Travel Etiquette

Neurum Crk Bush Retreat was the scene of a very loud gathering of 10 4WDs last Saturday night (20/2/16). They were all from NSW and arrived just before dark in a crowded campground. After setting up camp they started drinking, swearing and generally loud mouthing until 1:30 AM. Next morning all the other campers in the vicinity, which were mostly families, were tired, totally annoyed and angered towards this group! What sort of message are the likes of these groups trying to send to the general public. Buy a 4WD, adorn it with fat tyres and lots of spotlights and the world can go to hell? Next time, camp on your own in a paddock somewhere and leave the average bloke and his family sleep!

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You’ve got to love the Australian Bush, the Outback, the red-parched earth of an ancient land stretching from horizon to horizon touched only by an endless deep blue sky, and confetti fluttering in a warm cooling breeze. Hang-on, since when was confetti part of our outback landscape, I hear you ask… On our recent trip into the outback we felt we must have been travelling behind one of those buses full of Japanese newly-weds that you see down at the Rocks precinct in Sydney on a Saturday morning. Lots of smiling faces, nodding as only the Japanese can in their most polite way, married in large groups on the steps of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Strewth, just to be clear, lest I be accused of casting a racial slur. We love the Japanese, I eat sashimi almost every other day, and I’m not suggesting there were busloads of them in the outback throwing confetti everywhere, I was speaking metaphorically. But by crikey – somebody must have been. There was so much of it that you could be forgiven for thinking that it must have come from some sort of mass wedding, surely? And let me tell you, there weren’t any smiling faeces either! Now I get it, it isn’t the most popular dinner party topic, butt thanks to Kenny and his wonderful 2006 movie “Kenny” we’ve at least got a little more comfortable discussing the issue around the camp fire these days. And let’s not beat around the bush here, we are talking about “Poo Tickets”. Okay, you can stop cringing, and yes, Kenny dispelled many of those urban myths about “mine doesn’t smell, and I always clean the bowel” so don’t waste your breath repeating them! As a kid I used to visit my grandmother’s home in a small country town and she had an outhouse down the backyard. We’ve all seen them, they’ve been the butt of many jokes and cartoons for time eternity. And Nan always had a small box of matches sitting behind the door and insisted that one be lit each and every time you arose from the throne! I thought this was normal, and I don’t recall anyone ever complaining about this. Well I did hear Uncle Bluey complaining about it once, but that was when me cousin accidently set alight to his prized Playboy Mag that was tucked down the back of the seat that us kids never knew about – and mum’s still the word on that one! So why a box of matches? Well the smell of a freshly lit match kills almost any other smell that is lingering – of course caution should be exercised and there was that one time that old Bluey sent the door over the back fence after a brekkie of Heinz baked beans… I’m not sure what was funniest, Bluey sitting there in his navy singlet with his Y-Fronts around his ankles, or the dunny door in the neighbour’s mango tree. Butt, here is the thing, I’ve always carried a little box of redheads when in the bush, the outback, and it’s purpose is two-fold – in one bold strike you can fill the nostrils with the smell of a freshly burning match, try it, it’s refreshing after a squat, and then use it to burn your paper… So, next time you head out do us all a favour and be sure to take “Miss Redhead” with you, she may not ignite your passion, but in the least, she will ignite your “poo tickets”…

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re track closures - Cameron’s Corner in June? July this year we were talking to someone who had travelled that way describing horrible behaviour of young people in top of the range 4WD is this behaviour because it is the cashed up city !!!!!! able to go BUSH now - the people telling us this story were afraid for their safety if they had chatted these stupid idiots up - - - just HOW do you get through to those idiots????? one just has to sit and watch the travellers dropping in to Innamincka – to have one’s hair stand on end - - though as another traveller said to us – we don’t complain - we might need their help sometime.......

As we travel we soon learn that there are unwritten rules that go a long way to making our experiences more enjoyable. Some familiar unwritten rules that come to mind are: Don’t camp on top of your neighbour. Carry (and use) your own recovery gear. If you use a generator, put it well away from where others are camped. Be friendly to others but don’t impose yourself. Bury your personal waste and don’t leave toilet paper to litter the landscape. Don’t pollute water sources with soap…. What other matters are in the unwritten “good manners and good ideas” guide for travellers and campers?

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I would like to bring to everyone's attention the state of our free camping sites. A fellow member of CMCA has given me permission to give you her report over the last six months and 14,000 k. Free Camping Issues We need to lift our game Having been on the road now since early March I have travelled over 14,000 kms in Vic, NSW and Qld and am yet to return home. I have mainly free camped and I have observed much. I have come to the conclusion that we are our own worst enemy and need to lift our game if we want our camping options to remain open. I will most likely be hung, drawn and quartered for saying what is to follow but it needs to be said and it needs to be read and heard or we suffer the consequences. It is through ignorance that some things happen but it is also through our own lack of respect for our fellow traveller and the environment. Some of the issues I have seen are: 1. People coming out in the morning and just emptying their overnight bucket outside the van/whizzbang, caravan or motorhome and yes camper trailers and tents as well. 2. Councils having good intentions of doing the right thing by installing dump points at rest areas (and there is a tank and tap there) but the tank is empty (afterall it is dry season up north so no rain to replenish the tank anyway). The dump points are obviously a mess. 3. People using non maintained old toilet blocks long since switched off in what used to be rest areas but now not maintained – how could they even think about it when you see the mess. 4. Dump points (CMCA/Kea sponsored one) that was putrid because someone had dismantled the tap etc (a search of the web said it had been like that since at least March this year and I was there end of July). I contacted CMCA to see if they could get it rectified. I had photos to prove both the mess and the ownership/sponsorship which NHQ requested. 5. Rest areas where it is obvious there is a shortage of water (just look around at the dry creek and dry grass) and the tanks are empty yet people continue to use the toilets even though they will not flush (and yes some were motorhomes that would have had their own on board facilities – why would you not use your own in these circumstances?) 6. With point 5, the council came out later in the day and tried to clean the facilities but of course no water so a tanker came out and partly filled one tank – you then had people standing under the tap outside just letting the water run over their feet for no reason and not for a short while either. They were there when the tanker came in so should have known better. You then also had everyone filling up containers etc – the next town was only 10kms away – that water in the tanker was not for that purpose. 7. You then have the sad situation of one of the more popular camp spots to be shut shortly because the sewerage system cannot cope due to the sheer overload on the facilities. One night there were up to 80 vehicles there of all shapes and kinds. Why is it that you will walk a long way to the facilities but yet you have your own on board. You cannot stay any longer than 3 nights anyway so you should have ample capacity (or near ample and about 8kms away is a dump point). 8. There are donation boxes at many of these places but I reckon that not much is collected and when it is donated I watched and photographed someone then promptly try to help themself to it. 9. You also see people get out an axe and chop down small trees etc for firewood when there is a sign that says “no fires” and yes these were motorhomers on their way back from the Sale Rally. I have since heard that this site is also on the closure list – can’t always blame the Caravan Park Lobbyists. 10. Why is it that campers take pets into National Parks and their camp sites when there are lots of signs around that say no animals allowed. 11. Why is it that some campers do not clean up after their pets? 12. Grey water disposal is an issue I don’t know the answer to, but it seems that few caravans and smaller vans have much holding capacity for grey water and it goes straight onto the ground. Having said that Motorhomes are not immune either as they let their grey water go on the bitumen at rest areas and there is not necessarily a drainage system in place for this. 13. Over flowing garbage bins yet people still try to squeeze stuff in or leave it on the ground for the wild life to have a go at rather than taking it with you. 14. Staying in No Camping signed spots overnight. I could probably go on and on with what I have observed but we are our own worst enemy at times and we will blame the Caravan Park Lobby for camp spot closures but in actual fact it is us that is the cause in some instances (not all). In my opinion there needs to be an education program amongst all RV’ers as to what is the correct camping procedures in a modern society (not how our mums and dads used to do it). Also what does self contained mean and if an area is for self contained vehicles only then you don’t go in unless you are. It is no good anymore that the non complying vehicles say, but we should be able to do what we want. You are either self contained or you are not. It is no good saying, but that little bit of grey water or that little bit of urine or toilet paper will not hurt. No it will not BUT in ever increasing numbers it will and that is what we have – more and more people free camping. To some people self contained means that that they bring everything with them (food, water, beds, chairs etc) but not that it means you take it all with you as well. We need Education. Care for your campsites or lose them. Lorraine Smith CMCA N55008

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