CARAVANNING NEWS - January 2010 edition


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Queensland outback	Carnarvon Gorge	Moore Park Beach turtles	Sydney circular	Santa's trip	Formula One interlude	Imbil

Brisbane Weather Forecast, Australia

January 2010

BREAKING NEWS

JANUARY 31: Caravanners urged to delay travel as ex tropical cyclone Olga brings heavy rain to northern and central Queensland while monsoon trough causes heavy downfalls in coastal areas.
JANUARY 27: Firemen free caravanner from wreckage after rig rolls on Bruce Highway at Cooyal. Rushed to Bundaberg Hospital with suspected spinal injuries.
JANUARY 26: Caravan among $1m worth of stolen property recovered by police at Loganholme near Brisbane.
JANUARY 26: Sparks from caravan which broke free from vehicle on Hume Hwy near Tarcutta, NSW, causes major bushfire. Forty firefighters and two aircraft tackle outbreak.
JANUARY 25: Grampians Edge Caravan Park returning to normal after being evacuated as bushfire swept through Grampians National Park in Victoria.
JANUARY 20: Two holidaymakers from South Ballina Beach caravan park in NSW drown while swimming in ocean. Their two children raised alarm.
JANUARY 19: Four people now facing charges over death of fruit picker at Deloraine Apex Caravan Park in Tasmania.
JANUARY 17: Youth charged with murdering 27-year-old Coffs Harbour fruit picker at Tasmania's Deloraine Caravan Park. Man, 21, also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
JANUARY 16: Police quiz holidaymakers at Tasmania's Deloraine Caravan Park after man's body found near caravans and tents.
JANUARY 14: Caravanners rush to beach after whale beaches itself outside Point Turton Caravan Park on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula.
JANUARY 14: Police hunting a burgundy vehicle and caravan which failed to stop after sideswiping a Maui campervan on Princes Hwy at Killarney, Victoria.
JANUARY 13: Police hunt crooks who stole $50,000 Lotus caravan from compound at Lonsdale, SA.
JANUARY 7: Campers, including caravanners, will no longer be able to stay at Queensland's Turtle Sands Caravan Park near Bundaberg from Easter. Park to become all-cabin.
JANUARY 3: Crash involving caravan and truck causes chaos on Great Ocean Road near Lorne, Victoria. No one hurt.

Second top quality 'van stolen within weeks

Caravan crooks becoming more picky

By DENNIS AMOR

CARAVAN thieves seem to be getting more choosy ... opting for the more luxurious and expensive models.

They are targeting caravans in the $100,000-plus league as caravanning throughout Australia becomes more and more popular.

In the latest crime, brazen thieves made off with a Boroma Tourista Breeza 700 ST from a storage yard at Clontarf on the Redcliffe Peninsula, north of Brisbane.

It was the second Boroma to fall victim to thieves within weeks. After a tip-off, police caught a man towing a $117,000 Boroma Grandinata 745ST just days after it had been stolen from another storage yard in Sydney.

It is thought a buyer had already been lined up for the luxury caravan.

Narva powers towards an easier connection
NARVA has announced new 'quickfit' trailer connectors to make fitting quick and easy for caravanners. The Australian-owned company has redesigned its popular flat 7-pin trailer plug and socket, heralding it as a major step forward in simplifying trailer wiring and assembly.

ABC probes future of coastal parks and camping grounds
QUEENSLAND Caravanning Association chief executive Ron Chapman will be among the guests on a special ABC radio show this month. Australia Talks will be broadcasting from the Cotton Tree Caravan Park on the Sunshine Coast and will probe the future of coastal caravan parks and camping grounds.

Award-winning park splashes out on new $1m attraction
THE award-winning Coconut Holiday Resort at Cairns in Queensland has opened a million-dollar water park. The five-star park's latest attraction is said to be unlike any other in a southern hemisphere caravan park and is already a great hit with youngsters ... and the young at heart.

BIG4 crushes state opposition in awards
THE BIG4 chain of caravan and holiday parks will feature prominently at this year's national tourism awards. It crushed the opposition in the caravan and tourist park category at the state and territory rounds of the awards, grabbing six out of seven top places and reinforcing its position as a leading holiday park operator in Australia.

Skydive birthday present ends in tragedy
STAFF at a NSW caravan business have paid tribute to their boss who died while taking his first skydive ... a 70th birthday present from his family. Adventurer and grandfather Terry Vowles, co-owner of R 'n' T Specialised Caravan Repairs and Accessories at Tweed Heads, is thought to have suffered a heart attack as he leapt out of the plane thousands of metres over the Gold Coast.

Strategy calls for new caravan parks
A TOURIST Park Development Strategy report has called for an extra 450 caravan sites in the Mackay area of Queensland. Seaforth, Finch Hatton, Glenella and Grasstree Beach were among areas identified as possible locations for new caravan parks.

Bumper season sees parks bulging at the seams
CARAVAN parks in New South Wales are enjoying a bumper festive season, with most bulging at the seams. The news comes as Tourism Research Australia revealed a 10 percent jump in caravanning and camping visitor nights in the quarter ending last September.

Park collects top accolade ... for 18th time
CLAIMING to be the most awarded caravan park in the Northern Territory, the MacDonnell Range Holiday Park has collected yet another gong. The four-and-a-half star Alice Springs park was named the Territory's best tourist and caravan park at the recent Brolga Northern Territory Tourism Awards ... for an impressive 18th time.

Grey nomads lend a hand on the land
GREY nomads are lending a hand on the land in outback Australia in ever increasing numbers. Hundreds of volunteers have joined a national programme to offer their services on isolated stations and rural properties.

Caravan purchase lands couple with $500,000 windfall
CARAVANNERS Denis and Kay Wall are looking forward to exploring more of Australia after winning a $500,000 promotion. The couple's windfall came after they bought a caravan from a Toowoomba caravan dealer in Queensland.

More land necessary for WA parks: industry
MORE land needs to be made available to develop new caravan parks, according to Western Australia's caravan industry. The boss of Caravan Industry Association WA believes there is a growing need for affordable holiday accommodation.

Green light for housing redevelopment
COUNCILLORS have given the green light to redeveloping a decaying caravan park in New South Wales. Brigalow Caravan Park on the Pacific Highway at Urunga on the state's North Coast will be closed to make way for residential accommodation.

Park powers on to help guests enjoy their stay
A WEST Australian waterfront caravan park is powering on to ensure guests enjoy their stay. Electricity supply issues have plagued the picturesque two-and-a-half star Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park, 414km south-east of Perth, in recent years but will soon be a thing of the past.

Clarence Coast council parks flourish
FIVE council-operated Clarence Coast caravan parks in New South Wales are booming. The parks at Iluka, Yamba, Brooms Head, Minnie Waters and Wooli recorded a 13 percent increase in income in 2008/09, resulting in a 6.5 percent rise in profit to $1.251 million.

Concern over grey nomads again in spotlight
THE ability of some grey nomads to hitch up and safely tour Australia's inhospitable terrain has again been brought into the spotlight. The ABC and some other media outlets recently carried reports on Queensland University of Technology research into the health of senior travellers and their preparation for coping with rural and outback roads. And the researchers' findings were alarming. Caravanning News carried a comprehensive story on their concerns in its September edition.

For stories from the last six editions of Caravanning News, click on the appropriate month:


December 2009	November 2009	October 2009	September 2009	August 2009	July 2009

Editor: Dennis Amor
PO Box 678
Caloundra
Queensland 4551
Australia
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NEWS DOWNLOADS REACH 95,000 MONTHLY

MORE and more caravanners are turning to Caravanning News to keep abreast of what's happening in the world of caravanning. Page downloads recently reached 95,000 monthly ... with more than 80 percent of visitors adding us to their favourites, too.

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR

Looking forward
to the tranquillity
of Agnes Water

THE Agnes Water caravan park (see story here) was our family holiday destination for nearly 20 years until it closed. We are very much looking forward to enjoying the tranquillity once again.

Debra White
Queensland

Clampdown
on shoddy builders

GREAT news about the government clamping down on shoddy caravan manufacturers and 'vans from overseas (see story here). We have been hearing horror stories for far too long about unscrupulous builders turning out below-par caravans and getting away with it.

Clem Bateman
New South Wales

Upgrade plea after park sale

SO what's the big problem with caravanners overnighting at cemeteries (see story here). We have tucked ourselves behind graveyards on a few occasions while touring ... and never had a complaint from the local residents!

Grace Stoddart
Victoria

Honouring
a great
caravanner

THANK you for your excellent tribute page honouring Arthur Pullin, who died at age 103 (see story here). He was a great inspiration to many of us grey nomads and, as the story says, will surely be greatly missed by his colleagues. I only hope I can do half of what this great man did when I reach my seventies ... let alone hundreds! RIP Arthur. And my very best wishes to his 103-year-old widow Pat.

Samuel Darling
New South Wales

The key to beating Bay's petty crime

INTERESTING article in the last edition of Caravanning News: Cops hit parks with two-pronged warning in bid to cut crime. Fines of $40 for people who leave their cars unlocked. So we lock our vehicles and for us trailer/tent campers where do we put the keys so they are secure? Carry them on us all the time, get a waterproof holder so we can take them swimming with us! I am on holidays and want to relax, not have to secure my belongings more than I would at home. I think the police need to police and the park and council management need to effectively manage. Our family used to go to Hervey Bay for a number of years and the petty crime problem started around 2004. I had a habit of staying on our campsite each evening to protect our property. Didn’t make for much of a relaxing holiday.

Rick Slomp

WORLD BRIEFS

Caravanners can have their cake and eat it

Caravan cake

CARAVANNERS in the UK have proved they can have their cake and eat it! Andrew and Teresa Davis of Oxfordshire have just won the Practical Caravan's inaugural caravan cake making competition with a delicious offering portraying their prized 2005 Bailey Ranger caravan, complete with high quality detailing and accessories. There were more than 100 entries.

A FRENCH caravanner was found dead in his ice-cold caravan near the northern town of Arras as freezing weather caused chaos in parts of Europe.

TRAFFIC calming measures being considered in the UK could mean 32kph speed limits being slapped on roads leading to caravan parks.

TWO bothers who burned old caravans at their parent's caravan park in Telford without an environmental licence for their disposal, England, have been slapped with a $22,000 fine.