Another camp may go;

justcruisin01 · Guru

Another camp may go;

milo · Guru

sounds stupid to me, like biting the hand that feeds you

Bent Axle Bob · Senior Member

Hmmmmmm, will be over that way around feburary, so will make a point of NOT camping in his establishment, and will let him know why.I will however , support the rest of the town. Keep this thread open and up to date, please

Vic · Guru

Is there only one caravan park in town? Like your rig Bob !

justcruisin01 · Guru

There are two parks, we heard that both were involved but can;t confirm this.I will not state the park name on here .

A unknown person to the campers at the weir was seen taking photos of their camps without permission. If this is what we think then those photos should not carry any weight as evidence.

Vic · Guru

Understand that JC, I was only aware of the one, never been to the weir, must of missed that when we came through last year. We stayed at the Top Tourist park, it had only just been taken over by new owners, is assume they are still there.

This seems to be happening (trying to close free camps by stealth) in a few places around the country, all by those with vested interests, but not considering the interests of other business owners in the same town.

jimricho · Guru

Perhaps worth contacting the CMCA, they seem to be an active group when it comes to these matters.

I believe that it's fair and reasonable for showgrounds to charge a fee that's consistent with the standard of amenities provided when there are private caravan park operators in the town. It's called "a level playing field"

-- Edited by jimricho on Wednesday 6th of July 2011 07:38:18 AM

Bent Axle Bob · Senior Member

Thanks Vic. Simple rig, ex Telstra 4x2 Navara, dual fuel, solar double battery set up towing side tipper with hard floor. Ideal set up for me, solo traveller. Heading off from Perth, clockwise in about 4 weeks.

Pejay · Guru

If the main one stirring up problems in Barky is the owner of the park we stayed at last year, then we will do the extra k's and go onto Blackall!! He was so so rude to us, and it is a shame as Barky is a lovely town and welcome all RV's. Don't they realise that we (RV's) bring a lot of business to their towns and in a lot of cases, actually keep the towns going???

patrolst · Senior Member

Hi

We were there in 2008 and were approached by one of the campers to sign a partition to keep the camp open, he then went on to tell us that a group of them come up from down south every year and spend 3 months there. This type of abuse makes it hard for other travellers to get a spot for a few days rest.

When we were at Barcaldene last year 2010 we stayed at the Showgrounds, at first we went to the weir (car only) and it was a bit muddy due to the rain and quiet crowded. although it is a nice spot we will more than likley use the show grounds when passing through in future as it is within walking distance from the town and the laundremat in town is clean and well maintained.

The caravan park on the Barcaldene/Blackall road at the time appeared small and very over crowded with vans as the had a couple of largere rigs parked in the drive ways around the park

Vic · Guru

Bent Axle Bob wrote:
Thanks Vic. Simple rig, ex Telstra 4x2 Navara, dual fuel, solar double battery set up towing side tipper with hard floor. Ideal set up for me, solo traveller. Heading off from Perth, clockwise in about 4 weeks.

Sounds good Bob, a lot of the ex gov/semi gov vehicles are well decked out when you buy them, I've had an ex Water Board vehicle I bought at auction in the past, and the current Hi Ace is ex Health Dept.

A number of Sandgropers on this forum. I assume you have or will buy Camps 6 for the free camps etc. One to bear in mind is behind the main road roadhouse in Karratha (area behind the truck parking). No facilities but free. Roadhouse has showers, toilets, food etc so is a good spot for a cheap overnighter. Listed in Camps 6.

Vic · Guru

This is the one we stayed at, the new owners (this time last year) were very friendly and nice, had a number of ensuite type showers/toilets near office instead of the block type ablution block. Also took dogs by request, but at the discretion of the owners. The put on a free damper happy hour late afternoon. We only stayed one night but enjoyed it.

http://www.outbacknow.com.au/index.php/accommodation/detail/queensland/central_west/barcaldine/barcaldine_tourist_park

This is one we didn't stay at;

http://www.homesteadcvpark.com.au/

This is an old article (April 2010) on the showgrounds dispute;

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/04/20/2877780.htm

-- Edited by Vic on Wednesday 6th of July 2011 10:35:36 AM

kandagal · Guru

We were a bit lucky the last time we stayed in Barky as Keith (other half) was doing a bird list for the local council. We were given special to camp down at the lagoons on the edge of town & we were also given free access to showers at the showgrounds. All organised by the mayor who is a very nice bloke. The bird list I think is now available at the "I" Cheers

Onedodger · Guru

Passing that way in August and we usually stay at the weir overnight but if this is not allowed we will give Barcaldine a miss and then E mail the council saying why as we usually fuel up there and grocery shop. As a sort of thank you.

Then make sure that we have supplies and the fuel tanks topped up at Aramac

furious I hate those that try and force me into caravan parks that I do not want to stay in.

Cheers Dodg.

chris & terry · Senior Member

When coming through Barcaldine we stayed at the Barky East Rest Area. A good site & close enough to town. When leaving town we went to fill up at the servo on the intersection of the two highways. It was the cheapest we had seen for a while. Alas they were out of diesel & a delivery was not expected until later that day so we went to the servo outside the caravan park back up the road, & had to pay an extra 6* a liter for diesel. There in lies a story of justcruisins original post. Beggars could not be choosers though, we needed it. Good camping at Blackall, Ilfracombe, & Longreach, so if there are any problems there are any number of fine alternatives, with good local history & attractions.

Terry

sandsmere · Guru

Great camp at Isisford too .

$2 pvpn. Toilets . showers and a great little town . Camping on the banks of the great Barcoo River .

lantana · Newbie

We are in Barcaldine now. Based on some advices down the track we came to the Showground campgrounds.
We came in from the south and could not find any directions to the Lloyd Jones Weir site. Decided to stay the night and after establishing ourselves at the showgrounds, went for a drive, at least to find the Weir site. Even going South we had to work out where it was by deduction, as there was no signage on the highway. Struck a chap camping out there who confirmed all of what was being said in the above posts. As well he believed that any directions to the weir have also been removed to prevent people from finding it. This seemed to be the case to us.
He advised that also the Council had increased fees at the showground to $25 per night, because of pressures from local park owners. Thought this could not be right but after paying up at the Tourist Information Service, this is in fact the price being charged. It is very much overpriced for the facilities on offer.
Barcaldine has established its self well as a very RV friendly town, with a lot of parking in the main street area for vanners and the like. It is also a most pleasant town to visit.
However, we will think twice about staying here if coming back this way because of what is happening in respect to attempts to force travellers to use the commercial parks, which for whatever reason, they (the travellers) may choose not to want to do so.
The whole principle involved also made us decide not to spend anything more then we had to in the town.
We shall express our views to the the local council at first opportunity, and would suggest others do the same.