Hi everyone , well what a mess of a year , I am a solo grey nomad , on a disability support pension ,I bought my rig with my super - seemed a good idea at the time ...I had planned to go up to Cooktown FNQ for winter but that was not to be.. Now I find myself hovering around Gippsland with the borders shut , most free camping outlawed at present and instructed "to move on "....too where ???. , and a large percentage of the caravan parks have remained shut from covid 1 eg. Sth Gipp shire parks. (now in 2nd lock down , and an impending 3rd/stage 4 looming.)., bouncing from one park to the next as my stay max's out (losing my dogs in the process), ...now i find myself just wanting somewhere to sit out this disaster and not get covid. To say this is all an emotional/psychological strain is an under statement .Ideally I need to park (?who knows where or for for how long??) with access to shower/toilet + power . At this time i have exceeded my max. allowed stay here and will need to move somewhere in the near future , and have somewhere over xmas (the few places open already booked out over xmas).. , despite an extensive ph/net search I have not been able to find my next camp.
"Free camping" is not closed and you should *not* be told to move on. The current lock-down only applies to metro Melbourne and a bit north so camping for the rest of the state is open. Additionally, when the original state wide lock-down was enforced in March the regulation contained a specific clause that people who are normally Victorian residents but with no permanent abode in Victoria *may* stay in campsites and caravan parks. I posted here about this at the time and gave chapter and verse, do a search on my posts around March/April.
Commercial caravan parks, of course, may evict anyone they wish but my impression is that most have remained open for their long term residents and have accepted new nomads.
If you are in a camp on public land (State Forest, State Park, National Park) and a ranger tells you to move on then, very politely quote the clause in the Health Order I referenced in March and tell them to get stuffed - but do it nicely :)
Things are not as black as they may currently seem to you - stay cool.
I am a full time nomad (18 months now) and have hardly noticed the lock-downs but I tend to camp almost exclusively in the bush and only use towns for potable water and food supplies.
Let us know where you are in Gippsland (I know it well) and we'll try to offer more assistance.
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"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"
Oliver Cromwell, 3rd August 1650 - in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland
Hello Mal,
I trust someone has welcomed you to the forum - if not, WELCOME!
I'm not a nomad as such but I enjoy this forum where members help each other through all sorts of living, car & caravan issues. The forum has saved me a bucket of cash from time to time & I hope I've been able to assist other people. We are normal people, sometimes getting a bit frustrated, short fused, some have good or warped senses of humour, some are good cooks but generally we do our best to help each other. On the subject of food, cooking - if you do eventually get up our way, the fish & chips shop at Balgal Beach is hard to beat!
Mike is your best bet for queries at this time. He was rather apprehensive initially when he was setting up - you'll find his posts if you go looking.
We have the opposite problems to you, living in Townsville (26 degrees outside) but our off-springs are in Canberra & Warrnambool. Yes we can go down there now but it is difficult to come back!
Jon has touched on some of the important items - powering your stays. There is a bucket of information on the forum - use the "Search" button up the top, then go to Advanced search, type in what you're looking for & press the button. Recently there has been a lot of queries both in the General & Techies tabs - note that there is a specific Solar tab at the top of the latter page (Techies). And also for you, have a look in the "Solo Nomads" - there is lots of good stuff there too.
Perhaps you could mention what your rig is, whether it is outfitted for off power camping for a limited or extended period.
A site that will be of use is Wiki-camps. There is a low subscription cost when you first join. We've just come back from Toowoomba & while we were down there, I recall reading in the media that if you're a wandering nomad with no fixed address, you cannot be forced to move on. Popular places to stay include showgrounds, vehicle stop-overs - with a limited time allowed. Our council is investigating putting a charge on the normally free camping spots located at our northern beach areas - sometimes I don't blame them as often there are illegally lit fires, rubbish strewn around - for the locals to clean up! Nominally you can stay at these sites for 48 hours.
Another way to find a spot for your "house on wheels" is at a farm, station (without knowing what your disability is) but farmers, graziers who are doing it tough (from drought, past fires, etc) may appreciate a bit of a hand & offer you something in return.
Happy looking/asking.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
There are plenty of places to stay around Vic if your free camping. I'm a fulltime nomad also. Its a shame we can't escape the cold in Qld but such is life.
When it warms up a bit I'm heading to Greens Lake Corop for the summer like many other nomads,
There are plenty of caravan parks up north, away from the tourist areas that your having problems with. There are other fulltime nomads staying here without problems.
Stretch.
-- Edited by STRETCH ARMSTRONG on Wednesday 29th of July 2020 09:42:25 PM
east Gippsland has lots of options = most caravan parks in Lakes Entrance are open. Yes they may be booked out for Xmas but that's a way off. Sites are cheaper if you get away from the coast to smaller towns. Wellington shire have quite a few free camps but not with power and water
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Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
Hi malj, a very warm welcome to the forum. Lots of friends here you are yet to meet. Have a look on here under classified then click covid accommodation. You might find something there. we travel full time and found this problem in april. Found a caravan park in the country that were happy for us to stay. We r in qld. It was an upsetting time for us so know how you feel. If no luck here try fb pages on caravanning full time or nomading or is there a say gippsland buy, sell, swap page you could join andask for accommodation on Or any other place youwould like to stay. Let me know how you go. caravan parks in the country might be a good place to look and they are a bit cheaper mostly. Greens lake not green lake will b a good place for you to go in summer. Some of us on here go there. Showers and shopping not to far away. It is a free camp. Look up get togethers on here and click greens lake. Dougwe likes it there. need to check it is open before you go though.Rocket
-- Edited by the rocket on Thursday 30th of July 2020 09:36:43 AM
