Campers bushwacked by soaring fees

Linda Ainsworth and Owen Warburton (standing at left) join Melbourne friends April and Scott Minniece (right) and their children Will (2), Cam (7), front left, and Ella (4) on their annual camping holiday at the Batemans Bay Beach Resort on the NSW south coast. Picture: Ray Strange Source: News Limited

IT'S cheaper for families to holiday at a resort in Bali over summer than to camp at the beach.

Soaring fees are pricing the traditional beach camping holiday out of the reach of ordinary families and one NSW National Park is charging a group of family campers nearly $6000 for a two-week stay in January.

The Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast is charging $81 per night for a family of two parents and two children at group camp sites.

A change in the way site fees are charged has seen the price almost double in the past 12 months.

Privately-owned campsites at popular holiday spot Bateman's Bay are charging $86 per night for powered tent sites.

Scott Minniece and his Melbourne family are paying $90 a night for a powered caravan site with an en suite toilet at the Bateman's Bay Big 4 Beach Resort holiday park.

"It's rather expensive when you're away two or three weeks and it adds up as a family holiday," he said.

The family has holidayed at the park five or six times and says fees have increased around $10 a year.

"Its cheaper than the $110 we pay for the Big 4 caravan parks in Melbourne and we love the direct access to the beach, there is beautiful grass, a road for the kids to ride their bikes on and it feels safe and secure," he said.

The park also offers a tennis court, games room, mini golf and a jumping castle, he said.

While it costs just $21.80 per family per night to camp in national parks in Queensland, some private holiday parks on the Sunshine Coast are charging up to $83 a night for an unpowered site.

In Apollo Bay in Victoria, it can cost $70 for a powered private camp site, and Mount Buffalo National Park charges a $49 per night camping fee.

The most affordable place to camp is South Australia, where fees range from around $13-$16 per night in the state's national parks and private campsites cost up to $46 per night.

News Limited compared the $81-$85 per night camping fees with accommodation elsewhere and found seven hotels in Bali that were cheaper.

While this did not include the cost of an air fare, the Bali accommodation included an en suite toilet, a swimming pool, restaurants and other ammenities.

At national parks, campers must bring their own tents, beds, sleeping bags and cooking equipment and share showers and toilets.

Scott Suridge, who manages the Booderee National Park, said a 10 per cent fee rise of $1 per adult to $11 per night in 2012 was the first fee rise for campers in six years and compared to the 15.9 per cent rise in inflation.

He said an increase in the site fees for group campgrounds to $49 per site per night was the real reason why Booderee was now one of the most expensive places to camp on the South Coast.

"This is a place where you can camp a hundred metres from white sandy beaches in a natural bush setting but still have access to the same kind of amenities you would find in a caravan park," he said.

"Each of the new sites is still much bigger than an average large site in other parts of the park and we think their size, relative isolation and ambience still represent very good value for money."

SUMMER COST OF CAMPING (Booderee National Park)

Site fee: $49 per night

Adult (x2): $22 per night

Kids (x2): $10 per night

Total: $81 per night

Two-week stay: $1134

For five families: $5670

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