now have a meeting with one of these politicians. Almost certainly you will be asked whether you have any suggestions or ideas that might go towards resolving the issue that will appease all stakeholders, after all that is what politicians tend to do, find a compromise that most can live with – what would your response be, and do you think, on balance, it will influence their decision?

Regards, The Landy

AnswerID: 548234