Hi everyone

Just a word of warning to those (like myself) who seek out places to camp and not have to pay to do this.

I was issued with a fine for camping behind Cookies beach at South Durras in the Council reserve. I thought it was ok in the camper, but this is apparently not the case.

I went down to Moloneys beach the next night and was moved on again by a Parks Service Ranger and even threatened with bigger fines if I lingered at this location.

I now notice specific no camervan style of overnighting signs have now gone up at various locations on the South Coast.

I will now be staying in Caravan Parks...it turns out it is cheaper in the long run.

Happy travels.
Theo

You could always go to some of the many parts of this great country where you would be welcomed to camp.

Theo we have been free camping for more years than I care to remember, we have yet to have a fine or to be moved on, have you got the "camps Australia" book, this lists most common free or low cost campsites, have you looked at national parks, these offer low cost camping, roadside laybys are another good place to have a kip, forests are another, keep away from the towns particularly on the east coast, they are not people friendly try ozcamps for free camping, I'm sorry that you met with resentment from "authority's", what gives these people the right to stop the likes of you and me camping I just dont know never lone fine us, to me if it aint signed then it should be fine to kip mate keep your eyes open for "R.V friendly" towns, these not only welcome you (and your money) but actually encourage you to set a spell dont be discouraged by a couple of dramas, it's a bloody big country and plenty of room for all of us, just get more info on where you can and cannot stay and you will soon see there are more open arms than closed doors! take a look in our free camping section or dive into a couple of books like "camping Tasmania" and you will see the better side of life! are you a member of the C.M.C.A., this has a feature called "Geo wiki" it has hundreds of free camp sites listed in it!

Hi Theo and welcome to Grey Nomads. Glad you could join us. Park Rangers have a job to do for a very good reason - there are campers, less responsible than you, who want to do more than just camp for a sleep. Most national parks have areas set out for camping, usually for a small fee to cover servicing the site. They usually have some sort of toilet - enviro-cycle or similar. I've noticed many of these places don't have rubbish bins anymore, because the campers are expected to take their rubbish with them. In council/shire regions there are also rangers out there sometimes also checking for unauthorised camping in the wrong places. It's all about making sure the beautiful places stay beautiful, and not abused by the brainless who unfortunately live among us. I'm sure you will find some great, free and suitable camping spots as you go. Safe and happy travels. Cheers

what about the driver revive awarness, isnt it that you are entitled to pull up and have a nap while driving as long as its safe, wasnt camping just doing the driver revive. cheers blaze

Good point! I don't know if rangers are so sympathetic, but I'm sure a shire/council ranger could take it into account. Driving around Oz WA seems to have an abundance of parking bays along their highways, and ample camping in their national and coastal reserves. Other states aren't so thoughtful. I was surprised to see 2 parking bays closed off and replanted with trees on SA's Yorke Peninsula, near Ardrossan and south to Edithburgh. There is almost bumper to bumper traffic along that road on any long weekend, school holidays and any time which is a good time for fishing. I'm sure some would like to take a break away from traffic. Overtaking lanes are also very thin on the ground. It's very tricky at times. Victoria's parking bays are also hard to find.

There was a ruling in WA that one may sop on the side of the road for 24 hours in an emergency, I think it is still in effect, and being too tired to drive further is in my opinion an emegency.

NSW South Coast is plagued by those seeking freebie beachside accomodation and most councils have rangers charged to protect us all from dogs in places where they should not be and feral campers. there are many many places to stay for a day or 2 free, just not adjacent to beautiful seaside views...

yes far better to keep the great unwashed at a more distinct distance!! how dare they take up valuable space and ex Gratia as well!! the damnable heathens! I say, just not cricket what!! I agree however that an overnight camp is fine but some (a minority) do tend to set up camp for a week or two which then kills it for the rest of us, dogs, garbage, washing on the line, snotty nosed kids running around with nappy's down around their ankles do not make for an acceptable campsite and tends to make it very hard for the ones that do the right thing! but there are a lot of smaller towns that are just down the road who are opening their doors to us poor disheveled nomads who want no more than a sympathetic ear and a free nights kip, the very survivability of some of these towns depend on us, well at least until they get a reasonable size and are able to stand on their own two feet then they move us on! tis a sad world for us nomads! .......sob!!!!

It's getting worse as van parks raise their prices to unbelievable rates, or the van parks close down to become tourist parks with cabins only. Caravan parks are slow money, so they spend a lot of money to upgrade to tourist park and speed up the income by charging like wounded bulls for 5 star cabins. It is false economy of course, but it always comes back to the caravanners and campers missing out. Councils/Shires charge huge rates for these touist developments, and many parks are having difficulty making ends meet. It would be advantageous to support van parks, so the prices can be kept down by volume. I love free camping too, but van parks are essential in the tourism industry.

Cruising Granny wrote:

---

It's getting worse as van parks raise their prices to unbelievable rates, or the van parks close down to become tourist parks with cabins only.
Caravan parks are slow money, so they spend a lot of money to upgrade to tourist park and speed up the income by charging like wounded bulls for 5 star cabins.
It is false economy of course, but it always comes back to the caravanners and campers missing out.
Councils/Shires charge huge rates for these touist developments, and many parks are having difficulty making ends meet.
It would be advantageous to support van parks, so the prices can be kept down by volume.
I love free camping too, but van parks are essential in the tourism industry.

---

Just an idea Chris, free camp on the way and if you find a town you wish to spend some time in go to a van park and use the facilities to prepare for the next leg of the journey.  Best of both worlds IMO.

 

It's a good idea, but I rarely stop just for overnight. Most of my stops are 3 nights or more. I'm in no hurry and I pick my destinations so I can make the most of my visit in the region. I get to enjoy the community and the countryside of the region. I'm still not confident to free camp. If I had travel company I'd be ok probably. I always check for tagalongs as per my web site, but everyone is going another direction from somewhere else. That's just my luck. She'll be right. Cheers

Cruising Granny wrote:

---

It's a good idea, but I rarely stop just for overnight. Most of my stops are 3 nights or more.
I'm in no hurry and I pick my destinations so I can make the most of my visit in the region.
I get to enjoy the community and the countryside of the region.
I'm still not confident to free camp. If I had travel company I'd be ok probably. I always check for tagalongs as per my web site, but everyone is going another direction from somewhere else. That's just my luck. She'll be right. Cheers

---

G'day Chris,

When you gain sufficient confidence to free camp there are some beautiful camp spots where you can spend  2 or 3 days before moving on toward your destination.

If you choose a camp spot that has a few vans in situ then all should be fine and in most places you would not be alone for long before a van pulled in and most people are friendly and are looking for a bit of company.