{"id":64105,"date":"2025-05-20T03:18:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/?p=64105"},"modified":"2025-05-20T03:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:48:25","slug":"podcast-ghost-camping-crackdown-and-a-camping-fee-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/podcast-ghost-camping-crackdown-and-a-camping-fee-overhaul\/","title":{"rendered":"Ep161- Ghost Camping Crackdown and a Camping Fee Overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listen to the full episode here:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-video-popup-wrapper\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-video-popup-close\"><\/div>\n\t\t<iframe class=\"wp-video-popup-video is-hosted is-landscape is-resizable\" src=\"\" data-wp-video-popup-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/24FeM2YIdjk?autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\">\n\t\t<\/iframe>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-17173373\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t <script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1259564\/17173373.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-17173373&amp;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>No-shows, know-hows, and new fees: the camping reservation revolution&#8230;<\/strong><br><p class=\"whitespace-normal\"><\/p><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In an episode as haunting as it is helpful, Ben and Lauren unpack the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service&#8217;s proposed camping fee reforms, from new facility-based pricing tiers to the crackdown on &#8216;ghost camping&#8217; \u2013 the frustrating practice of booking sites that go unused. Our outdoor experts examine the results of the 2022 survey that sparked these changes, debate the effectiveness of various booking systems, and share their own approaches to responsible reservation practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Ben&#8217;s unwritten campers&#8217; code to comparing cancellation policies across Australia, tune in for an honest conversation about balancing access, affordability, and accountability in our cherished natural spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Body-Image-19.jpg\" alt=\"A grey camp chair and a hot pink camp chair at a campsite, with a blue tent erect behind.\" class=\"wp-image-64109\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" title=\"Tune in for an honest conversation about balancing access, affordability, and accountability in our cherished natural spaces\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Body-Image-19.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Body-Image-19-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Body-Image-19-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Body-Image-19-10x7.jpg 10w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Tune in for an honest conversation about balancing access, affordability, and accountability in our cherished natural spaces.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shortcuts:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>00:00 &#8211; Intro<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>01:17 &#8211; Camping Fees Reformed: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>04:53 &#8211; Hipcamp<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>06:33 &#8211; Booking Systems<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>09:21 &#8211; 2022 Survey Topics of Note<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10:41 &#8211; Fees and Charges<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>12:07 &#8211; The Proposal: Facility-Based Fees<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>14:40 &#8211; Unpacking the 6 Tiers: Inclusions and Party Numbers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>17:34 &#8211; Cancellations <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>18:42 &#8211; Ghost Camping Crackdown<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>24:40 &#8211; Lauren&#8217;s Approach to Ghost Camping<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>29:05 &#8211; Last Minute Changes and Cancellations<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>30:50 &#8211; An Unsaid Campers&#8217; Code!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>35:25 &#8211; Addressing Ghost Camping as the Primary Issue<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>39:10 &#8211; Cancellation Policies in VIC, QLD, SA, and WA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>41:13 &#8211; Speculative Bookings<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>43:33 &#8211; Lauren&#8217;s Key to Preventing Ghost Camping <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>45:25 &#8211; Feedback Due on May 25<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>46:10 &#8211; Summary<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mentioned in this Episode:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hipcamp.com\/en-US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hipcamp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-2dafbca1-db34-4016-9207-f026b83fc830\">Thanks for listening, tune in again for next week&#8217;s episode!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-3fc1e5f8-10be-4b09-998a-70c6506a24fc\">Thanks for tuning in to this week\u2019s episode of the Snowys Camping Show Podcast. Don\u2019t forget to subscribe to us on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCgpO6k-UyaYgwyLg0ESceCg\">YouTube<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0wy9b822eekXe00bAIqPbX\">Spotify<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/au\/podcast\/snowys-camping-show\/id1527530990\">iTunes<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/db56692e-96e7-418d-929d-88c5fde70b1a\/Snowys-Camping-Show\">Amazon Music<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/269-snowys-camping-show-79675943\/\">iHeartRadio<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pca.st\/z1mx2k64\">Pocket Casts<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcastaddict.com\/podcast\/3281467\">Podcast Addict<\/a>, or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/s?fid=618483\">Stitcher<\/a>&nbsp;so you never miss an upload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-087cbd57-77e9-4533-b8fc-12f45f86e371\">If you have any questions for Ben and Lauren, make sure you head over to our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/snowys\/\">Facebook group<\/a>&nbsp;and let us know as we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-78e4097f-2fbd-446d-a99b-9a3d09f52d17\">Catch you out there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<div class='watch-action'><div class='watch-position align-left'><div class='action-like'><a class='lbg-style1 like-64105 jlk' href='javascript:void(0)' data-task='like' data-post_id='64105' data-nonce='a35a9e6521' rel='nofollow'><img class='wti-pixel' src='https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wti-like-post\/images\/pixel.gif' title='Liked it' \/><span class='lc-64105 lc'>0<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div> <div class='status-64105 status align-left'><\/div><\/div><div class='wti-clear'><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No-shows, know-hows, and new fees: the camping reservation revolution! In an episode as haunting as it is helpful, Ben and Lauren unpack the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service&#8217;s proposed camping fee reforms, from new facility-based pricing tiers to the crackdown on &#8216;ghost camping&#8217; \u2013 the frustrating practice of booking sites that go unused. Our outdoor experts examine the results of the 2022 survey that sparked these changes, debate the effectiveness of various booking systems, and share their own approaches to responsible reservation practices. From Ben&#8217;s unwritten campers&#8217; code to comparing cancellation policies across Australia, tune in for an honest conversation about balancing access, affordability, and accountability in our cherished natural spaces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1638,"featured_media":64110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1569,1571,854],"tags":[196,2118,2120,2119,2117,2122],"class_list":["post-64105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast-camping","category-podcast-hiking","category-podcast","tag-camping","tag-camping-fees","tag-campsite-booking-cancellations","tag-campsite-bookings","tag-ghost-camping","tag-hipcamp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64105"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64115,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64105\/revisions\/64115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.snowys.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}