Cheaper to go to Bali than camp at Jervis Bay

[Overlandman]

From
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/bali ... 793998IT'S

Cheaper for families to holiday at a resort in Bali over summer than to camp at the beach.

Soaring fees are pricing the traditional beach camping holiday out of the reach of ordinary families and one NSW National Park is charging a group of family campers nearly $6000 for a two-week stay in January.
The Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast is charging $81 per night for a family of two parents and two children at group camp sites.
A change in the way site fees are charged has seen the price almost double in the past 12 months.
Privately-owned campsites at popular holiday spot Bateman's Bay are charging $86 per night for powered tent sites.
Scott Minniece and his Melbourne family are paying $90 a night for a powered caravan site with an en suite toilet at the Bateman's Bay Big 4 Beach Resort holiday park.
"It's rather expensive when you're away two or three weeks and it adds up as a family holiday," he said.
The family has holidayed at the park five or six times and says fees have increased around $10 a year.
"Its cheaper than the $110 we pay for the Big 4 caravan parks in Melbourne and we love the direct access to the beach, there is beautiful grass, a road for the kids to ride their bikes on and it feels safe and secure," he said.
The park also offers a tennis court, games room, mini golf and a jumping castle, he said.
While it costs just $21.80 per family per night to camp in national parks in Queensland, some private holiday parks on the Sunshine Coast are charging up to $83 a night for an unpowered site.
In Apollo Bay in Victoria, it can cost $70 for a powered private camp site, and Mount Buffalo National Park charges a $49 per night camping fee.
The most affordable place to camp is South Australia, where fees range from around $13-$16 per night in the state's national parks and private campsites cost up to $46 per night.
News Limited compared the $81-$85 per night camping fees with accommodation elsewhere and found seven hotels in Bali that were cheaper.
While this did not include the cost of an air fare, the Bali accommodation included an en suite toilet, a swimming pool, restaurants and other ammenities.
At national parks, campers must bring their own tents, beds, sleeping bags and cooking equipment and share showers and toilets.
Scott Suridge, who manages the Booderee National Park, said a 10 per cent fee rise of $1 per adult to $11 per night in 2012 was the first fee rise for campers in six years and compared to the 15.9 per cent rise in inflation.
He said an increase in the site fees for group campgrounds to $49 per site per night was the real reason why Booderee was now one of the most expensive places to camp on the South Coast.
"This is a place where you can camp a hundred metres from white sandy beaches in a natural bush setting but still have access to the same kind of amenities you would find in a caravan park," he said.
"Each of the new sites is still much bigger than an average large site in other parts of the park and we think their size, relative isolation and ambience still represent very good value for money."

[Rob A]

Rubbish.
First sentence is designed to lead you up the garden path.


"SUMMER COST OF CAMPING (Booderee National Park)

Site fee: $49 per night

Adult (x2): $22 per night

Kids (x2): $10 per night

Total: $81 per night

Two-week stay: $1134

For five families: $5670"


Same article

Good luck on your swim to Bali.

[ULWalkingPhil]

What a rip off. It's said and very disappointing to read such prices for a camp site. I stayed at a National Park camp ground near Bundeena south of Sydney last year and it was also a rip off. Hot shower's did not work and the toilets where a disgrace and after asking at booking time to place me and my mate in a quiet area away from most other campers, they booked us into a site next to two families with crying babies and the place was almost empty. We both had a sleepless night, Never again will I stay at that camp site. and to be frank the site was not all that great, Had water views, but the views where crap. It was the most I ever paid for a national park camp ground and one of the worst ever stayed at.

[climberman]

Booderee NP is a part of the ACT and under the care and control of the Federal gummint. I'd suggest it's charging what the market can bear, as it's within about three and half hours of both Sydney and Canberra, at the peak holiday season in the country.

Across the bay at Honeymoon Bay the Federal Dept Defence tells me that:
CAMPING FEES per site are $15.00 (inc. GST) per night for up to 2 people 16 years of age or over, plus $5.00 per night for each extra person. Children under 16 are free. Camping fees are payable in CASH ONLY at the Visits Centre during office hours or are collected on-site by Defence Environmental Rangers. CAMPING FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.
Campsites for the NSW Summer School Holiday Period are allocated through a ballot system. Applications forms are available from 1 July each year, with applications closing on 31 August. Unallocated sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. BOOKINGS ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

So...
book, have certainty, and be fully serviced - high fees.
ballot, no bookings, first come first served sites, portaloos only.... low fees.

[GoForFun]

Hahahaha That's a pretty good topic!

I was staying at heeps of rest areas and campsites in Australia. The most rediculous price was 50AUD for a tiny and also unposered campsite in Broome (plus extra money when there are more than 2 people on the site). The only state were it was really fair to stay overnight (at least on bushcamps in the national parks) is South Australia. You can purchase a pass for a reasonable price for a certain period of time (e.g. one month, one year) and stay the whole time on all the campsites of the states national parks. I am not sure but I remember that we paid about 70 to 80AUD with 4 people for one month and one year would have only been about double.
That is very fair in my opinion.

People who are paying tax in Australia shouldn't pay that much money for recreation! Especially families and students should get massive discounts. And also for many tourists it is really expensive, sometimes too expensive to see this beautiful country with it's stunning natural attraction.

[Solohike74]

I say have higher prices, but a discount for any Australian resident. After all, its our taxes and our land. I'm going to do the OLT without paying sometime too. This can be combined with selected informal camps off-track.

[Nuts]

Can It?..

Well, if so, we all pay on your behalf. I've never been sold on the whole 'user pays' thing but that is the way things are and there isn't much room for personal opinion. Funds come from the fee for track maintenance, infrastructure, flying out crap. As everyone has agreed to this system (or has kept awfully quiet beyond the odd whinge on here) it also follows that because people try anything to avoid the fee 'we' again pay by ever tightening regulations and signs put into place to catch them (you?).

Who knows, perhaps the way back is by an ever growing crowd continuing to break these regulations, meanwhile we too (on the forum) need rules. Rule 26 might be worth a read given that you have an interest in 'illegal camping'.

[Solohike74]

I won't speak long because the topics should costs of holidaying in oz. A traditional element of the "Australian character" is an irreverence for authority. On that note, while money does go into boardwalks on the OT etc, many taxpayer's millions go into bogan sporting venues & events which don't even promote healthy lifestyles. Billions go into police & other government services & those using then don't have to pay for help. If I get health insurance, a smoker doesn't have a higher premium for contributing to increased risk, as govt wouldn't allow it.