I am currently in Barcaldine, staying at the Homestead Van Park in Box Street. A pretty good place, $22.50/night - free damper and billy tea each night with country singer for entertainment each night from 4pm to 5pm. The water here is really good too - supposed to be artesian but they clean it up real good.
But back to the showgrounds - the attched photo is of a sign in a window in a shop in town. The situation regarding the showgrounds is passionate, and I gather a little divisive.
Cheers
John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Sunday 7th of August 2011 09:52:55 AM
-- Edited by rockylizard on Sunday 7th of August 2011 09:54:54 AM
Anyone seeT.V show Guild to the Good Life yesterday had big thing on free camping should not be allowed .. because it hurt's the caravans parks and we should help out out a mate by staying at the parks . Not free camping .. my opinion is if some of them didnt charge so much per night maybe more of us would use them more often .. But i do like free camping to as it so different then parks and in lots of cases the people are some much more friendly .....
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The clearest path in life is always the one behind you....
I would prefer to stay in a place where there are other people. I don't always need any amenities as I am fully self contained. Just wish parking in a spot without power and amenities was a lot cheaper than it is. Then perhaps I would be happier about using CPs. In other words, I don't get my monies worth at CPs.
The talk of banning bush camping disturbs me on more than one level. I don't fancy the term free camping cause we bush camp, we love it. The stars are brighter, the birds sing louder and the serenity is to die for.
It takes away our free choice first and foremost. Not all of us destroy the environment we live in, most of us treat it as sacred, which it is.
Another is all the caravan companies are pushing fully self contained vans, ie, showers, toilets etc. Are we wasting our money buying these I wonder, if we will not have the choice to use them?
If we all have to use the van parks, and a lot of vanners have their full set up, the parks ammenities stay unused and we are paying a very expensive car park fee if its not the way we want to go.
Don't get me wrong, we use parks but when we want to and this trip, we noticed most of the parks were pretty full and still lots of bush campers.
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I must be a binge thinker. I do it a lot at times, then, not much at all.
Where do we stay when the parks of our chosen destination are full? I choose van parks, but I also love bush camping. It's about freedom of choice. Parks charge like wounded bulls, fuel is getting more costly all the time. I'm sure if parks were more affordable we'd be more willing to use them more often. We want to travel to see our country. We want to travel within our budget. Freedom of choice is still an option.
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
I would welcome using caravan parks if they were in my budget limits. Its a way of meeting new people and gives a few more comforts for washing and showering when you don't have it on board. I can't afford their prices so have come to enjoy the free camping available.
I heard that there's a few places where certain operators try to intimidate campers. I can't wait until the first time one of these tries there tricks with old jack, I guarantee they will end up with a fair bit to chew. Having said that I've never had a problem yet.
I would welcome using caravan parks if they were in my budget limits. Its a way of meeting new people and gives a few more comforts for washing and showering when you don't have it on board. I can't afford their prices so have come to enjoy the free camping available.
Hi hw, how r u going lovely?
They are 2 differentanimals bush camping And being stacked nose to tail inside a van park. I liken it to offering a desert safari to people that want to swim a reef.
Hi I did see that on that show, Last time We will watch it. If you also noticed they where from the motorhome group with there little blue signs. Regards
Firefly is right it should be up to us if we bush camp or stay in parks ..It is call freedom of choice ..we all camp in different place's for different reason's and it not always about he cost or the park it about the bush that we love and want to be a part of it ... I think when the council close down free/bush camps other open up somewhere else ..It a shame that the whole town has to miss out on our money in food /fuel /ect because a caravan park owner is haveing a whinge to the council and we dont stay or use that town to top up or need as we past throught....
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The clearest path in life is always the one behind you....
Karan shot "What's up down under" an email letting them know what she thought of the program regarding the free camping. The club they are up in arms about is the Motorhome club. I told them I would not be watching their program again but I will watch and wait for the WA "free camping" program and also will be interested to see if they have anything to say about this issue again. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: www.whatsupdownunder.com.au: Free Camping Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2011 09:54:24 +1000 From: Warren Parrot To: Karan
G'day Karan,
Thanks so much for your feedback.
Perhaps we didnt make ourselves clear enough in the segment. The groups that you mentioned in your email are exactly the sort of 'FREE' camping that we have issues with - we dont have a problem with FREE camping in general - in fact as we speak I have a film crew shooting episodes along the Gibb River in WA where 90% of their time there they will be FREE Camping.
We agree there needs to be a balance - we just dont want to see Caravan Parks go out of business because of it. There are not enough of them as there is - many inland parks are at risk because of certain free camping practices - how would it be if, for the one or two nights a week where you need and want a Caravan Park (as you mentioned in your email) but there wasnt one there for you to utilize? Thats the problem here - that is what we are trying to save.
Caravan Parks are integral parts of Australia's regional townships. They draw tourists (as they give the majority a selection of accommodation options and environments to stay in), they employ locals, who in turn spend their money all year around in and around town. If the majority of Caravanners dont have a place to stay in one town - they will move on to the next - and the town that has lost its Caravan Park/s will suffer - its a domino effect.
Sorry if you feel we have tarred you with the same brush - it wasnt our intention, and the segment did have a specific target.
We want you to keep doing what you are doing - we like free camping as well, where it is possible and appropriate - there is nothing like escaping the cities and towns and being in a peaceful place, away from most of society, under the stars, playing guitar around a fire - it really is amazing. We just want to protect the Holiday Parks that we still have left - we dont have enough as it is - and we dont want to lose any more of them.
We hope you understand 'our stance' on this.
Thanks for taking the time to give us feedback and let us know how you feel - sorry we didnt make it clearer in our segment, sorry if if you felt it was aimed at you personally.
Kind Regards,
Warren @ WUDU Anyway just thought you might be interested in what they had to say.
Maybe Mr Holden is a tad jealous that his caravan park does not sit within a mining area where he can rip off the travelling tourist by charging $55 plus a night like they do over in the west or up north in Queensland.
there's a nice free camp at Lloyd Jones Weir just outside the town and has toilets and fresh water and if yourn lucky a yellowbelly or 2. We stayed there last year and had a lovely time with fellow campers
RE:'Hi I did see that on that show, Last time We will watch it. If you also noticed they where from the motorhome group with there little blue signs. Regards ""
