Big problem affecting Aussie campsites: 'Impacted our whole trip'

Whether choosing to quit the rat race to chuck a “lap” around the country, or forced out of housing due to the cost of living crisis, Australians are increasingly saying goodbye to traditional housing and relying on the facilities supplied by campsites and caravan park.

But a major problem affecting the travelling community is beginning to emerge as pressure mounts on these facilities called "ghost bookings" whereby people reserve campsites in Western Australia far in advance, but fail to turn up.

It means that those looking for somewhere to stay for the night are being forced to “hightail” it to bookings made up to six months in advance or leave it to chance it and potentially end up in expensive overflow showground campsites, or illegally parking on the roadside.

The phenomenon has been witnessed in campsites run by West Australian authorities along with private caravan parks. “Ghost camping happens in caravan parks as well,” one traveller named Bruce told Yahoo. “They think ‘Just book ahead and if you can’t make it it’s best to have a place booked than not’.”

The attitude is catching out many travelling the country who, as a result, have nowhere to stay. Bruce captured the scene at Milligan Campground near Jurien Bay, run by the Shire of Coorow in WA. He claims that the campground’s 36 sites were fully booked yet, on arrival, he witnessed multiple sites completely empty.

“I can’t give you the exact count but so many empty campsites and they are booked out online,” he said. The Shire Coorow did not respond to Yahoo’s request for comment on the matter. Another nearby campsite, Sandy Cape was reportedly booked out too.

The phenomena leaves campers asking themselves a dangerous question - push on and keep driving to the next campsite in the hopes of finding a free site, or camp on the roadside and face copping a fine?

Family forced to ‘hightail’ trip to make booking

Jade Payne has been travelling Australia with her husband Josh and their four kids, two dogs and cat for the past five months. Jade says that campsite booking in WA for May had to be done in December last year.

“It’s impacted our whole trip to make sure we can get to those bookings,” she told Yahoo. “We worked out we need to hightail it so that we can make these bookings otherwise we’re going to miss them and not be able to experience them.

“We've been told that everyone books all these sites out, you can book up to 180 days before but people just don't cancel, they just don't show up or they have a change of heart.

“Then there are sites that haven’t been used and you've got people that can't get in these sites. So it's a bit hard.”

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She says that the problem is exacerbated by councils cracking down on other private accommodation such as farm stays. She discovered once such booking her family made in Esperance, WA, had been shut down by a local council on arrival. It meant they had no choice to pay $100 per night to stay at overflow accommodation at a showground, which supplied no running water or electricity.

"At first we said no and drove back out," she told Yahoo. But after phoning every campsite in the town, they realised all were fully booked. What's more, the fine for free camping was over $300.

"$100 for no power, no water and just being on the showground," she said. "We were so excited to get to Western Australia but it is so much more expensive than we ever anticipated."

Department 'acknowledges' big problem

Across the state, over 2,000 campsites are controlled by the state Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. The department told Yahoo it is actively working on improving the Park Stay WA system to better manage campsite bookings and provide an improved customer experience.

“It is acknowledged that some campers do not take up their booking even though they have paid in full,” the department admits.

“While many campgrounds are not staffed, where volunteer Campground Hosts and park staff are available and staff resources permit, a camper who has not taken possession of a booked campsite may be contacted and advised their booking has been cancelled and offered to someone else or made available for booking online via Park Stay WA.

69 of the campgrounds can be booked through the Park Stay WA website, while the rest are non-bookable and operate on a first-come first serve basis. Since WA is such a large stage, the department admits that campers often need “the security” of being able to book in advance to guarantee somewhere to stay.

“Travellers wishing to book popular campsites, particularly during peak periods when demand is high, are encouraged to book early and secure a booking before starting their journey where possible,” a spokesperson added. Bookings can be made up to 180 days in advance.

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