It's a High Time Now.

By: Zbysh Holasa

There is a noticeably increased flow of people using Tourist and Caravan Parks industries, who are in the so called Baby Boomer age. Many of them like to call themselves Gray Nomads. I'm also in that age bracket, but I don't overly love to be called a Gray Nomad, even if I am one as a matter of fact.

 I rather prefer simple, Nomad, which I consider myself to be, for my love of travel and nature, but gray, bold or some other age underscoring adjectives I don't particularly favor. Especially that there are traveling together many people who prefere this style of life, but are neither grey, nor bold nor even aged, having been bright beautiful young and middle aged people, sometime even with their children sharing this lifestyle.

The industry however noticed the suddenly increased number of these type of traveling people and the greediest of them very soon rose all their rates real badly, what pushed out of reach of even basic affordability most of these pensioners, especially those in the lower pension rate bracket, who really are a majority. Now the very same unscrupulous operators complain of Gray Nomads, because they learned how to avoid the greediest of them like a disease, and camp for free, sometimes in just quite short short distance from those grossly overpriced, grossly inadequate to their needs and preferences , so called "Caravan Parks" with their arrogant, pompous pseudo-business operators.

I say here “so called” as they are not at all caravan parks any more for all the meaning and purposes the caravan park is supposed to serve. They shouldn't be classified and called Caravan Parks as they are the Caravan Parks no more at all. They are operating completely outside of the caravan park principles.These greedy operators just use such name, but they transformed their caravan parking places into Cabins. Doing so, with just cabins available, but none or just very few caravan parking places and proper for passing by caravans amenities they started directly competing with motels and hotels, providing not nearly similar to them quality and value of service, but charging often even higher rates then a hotel or motel. Some of them - the most vocal ones - started actually charging rates that could put in shame even some 4 or 5 star hotels, but with nothing to offer in exchange for this brazenly extorted money, except their greed, and arrogant screaming for more control over our hard earned money.

And they cry, rape, they do not want our services! Force them to come to us! Force them to pay us no matter what!  We want their money, and they don't want to come to us!!!

Yes... They are really poor buggers, aren't they? All these greedy, crooked, arrogant, unscrupulous operators. They have such a hard life, don't they? May be we ought to let them rip us off saing nothing, as they wish it to be so?,  May be we should let them extort from us our money and say nothing? Not even a word!... May be we ought to lest us get intimidated? That certainly would be a big help to them, wouldn't it be? But, well, some people - like me amongst them - just can't agree with any of that for some reasons to them incomprehensible. May be that strange or so, but I think it isn't right at all...

For the first thing of all. Armed with knowing there are there some greedy mongrels waiting to rip me and other people off, I think how to secure myself against it. So I buy a caravan, equip it - often with a lot of expense of money and labor - with amenities I need so that I don't have to use the incredible overpriced, inflated “services”, like a power for example, etc. Why should I, if I got my own amenities, including solar or dual battery system, or both of them combined, an/or generator or wind power, etc?! All I need is only the place to park my rig, whatever it would be at the given moment, in reasonably peaceful and quiet place and enjoy the nature and life. But now, look what they do?!


They want to make, of all Australia even if given a chance, one gigantic Big Brother controlled so called "National Park". All this controlled by a few with highest greed and power-lust, who are ready to do all in their power to hang on to their power by all means and possibilities. I'm afraid, in the future perspective all this can start looking rather more like one big Concentration Camp, equipped all around with all possible fences, legal control barriers, and charging for all these fees higher even than a luxury hotel rates... And who does it now?

Guessed?

Yes! Our own, elected by us, government. And all these under the disguise of caring. And they do it openly and with no shred of shame, and in direct competition with the greediest, most unscrupulous operators over there, instead of keeping them in check and bring them to the account of their shameful unscrupulous greed..

Where do we know this from already?! It seems so familiar, doesn't it?

But... Saying all this, I have to say that I don't mean at all that all Caravan Parks are the same.

 Not all are rip offs and greedy operators. In my traveling all over Australia I found many nice quiet places with their very kind, in every way very helpful operators, and with very reasonable rates that everyone would find just fine, with great amenities often for free or offered for reasonable fees in some other places. Those are the people and places worth to mention and I will mention them here often as the help to the fellow traveler, so that one can have their the trip memorable with great stay time and unforgivable experiences. Now I'll say a few words of one of such Good Guys...

One of them is a Lorn Station at Lightning Ridge in NSW. 

The Lorn Caravan Park situated at the Lorn Station is situated some 5 km outside the Lightning Ridge in a sort of the valley between ridges. When getting to the town from the highway, you hit the town center, then turn right onto the Opal Street and continue that way straight up, till the sealed road finishes at the Kangaroo Hill with a big Tram on the left. Continue then on that dirt road, till you see the big sign written red on white board informing on the Lorn Caravan Park turn to the right, then continue for 2 km more km till you reach the station.

Sometime there is nobody, as people go around their business and all set-up looks very informal and friendly. Rustic in style, Lorn Caravan Park provides all amenities needed and rates are great, especially for the Gray Nomad type of traveler, or any other rather low budget travelers. There is office building on the left, often closed, but there is a trust box left outside with envelopes to write in your info and put the money into. There are also phone numbers to call to if needed further assistance. There is also always someone camping there, who is orientated in the surroundings, who'll be willing to assist if needed. An owner of this place, Damian, is a very nice and helpful guy who will go out of his way to assist you there. At present it is very likely that a vary friendly Brazilian lady Maria, taking care of the amenities there will give you a short tour of the place and help you with all info needed. there are many interesting things going on all around the town, as Lightning Ridge is an opal mining town, and it happens to be the most valuable opal in the world, the Black Opal. There are also few cabins, if someone wish to get them, but there is a lot of room for even huge rigs, and other Mansions of the Road, but plenty of room for plain tent. If you prefere a bush camping, you are free to go bush around. You can literately experience here the rustic, but wonderful country lifestyle for real. There is great kitchen with everything you need to cook, with working gas stove included in the price. Toalet has two showers with hot and cold water. And I have to mention this too, the hot water here is really hot, not tepid like in many other places with much higher rates, there are two washing machines coin operated doing their job great for 3.00 dollars a wash. The water is from the Station's own water bore, great to drink, and with some great mineral content testing great too. There is also, slightly out of the town a Hot Water Bore. It has the mineral content as all water in Lightning Ridge but with addition of also some sulphates, what make is to be of great balneological (healing water aplications) use. It has healing qualities, and many older people experienced the goodness of the Lightning Ridge's hot water with sulphates, that eases arthritic and rheumatic conditions, amongst many other. Miners of Lightning Ridge use its shower after their work every day, easing their sour muscles and enjoying it every day. And it is for free!...

Here a few words about rates at the Lorn Caravan Park:
Unpowered sites are A$10.00/night or if stay for longer time around A$ 8.00/night.
Powered sites are A$25.00/night or if stay longer time, around A$ 20.00/night.
Cabins are more expensive, at the rate of A$50.00/night, with possibly lower rates if stay over 7 days.
If you'd decide to stay for some months, or even years like many people do here, there are also fully equipped bush houses to rent for longer term, for A$150/week.

 And, here is a very useful to all lecture, especially for the young, but also very useful for the not so young any more, who have doubts if it is worth to fight for ones rights and freedom. See in the book how and where our freedom and rights will end if we are too complacent with what politicians do in our own name. This is what already happened in large extend under the Communist System, and this is what our world is heading to if we never react and believe that it will somehow get better just by itself... I strongly believe that to have the courage and the will to say loudly and clearly NO, is our duty towards our own and our children's future, including our rapidly deteriorating freedoms and rights already now.

I highly recommend to all the lecture of George Orwell,s book titled “1984”, sometimes known also as the “Year 1984” This book shall show you an incredibly penetrating inside of this man into the future – our present time and forward – already in the early 19 century. I highly recommend this lecture to everyone to read and compare with what happens right now. It is a high time now.