Camp Hosting

Tempus Fugit!

We started talking about doing the lap in November 2018 and now it's March 2019 with a departure date loosely Dec 2019.
We have the trailer sorted but not much else as yet.
To prepare for the venture we have done a couple of weekend shakedowns to identify what we will need and not need.
At a recent stay we were told about being 'camphosts'. In W.A. we apply to DPAW and after a short induction we get a shirt and cap and then we can set up in various national parks and act as hosts for a month or more for no cost.

Has anybody acted as a camphost?
How was your experience?
Can we do this in other states in Australia?

The WA Camp Host scene can be pretty competitive sama sama over East and up North is seasonal.

- Get in early to make sure you have done the training as some courses (like fire) are only run once a year
- The more experienced hosts get the better/more popular locations so be prepared to have to do some of the shitty locations first up.
- A lot of hosting for these locations will be booked out a year or two ahead.
- Some of the hosts will take the role for an entire season.
- Most host rosters will want you there for at least a couple of weeks to a month min.
- There are more camp host roles run by shires/town councils and organisations than the D.B.C.A. (or interstate equivalents) EG Cleaverville, 40 Mile, Ashburton in the Pilbara or Masons, Starvation etc in the Great Southern.
- Interstate Orgs that run free stays in return for services are ones like the Museum Mob at Alice and a Railway Museum Mob in FNQ

The missus and I were all set to do some hosting until her sudden passing a few years back

We get a blurb from WA parks and the Grey Nomad forum that has either Vacancies or applications for camp hosts , NT also has a shortage I'm told .

This is an example of one advert from the current Nomad forum classifieds .

16TH JANUARY 2019
Birdwood Downs Station, Derby, The Kimberley, is looking for a single person or a couple primarily to help to run the tourism operation. We provide room and board for on average 4 hours work per day. Period: May to September 2019 or part thereof.

Most require you to be in one spot for a few months or more though so if you only have a year you'd mis a lot .

Lots of useful info provided already and I thank you for that.
Time is no longer an issue apparently so taking up a hosting for 2-4 weeks at a time won't be an issue.
We have also applied to the Broome Bird Observatory to host there for a month.
Good info about completing the induction sooner rather than later ET and so I have sent an EOI today.
The fire training is in November.

I do keep responding to your posts ..... I reckon it's great to have travel focused conversations here - it what we have Patrols for!

We have friends who have done hosting in WA for years. They regularly send me info on vacancies.

Eg. I got this passed on to me about two weeks ago.

Subject: Millstream host vacancies 2019

Dear all,

Vacancies have arisen for Stargazers campsite in Millstream Chichester National Park in May, July, August and September this year - https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/stargazers-campground

If you are able to assist at any of these times, please contact Senior Ranger Kate Kate.McNicol@dbca.wa.gov.au or 08 9184 5144


Thanks!

Lee Hollingsworth
Volunteer Program Coordinator

Volunteer and Community Involvement Unit | Parks and Wildlife Service
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983

T: 9219 8582 M: 0477 301 646
Email: Lee.Hollingsworth@dbca.wa.gov.au

It's not a bad spot to spend a month IMO.

A comment though ..... at this point I don't have a sense of how long you think you'll be away, not sure if you do either? When we took off first time around we had 18 months, for us who had never managed a holiday of more than 3 weeks, this seemed like 'forever', I recall wondering how on earth we'd fill so much time & we entertained ideas of stopping in places for a month (or even months) at a time, of seeking work, camp hosting etc. The reality is that (as you have already discovered - Tempus fugit - Time flies!). I dont think we stayed in many places for more than 10 days, & mostly a max of 3 or 4. (Excluding 2 months stranded in Katherine, & another 2 months on the Dampier peninsula in several locations). It was great, but it did pass very quickly, & to be honest we never felt like we had time to commit to things like camp hosting, let alone looking for jobs. We turned down an offer to take on the management of the kiosk at Ormiston Gorge because they wanted us there for 3 months. You may be different & you may also have a timeframe of years rather than months in your heads - if so ignore me. However if you have 12/24 months (say) my suggestion would be to first get some time on the road under your belt before looking to make commitments. After you've been on the road awhile you'll know if you want to invest in some 'stopping time'.

Something that has come to us as a bit of a revelation recently is the interplay between fixed travel timeframes & commitments. I think I might write a bit more on that in my blog, but basically during our 18 month trip we had 2 commitments to be somewhere, about 12 months apart. Both things we wanted to do but the impact that these two 'fixtures' made to our planning was really quite profound, it felt like everything had to revolve around those dates & we often found ourselves resenting this a little. However, now travelling with no end date making a commitment to be somewhere no longer feels like an imposition at all, but brings a pleasant feeling sense of structure into our lives. We committed to the dates for our current wet season caretaking gig & are now actively seeking similar commitment for next wet season on Queensland's Tablelands or thereabouts (prior to exploring the Cape). Having a beginning & an end in mind makes so much difference to the perception of stuff in the middle compared to when there is no sense of 'end'.

I have no doubt that the time will come where our travel plans are dictated by the availability & our preparedness to 'be somewhere' for a camp hosting gig, volunteering or similar roles. But whilst we still have a list of places we want to discover those sorts of things will have to fit in with us, rather than us fit our plans around them. It will be different once we have been where we want to go, & the goal is to just 'kick back & let the road take us to wherever it leads.

No right or wrong way to travel, just sharing my thoughts in the hope they might prove of use in clarifying yours.

EDIT: I see from your subsequent post I may have spoken out of place. Whatever you choose to do will be new & interesting, & I may even feel a tad envious. Number one goal for me however was to achieve a sense of timelessness, recapturing something I experienced as a teenager hitchhiking around Europe with no time frame, just until 'the money ran out'. :)

@Cuppa thanks again for the reply.
We have been working our way through your blog with interest and your comments are worth their weight in gold.
The lap is not due to begin until the end of the year and so a few camp hostings would be a great way to get into the life, so to speak.
Our only commitment is a daughters wedding to attend in July 2020 in Victoria and nothing else. As for the time available, we will both be retired so I guess it will depend on how well we take to the lifestyle. That gives us the freedom to stop and grow roots for a while or just keep moving.
I take your point about commiting as you have to do that in advance of being there and it may not be what was anticipated. That will take some gloss off the stay.

Ah, so you're thinking of camp hosting before you head off?

That sounds like a wonderful idea if you can manage it!

Some places will be full on & busy busy eg. Karijini - but our friends loved it there - 6 years running for several months each time- got to see lots that most dont see, did a fair bit more than just the camp hosting)

Stargazers at Millstream may still have vacancies - if interested enquire asap even if you haven't yet completed the course - I've heard if they need folk such things can & are on occasions waived, with an OH&S & basic intro by rangers when you arrive. Probably more my kind of camp hosting. Small campground, pretty laid back. The hosts when we visited were new to hosting & enjoying it, including regular opportunities to go out & do stuff with rangers if they wanted to.

Kennedy Ranges would also be a pretty laid back hosting too I reckon, although a bit busier than Stargazers.

I'm guessing those closer to Perth may be both busier, & in more demand. Further away are easier to get, especially if prepared to take up an offer at relatively short notice, there are always a few where hosts can't make it for whatever reason. Once on their mailing list (as I am in a defacto way - friends forwarding the emails on to me) hosting positions come up regularly throughout the year.

Any will get you together with a wide range of 'on the road' folk & that can only be a valuable experience.