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April 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parents complain of undies walkabout.
'Fairy' town divided on rest area plan By Dennis Amor GREY nomads allegedly wandering around in
just their undies are being blamed for a proposed rest area backlash in
Queensland. Meanwhile, the majority of residents of Bauple,
once famous for its fairy grotto, have welcomed the rest area plan,
arguing it could pour much needed tourist dollars into the local economy.
Jayco survey lifts lid on holidaymakers' preferences CARAVANS IN VOGUE
And, it seems, it's the
ideal road to romance too ... with one in five single caravanners finding true
love while staying at caravan parks.
Four killed in paddock near caravan park 'Vanners rescue 'plane crash survivors By Dennis Amor HERO caravanners dashed from a New South Wales caravan park to help pluck survivors from the wreckage of an aircraft which crashed nearby. Four people died and two others were critically injured when the 'plane
flew low over Moree's Gwydir Caravan Park in the state's north-west,
clipping trees and nosediving into a paddock near the airport, flipping onto its roof.
Fines threat for illegal Easter campers in WA
Warning over Base Station fire risk
Aspen fights off board attack
Soaring fuel costs a threat to industry: report
New Road Tripper card rewards loyalty
Chain's bid to lure back holidaymakers
Club celebrates 40
years on the road Close shave aids
cancer research
Great Lakes
trio to receive $2.2 million
Caravanners
choose their top destination
Caravanners
rescued from raging river after two-day ordeal
Record
attendance at Victorian supershow
Bungles caravan park set to
open For stories from the last six editions of Caravanning News, click on the appropriate month:
Web pages designed and produced by Dennis Amor No
part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without Copyright 2005
Dennis Amor |
Dobbing in showground sneaks I REFER to your
story of a few
months ago when it was reported that RVers were sneaking out of
showgrounds without paying, and the council had to put up site rates to
cover the costs of the illegal campers. This same practice happens daily
at our local council-owned caravan park ...it's simply a matter of
arriving when the office is unattended and sneaking out early before it
opens in the morning, ignoring the signs which outline the procedures for
late arrivals. RVers are generally an honest lot in my experience but
there seems to be a small network of dishonest people who will stoop low
to get a free holiday, and they pass on information amongst themselves on
how to "beat the system". It was disappointing to see a caravanning forum
supporting this sort of behaviour behind the scenes. With numbers of RVers
growing by the day as the "baby boomers" reach retirement age I can only
hope this sort of illegal activity does not increase. I urge all
readers of Caravanning News to help stamp out these sort of
practices by speaking up when they hear of them. Many friendly country
towns make RVers welcome, and I would hate to see this change.
Parks for Paws, says terrier Tillie I HAVE just finished reading the
article about some BIG4 parks allowing dogs. I would like to say that this
is a good move as many people are now travelling with their pets, us
included. We have a small foxie dog (Tillie) that has never been a
problem, nor have any dogs we have seen while in dog-allowed parks. We are
aware, however, that there will always be the problem now and again, ...
remembering that dogs do what people let them do. But the same goes for
people too and the park management still has the right to move them on.
And so they should. The new BIG4 policy will open up many more places for
us to stay and the parks will benefit financially. Tillie says more Parks
for Paws! Giving our furry friends a chance HOW wonderful! There are a lot of responsible pet owners who have been disadvantaged by BIG4's pet-ban policy. I for one didn't even look at their parks, even when we didn't have the dogs with us. I hope all the operators get on board. They should keep in mind that we don't mind strict rules ... just give us a chance to prove that the furry members of our families won't cause problems for other campers. Thank you BIG4 for making this change! Peter and Chris. Not the dog but owner concerns AS with most things, it’s not the dog but the owner we have to be concerned with. It was a point of difference for BIG4. However, we have stayed in many parks where dogs were permitted with little problem. A little bit like kids ... if not supervised, they sometimes need to be shown right from wrong. Stiglet. Will NRMA follow BIG4's lead? IT only took 32 years to realise that paying tourists were passing the BIG4 and going down the road to a pet-friendly park. Most parks that accept pets tell us it is easy to control ... and pets are in bed early each evening. Will BIG4 parks display a pet-friendly sign at the gate? We will be on the road this winter for four months and BIG4 was not on our list of parks to visit. That plan COULD change. As an NRMA member for over 50 years and being pet owners, we can't use their parks. Will the NRMA change its policy too? Snoopy. Let common sense prevail I HOPE common sense prevails here
and that park owners do not simply make a grab for what they perceive as
an additional source of untapped revenue. I love dogs. I just don’t love
their by-products such as noise, poop and the potential to attack people
– a problem even with smaller dogs. One man's beloved family member is
another man's barking, snapping polluter. Again, the minority rules FOR what it is worth, I choose to
stay at BIG4 parks because they ARE pet-free. Where will that leave the
many other people who also feel the same as I do? Once again we will have
the situation of 'minority rules'. Nomad won't be changing policy ALTHOUGH they may change their
policy, I won't as they have previously discriminated against nomads with
dogs. I prefer to stick to parks that are affordable. Change of heart on dogs welcome WE are active caravanners and
have two small poodles both of whom are very clean, well behaved, spoilt
rotten and travel everywhere with us. Many parks accept dogs but BIG4 has
been the standout exception. Of the thousands of dollars we spend, BIG4
has not gained one cent. The change in policy is welcome. My observation
is that the vast majority of caravanning dog owners take a great deal of
care of their pets and are very conscientious about cleaning up after them
and ensuring the pet does not bother others. But the odd – with emphasis
on odd – owner is irresponsible and it is they that spoil it for others.
My suggestion is that caravan parks could adopt the same policy as many
high rise apartment buildings and allow dogs up to 9kg. The management of
BIG4 is to be congratulated on its decision and will benefit financially
in the long run. We have, in Oz, a growing number of caravanning grey
nomads ... and a growing number of those have small pet pups. |
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LAST MONTH'S EXCLUSIVE STORY ABOUT CHINESE-BUILT CARAVANS BEING IMPORTED INTO AUSTRALIA RAISED A FEW EYEBROWS. HERE IS A SELECTION OF READERS' MAIL. Benefits of making Oz builders take notice IT WILL be interesting to see just what
parts are made in China and what are fitted here in Oz (see
story here). Is it only the
shell made in China or also the chassis, suspension, axles, bearings,
wheels and internal furniture and fittings? The door and windows look like Camec, and a Dometic A/C. The other external fittings appear to be the
general run of the mill products seen on locally built 'vans. If it is
indeed a mixture of both (as with other Chinese imports) then he may be
onto a good thing. Ozjohn. HOW many Australian-built caravans now have Chinese components in them? Answer: a lot more than you would think. Price and standard of workmanship will be more critically analysed by caravan experts than the sometimes very weak attention to detail some critics/motoring reporters now display. I look forward to seeing them and I hope they are able to set up a dealer network that will demonstrate backup. Peter Millar, JP. WHY all the drum roll – Caravan Court in
Springvale have had their caravans built in China for at least six years.
The quality is fantastic and so are the profits. They were built in
Queensland but to a lesser standard and a higher price. There is not much
new in the world ... just sounds new because we often do not know better. CN a great source of information WE are grey nomads in training and read
your news every month. It is such a great source of information, and now
we follow you on Twitter. And it's all free. Job well done! Tony and Shar Tetley. Other way up and across WE liked Queensland when we travelled there a few
years ago. We were considering going again, perhaps to help communities
by volunteering after the floods etc. But if there is going to be
hassles with speed etc (see
story here) we will go the other way up and across! Help needed for theft victims WE had our Coromal caravan stolen late last year. We
truly feel for the Smith couple (see
story here) and would like to know if there is any group or
organisation that can assist ... insurance only covers the 'van, not the
trauma and loss, especially when it is the only thing you have left. Half full better than a closed park IF caravan parks keep putting up their prices, it will take a long time for caravanners and campers to return. Drop the prices ... a half full park is better then a closed one. Ben. Decision was correct, that's no bull! THE decision not to ban bull bars is a correct one. I know because I do a night time country run and hit a kangaroo at 100kph. Had I not had the bull bar in place I would have had a lot of damage. In fact, all that happened was a broken spotlight and a couple of globes. Terry Atkins. Owners did the best thing in fire drama I HAD previously read about this caravan fire and
loss, but your article gives more facts on what actually happened (see
story here). A fire extinguisher in the car would also have been
useless at that stage, or it seems even if they had stopped when the
witness first noticed smoke as the fire must have already taken hold at
this stage. Portable extinguishers only last a matter of seconds, so are
for immediate action only. Owners did the best thing by removing the
vehicle. Sadly they lost their caravan and contents. The incident also
highlights another value in using UHF in rural areas. At least they did
not have a gas fridge running or it would have been all over much
quicker – perhaps for the tow vehicle as well.
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Golf
reappears from the bunker
Ryan
'humbled' by hall of fame accolade
Show
set to showcase the best
Faithful
guests celebrate with cuppas and cake
Sky's
the limit for stargazers
Convoys
set to tackle the Wild West
Humble
camper trailers get smarter
Peak
body attacks 'derogatory and defamatory' articles
