Tight wads.

[Kelvin12]

Doing some caretaker duties here at Rotary Park Echuca while the real caretakers are on holidays. Been pretty busy with coming and goings. This is a free camp site with a donation, ($5 requested) for the dump use. Can't believe how lousy some people are as there is little in the donation box each day despite the use the dump gets. People talk about wanting more of these free camps and dumps but don't seem to want to chip in for the upkeep or improvements. They plan upgrades for here at the park, more potable water outlets and more grassed area but if people don't hit the can a bit more frequently then these sites aren't going far. Shame more free campers don't realize this. Some campers donate way more than required but when there is only small change in the box its really disappointing.

Dirk

[Newcastle George]

Dirk,

I noticed same at Gunning and Jugiong but must admit that having the donation box across the road , in the service station at Gunning doesn't help. However, one morning as I was walking to the service station, a fellow camper asked where I was headed and when I told him that I was headed to give a donation he said, "put some in for me while you're at it".

George

[Mrcoolabah1au]

Pity at the moment we just want a bit of flood fee land to park over night must be 100 camp site near us but all under water as hume dam is over spilling 3000 liters a second into the murray

[T1 Terry]

Maybe a change of incentive is needed, like A proposed view of the future planned improvements and a thermometer type indicator as to how much money has been donated so far with a wording under it something like:
"These can only occur if the user pays system is honoured, as this is free camp it doesn't get any funding for improvements, all donations go towards improving the site. No donations will mean no site, did you donate when you stayed here?"
Just an idea, maybe some people think the money just goes into the caretakers pocket so an indication of what their hard earned $$ could be achieving may give them that warm fuzzy feeling rather than the begrudging feeling of having to pay for a "free site"

[BernieQ2]

We use small envelopes for our donations we put our name and rego and thank the body responsible for the free camp .
Even when we don't use the facility's provided .
Bernie .

[BruceS]

Well I only use free sites when they are FREE........
I don't want organised free camping areas either. I find my own site where no one goes.
Mt Monster near Keith is one such site.
Mannum Waterfalls could be another.
From experience, once a free site gets 'improvements', it then becomes a fee for use site.
Look at Mannum for an example?

[Greynomad]

Bruce,
We're quite happy to use either. If there's a Donation Box, we make sure we use it. $5~$10, depending on the facilities offered. One site was so well-equipped we dropped a twenty in!
(Bernie, we carry envelopes for the same reason.)
Still, we prefer to use roadside rest areas where poss, as we are fully independent & have both grey & blackwater tanks on board.
The switch from incandescents to LED lights & installation of a 12v flat TV has made battery worry a thing of the past! Old CRT TV required inverter to change 12vDC to 240vAc then back to 12vDC internally in TV! (No 12v inlet on TV.)
Chewed many volts, & limited us to about 2h30m viewing a night. New set-up means up to 9hrs/day w/o worry! Watched 12h telecast of the 1000km Bathurst V8s on it last year - no probs!
Next stage of development might be a VAST dish so we're not tied to terrestrial broadcasters...
Meantime, we'll continue to use free sites & pay where asked.
Good to see CMCA is at last organizing low-cost site-only places at some CPs for us. We'll support them, too.

Wish all free-campers (& CP owners) shared this attitude.

[Mrcoolabah1au]

Yes i know what you mean bruce about free camping i am sure if the other side of the river was free the town would prosper

[JohnM]

I for one do not object to paying for a service and have no objection to paying for a campsite, providing the price is commiserate with the service supplied.
There have been a number of sites that have been closed down and or services reduced because the donation asked for has not been forthcoming. The camp area at Mitchel (I think) had powered sites for a donation, the quarterly power bill was in excess of $1500 yet the donation box yielded less than $150 for this period, Power is no longer supplied!
A number of these camp areas are maintained by service clubs and the local chamber of commerce, they ask for a donation to enable them to maintain and improve these sites. Surely a level site on a mowed area, with possibly a picnic table is worth at least $5 a night and add conveniences and access to shopping, I don't feel $10 is unreasonable.
Most of us are of an age that will remember when a visit to the public toilets (in Melbourne any way) used to cost 1d. (when the basic wage was around 5 quid a week.) the one at the corner of Elisabeth and Little Collins sts, even had a full time attendant,warmed towels and all. The price over a period was increased to 3d. then the attendants went and the pennies went into the door lock, then the cost of repairs/maintenance got too high, and they closed down the public toilets.
It is a bit like the old saying, use it (and pay for it) or lose it.

John M

[Kelvin12]

Absolutely agree with you. When these campsites are closed all the whingers will be the first to complain. lts amazing how many people come to this park & complain that the toilets are locked, it costs money to clean toilets & if you are not donating you shouldn't expect them to be open, plus its clearly indicated as you enter the park self contained vehicles only.
Dirk