ok guys its been a long time since imade a long trip camping as in the outback or anything so its been at least ten years now ,used to go to weipa the gulf all kinds of places where we always free camped, that was with my previous partner, now we also went witha whole tribe of people .
so we felt safe, but im wondering and wanted to know how many of you free camp because that is my preference and has anybody had any form of troubles with people like harrassing you or anything, people are starting to say arent you scared because your winebago doesnt go from inside to the cabin of your car ?. im like um nooo why ? they say what if some one was like knockin on your door in the night, well i plan to camp near other free campers mostof the time if i can, and also you cant go through life worrying about stuff like that.
so i would dearly love to hear any of your advice on this, as dead set i realy cant handle c/van parks ide rather only have to stay in them when i have to,regarding having to do some washing and a good hot shower but we have a shower in our winnebago so no biggy there.
We free camp pretty well most of the time. In the outback (remote) we use the 40-60 principal.....that is 40 - 60klms from the nearest town.
We figure that few trouble makers are less likely to travel that far, especially if they have been drinking.
In the less remote places we free camp in mainly recognised free camps and to date have not had any issues.
Run with your gut instinct and what you see with your own eyes. EG....signs of donuts from hoons in cars......broken bottles....rubbish strewn about....empty booze bottles are just some things to look for.
Friday night seems to be the worst night so if a mob of hoons turn up making lots of noise, drinking etc be prepared to move on. Also make a point of parking your vehicle so that a quick getaway is possible if necessary.
For the most of it I would just say, most 'issues' occur in high touristy areas or even CPs.
great stuff like ive said we used to do same but its been ten years and things change out there all the time so i thought i would do some research and ask besides that the c/van parks are a bit out of control with prices i reckon , i understand they have to make there money but hey ,ide rather free camp and enjoy the peace and quiet.
We bush camp as well guys. Never had a problem either but I listen to my gut and so does Brett. If either of us feel uneasy when we stop, we go on to the next place.
We also do the "not too close to town" rule as well. For the same reasons as Boroma.
I have to say I do like to know there is one or two other campers around, just that safe sorta feeling but we haven't had a problem when we have been alone either.
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I must be a binge thinker. I do it a lot at times, then, not much at all.
Free camping beside the Bruce Highway in a noisy (traffic and trains), crowded rest area with their filthy toilets is not my idea happy camping. So my suggestion (for what it's worth?) would be to use the Camps book (and/or tap into some "local" knowledge) to seek out camps on some of the main side roads, may involve a slight detour.
An experienced free camper suggested to me that they often camp in a gravel pit or "borrow" just off the road as these usually have a solid base and are level. A few years back when I participated in a number of 4WD tag alongs we did this from time to time.
If you find yourself looking for a spot near a town one thing we do is check out the camp spot for signs of burn outs and empty beer cans. This is usually a sign the hoons like the spot.
we free camp as much as we can, when you stop at a free camp make sure there is somebody there already, although we usually stop about 1400 and others usually join us later in the arvo.
I go along with all that Bomy has said.
We did have a problem ONCE, Mrs W likes to sleep with a window open and one night about 0100 our window was lifted up and broken by an intruder, when we awoke and made a noise in the van he/she ran away, police were called and they took finger prints, we had to make a statement and to this day have not heard a thing for the Victorian police, now this was not in a free camp it was in a caravan park in Melbourne.
I free camp / independent camp all the time. I usually start the day with three choices and then start checking them out after lunch. When I find a good one then that's it I stop.
I have stayed in all sorts of places, even a Hardly Normal store and Bunnings as well as Woolworths when I was desperate and going through a large town and I needed to shop the next day.
It is all in the mind. Always park with the nose pointing towards your exit path and always prepare to leave by putting everything away that you don't want to loose. (Mainly for one night stays as if I set up for a while it is usually in what I deem a safe spot.)
When you are out of the way you are fairly safe ( a lot safer than in a CP ).
When setup and someone comes and joins you always go and greet them and you can get an idea of what they are like. You don't have to stop for long etc just say hello and get the idea by what they say, eg their travel plans what they are doing etc.
When travelling between points, the spots behind the gravel dumps etc from road works are good or side roads where farmers travel with their equipment, just leave room so they can still move past.
After a short while you will develop your criteria as some like to be with other people and some like their solitude or a variation.
Suck it an see is the best method. Nothing ventured nothing gained and remember the most dangerous place in Australia is crossing the road at or near your home.
Regards Brian
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11 Mtr house Boat based at Mannum hoping to travel up the Murray as far as I can get then drift back again
When we did our Newcastle to Alice trip back in June, I used Google earth and Google maps to check out some places beforehand. It's amazing how much of the country is covered by streetview nowadays too, so you can get a very basic idea of how visible from a road you might be with a fire at night. And as someone else advised on a previous thread, it's a good idea to only have a small fire and try and have it shielded from view of the direction of the road. Another piece of advice a bloke told us was that if you stay at one of those free camps that have water available (usually a tank signposted as not suitable for drinking), you may get visitors during the night that come in for water. We stopped at one out in the West Macdonnell Ranges and sure enough a car with a family group of about 6 people turned up with radio blaring just before dark, to replenish their water bottles. They only stayed about half an hour anyway and were no problem at all, they probably had a better free camp to stay at anyway. Another idea is to use state parks or state forest camps too. For a few dollars (around $7.00) you can get some great little spots and often with clean usable toilets available.
Edit to add a couple of screen grabs from Google Earth and Maps to give an idea.
-- Edited by 03_troopy on Monday 12th of December 2011 10:25:55 AM
Keep an "equaliser" handy, jemmy bar , baseball bat or shotgun, who says I'm paranoid. was surrounded by a bunch of sunburned brothers one night near 3 ways at a roadside stopover, they told me there was a big prang up thre roa and I should go have a look
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the pessimist says why is it so windy, the optimist says maybe the wind will drop, the realist adjusts his sails
We've been 'on the road' for nearly 18 years & in that time we haven't had any trouble although we free camp most of the time. It's best to not to be too close to a town on a long weekend as someone said above it's close enough for the local hoons to come out. We try to get off the road over Christmas/New Year & that is when we organise a house sit.
Its all been covered above, but I feel a person feeling uneasy about free camping would be equally uneasy in a CP with people sleeping close by & lock themselves in their van good & tight at night.
terry
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Chris & Terry
3.2lt 4 x 4 Mazda BT 50, single cab chas with full alloy canopy
Its all been covered above, but I feel a person feeling uneasy about free camping would be equally uneasy in a CP with people sleeping close by & lock themselves in their van good & tight at night.
terry
When in a Caravan Park we always lock the door when we go to bed, have seen too many people lose gear and their purse or wallet because they left the door open whilst they slept and someone simply wandered in and helped themselves. Just because someone is in a van park it doesn't necessary make them a good person.
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If I don't get there today, I'll get there tomorrow or the day after.
John & Irona..........Rockingham Western Australia
