Originally Posted by
Cloudship
More a curiosity question - I am not planning a trip or anything. But how does camping in Australia compare to camping in the USA?
I know they sell a lot of trailers/caravans, although many of them look more akin to rugged off road adventures than to the normal campgrounds one finds in the US. It seems there are a lot more tents and tent trailers than normal caravans. And do they have campgrounds with assigned sites and seperated by trees, etc? Or is it more European style where there is a big field and you go set up wherever you feel like?
Camping in Australia refers to a tent, may be just out in the open in a National Forest campground or in set space at a caravan park. In National Parks there are often reserved areas for campgrounds with camping being illegal outside of those areas.
The RV part of the experience is referred to as Caravaning and is much more European in nature. Whilst not unheard of, the Winnebago RV is less common in Australia with most folks opting to go for the tow caravan or the caravan based upon a light truck chassis. Caravaning is mostly done at caravan parks where there is a set site with power and a central amenities block. In certain municipalities councils have started banning roadside caravaning and it is illegal to park up overnight at many of the patrolled beaches.
If one has the chance New Zealand is one of the best places to Caravan with plenty of infrastructure to tour both Islands by caravan.