The increasing loss of free camps

[Cuppa]

Hi Macca,
To be fair, we shouldn't tar all rv'ers with the same brush ........ After all I am one!
There are folks who travel in RV's who do the right thing as well as those who don't.
There are the types who upon arrival in an almost empty 20 acre campground will come & set up just a few metres from our camp, as well as those like us who would find a spot as far away as possible.

There are places where digging & burning & watering trees worked well for decades, but are now subjected to such heavy use thanks to the boom in 'grey nomad'ing' & being 'advertised' in the likes of Camps Australia Wide & WikiCamps that the over use problem is a difficult one to deal with.
My view is that the solution should be a mixture of 'educating' people that 'traditional' practices in areas of very heavy usage are no longer sustainable, & lobbying for toilet & rubbish facilities to be provided, and to view 'over use' as evidence for the need for more camp spots, not for closures & restrictions to a few.

A striking example is the difference between the Stuart Highway & the Nullarbor. Both long remote lengths of bitumen. Drive across the Nullarbor & you will find plenty of places to pull off the highway for the night, all 'decorated' with the dunny streamers, people's piles & used nappies. As people have driven further & further off the highway to get away from others, & the mess, the mess has simply been extended. In contrast the Stuart Highway is relatively clean. The difference being that the Stuart is serviced. There are toilets & water tanks along the way. Crews in trucks go up & down the highway regularly to refill tanks & clean toilets. Yes maybe there could be more toilets & more crews, but in comparison to the Nullarbor where there are none the difference is quite noticeable.

There are unfortunately grubs from all walks of life. Having a self contained vehicle says nothing about the person who owns it. We arrived at the Big Horse Creek camp spot a bit off the highway at the Gregory National Park & were waiting patiently for a large Winnebago type motorhome who were packing up to vacate their spot so we could set up. They knew we were waiting, but we placed no pressure on them, instead we went for a walk along the river & enjoyed seeing an eagle catching a fish. They were just pulling out as we got back to our bus. The stench was overpowering, they had dumped the entire contents of their grey water tank just before leaving, days worth, gallons & gallons of it right where they had camped & knew we were going to camp. They waved as they drove off, the last dregs still dripping from their waste pipe.
I didn't notice, but it's quite possible they had a LNT scheme sticker in their window. There are plenty of folks who say one thing yet do another. These folks should be made to stay in'policed' self contained/LNT camps, but not at the expense of folks who do the right thing.

We don't have an onboard shower in our bus, & generate very little grey water as we are always in 'water conservation mode'. What some folks would use in 2 or 3 days lasts us for two weeks. If we fill a 9 litre bucket during an overnight stay we have been very extravagant. Like you we water a tree, (& use low phosphate washing up liquid). If we are in a heavily used area, this usually involves a long walk with the bucket to ensure we don't contribute to making a a boggy mess for the next person, & that the flora in the immediate vicinity isn't over watered. We do have a portapotti, but frequently use dig & burn where appropriate.
Our Patrol has similar water capacity, but no portapotti. Instead we have a dunny seat on a frame & a supply of compostable bags suitable for disposal in septic systems & long drops (or burying of course). One of Andy's tyre bags provides somewhere for short term storage.

Cuppa