Well, I'm back. The kids had a good time and so did I but it did raise some interesting points about going outback with a large group of students who would be under canvas every night and I'd like to express some of these here. I don't know what the policy of this site is but I will name the
places we stayed at and give my honest opinion. I was somewhat surprised at the lack of
services we were provided in some
places onsidering that we had booked 12 months in advance and that we had primary aged children with us who required a little more consideration (but not much) in regard to facilities - especially showers,
toilets and space.
Mitchell -
Major Mitchell Caravan Park. The guys there were very friendly, gave us all the space they could and alerted campers of our arrival. One couple took off as soon as they saw us but the rest stayed in the vicinity and complimented us on out students behaviour and manners (this theme was to be repeated everywhere we stayed). Amenities were handy for the children to use. We couldn't have expected much more.
Longreach - Gunnadoo Caravan
Park (the name will change soon). 2 nights
This was easily the best place we stayed. We had our own little corner of the
park, close to amenities with plenty of room to pitch tents and an under cover facility to eat and meet. Full marks to the staff and the
park for providing us with this. I recommend it highly.
Winton - Matilda Van
Park (2 nights). A little more congested than Gunnadoo but the site was still OK and facilities were adequate enough. The alternatives do not bear thinking about.
Emerald -
Emerald Cabin and Caravan Village. Ian (owners name), you should be ashamed of yourself for putting
young children in such an invidious position just to make a few extra bucks. Shysters like you should not be in the business. We booked 12 months in advance and you had plenty of time to prepare yet you still:
- put us, with our 45 tents, in a space designated for no more than 20 yet you
- charged us for 45 tents
- put us a long way from amenities
- made us use keys for those amenities
- put us on ground that was so rutted that if it had rained as predicted there would have been some very wet children
- put other campers on site before we arrived forcing us to pitch our tents around them
- put us on a site with no lighting so we pitched
camp in complete darkness.
And do you remember last year Ian when we were put on a site that contained broken glass that you knew about? We will be writing to you Ian asking you to explain your execrable actions.
And furthermore Ian. When the
grey nomads restrict their travels due to very high fuel prices (or decide to
bush camp instead) you might regret your actions in discouraging us and others like us from returning. WE won't be back! Think about the number of potential travellers reading this on this site (and three others I will post it on) and feel the shame as some who know you personally peruse this.
Yeppoon - Cool Waters Holiday Village 2 nights. The site was ideal for dry weather but rain made a difference and made
camping a bit uncomfortable. Thank you for letting us use your rec hall for those flooded out on the second night to sleep in. While there was plenty of space for tents we did struggle a bit for undercover eating but got through it OK. The students proved their
resilience on this, the final site on the journey. We will book your dorms for next year to give the kids a restful finish to the tour.
Kanagroo Bus Lines organised this tour for us and I can't praise them highly enough. Their flexibility, willingness to consult and the positive way they interacted with our students was top class. We were vey
well fed (I need to lose some kilos after this) and you handled those unexpected glitches that occur on all tours very competently and professionally. Full marks to Jan, Ellie Mark and Russell - hope to see you next year.
All in all this was great tour, despite the rain at the end. I'd welcome your
views on what you think is relevant about taking students on a tour of the bush and outback.