Caravans (meaning trailers in Australian) and caravan parks are everywhere in Oz. Caravan culture is a whole thing, and something entirely new to my Canadian sensibilities.
Trailer Parks. Tornado Bait. Trailer Trash. Drunks on welfare raising families of six kids born from three different fathers (or mothers). Lots of stained white tank tops with beer bellies poking out and LOTS of scratching. There are any number of negative connotations associated with trailer parks (caravan parks) that we have grown up with.
This post was originally published in 2008. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.
So it stands to reason that we resisted opportunities to stay in caravan parks as long as we could on our World Nomads Ambassador trip. We didn’t want the van covered in toilet paper when we woke up in the morning and to be held hostage by the hungry caravan dwellers. Who knows what they might do. Maybe they’d assimilate us and we’d end up drinking and scratching against our conscious wills in no time.
But we needed power. And after searching high and low for decent accommodations for our trusty van in Nimbin, and upon the strong recommendation of a local shop-keeper who didn’t seem to be insane, we tried our luck at the local park. And now we seek them out whenever we can.
What do we really think of caravan parks and caravan culture in Australia? Find out by reading the rest of our story at the World Nomads Ambassador Journal!
That’s so funny, I never thought of those negative associations North Americans might have with our Aussie caravan parks! I’d never hesitate to stay in one in Australia. In fact most Aussies dream of buying a caravan when they retire and circumnavigating the country by caravan (me included! – although my parents took me on a trip like this as a child – fantastic). Definitely no trailer trash in our caravan parks 🙂