CAMPING FEES VICTORIA - Follow on from last thread.
Big Gorilla said
01:14 PM Nov 5, 2014
I e-mailed Camps Vic., and this is their response.
Hi,
I understand from a Caravan and Motor Home Forum I subscribe to, that the Victorian Government is now charging fees to camp in what were previously free camping areas. One area in particular, dozens of camping spots along the coast from Paradise Beach thru Golden, Flamingo, Glomar beaches to Seaspray.
It is understood the Government would like to recoup some or all of the cost of maintaining these facilities, however the charges advertised are far in excess of what members of our Forum are prepared to pay.
As a result there are moves to boycott National Parks in Victoria, which no doubt will have the effect of reducing any revenue that maybe anticipated from these excessive charges.
Thanks,
Reply:
Dear Ken,
Thank you for your email regarding the changes to camping and accommodation fees. We appreciate and acknowledge the time you have spent to forward through this email.
We appreciate that changes to fees are not always popular, but the changes are necessary for us to maintain Victorias campgrounds. New and revised prices for camping and accommodation now apply at 39 of the states parks. This is part of our effort to make sure Victorians continue to have access to these beautiful places and that the costs of providing safe, visitor-friendly facilities and services are sustainable and affordable.
There are around 680 campgrounds and roofed accommodation in Victorias parks and reserves, costing significant public funds to maintain and operate each year.
Staying overnight in a park or reserve is a special experience. Campgrounds in parks and reserves allow visitors to stay in the heart of Victorias natural environment. It is a different experience to staying in a local caravan park, and has different costs associated with maintaining facilities in remote locations in our state and national parks.
The previous funding model was insufficient and the standard of facilities and maintenance across these sites will suffer unless changes are made. Even a basic site with minimal or no facilities requires ongoing maintenance to ensure it is a safe environment for campers.
A user-pays system was considered the fairest way to cover the costs of the services and facilities provided at campgrounds. All revenue gathered through fees will go back into the park and maintenance of campsites and facilities, and securing their future for park visitors. There are a number of parks where lower fees are charged, starting at $13 (peak) for up to six people and, a further 10% discount is available for means tested concession card holders. Options in Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park include: Red Bluff, Spoon Bay and Shoreline Drive campgrounds.
State-wide Camping Project Officer | Parks Victoria
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:40:01 PM
brickies said
01:32 PM Nov 5, 2014
Yes I can see there is 2 side to the story , Like the people who pay more to stay at Big 4 but I wont stay at Big 4 , And people who would be prepared to pay lots to stay in National Parks who have lots of money to spend
bill12 said
02:37 PM Nov 5, 2014
As far as I know , Nat Parks were invented in the US, and were made for ALL, not for a priveledged few who can afford them. I for one will not be using Vic nat parks, and as a Qlder will be telling my friends so. I don,t mind paying small fees if it can be shown that the proceeds go back to maintainance of these sites and not into general revenue. Treating nat parks as cash cows is not fair to everybody. Bill
exa41 said
03:20 PM Nov 5, 2014
Reading the local paper this morning , Upper Yarra Dam being controlled by Parks have upped the rates from $7 a night to $44 a night , local businesses in the yarra Valley are not happy at all as they think it will damage trade.
Cloak said
03:49 PM Nov 5, 2014
On positive note there will be plenty of vacant spots now...
bill12 said
05:28 PM Nov 5, 2014
And the money is going elsewhere......
rtv47 said
07:45 PM Nov 5, 2014
The National parks $ 8.00---- $16.00 -----$ 35.00 + inside 3 years = GREED
I will not use them again and advise all that we talk to as well ... why would you when all you get in most cases is a poorly maintained, smelly drop loo , no showers, restrictions about access . Lousy service , and indifferent attitudes.
peter1 said
09:02 PM Nov 5, 2014
I also emailed national parks complaining about this matter. No reply to date. I support the earlier posts on this in which members were encouraged to complain to their local members. I would also like to ask about the new "funding model" as to whether it will simply mean very few retired people will be able to afford to stay in NP in future. $35pn x7 = $245 per week. I for one will not be paying such fees - it would be interesting to see the strategy they have in place to prosecute anyone found in a NP that has not paid - don't think the rangers are too interested in doing their dirty work!
Peter
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:44:10 PM
Blue said
09:57 PM Nov 5, 2014
thanks for going in to bat for us Big Gorilla..
Blue said
09:59 PM Nov 5, 2014
Cloak wrote:
On positive note there will be plenty of vacant spots now...
to be honest Cloak, I don't really think it's about money..
its about pushing us into Caravan Parks...
seems a lot of them are still owned by councils... around here anyways...
Fastcoach said
10:32 AM Nov 6, 2014
At the risk of repeating myself on this issue, I find it hard to understand how SA Parks are able to offer 2 month holiday passes to most of their parks for the princely sum of $72 (concession), when Parks Vic needs to charge such high fees for similar sites. If a small cash strapped State like SA is able to offer such a great deal, why is Victoria not able to do something similar.
Until Parks Vic come to their senses on these outrageous new charges, we have only one course of action left available to us if we want them to have a rethink.
BOYCOTT ALL VICTORIAN PARKS THAT ARE CHARGING MORE THAN $15 per SITE.
Big Gorilla said
01:40 PM Nov 6, 2014
Blue wrote:
thanks for going in to bat for us Big Gorilla..
That's ok, I was only following on from the last thread. Some of us said they would write and complain, and I must be the first to receive a response. It is an important matter for all of us...
Plain Truth said
03:26 PM Nov 6, 2014
Big Gorilla,Thanks for that post we use Nat.Parks a lot of the times,but the fees are getting ridicules.
Corringle in east Gippsland,the price is over the top now,we won't go there any more,and they a making you book online now
Also e-mailed complaining,no reply yet.
Alan
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:41:16 PM
Fastcoach said
07:45 PM Nov 6, 2014
Here's a good one for you. We recently investigated staying at Swan Lake which is in the National park administered by Parks Vic near Portland in SW Victoria.
The price to camp there is quoted at $34/nite. It's a very basic place with only 6 sites and a pit toilet and you'd need a decent 4X4 vehicle to safely get to and back from the site.
The Portland Dune Buggy Club has a much larger area right alongside the camp site and this is used at various times, mostly on weekends, for their members to camp and use the sand dunes for their recreation.
If you would like to join the club, they offer a four day membership for just $50. This entitles you to camp in their area, which has flushing toilets and bore water, for 4 consecutive nights. You need to pre-book just like the area next door.
So you have a choice. You could pay $136 to Vic Parks or just $50 to the buggy club for a similar experience. Honestly how does that work?????
Hi all I've also emailed last night complaining about the fees - suggest everyone else emails this person if you are unhappy about the situation - not sure it's going to do much good but at least it makes you feel a little bit better when you hit the send button. I have also advised that I am happy to pay a fair fee but $35 is simply not reasonable particularly when you consider the SA situation as mentioned by Fastcoach above.
I have also asked to advise me about how the new fees are to be enforced and what process will be used to prosecute those found in a NP that have not paid or have not booked - I really don't think the rangers are going to be too interested in doing this "enforcement" work other than to require people to move on.
I have also received an email to Parks Victoria in response to my initial complaint - surprise surprise it is exactly the same as Big Gorilla's!!
Strongly urge everyone to email to express your dissatisfaction with their reply.
Regards
Peter
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:42:38 PM
I e-mailed Camps Vic., and this is their response.
Hi,
I understand from a Caravan and Motor Home Forum I subscribe to, that the Victorian Government is now charging fees to camp in what were previously free camping areas. One area in particular, dozens of camping spots along the coast from Paradise Beach thru Golden, Flamingo, Glomar beaches to Seaspray.
It is understood the Government would like to recoup some or all of the cost of maintaining these facilities, however the charges advertised are far in excess of what members of our Forum are prepared to pay.
As a result there are moves to boycott National Parks in Victoria, which no doubt will have the effect of reducing any revenue that maybe anticipated from these excessive charges.
Thanks,
Reply:
Dear Ken,
Thank you for your email regarding the changes to camping and accommodation fees. We appreciate and acknowledge the time you have spent to forward through this email.
We appreciate that changes to fees are not always popular, but the changes are necessary for us to maintain Victorias campgrounds. New and revised prices for camping and accommodation now apply at 39 of the states parks. This is part of our effort to make sure Victorians continue to have access to these beautiful places and that the costs of providing safe, visitor-friendly facilities and services are sustainable and affordable.
There are around 680 campgrounds and roofed accommodation in Victorias parks and reserves, costing significant public funds to maintain and operate each year.
Staying overnight in a park or reserve is a special experience. Campgrounds in parks and reserves allow visitors to stay in the heart of Victorias natural environment. It is a different experience to staying in a local caravan park, and has different costs associated with maintaining facilities in remote locations in our state and national parks.
The previous funding model was insufficient and the standard of facilities and maintenance across these sites will suffer unless changes are made. Even a basic site with minimal or no facilities requires ongoing maintenance to ensure it is a safe environment for campers.
A user-pays system was considered the fairest way to cover the costs of the services and facilities provided at campgrounds. All revenue gathered through fees will go back into the park and maintenance of campsites and facilities, and securing their future for park visitors. There are a number of parks where lower fees are charged, starting at $13 (peak) for up to six people and, a further 10% discount is available for means tested concession card holders. Options in Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park include: Red Bluff, Spoon Bay and Shoreline Drive campgrounds.
Should you require further advice on this matter please email camping@parks.vic.gov.au
State-wide Camping Project Officer | Parks Victoria
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:40:01 PM
I also emailed national parks complaining about this matter. No reply to date. I support the earlier posts on this in which members were encouraged to complain to their local members. I would also like to ask about the new "funding model" as to whether it will simply mean very few retired people will be able to afford to stay in NP in future. $35pn x7 = $245 per week. I for one will not be paying such fees - it would be interesting to see the strategy they have in place to prosecute anyone found in a NP that has not paid - don't think the rangers are too interested in doing their dirty work!
Peter
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:44:10 PM
to be honest Cloak, I don't really think it's about money..
its about pushing us into Caravan Parks...
seems a lot of them are still owned by councils... around here anyways...
At the risk of repeating myself on this issue, I find it hard to understand how SA Parks are able to offer 2 month holiday passes to most of their parks for the princely sum of $72 (concession), when Parks Vic needs to charge such high fees for similar sites. If a small cash strapped State like SA is able to offer such a great deal, why is Victoria not able to do something similar.
Until Parks Vic come to their senses on these outrageous new charges, we have only one course of action left available to us if we want them to have a rethink.
BOYCOTT ALL VICTORIAN PARKS THAT ARE CHARGING MORE THAN $15 per SITE.
That's ok, I was only following on from the last thread. Some of us said they would write and complain, and I must be the first to receive a response. It is an important matter for all of us...
Big Gorilla,Thanks for that post we use Nat.Parks a lot of the times,but the fees are getting ridicules.
Corringle in east Gippsland,the price is over the top now,we won't go there any more,and they a making you book online now
Also e-mailed complaining,no reply yet.
Alan
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:41:16 PM
The price to camp there is quoted at $34/nite. It's a very basic place with only 6 sites and a pit toilet and you'd need a decent 4X4 vehicle to safely get to and back from the site.
The Portland Dune Buggy Club has a much larger area right alongside the camp site and this is used at various times, mostly on weekends, for their members to camp and use the sand dunes for their recreation.
If you would like to join the club, they offer a four day membership for just $50. This entitles you to camp in their area, which has flushing toilets and bore water, for 4 consecutive nights. You need to pre-book just like the area next door.
So you have a choice. You could pay $136 to Vic Parks or just $50 to the buggy club for a similar experience. Honestly how does that work?????
Ah ha, love it Fastcoach.
Aussie Paul.
Hi all
I've also emailed last night complaining about the fees - suggest everyone else emails this person if you are unhappy about the situation - not sure it's going to do much good but at least it makes you feel a little bit better when you hit the send button. I have also advised that I am happy to pay a fair fee but $35 is simply not reasonable particularly when you consider the SA situation as mentioned by Fastcoach above.
I have also asked to advise me about how the new fees are to be enforced and what process will be used to prosecute those found in a NP that have not paid or have not booked - I really don't think the rangers are going to be too interested in doing this "enforcement" work other than to require people to move on.
I have also received an email to Parks Victoria in response to my initial complaint - surprise surprise it is exactly the same as Big Gorilla's!!
Strongly urge everyone to email to express your dissatisfaction with their reply.
Regards
Peter
-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 7th of November 2014 02:42:38 PM