Back to basics in great outdoors

Written by Scott Podmore for experiencecaravanandcamping.com.au

AT A farewell party for my friend on the eve of his yearlong family caravanning adventure, I asked him whether he was concerned about taking his boys out of primary school for a year and hitting the road for a lap of Australia.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “They’ll learn more in the coming year than they will in the next five at primary school.”

Two weeks later while watching the news on TV, there they were, the entire family knee-deep in the ocean somewhere along the east coast helping to save a beached humpback whale.

It was a goosebumps kind of moment for me; something much more profound for them.

Another Aussie family who recently packed their life into a caravan for a year and hit the road are Nikki Harris and Matt Allan and their four children. Choosing to explore their “own backyard” rather than overseas was an easy decision, according to Nikki.

“We felt a road trip holiday around Australia was easier and safer,” Nikki says. “We allowed 12 months of travel on the same budget that would have achieved for us a quarter of the time overseas.

“For us, the experience was as much about the length of time together as a family as the destinations we took in. We definitely followed the old adage: It’s the journey, not the destination. We wanted our kids to know their own country.

“Matt’s father had planned to do the trip when he retired years earlier and died prior to doing it. That was a big motivator for us to seize the day.”

Seize the day, indeed, and the “Harris-Allans” are just one of a significantly growing number of families choosing the caravanning and camping lifestyle, according Australian Tourism Research findings.

The ATR research found the largest consumer group in the industry is made up of 35 to 49year-olds, who account for about 50 per cent of all travel in the sector. That figure is further backed by the Alliance Strategic Research finding that the key current user group was 35 to 49year-olds, particularly families with children.

“It’s about escapism, getting back to basics and family values,” says Stuart Lamont, chief executive officer of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia.

Lamont and his fellow industry leaders are rightly rubbing their hands together at a time when the global travel market hasn’t been without its

challenges in recent years, namely a global financial crisis.

Caravanning and camping has always stood the test of time and economic challenges, but now it’s surging.

Proposal for Caravan parks and Camping Grounds Legislation in WA

Have your say!

New caravan parks and camping grounds legislation is being developed to replace the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 (the Act). The aim is to provide a legislative framework which better meets the needs of consumers, operators and regulating authorities, reduces red tape and safeguards the health and safety of everyone.

As part of the review and development process, the Department of Local Government and Communities has released a consultation paper to invite public comment on how the new act could operate. This consultation paper is an initiative of the Western Australia Caravan and Camping Action Plan, which is supported by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program.

The consultation period runs for three months from 30 May until 1 September 2014.

Access all the info and documents here

Boatbay Launches First Boat Rental Marketplace in Asia Pacific and Middle East

Boatbay is a community driven website connecting boat and yacht owners, with people looking to rent, charter or crew watercraft of any kind. Boatbay's focus is on people who wish to rent a boat located within Asia Pacific or the Middle East, which are massive growth markets for travel, leisure and lifestyle.

The average boat owner uses their boat 15 days a year, while spending a fortune in storage and maintenance fees with no way to offset these costs. Boatbay lets an owner earn money out of his or her boat, while making quality lifestyle boating affordable to everyone.

Tim Gundry, co-founder of Boatbay is all too familiar with the costs of boating, "the expenses really add up. The advantage of using Boatbay is that you can offset these expenditures while still enjoying boat ownership".

Boatbay allows boat owners and boat charter companies to list their boat at no cost. All the boat owner has to do is to add some photos, a description, contact information and pricing. The owner can rent or charter their boat with themself as the captain; or select a captain of their choice or rent to someone with a boat license.

Boat renters can browse listings across their chosen destination, find a boat they like, select dates and book. Boatbay takes a small commission on consumed bookings and the owner gets the rest. Boat rental rates vary according to the size of the boat ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

"A wide variety of watercraft can be found on Boatbay" added Tim Gundry. "Boat renters can search and rent a luxury motor yacht in Sydney, a sports fishing boat in Dubai, a 1906 Danish built sailing yacht in Phuket or even a submarine in Bali".

"We are seeing an increasing amount of people taking to the water for a growing variety of reasons, such as hosting a corporate event or birthday party, fishing, water skiing, recreation and family holidays. Recreational boating is a $50 billion dollar industry and Boatbay enriches people's lifestyles by enabling fresh social experiences. A 24 foot boat that costs $35,000 to buy is available on Boatbay for rent as little as $150 a day".

Tim continues, "Boatbay not only improves industry efficiency, but enables transparency and reduces risk. We are building a peer-to-peer driven community which empowers people to write and post user reviews of boat owners, yacht charter companies, and those who rent or charter boats".

He concludes "Boatbay is the airbnb for boating, yachting and people who want to experience a social activity on the water".

For more information about Boatbay - visit www.boatbay.com or www.facebook.com/boatbay