How not to loose our campervan camping spot when nicking off to the shops?
Guust said
10:28 AM Jun 14, 2023
Hi all, bit new to Australian camping and first time poster here. Cheers
This is our query: So we arrive at a nice camping ground, pick a nice shady spot [non-powered]. At some time, we want to nick off to the shops 30 minutes away and grab a bite. Because we travel in a campervan we do not leave anything but tyre tracks. How do we make sure that when we come back 2 hours later, we can park in the same nice spot we picked earlier, and prevent others from pinching it :)
What is the etiquette or usual practice for such situations in Australia?
Thank you
Mariner30 said
10:37 AM Jun 14, 2023
Leave a fold up table and a couple of chairs maybe?
How would anyone else know that you were coming back or even that someone had been there before they pulled in after you left?
Possum3 said
10:47 AM Jun 14, 2023
Welcome to the Forum Guust.
If camping at a free camp, the first come rule always applies - You use the term "we" so why not one of the campers stay at the site, perhaps with a camp chair and table reading a book or even better listening to a blaring radio of Duff Duff music.
In all seriousness you cannot expect others to not camp in a beautiful spot that you have left vacant, newcomers have rights as well.
Basher said
10:49 AM Jun 14, 2023
Yes as Mariner 30 has said, leave your table/chairs with maybe a laminated sign stating the spot is taken by a Motorhome. We have seen this setup(without the sign) all over Australia often. I think carrying some type of sign is something I would do myself Cheers Basher
Ps, I don't agree with the above post, you Have claimed the spot, leaving table/chairs setup would be enough for decent people to realise the spot IS taken, well in 99% of cases, but I guess there are some ar.....hol.. around!
-- Edited by Basher on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 10:54:22 AM
-- Edited by Basher on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 10:56:12 AM
Onedodger said
10:53 AM Jun 14, 2023
This is a problem that a lot have.
We have seen people leave chairs and a table in the spot to go off and shop then someone comes along and simply moves them and sets up in that spot.
On one occasion I went over and said that the owners of the chairs etc would be back soon and was told to but out, and they moved the items and set up anyway. On return of the campers there was a heated argument but the person involved did not move .
So my thoughts would be to make sure you do your shopping before setting up.
As altercations can easily escelate into a fight.
Guust said
11:12 AM Jun 14, 2023
I think I remember from my European days that people would put tent pegs out in the corners of their claim and then put some string around it.
It would be a bit strange that if you have a tent or a caravan, you can nick off the beach or a restaurant or the shops, but if you travel in a campervan, that would forfeit your camping spot.
I like the laminated sign idea :) and agree that there is nothing we can do about the remaining 1% - probably do not want to be near them anyway!
Thanks all
TheHeaths said
11:49 AM Jun 14, 2023
If youre in a paid campground, you should have no problems.
If however, you are in a free camp, you may encounter issues, and also find people may move anything you leave to reserve your spot, when you go out.
That unfortunately is the price of using free camps, no security on your chosen spot if you go out for a while.
Mariner30 said
12:18 PM Jun 14, 2023
TheHeaths wrote:
If youre in a paid campground, you should have no problems.
In a perfect world maybe haha!
Years ago in a popular caravan park my brother turned up to his site ( that he had had for years ) only to find some overnighters had disregarded the caravan park staff instructions and decided to take his spot instead...l dunno why
I told those people that my brother would turn up any moment and was told to 'go away '...which l did...straight to the office.
But the manager didn't want to do his job and tell them to pull up their tents and go to their allocated site,
Which made it difficult for my brother and his family as he would have to set up his jayco twice in two days.
We'd been going to this park for many years and we were not happy with the manager.
Cuppa said
12:27 PM Jun 14, 2023
Simplest is to shop before camping.
You can try leaving something in your spot as others have suggested but it is no guarantee in a free camp. I have seen tables & chairs moved aside in those circumstances.
Bottom line is that having no rights to your earlier preferred site is how it is when free camping - some will assert (& abide by) a protoocol to suggest otherwise, but if folk don't there is nothing you can do about it.
Whenever we have stayed in heavily used free camps (not often as we dislike them as much as we dislike caravan parks) we have never tried to assert our 'right' to a particular spot once leaving it, as we consider that no such right exists, and once we move away it becomes open to others.
That said, we have never moved someone else's property in order to set up camp where the property was left, but we have perceived those 'property leavers' as selfish & 'entitled'.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 12:34:01 PM
Guust said
12:56 PM Jun 14, 2023
Ah, maybe the solution is to buy a $20 tent from K-mart and leave that :)
Based on the comments here, people seem to respect tent people but not campervan people :)
I am a bit surprised by some of the comments that suggest there is little respect for others amongst some campers ...
Basher said
03:02 PM Jun 14, 2023
Just a fact of life, there's always a few selfish, inconsiderate campers out there, but ofcourse none on this forum
Basher
Bobdown said
05:11 PM Jun 14, 2023
Mariner30 wrote:
Leave a fold up table and a couple of chairs maybe?
How would anyone else know that you were coming back or even that someone had been there before they pulled in after you left?
Probably find an empty site, they steal your stuff in Caravan Parks these days, let alone a free camp site with no one around.
As others have said, shop before you stop.
shakey55 said
05:20 AM Jun 15, 2023
Guust wrote:
Ah, maybe the solution is to buy a $20 tent from K-mart and leave that :) Based on the comments here, people seem to respect tent people but not campervan people :)
I am a bit surprised by some of the comments that suggest there is little respect for others amongst some campers ...
Great idea, good luck.
99% of travellers would leave your table and chairs alone and understand that someone is staying there.
The tent is a great idea.
Mariner30 said
08:37 AM Jun 15, 2023
Bobdown wrote:
Mariner30 wrote:
Leave a fold up table and a couple of chairs maybe?
How would anyone else know that you were coming back or even that someone had been there before they pulled in after you left?
Probably find an empty site, they steal your stuff in Caravan Parks these days, let alone a free camp site with no one around.
As others have said, shop before you stop.
And what if they HAVE done the shopping BEFORE they stop?
They may still want to drive to a nearby attracton/ site/ or visit a doctor/ go fishing/ etc etc
I follow the local travelers sites and live within walking distance of two of them, leaving cheap stuff to mark your space behind seems to be fairly common,
KJB said
01:03 PM Jun 15, 2023
Simple really.
First in,best dressed..........if you are not there, the spot is not occupied.
You cannot have your cake and eat it.
....otherwise use commercial,managed caravan parks.......... KB
yobarr said
03:43 PM Jun 15, 2023
KJB wrote:
Simple really.
First in,best dressed..........if you are not there, the spot is not occupied.
You cannot have your cake and eat it.
....otherwise use commercial,managed caravan parks.......... KB
Well said Kerry. No camper "owns" any spot. If a particular spot is unoccupied, in that no vehicle is present, it is a free for all.
First up, best dressed. The world of entitlement seems to be expanding. Cheers
P.S Then you get the other extreme such as a free camp near Winton. Must be 40 acres or more, and since I was the only person there I parked where I wanted.
Couple of hours later another van arrived and parked alongside me. Perhaps they were scared of the dark, but I simply moved a couple of hundred metres away.
Why do people do such stupid things?
Dick0 said
04:12 PM Jun 15, 2023
yobarr wrote:
KJB wrote:
Simple really.
First in,best dressed..........if you are not there, the spot is not occupied.
You cannot have your cake and eat it.
....otherwise use commercial,managed caravan parks.......... KB
Well said Kerry. No camper "owns" any spot. If a particular spot is unoccupied, in that no vehicle is present, it is a free for all.
First up, best dressed. The world of entitlement seems to be expanding. Cheers
P.S Then you get the other extreme such as a free camp near Winton. Must be 40 acres or more, and since I was the only person there I parked where I wanted.
Couple of hours later another van arrived and parked alongside me. Perhaps they were scared of the dark, but I simply moved a couple of hundred metres away.
Why do people do such stupid things?
Being in a similar situation to you, when I asked, it was about safety in numbers. It turned out ok because we both enjoyed a Red and the Happy Hours turned out to be a lot of fun.
The issue is really only about the difference between people with a campervan/motorhome and the rest of campers that can leave their accommodation in situ, like a tent or a caravan.
If it is OK for people with a caravan to nick off to the beach or the shops etc in their vehicle, I am a bit at a loss why some people seem to think that campervan/motorhome travelers should have no right to leave a camp for a while without having to forgo their spot.
TheHeaths said
01:35 PM Jun 16, 2023
Guust wrote:
The issue is really only about the difference between people with a campervan/motorhome and the rest of campers that can leave their accommodation in situ, like a tent or a caravan. If it is OK for people with a caravan to nick off to the beach or the shops etc in their vehicle, I am a bit at a loss why some people seem to think that campervan/motorhome travelers should have no right to leave a camp for a while without having to forgo their spot.
Guust, it is not about a difference between the rights of campers with different forms of accomodation, as they all have the same rights to come and go.
What is unfortunate for you is that many will look at a spot, and if nothing is there, will consider it is fine to camp there themselves. This is especially so in no cost camps, which I assume you are talking about, where possession (read having some show of usage), is really considered everything, as these are free sites, with no guarantees of usage or possession.
Without something on the spot to signify that someone is using it, how are people to know that it is taken?
If I am in a free camp, and see a spot with nothing on it, then I would feel free to park there. I suspect you would do the same. If someone then came back and said that is my spot, I wouldnt move, would you?
I suggest you just camp, enjoy the spot while you have it, and if you go out for the day and lose it, just park up in another spot. After all, what have you lost? Just enjoy your travel experience.
Craig1 said
01:44 PM Jun 16, 2023
"If I am in a free camp, and see a spot with nothing on it, then I would feel free to park there. "
Just dont park right beside that 75 with the solar panelled van.
Possum3 said
04:09 PM Jun 16, 2023
Guust wrote:
I am a bit at a loss why some people seem to think that campervan/motorhome travelers should have no right to leave a camp for a while without having to forgo their spot.
Therein lays the problem - it is not "their" spot in a free camp, no one owns it.
How do I know if you're coming back and when? - When you arrived, did you know if the person/s there before you, moved away to another town or as you put it just nicked off down to the shops?
Let's be fair here, if just going to the shop, leave a person there on a camp chair to advise any newcomer that your partner is just down the shop and will be back shortly.
yobarr said
04:53 PM Jun 16, 2023
Possum3 wrote:
Guust wrote:
I am a bit at a loss why some people seem to think that campervan/motorhome travelers should have no right to leave a camp for a while without having to forgo their spot.
Therein lays the problem - it is not "their" spot in a free camp, no one owns it.
How do I know if you're coming back and when? - When you arrived, did you know if the person/s there before you, moved away to another town or as you put it just nicked off down to the shops?
Let's be fair here, if just going to the shop, leave a person there on a camp chair to advise any newcomer that your partner is just down the shop and will be back shortly.
Great post Possum. You offer a fair and responsible solution to what is no more than a perceived problem.
First up,best dressed.
What happens if you were to sit around a vacant "spot" waiting for the possible return of the current "tenant" when another camper arrives and parks on the site?
How do you know if the arrival is the returning "tenant" or is a "new kid on the block?".
Do you approach the newcomer to determine his right to the site, and how would you determine the veracity of his response? Too much hassle.
First up, best dressed. Shoot first and ask questions later. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 16th of June 2023 04:56:36 PM
Izabarack said
04:54 PM Jun 16, 2023
Leaving a cheap tent on site is a popular device to reserve a camping spot at Rainbow Beach, for example. In the couple of weeks before holiday times, lots of Ghost Camps are set up in the most desirable spots. A properly paid for and displayed tag for one person is all that is required to leave the tent there ready for the whole crowd to turn up on the holiday week. Heaven help you if you set up close to one of the ghost camps as the twenty or so who eventually turn up will park in your annex and/or all around you and force you out through noise, abuse, or plain bad behaviour. I have seen Police needing to intervene when people turn up on the Thurday before the long weekend, for example, and put the place holding tent in the bin before taking over the pot.
But I digress, if a neighbouring camper is not available or willing to keep an eye on a camp chair or such left as a place holder while ducking to the shops, might be easier to plan ahead next time or to simply leave and move to a new camp site.
Dunmowin said
12:32 PM Jun 18, 2023
Mariner30 wrote:
Leave a fold up table and a couple of chairs maybe?
How would anyone else know that you were coming back or even that someone had been there before they pulled in after you left?
While I agree with this post, I have seen a caravan arrive at said site and set up, open annex over the fold up tables and chairs. You can' t guarantee anything.
Basher said
01:58 PM Jun 18, 2023
Yes you can guarantee that there are a lot of ars....les out there!
Sad really
Basher
gdayjr said
10:40 AM Jun 19, 2023
I carry a motorcycle, and a pushbike with me on the road.
I don't have the issue of someone stealing my spot because I travel in a caravan, but if its a quick trip to the shops, use a bike of some sort?
kgarnett said
06:43 PM Jun 19, 2023
No-one is pinching it if you are not there utilising the spot.
It is not your spot if you are not there using it.
landy said
09:17 PM Jun 19, 2023
Just the same as parking at the supermarket or any other public parking spot.
Its one of the many things you need to take into consideration when you are choosing the type
of vehicle to purchase for your travels and how to set it up. there is no perfect set up they all have there pro's and cons.
Landy
yobarr said
06:00 PM Jun 20, 2023
landy wrote:
Just the same as parking at the supermarket or any other public parking spot.
Its one of the many things you need to take into consideration when you are choosing the type
of vehicle to purchase for your travels and how to set it up. there is no perfect set up they all have there pro's and cons.
Landy
Absolutely! As Ken said in the post before yours, if you are not actually there then surely any spot is not "yours".
For heavens sake, where do all these apparently entitled persons intend to draw the line?
You do not "own" the spot. First up, best dressed. Suck it up. Cheers.
Hi all, bit new to Australian camping and first time poster here. Cheers
This is our query:
So we arrive at a nice camping ground, pick a nice shady spot [non-powered].
At some time, we want to nick off to the shops 30 minutes away and grab a bite.
Because we travel in a campervan we do not leave anything but tyre tracks.
How do we make sure that when we come back 2 hours later, we can park in the same nice spot we picked earlier, and prevent others from pinching it :)
What is the etiquette or usual practice for such situations in Australia?
Thank you
How would anyone else know that you were coming back or even that someone had been there before they pulled in after you left?
If camping at a free camp, the first come rule always applies - You use the term "we" so why not one of the campers stay at the site, perhaps with a camp chair and table reading a book or even better listening to a blaring radio of Duff Duff music.
In all seriousness you cannot expect others to not camp in a beautiful spot that you have left vacant, newcomers have rights as well.
Yes as Mariner 30 has said, leave your table/chairs with maybe a laminated sign stating the spot is taken by a Motorhome.
We have seen this setup(without the sign) all over Australia often.
I think carrying some type of sign is something I would do myself
Cheers
Basher
Ps, I don't agree with the above post, you Have claimed the spot, leaving table/chairs setup would be enough for decent people to realise the spot IS taken, well in 99% of cases, but I guess there are some ar.....hol.. around!
-- Edited by Basher on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 10:54:22 AM
-- Edited by Basher on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 10:56:12 AM
This is a problem that a lot have.
We have seen people leave chairs and a table in the spot to go off and shop then someone comes along and simply moves them and sets up in that spot.
On one occasion I went over and said that the owners of the chairs etc would be back soon and was told to but out, and they moved the items and set up anyway. On return of the campers there was a heated argument but the person involved did not move .
So my thoughts would be to make sure you do your shopping before setting up.
As altercations can easily escelate into a fight.
It would be a bit strange that if you have a tent or a caravan, you can nick off the beach or a restaurant or the shops, but if you travel in a campervan, that would forfeit your camping spot.
I like the laminated sign idea :) and agree that there is nothing we can do about the remaining 1% - probably do not want to be near them anyway!
Thanks all
If however, you are in a free camp, you may encounter issues, and also find people may move anything you leave to reserve your spot, when you go out.
That unfortunately is the price of using free camps, no security on your chosen spot if you go out for a while.
In a perfect world maybe haha!
Years ago in a popular caravan park my brother turned up to his site ( that he had had for years ) only to find some overnighters had disregarded the caravan park staff instructions and decided to take his spot instead...l dunno why
I told those people that my brother would turn up any moment and was told to 'go away '...which l did...straight to the office.
But the manager didn't want to do his job and tell them to pull up their tents and go to their allocated site,
Which made it difficult for my brother and his family as he would have to set up his jayco twice in two days.
We'd been going to this park for many years and we were not happy with the manager.
Simplest is to shop before camping.
You can try leaving something in your spot as others have suggested but it is no guarantee in a free camp. I have seen tables & chairs moved aside in those circumstances.
Bottom line is that having no rights to your earlier preferred site is how it is when free camping - some will assert (& abide by) a protoocol to suggest otherwise, but if folk don't there is nothing you can do about it.
Whenever we have stayed in heavily used free camps (not often as we dislike them as much as we dislike caravan parks) we have never tried to assert our 'right' to a particular spot once leaving it, as we consider that no such right exists, and once we move away it becomes open to others.
That said, we have never moved someone else's property in order to set up camp where the property was left, but we have perceived those 'property leavers' as selfish & 'entitled'.
-- Edited by Cuppa on Wednesday 14th of June 2023 12:34:01 PM
Based on the comments here, people seem to respect tent people but not campervan people :)
I am a bit surprised by some of the comments that suggest there is little respect for others amongst some campers ...
Just a fact of life, there's always a few selfish, inconsiderate campers out there, but ofcourse none on this forum
Basher
Probably find an empty site, they steal your stuff in Caravan Parks these days, let alone a free camp site with no one around.
As others have said, shop before you stop.
Great idea, good luck.
99% of travellers would leave your table and chairs alone and understand that someone is staying there.
The tent is a great idea.
And what if they HAVE done the shopping BEFORE they stop?
They may still want to drive to a nearby attracton/ site/ or visit a doctor/ go fishing/ etc etc
I follow the local travelers sites and live within walking distance of two of them, leaving cheap stuff to mark your space behind seems to be fairly common,
Simple really.
First in,best dressed..........if you are not there, the spot is not occupied.
You cannot have your cake and eat it.
....otherwise use commercial,managed caravan parks.......... KB
Well said Kerry. No camper "owns" any spot. If a particular spot is unoccupied, in that no vehicle is present, it is a free for all.
First up, best dressed. The world of entitlement seems to be expanding. Cheers
P.S Then you get the other extreme such as a free camp near Winton. Must be 40 acres or more, and since I was the only person there I parked where I wanted.
Couple of hours later another van arrived and parked alongside me. Perhaps they were scared of the dark, but I simply moved a couple of hundred metres away.
Why do people do such stupid things?
Being in a similar situation to you, when I asked, it was about safety in numbers. It turned out ok because we both enjoyed a Red and the Happy Hours turned out to be a lot of fun.
www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/aussie-furious-at-sun-lounger-hoggers-in-bali-who-left-their-towels-on-day-beds/ar-AA1cAv8v
If it is OK for people with a caravan to nick off to the beach or the shops etc in their vehicle, I am a bit at a loss why some people seem to think that campervan/motorhome travelers should have no right to leave a camp for a while without having to forgo their spot.
Guust, it is not about a difference between the rights of campers with different forms of accomodation, as they all have the same rights to come and go.
What is unfortunate for you is that many will look at a spot, and if nothing is there, will consider it is fine to camp there themselves. This is especially so in no cost camps, which I assume you are talking about, where possession (read having some show of usage), is really considered everything, as these are free sites, with no guarantees of usage or possession.
Without something on the spot to signify that someone is using it, how are people to know that it is taken?
If I am in a free camp, and see a spot with nothing on it, then I would feel free to park there. I suspect you would do the same. If someone then came back and said that is my spot, I wouldnt move, would you?
I suggest you just camp, enjoy the spot while you have it, and if you go out for the day and lose it, just park up in another spot. After all, what have you lost? Just enjoy your travel experience.
Just dont park right beside that 75 with the solar panelled van.
Therein lays the problem - it is not "their" spot in a free camp, no one owns it.
How do I know if you're coming back and when? - When you arrived, did you know if the person/s there before you, moved away to another town or as you put it just nicked off down to the shops?
Let's be fair here, if just going to the shop, leave a person there on a camp chair to advise any newcomer that your partner is just down the shop and will be back shortly.
Great post Possum. You offer a fair and responsible solution to what is no more than a perceived problem.
First up,best dressed.
What happens if you were to sit around a vacant "spot" waiting for the possible return of the current "tenant" when another camper arrives and parks on the site?
How do you know if the arrival is the returning "tenant" or is a "new kid on the block?".
Do you approach the newcomer to determine his right to the site, and how would you determine the veracity of his response? Too much hassle.
First up, best dressed. Shoot first and ask questions later. Cheers
-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 16th of June 2023 04:56:36 PM
Leaving a cheap tent on site is a popular device to reserve a camping spot at Rainbow Beach, for example. In the couple of weeks before holiday times, lots of Ghost Camps are set up in the most desirable spots. A properly paid for and displayed tag for one person is all that is required to leave the tent there ready for the whole crowd to turn up on the holiday week. Heaven help you if you set up close to one of the ghost camps as the twenty or so who eventually turn up will park in your annex and/or all around you and force you out through noise, abuse, or plain bad behaviour. I have seen Police needing to intervene when people turn up on the Thurday before the long weekend, for example, and put the place holding tent in the bin before taking over the pot.
But I digress, if a neighbouring camper is not available or willing to keep an eye on a camp chair or such left as a place holder while ducking to the shops, might be easier to plan ahead next time or to simply leave and move to a new camp site.
While I agree with this post, I have seen a caravan arrive at said site and set up, open annex over the fold up tables and chairs. You can' t guarantee anything.
Sad really
Basher
I carry a motorcycle, and a pushbike with me on the road.
I don't have the issue of someone stealing my spot because I travel in a caravan, but if its a quick trip to the shops, use a bike of some sort?
No-one is pinching it if you are not there utilising the spot.
It is not your spot if you are not there using it.
Its one of the many things you need to take into consideration when you are choosing the type
of vehicle to purchase for your travels and how to set it up. there is no perfect set up they all have there pro's and cons.
Landy
Absolutely! As Ken said in the post before yours, if you are not actually there then surely any spot is not "yours".
For heavens sake, where do all these apparently entitled persons intend to draw the line?
You do not "own" the spot. First up, best dressed. Suck it up. Cheers.