Cost of camping

[garfield28]

G'day all,

Went away over Easter to a Hipcamp, nothing flash at all just a property that had some horses on it that you couldn't feed, ride or touch etc, had very clean flushing toilets and showers, but apart from that nothing much there, were allowed to have a fire which was nice coz what is camping in the cooler months if you cannot have a fire right. Cannot really fault the place other than the noise from the pacific hwy which was obviously pretty heavy during the day and early morning as the property was only 400m or so away from it, but nice place other than that.
For my wife and I and our 2 kids aged 11 and 14, was $57 a night, that was on a powered site so it wasn't really expensive but it wasn't what we would have had to pay say about 2 years ago for the same site and features I believe. With the big to get away again in the school holidays here in NSW in July I started to have a look at hipcamps and a few others to see what was available and I was blown away by what most are charging. To stay at a place that might either be near a fresh water river, or not too far a drive from a beach or as far away from everything out in the scrub somewhere without toilet/shower facilities most are asking $70 to $80 a night and quite a few are asking north of $100 per night... I just cannot fathom how these places are asking, and I guess getting these kind of prices, i know they are running a business and cashing in on what is supply and demand at the moment but I think the greed is so far over the top it's not funny. I believe going away even for camping weekends are becoming way too expensive for the average family budget and it's disgraceful! I know these people are putting their properties up for people to come and stay, but is it really necessary to ask that much especially when you offer no toilets, no shower, no water or power..?

I have only owned my van since 2021 and it is seriously crossing my mind to sell it because by the time you add everything up it is ridiculous how much it cost to gow away for a weekend with the family when you factor fuel, groceries and what these places are charging. I think in Qld they are spoilt for places to go free camping that look like great spots, but here in NSW we are being bent over and don't have many options if you are looking for somewhere half decent and safe to take a family.

Buy if a rant but just disappointing when you want to take the family away and you nearly need another loan just to get away for a few days.

Am I the only one thinking it's wrong and unjust, and questioning why I own a van in this current age?

Be happy to hear your thoughts and advice on great free - or fair priced camping options in NSW though.

 

[Drover]

I have found anywhere east of the divide including the hilly bits in NSW or QLD to be over the top in charging and thats parks and HiP camps, even some places west of the Ranges want to charge $35 just for an off grid spot in a paddock with view and its BYO, they provide the paddock and view...
Get the WiKi Camps App its really a good app for finding places , you get to work out which reviews are factual and which ones are just whingers...

We tour the western plains and further west in NSW, some great places to visit and camp without costing a fortune even when you want power, the Coast has long been a ripp off in my view................... Don't bother going to my old stomping ground of Shoalhaven or Sth Coast for that reason.

 

[Hitting the road]

From my limited experience, it just means for those of us living close to a City, the days of traveling for a just couple of hours to tranquility are gone...

Population and development, along with overly zealous Green Councils have seen areas that were once untouched bush land fenced off and unavailable to the Public. That along with what seems to be a falling care factor from many "campers" these days...often quite prepared to leave their camp sites littered and fouled for some one else to clean up.
So instead of 2 hours it may be 3 or even 4 hours to find a "local" free camp site....and it likely won't have water views if one wants true tranquility.

There likely are still a host of lovely spots to free camp, but when you do find that place you probably would not share the location. When we were camper trailer camping you always knew if the access was sandy or a little difficult it would generally be well worth the extra effort as fewer campers would be there.

I still believe a caravan these days is the very best option to see the best this country has to offer...especially with kids in tow. Even if the "are we there yet" drives you bonkers. You will never find a cheaper Motel on the beach miles from anywhere, or even be able to spend days on end off the beaten track for very little daily outlay...

 

[DRW]

It’s a real shame for those closer to major town/cities etc for example Huskisson on the south coast NSW is so hard to get into that area is stupid busy it was just a quiet sleepy place when I was a kid. We went to Emerald QLD for Easter for the sunflower parade/picnic races\rodeo and only paid $35 per night for two of us in a caravan park which I thought was okay? Even @mfexpanda got into the rodeo with a senior discount lol

 

[Drover]

40 years ago when I lived at Husky, over holidays it was insane the amount of traffic, we would often use the fire trails to escape and even then the highway was a road block..............
Actually think it was a bit more than 40 ........................

 

[Hitting the road]

It is only going to get a whole lot worse sadly. The massive uptick in immigration supported by our Federal Government is only going to add to the already frustrating daily congestion on our roads. Adding another million people here isn't going to see it any easier to find peace and quiet.
As it is going anywhere now during school holidays has become a nightmare, let alone trying to get away over Easter and any long weekend!

As was noted in garfield28's post, the cost to just park your van on a few square metres of dirt or grass with nothing else is almost becoming expensive. We stayed at a park in Stanthorpe recently and on top of the $57 a night fee for a powered site we then had to feed 20c coins in to a box for a 3 minute shower.

A number of other camp sites we have stayed at with no water or power facilities have had coin operated showers on top of their camp site fee. Understandable in some cases as there is no shortage of people who are quite happy to stand under running hot water for half an hour...

 

[chartrock]

We have often thought of selling our van and tug and with what we get for them plus what we save in rego, insurance etc we would be better off using cabins or pubs to travel.
On an urgent run to Sydney yesterday, an overnight stay for two if us in Wyong at a pub, we were charged $176 for a room with a queen size bed leaving barely enough room to walk around it. There was no chair or seating, and only a small window in the en-suite to let light into the room.
Looks like we will still be vanning for a while yet.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

This makes me glad to be on the West Coast (ok not today obviously as we are in SA...) because the number of low cost camps near Perth is pretty good. Sandy Cape in the north, Lane Poole in the east, and several national park camps in the south. There are many good, inland free camp spots within two hours, and our small towns generally have nice 72hr spots. But yes the prices are creeping up here and a few popular overnight camps heading north now charge a fee to maintain the toilets and local Mayor's golf expenses....

 

[Hitting the road]

Though you can understand them getting to the point of charging a fee to maintain "public" toilets...the toilet habits of some people need to be seriously questioned...the "kangaroo" method of using a toilet which leaves a disgusting mess for some one else to clean up.

Then there is necessity of finding some way of securing toilet paper rolls so they don't get stolen by some low life...or just keeping the dispensers topped up. I read a blog somewhere about some whizz bang campers being found using an portable drill with a spindle attached unwinding toilet paper out of a dispenser in a caravan park toilet...

 

[Drover]

Knocking off dunny paper and similar is a pretty low act but some people have some disgusting habits, even at places that have facilities we mostly use our own anyway ........................ lots of places now having the pay water dispensers and even then folk knock off the tap fittings even on the dump points they knock off the short hose, like many things those who want and use the things are there own worst enemies, which applies to many different activities as someone is always going to "Sh*t in the Nest" ................................................. Narrow vision, all about me drop kicks..............

 

[1DayIll]

It is so frustrating that a few are spoiling it got the majority. If only we could weed them out and get rid of theme the world would be a better place.

Re costs, all accommodation costs are going through the roof and those cheap motels on the country roads are even disappearing.

 

[chartrock]

On the way home from Sydney yesterday, we overnighted at Kempsey and the cheapest room we could find was $150/night. Not a bad room but not really my cup of tea. Much prefer the caravan parks even if they are going up in price.