Since being told by the local powers that be that a certain mid south/west free camp in WA does not allow free camping I have called in there on several occasions going by to see what is going on, no new signs etc.
Now I won't name the camp, lets just say that it has a sign on the main road saying it is a dam and when you turn down this road you come to an entrance road to the dam which has a brown sign which does not have a no camping sign symbol on it, no boats, not trail bikes etc, but not no camping. So turn down this road and you come to a rather small sign which tells you it is not an "authorised" camping ground and tells you to go to a caravan park which is about 10 kms down the road further away from the town which controls this picnic site.
Now each time I have called into this "picnic site" since being told it is a "no no" (I may add the council has a works depot along the road leading into the area) I have seen a number of caravans parked there, including one well set up with their awning out, pegged and roped down, chairs and mat out etc etc and one I spoke to said they were going to stay there and by the look of the others they were too.
So I ask myself "what is going on here? and where are the fun police and why aren't they doing there job?"......
Now a bit of past history, I was told that camping wasn't allowed because of public liability, apparently they had a tree fall on the new toilets and someone could have been injured although no warning signs are up. They must be well trained trees as they don't fall during the day when picnickers are there, only at night.
I also learned that thieves has stolen the door off the new toilet and also plumbing fittings in the past.
Now I'm guessing that the local authorities don't want to be saying you can camp there, however realise that campers are offering a some free security to the amenities there, so are turning a blind eye as they are certainly not policing the camping there.
Now I won't name this certain free camp although perhaps my photo's will give you some idea, the brown sign is at the entry road to the "picnic" area, the small white sign is about half way along on the track in, no signs at the "picnic area" or elsewhere on the grounds. I know next time I am down that way I am going to camp there overnight, the very least that can happen is to be asked to move on but from what I have seen I don't think that is very likely.
-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 23rd of October 2014 05:25:31 PM
I phoned the Shire of Cuballing myself yesterday because I was told it was a great place to stay by a couple travelling from the east, the shire told me it was definately a "Day Use" area only, I said that we were travelling and looking to stop overnight and was told that we couldn't stay overnight, so we had to rearrange our criteria.
I phoned the Shire of Cuballing myself yesterday because I was told it was a great place to stay by a couple travelling from the east, the shire told me it was definately a "Day Use" area only, I said that we were travelling and looking to stop overnight and was told that we couldn't stay overnight, so we had to rearrange our criteria.
Hi Jon, I know what the council are saying, I had also contacted them previously and was told the same thing, however what I am saying is they are not policing it and people are still camping there and not being moved on, I suspect for the reasons I have quoted in my previous post.
As said there, since being told by the Shire it is only for day use only I have called into the place about three times since then and it is definitely being used for overnight camping, and nobody is being asked to move on.
I would be willing to give it a go if I have the need to stop there in future, but I will not be ringing the council as they could not say it is ok even if they wanted to. I am prepared to take the risk of being moved on as others have been doing already.
this is exactly why camps gets closed - blatant defiance of signs and rules and then we all wonder why there will not be any camps left. Obey the rules please people - no camping means no camping (and no I do not own a caravan park - just a concerned free camper who wants to continue to do so.
Totally endorse Lorries comments. I spend a great deal of my time defending the rights of freedom campers but for every win we have, people like the posters above come along and blatantly abuse the rights of campers. With rights come responsibilities and it is always the minority why destroy it for the majority.
Wake up guys and gals if you keep this up the ultimate outcome is we ALL will have less sites to camp at.
Oh come on - how many times does the 'one bad apple in the box' cause the whole box to be chucked away
and how many times do undisciplined campers disobey 'NO CAMPING' signs and then complain loudly on forums such as these as to 'how awful the authorities are'
I do not like the heavy handed attitudes of caravan parks, in fact I rarely use them - but if the signs say 'no camping' then I don't stay there, and argueably, neither should you
This is typical of many 'traditional' camping spots all over the country. Once we could go an camp in many places without fear, and they did not have or need to have No Camping signs all over the country. While the Council was happy to 'not notice' those doing the right thing as clean campers while staying a day or two, publication of it as a campsite not just a picnic area was a death sentence. Inevitably 'someone' will cry foul, and the Council will have not option but to close it until it meets the land use, development application and standards to be a camping area of today's standards. Many are not willing to put time and money into this, while some are, and it is a lengthy process. The official line may well be "We have to tell you that camping is not permitted" whereas in reality those doing no harm may not be moved on.
The story of camping at the dams in Cobar is another one. People are camping, they do not move them on, but officially you can't camp there - they land use is not correct, even though people use to 'just camp there' when all this regulation and red tape did not exist.
If anyone camps in a 'traditional' camp, putting it on the internet will result in either complaints or over use. Some Councils are happy to continue with a few campers, but could not cope with a lot so do not want publicity. Do not publicise a camping area anywhere, book, internet or Wikicamps unless you have the permission of the controlling authority to do so.
We have other places being currently discussed - not free camps but showgrounds. Murwillumbah showground has been officially shut down to casual campers for a number of years with the request that the Showground Trust committee go through the hoops, as Council support them. Yet on Facebook people say they have camped there during this 'closed period'. Letting campers in will do no good to their cause whereas a lot of applications and red tape will get them there. Another showground was discussed today. Council are adamant that it is for fully self contained only, yet people are paying $16 or $17 for powered sites and access to the amenities. This show committee may also come unstuck by the publicity.
We live in a world of rules and regulations. I also endorse what Lorries has said. Stay where were are welcomed and encourage other towns to achieve the same.
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Motherhen
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[snip] .... The official line may well be "We have to tell you that camping is not permitted" whereas in reality those doing no harm may not be moved on. [snip]
On the face of it, this appears to be what the sign is implying - "... not an authorised camping area or caravan park" doesn't appear to be as definite as "No Camping", or "Camping Prohibited" or similar unambiguous language.
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Hino Rainbow motorhome conversion towing a Daihatsu Terios
We are currently camped at a showground. Phoned ahead for rates and access and what have you. Went tot he local info centre only to be told that the council's policy is that only those with business at the showground were supposed to camp there. Spoke with the caretaker who said no one cares so we're staying for a bit.
Went to an info centre elsewhere and asked about free camp sites and was directed to a spot with a No Camping sign. Phoned up the info centre and asked for an explanation and was told to ignore it as the council only put the sign up so that they could move on any unruly folk or those who overstayed their welcome.
It appears that the day to day practices of some councils are totally different from the official policies. I'll be taking advantage of this where I can and moving on when I can't.
This is one free camp in one small town, I do not consider myself an irresponsible camper and have had a number of conversations with said council. It is obvious for whatever reason the council concerned is turning a blind eye to those camping there, but if you ring them they will tell you there is no camping there. A council depot is in the road leading to this site and their worker and staff visit the site daily, but don't ask people to move on.
For those who want to mouth off about this, if you haven't been there and know the area etc, then you are talking through your rear orifice, and by the way, if a site is "officially" not authorised for camping (no camping if you like) then it needs to be enforced and policed which is not happening, despite them being aware of it on a daily basis. They do police it for dogs off leashes or fires during the fire risk season, but that is all.
You will notice that I have not put the site name on the subject thread, so it is unlikely to come up in a google search for the site.
Some will know the past experience we had when wanting to use this for a GTG (it was still listed it some older camps books as a free camp) but this should have been changed to no camping in the new camps book. I even suggested to the council they should contact camps and have it changed if there is no camping there (it wasn't at the time). I also suggested that they put a no camping sign at the entrance road to the site (as per the brown wooden site that DOES NOT show no camping), not the small sign that is on the side of the track once you proceed into the camp proper. This has not been done, and I suspect the reasons are as stated in my original thread.
I will be camping there next time I need to overnight, however if asked to move on I will, but until then will continue to do so.
I have contacted the Camps Australia Wide people and asked them to change this site to "day use only" as per the shires "official" ruling, as they were the ones who decided to make it a free campsite without authority, anyway people still camp there and we will be passing through there next week and we are going to stop over, if we are asked to move on, fair enough, but from what I have heard from people who have been there the shire are not really worried unless it gets out of control I s'pose.
