Cost Cost Cost

You're doing all the touristy stuff. Nothing wrong with it, but personally I'm over it and take the back roads to nowheresville these days, and see the real Australia.

Hi Outback Wanderers

Yes it is so true, they treat everyone as if they have from overseas and have Money to throw around. We found the bigger the crowd, the bigger the fee.

Like above, go to the out of the way places where overseas people do not know and you will get good old fashion value for money.....with the exception of fuel.......lol.

There are still lots of great places to see out there that will cost you nothing.


Cheers



Stephen

Strewth, at the risk of sounding negative, did you bother to do any research before you left? Surely you would have checked the internet sites for the attractions or at the very least picked up something from the state tourism offices or website. All of these things will outline the various costs of admission/accommodation/food etc.

Everything has a cost these days and if you want to go where the crowds go and see the ‘big ticket’ items, then expect to pay.

You are being extremely naive if you expect to travel to significant cultural and national tourist sites and expect there to not be a fee attached, regardless of any state or country you visit. If you’re thinking of travelling the coast of QLD for free or low cost next year, you’d better do a whole lot of research between now and then particularly if your vanning or camping (or to use your shark analogy, prepare to lose a leg!)

I spent 13 months on the road a few years back and kept a comprehensive expense record to gauge just what it costs to travel or ‘live’ on the road. The frightening thing was that it equated to the same, if not more than living in your own house. What I found was that the east coast is designed to funnel you into caravan parks and accommodation. If you want to free camp, you’ll need to research and even then you can bet you’ll be vying for real estate with a lot of others trying to do the same.

By the way, a burger at any of my local pubs in the middle of Melbourne costs between $12-$18 so to get one out in the country for $15 is pretty good value I reckon. Even the mighty Tjuk burger out on the Great Central Road is $18, a price I consider very reasonable considering just how remote the location is (and it's a bloody top burger to boot :-)

The fees you pay at the rock and Kakadu go to maintaining the area and the lives of the local traditional owners (Accommodation costs are another matter but even those leasees pay royalties to local community organisations). How about you look at these expenses as investing in the local community and economy, particularly in the small rural towns you travel through. It might make things more palatable for you.

If the dollars are tight, a lot of small communities encourage travellers to stop a while in their towns by offering free or low cost sites at recreation reserves. You get to use the sports club amenities and the hope is that you’ll then perhaps buy some groceries at the local store or eat at the local community club or even have a refreshing beverage at the quaint local hotel. Perhaps consider this when planning your stops and avoid the big towns to stay over in.

Time spent planning is never wasted.

Cheers

Wife and I did 8 week trip to Perth from Queanbeyan NSW, via Eyre Peninsula and also SW WA, kept a ledger of every cent we spent.. we got parks pass in SA and WA, bush camped 2/3 days, then caravan park for a night or two to charge batteries and replenish water supply in the camp trailer..
Including fuel (prado diesel) and food, everything we purchased from souvenirs to a coffee went in the book.. worked out at $1000 per week... we never went without, and did eat out a few times.. could have done it cheaper.. but it was a holiday... no regrets... had a ball, and that's the thing, created great memories..
couple of things we didn't go into due to the cost, thought not worth it, but that was our choice... cheers Odog

You honestly expect everything for free ?
You know that facilities like clean amenities like toilets and associated things that get tourist crowds in do actually cost money..
not to mention roads that make that area accessible to you and others.
you expect this for free ?
Not to mention the staff the place needs to keep the bad human habits of leaving rubbish lying around..
who is going to pay for that ?
Honestly.. if your going to whinge about costs, sit at home and watch your bank balance dwindle anyway...
than spend a few bucks of which we live in the greatest country, which some made the biggest sacrifices so we have what we have now.
the select few get to see the real australia and I dont hear them whinging about the costs.
yet the overseas tourists come here and spend their hard earned money to see our own backyard.
Appreciate what you have been given , and the sacrifices made for us all to get to where we are now.

In the end, you die with no money.
why not have memories that do cost than sit at home and dwindle your last years to be boring and have money in the bank account

If you're touring Australia, you're tourists, not pensioners. Yes, there are "tourist traps", but they can be avoided.

You have choices, you're not forced to pay top dollar for everything.

Yes, just about all the parks and "sites of significance" have fees attached.
But 50 years ago, there was nothing there, at those sites, you had to take EVERYTHING with you.
The roads were absolutely bloody shockers, you rattled the fillings out of your teeth - and that was on the "highways"!

I can remember when the NW Coastal Hwy was little more than a dusty, corrugated track across the plains.
On top of that, you had to watch out for the massive holes in the middle of the "highway", where some poor truckie had bogged his semi to the makers name, hauled it out with a borrowed station grader - and left the hole for you to dive into!
Now we have terrific sealed highways all around the country, that are the envy of a lot of other countries.

Roads, facilities for camping, setting up toilets and keeping them clean, fencing, parking, rubbish removal (because of the sheer number of tourists), communication and power - all costs.
Try running a 100Kva genset for a month, and see what the fuel bill is! You need a 100Kva genset for a roadhouse/motel setup.

We all have to make our contribution towards these things, to get todays comforts.
In the "good ole days" phones were something you only found in red boxes in bigger towns.
Now we get cheesed off when the mobile signal strength is down to 2 bars.
Electricity was unknown, you carried Tilley/Aladdin lanterns, and used wood for heating and cooking.
Today, everyone expects power on tap to runs fridges, microwaves, chargers, hotplates, you name it.

Going on holiday costs, there's no way around it. Going around Australia on holiday costs a lot more.
Just be thankful you still have the faculties to drive around and see and enjoy the sights - and you don't have to work, either.

As for the food costs, I've found there are only pockets where food prices are too high. There are plenty of places in the cities that charge like wounded bulls, too!
We avoid the high-cost places, and seek out the better-value places.

I don't know where you get fish/n/chips for $15 - unless its some indigestible, lousy-tasting, imported Asian fish, bred in the polluted Mekong River.

I'm quite happy to pay the asking price for excellent local fish - when I can find it, which is not often.
Fishing blokes have to run bloody expensive boats, they have big diesels and they fairly chew through fuel.
Then the truckies have to transport the fish, so that adds to cost.
If you're so inclined (I'm not), you can go fish yourself, and catch your own and know its fresh.

The simple fact remains that Australia is a massive size, and distance is our constant enemy, and a major cost burden - on travellers, and on those businesses trying to survive profitably in the more remote areas.

I'm quite happy to pay the going rate where it's requested, and avoid the spots where "rorting" is rather obvious.
It's the price you pay for holidaying, enjoy it while you can.

Cheers, Ron.

For sure, lots of things have a fee attached these days for a variety of reasons, but hey some of my best moments in the bush; the Australian Outback, have been around a camp fire, the night sky ablaze with stars, in the company of great friends and mates and it hasn't cost a cent for a seat...

And here's the thing, there have been times I would have paid a 'million bucks' for that seat...!

Each to their own and whilst I understand the sentiment of your post very few things in life are free...

(Ps: currently in the UK and even a pee will set you back 20p a squirt)

Cheers, Baz - The Landy

Balli sounds good for you, $750 for a week with free breaky and flights.....but dont drink the water, dont eat anything, dont get sick over there....really, in the NT, the national parks provide a camp site, gas cookers and a long drop for $3.50 per person per night....how good is that ! Cheaper than rent :)

Nothing ,absolutely Nothing is 'free' except perhaps the air you breath , ... that track you want to drive down to that lovely 'free' camping spot by the river ? Some one paid to put that track in , ... one of the greatest laughs is on the UHF listening to a smallish convoy of tourists / grey nomads [whatever] discussing the price of fuel coming into a town like Longreach or Barcaldine ..driving round and round to each servo to 'save' that 1 tenth of a cent per litre or asking for a 'pensioner' discount on a $5 bottle of wine at the bottle shop 'because we get it for $4.59 at Dan Murphy's' " the nearest of which is 500km away ..... The story is quite simple , if you can't afford the prices involved in travel , don't go , stay home !

Gidday

I guess everybody is different with different interests and different needs and big budgets and small.

I am just back from a month in the Pilbara and apart from fuel (I record purchases for trip planning) I would have no idea of the total cost. I suppose I could go through the bank statements and work it out but can't see the point.

I do tend to remember the good service at a reasonable price and the poor which may be overpriced.

As for the "specials", I was in Africa a few years ago and some companions were balking at the $400-odd for a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls.

Our wise old guide offered the view that it was a once in a lifetime thing and $400 over the course of a lifetime didn't amount to much.

I am looking at heading overseas next year and the headline price seemed a bit more than I wanted to pay so I checked out the invoice for flights and tours for month in Europe in 2014. That much? The great memories had made the cost almost irrelevant.

Happy travels

At least you've got enough $$ left to do a "next trip to Qld".

As others have said - if you want to visit all the popular tourist destinations you must expect to pay for the facilities and services provided and they cost more in isolated areas. It is a fantasy to think that the situation will be different along the Queensland coast. Rather than constantly worrying about the cost it is better to just enjoy the trip. If you are necessarily on a tight budget then the simplest approach is to modify your trip plans by going shorter distances (fuel is a major expense after all), avoiding take away meals and by passing some of the more obvious tourist areas. You would still find lots to see and do with less worry about costs. Remember to be glad you can travel instead of being stuck at home watching day time TV! John and Lynne

Just returned from an unplanned NT trip.

I was able to do a circuit of Uluru, touch, feel and explore (without climbing it like a wanker) and then take in the sunset. Next day I walked the Valley of Winds and the shorter Gorge walk. Last day (3) of access we visited the Cultural centre for $25

Palm Valley, day walk for free, camping including hot showers and gas cookers $6.60

Chambers Pillar, free
Birthday Waterhole, free
Standley Chasm walk, $12
Omiston Gorge walks free, camping with hot showers $10
Kings Canyon, free
Herhmannsburg $11

Food and services costs power and people, power and people cost money....

I have spent about $60K in the last 10 years traveling this fine country, the way I see it. It was $60K in support to small town economies and keeping people employed.

My trips have worked out to be about $1 dollar per km, be it free camping, national park camping caravan parks and the occasional motel room fuel food tours etc and I haven't even started to travel yet.

I am more than happy to pay camping fees permit fees and entry fees,

Just to give you an idea, Kakadu is two thirds the size of Belgium. It take over 70 staff to look after it and the budget is approx 18 million a year for up keep, now either we have a user pays system or the tax payer picks up all the bill.

Which would you prefer given that 40% of the tourist revenue is from overseas.

Would you like to pay a small amount to Keep Kakadu a World Heritage National Park?

Or would you prefer the Australia tax payer pay the lot?

I recon you would have had a much better time if you had travel to all those places and enjoyed them as apposed to worrying about how much you just spent.

The only waste of money here is, oh and the irony! You didn't enjoy it because of the cost.

There's actually one big thing wrong with your assessment of this situation, and that is you called them all greedy. If you are trying to run a small business these days, it's really tough, the expenses just kill you. You may think that prices are dear, but believe me, everyone running a business will tell you they aren't dear enough. It's an unfortunate fact of life. I think the big boys are doing it ok, everyone else is struggling, even the government.
I'm in business, and I can't afford to travel around Australia buying take away food. I reckon caravan parks are too dear as well. I can't imagine trying to do it on a pension that's for sure. But I understand why the prices are what they are.

Well Outback Wanderer
A wanderer you are.
I'm sorry you are are an invalid pensioner.
I'm sorry you have become so unfit at 65 years of age.
I am 76 years old and can still tie my shoelaces up.
But, pensions were never meant to sustain the lifestyle you expect.
Most of us were at at your age were in charge of thier own destinies after leaving school with the intermediate certificate.
I can remember 17.5% interest rates and all the other things you mention but I can also remember having up to four jobs to make ends meet.
I retired at 62.
You say you were into trucking, where did the dollars go.
I was self employed 50% of my working life until waking up and retraining myself for better employment .
Superanuation is not given to you, you contribute to it.
Vegemite sandwitches are not that bad.
By the time you were 30 if you did not look like having funds in your bank you should have done something about it, like getting a loan and buying a caravan park.
You have become very bitter because you compare yourself with others and what they can afford.
But you will survive.
I can remember the road to Ayers Rock when it was two wheel tracks with grass growing down the middle and yes it was free.
We could go on but it won't achieve anything.

Yes your correct.
In those little white 'tourist tents'
Bill Harney was in charge of camping.
He transported bore water in a Kombi with the roof cut out and 44 gallon drums inside.
There was a long bench with a plastic dish for a wash. No shower block then eh. HaHa
I was sixteen then.