July 2010

It's getting too expensive, say grey nomads

Angry caravanners protest over rising park fees

ANGRY caravanners staged a public meeting at a Queensland caravan park to protest over rising site fees.

Now they are threatening to boycott the state's popular Sunshine Coast.

About 200 caravanners, many of them grey nomads travelling on a tight budget, gathered at the Cotton Tree Caravan Park, Maroochydore, to express their discontent after hearing that charges at council-operated caravan parks are to increase next year.

They have organised a petition which will be presented to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

According to reports, fees at the nearby Coolum Caravan Park, one of nine operated by the council, are set to soar by a staggering 22 percent.

Victorian grey nomad Ken Howsen told Caravanning News that he and wife Eileen had spent their last 20 winters on the Sunshine Coast but were being forced to look elsewhere because they were being priced out of the area..

"We have seen prices gradually increase at some parks to an exorbitant level," he said.

"We're told we will have to pay more than $50 a night for a waterside pitch at Cotton Tree next year ... it's ridiculous when you consider we're only getting a piece of land measuring no more than about 10m x 3m.

He said many caravanners had told him they were finding it too expensive to stay on the Sunshine Coast and were seriously considering spending their winters, and dollars, elsewhere.

"Another gripe with many travellers is that it's rare to find a park in the area which will accept their pets ... pet-friendly parks are at a premium," he said. "In fact, we know of only a couple on the whole of the coast."

Melbournites Ray and Jan Cook, who stay for three months at the 476-site Cotton Tree park to escape the chilly winter down south, explained how they had seen site fees rise.

Last year it cost them $2800 but this had increased by more than $600 this year. And next year they would have to cough up $4300 for the same site.

"We may as well stay in a resort because it would cost about the same," they told media.

Council caravan parks manager Gary Ehsman addressed the meeting and said the higher fees were part of a five-year plan to create a consistent price structure for all council-operated caravan parks.

Before the new Sunshine Coast Regional Council came into being, council-run parks were controlled by different authorities – Caloundra, Noosa and Maroochy – and it was now necessary to bring them all into line, he added.