Gday...

Firstly, welcome to GN Forum Sharon. Well, the short answer is "how long is a bit of string".

It depends on where I am, what I can do there, how much I have spent this month (fuel etc), whether I need to be somewhere by a certain time.

I have stayed at a showgrounds in Victoria for 5 weeks once, and for 1 week at Gin Gin for instance. I stayed at a van park in Mt Isa just recently for 8 days - car service, waiting for letters, being damned lazy and lavishing myself on 'big town' luxuries (spare cash).

I have sat in State Forest and some National Park camps for 5, 6 or 7 days at a time.

When picking citrus at Biggenden QLD I stayed in a van park for nearly 3 months - strawberries at Beerwah QLD - in their van park for 5 weeks.

Hope all that helps. As I said, it all depends on what you want - that is the joy of travelling full-time - no timeframe, no itinerary, no pressure. Oh yeah - and meeting great people, sometimes more than once

Cheers

John

-- Edited by rockylizard on Saturday 24th of September 2011 07:39:46 PM

-- Edited by rockylizard on Saturday 24th of September 2011 07:40:47 PM

Gday...

In regard to van parks, it all depends on the van park in some cases. If you get work for instance, they usually have an area where they keep the 'long termers' (as distinct from Permanants).

Showgrounds very often have a time limit - seven days max - a month max etc. It depends on the mob running/responsible for the showground.

National Parks have limits as well, and I don't think you could stay for a couple of months in a National Park - unless you were a Camp Host perhaps.

If you need to stay 'long-term' at van park or showground, I just keep the owner/manager aware of my circumstances and they have usually been amenable to what I required - after all it is money to them

Cheers

John

I've lived long term in caravan parks since 1998. I was in Vacation Village in Broome for 9 years before taking to the road for 12 months, staying for a few days or a month along the way.
Council parks often have time limits eg 7 days, but these days it seems anyone can stay anytime in most parks. I doubt you could do that on Showgrounds. There is a conflict between council, private and other park owners in small communities, and Councils make many of the rules that apply to the parks in their region.
Private parks have a few more liberties when it comes to making their own rules about length of stay.
Many parks now have permanent, long term and short term campers, but this appears to be very flexible as well.
When I moved to Adelaide from Cairns I booked a long term site to make their allocation easier, and to save me moving again when a long term site became available.
In Cairns I stayed on the same site for more than 2 years. I arrived in peak tourist season so I had to take the site I was directed to, and I only intended to stay about 2 weeks. When the mass of tourist cleared out I was moved to a site on higher ground where I wouldn't get flooded out in the wet season. That's where I stayed until I pulled out 2 years later.
I would recommend doing your homework for each destination. If you plan to work in a place, check out what's available. If it's seasonal work, some of these places make a few sites available for the workers and even provide amenities blocks etc, bbq areas etc.
It's not black and white, hard and fast rules. So many places. So many choices.

Firstly, good on you sharon for choosing a good lifestyle!!!. i am about to do same for 6 months, but in a tent. (canberra is too much like Groundhog day) In NSW nat parks have about 4 week max, but there are heaps of them and you simply move from one to another, some are still free. I will mix it with free camps, state forest campsites (and crown land!) and occasionally a mates backyard. Watch out for xmas, booking or first in is needed. Only thing to watch out for in permanent van parks is that they have some real undesirable people in them, lock up, don't wave your goodies about and leave nothing outside.

Have a fun time!



peter

The state of the park will give you a bit of a clue as to who cares for what.
I pulled into a park near the Gold coast, and another in Townsville, and immediately felt a really bad vibe. There were mostly permanent set ups and I found a gap between the buildings and vans, turned around and powered out of there as fast as I could. It was all very squeazy and sleazy.
A well-maintained park will usually have honourable tenants. The park I'm in now is lovely, well-maintained, showing the owners' pride in their property, and anyone shonky is soon gone.
If the park doesn't look like you'd want to live there, for even a few days, that's a good sign to find another one. Get out of there!
The philosophy is "LOOK, LOCK, LEAVE".
We all look after each other within the vicinity of my van, and it happens throughout the park. That's the security of park life, especially when the gates are monitored and not just anyone can come and go.
This park is now installing some security cameras for further reassurance.
Use your own instinct. It will stand you in good stead.

You are welcome Sharon. I'm really just Granny.
It's a great life, and a magic experience, no matter how long you travel for. Even short stints for a week or 2 here and there are great experiences.
I know people who travel to the same place every year for the southern winter, park up with the same people for 3 months, pack up and go home again. They do it for many years and never go anywhere else.
They even look down on the casual who pulls into the park and sets up for a few days as an interloper and intruder.
Ignore them. Don't let them spoil your experience.