After the second world war Australia entered the age of the caravan. The era of the " Cheap " family holiday had arrived. Hitch the van to the car - pile in Mum and the kids - and go find a caravan park at a place with nice scenery and comfortable amenities.
Many people discovered a place to which they wanted to return - and so started the era of the " permanent van site ". They left the van there all year round, visited and had a holiday every long weekend - and paid a reasonable fee for reserving their " little bit of paradise ! "
Things are changing. Councils have discovered that there is more money in building and renting out holiday cabins and they are reducing the number of van sites - and now those permanent van sites are in their sights.
South coast van sites are steadily increasing in price. They jumped 23% in the 2007/08 year - and this year a site will increase in annual rent from $ 3700 to $ 4300.
Permanent van sites appear to be an endangered species. Not only do councils want to reduce the numbers in favour of cabins, but there is a school of thought that wants more spaces to be available for the visiting van public.
It is becoming more difficult to take a holiday towing a caravan because of a scarcity of overnight accommodation - and this is not good for the tourist industry.
The obvious answer would be the establishment of more caravan parks, but that simply creates a new problem of cost. Cheap land is a thing of the past and to recoup the cost a park owner has no option other than to raise rental prices.
Those with a permanent van site have to face reality. Like every other aspect of life a holiday is now a decision in the cost/benefit category. When the money asked exceeds the pleasure obtained - then that is the time to make the big decision.
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