Bit of bull tish, but I think it's true

KDD you've got it exactly right ... it seems its about profit and who back yard your in...

native title, the federal fencing grant and the alcoholic/tenting/homeless have probably complicated things for everyone but lands at a premium now and who's backyard your exactly matters now much more than 10years ago...

one thing hasnt changed tho' ...

the later the model vehicle you drive the better the towns toilet paper are....

Yes - Pretty (no make that Ugly) sad!

Many folks are simply too scared about and unfortunately ignorant of how to go about surveying the lie of the land for a good camp. You know the same old "Out of sight, not showing much light in the night to attract the two legged insects and bugs as well as the usual insects and bugs, natural wind barriers, escape route for storms or unwelcome guest appearances" etc and so on!

Born in 1948, which makes me 60 years young, there have been so many experiences of camping out and about. My lovely wife also enjoys the same. Our kids do as well.

It pays to be cautious and observant, but not the paranoid stuff about today!
Cheers - Mobi

Like you most likely do Kim, many of us do just pull off the road a little way, without really knowing exactly whose land we are on, therefore unable to ask permission. We 'leave no trace' other than tyre marks. We stop when we need to - to carry on driving could be dangerous. In most of the places we find, there is evidence that someone has been here before - such as camp fire residue. We have bush camped near Woomera, but i can't say where.

In the 1960's we toured Europe with our parents, and except when needing to stay in towns or cities, we generally 'bush camped'. We did have a few unusual overnight stops.

Motherhen

G/Day Kim

When you think about it, at least at our age we have had the
opportunity to enjoy more Freedom and less restrictions than
the future generations to come, they will have to see it on a screen
or read about it in books ect.

Cheers
Daza

I think Mobi Condo has got it right, don't get too paranoid about all the changes we are seeing.I normally do a fairly big trip (3-4months) every year in N orthern Aus., mainly Norther WA, Northern Territory, and N.Queensland and every year there seems to be more restrictions as to where you can go where you can camp, permits for this permits for that etc. Ican tell you whether right or wrong it has not stopped me from camping "bush" and bypassing all the BS that seems to be trying to control every movement we make when going on holiday in your own country. Thank God Ihave seen most of this country in the "good old days" and can only hope there will be something left to see for my grandkids.Ithink I understand the bush camping scene quite well and have my doubts about the benefits of creating all these so called free camp areas which are riddled with rubbish, stinking toilets,and overcrowded camp sites.Maybe there needs more control but I will continue to travel my way as long as possible.

Tripping up the centre a couple of times at the start of the 90s we just pulled off into the scrub to camp.

Later trips, it was very hard to find a spot that didn't have a couple of wires fence strung up....

But.... I still find to manage private camp spots here and there.

.... sometimes in the middle of the 'big smoke'!

Hi all,

A lot of councils are to blame for the rubbish to. The bins are full, most haven't got grates over the to stop the birds scrounging and when they eventually do turn up and empty them, what is on the ground from the overflow stays there.
The thing that annoys me most is the amount of unburied faeces and toilet paper around the place. They cannot even be bothered taking a spade for a walk or using a stick to make a reasonable depression. If the do half of them are not covered over.

Tony

Kim,

The problem as I see it is two fold.

Firstly, I rarely find a campsite that doesn't have rubbish left behind from previous campers. This ranges from cigarette butts and cans to old fridges and broken chairs.

Secondly government (of any flavour) react to this problem in the wrong way. Their solution is to restrict camping areas. What should be happening is some control. We almost never see a Ranger these days.

If Rangers paid regular visits, made their presence felt, took down rego numbers etc people would be far less likely to desecrate the bush.

Cheers,

Jim.

G'dy Kim,

Spot on and I also agree with the sentiment expressed here. I have always considered myself a law abiding citizen and would normally go out of my way to obey the rules. However I have, like you, become increasingly concerned by the level of control exercised by various interest groups through the government of the day.

There is no doubt that these rules are aimed at the lowest common denominator but I'm not 100% sure about that either. I only have to look at National Parks where for a fee you might be able to camp so long as you are happy with all the conditions.

I am starting to feel comfortable with the notion of a little civil disobedience.

Kind regards

Kim. In my limited experience, also include:

Population: increasing, so the % of travellers also increases, ie the % of thoughtless clowns.

Immigrants: They are forced to know about Aussie icons like Bradman, Kelly, Centrelink and Mateship before entering the country, but bring with them their culture, some of them have been brought up amongst mountains of trash and thats the only way they know how to live, [and travel].

Tourists: Probably come through an area once and dont plan to return, someone else can clean up behind them !

Mining companys: That little, out of the way gem of a campsite, you go to a couple of times a year, suddenly is full of pegs and markers, ribbons, sample bags, a couple of dented 44gal drums hit by taggers because the access has been improved.

Government: Far too many people have to justify their jobs. They must sit there day in day out staring at the ceiling, tapping their little pencil on the desk, thinking of ways to pizz off people.
You only have to read some of the idiotic, petty rules and regulations they come up with, the sub-commitees that pass them to ask your self....what were they thinking.


As I say, my experience only.


Cheers.....Lionel.

Kim

Good point.

One sees, reading this forum, how people have been brainwashed over recent years.

I am amazed at the replies on this forum sometimes

You need a permit
It is illegal to remove this or that from your car or fit this or that
The Police will take notice of you
Your insurance will be void


In the days gone by, before IT(Information Technology) was around, there was little problem in doing things and going places.

If you needed to go across private land you called in to the homestead and said G'day and asked the question and most of the time the answer was positive. If you fitted a Bull Light on your bullbat few people took notice. There was no Blame Game

Now the 'Authorities' bombard the internet with Permits, The Law, where you cannot go and what you cannot do. This may be due to a population increase as Lionel has mentioned or diverse ethnic ways of thinking by those who are in control of such things.Or w have to protect you from possible litigation so that everone else around you may feel safe that it wasn't their fault!

Remember the New World Order of the mid 1990's? Government Control of the people. Governments around the world are trying by stealth to control people. Just see how Centrelink operates on a daily basis. We vote for governments in a so called Democracy and they in turn exert power over us in a subliminal way, governing more for themselves than for the population as a whole.

Recent tragic events in Victoria have brought about the report that Governments and their agencies have been arguing for 8 years about installing an Emergency Alarm System to warn the citizens of the land of an impending disaster. Nothing has come of it so far.

I am a law abiding citizen though sometimes I harbour thoughts contrary to that. I go my way staying within the parameters of the law but do not cringe at going places when I feel I want to or doing things which might be perceived by some as illegal. Its a numbers game. The negative chances are slim.

Keep your mind open and disregard the detractors in life.

Cheers

Kim,

You reflect my sentiments exactly. In a post on another subject, I moaned about the fact that we as Australians were denied access to our country. Quite a few people agreed with me, but I got my head kicked in by a couple of people replying, who believe that a certain group of Australians should possess country that is inaccessible to the majority of us, without some petty bureaucrat issuing a passport.

But Mate, no-one gives a stuff. Look at the services that are available to us travellers. Rest areas are now so limited in size that unless you get in early during the cooler months you risk having to drive on and get accommodated in a caravan park. I only know of a couple of places in the N.T. & S.A. where you can actually bush camp off the Stuart Highway, though S.A. hasn't gone and fenced off the highway totally (yet). I took particular note last year of the fences that are adjacent to the main roads and there is hardly any roadway now where you can drive off into the scrub & stop overnight.

In rest areas the toilet facilities are pretty crappy (no pun intended). Is it hard to provide an adequate supply of toilet paper and clean them. All I can say is thank goodness my van has a loo. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that during the cooler months down south, we head north. So why can't the facilities and adjacent areas be maintained in a clean and tidy manner. It's too bloody hard and no-one gives a stuff, that's why!

Despite all of this Kim, I'll still go north and west, and I'll continue to go until I wind up in God's waiting room.

I write to the state politician's about the facilities available for travellers and tell them, as I won't accept their crap about how great things are. Sometimes you feel that it's a waste of time, but hey, it keeps some clerks typing skills up to date. Also it gives the bludger's something to think about except their own brilliant political career, well for a few seconds anyway.

I would encourage other members to do the same. Constant pestering gets things done, particularly in an election year.

A good topic that has elicited my interest.

Seeya

Dick