After 7 days on the road it was time to do the laundry so we decided we would go on to Ballarat for a ‘housekeeping’ day. Last night at Colac was again very cold and I have to admit that the park owner gave us a private shower and toilet, as to use his phrase; "It might as well be used as the numbers have been so low, I asked was it the price of fuel?
Whilst it may have made some difference, he put it down to the fact that there was so little water in the lake, and the location of the park is alongside this absolutely awesome lake. I took the time to sit in the brisk morning to watch the birds on the lake.
Very distressing to see the sad state of this drought, certainly brought it home just how lucky we still are in the Shoalhaven.
Although our schedule is very tight it enables us to make many comparisons of tourism services from one part to another. Ballarat seems entirely dedicated to day trippers from Melbourne and that is yet another niche market in the domestic roads tourism industry. It constantly amazes me that the visitor centres are so hard to find in many of the places we stop.
Were we not so determined to visit them I would have said "bother this it’s too hard lets move on" But whilst having a dig at Vic roads, the local councils are to be congratulated for the way these centres are operating, we in NSW have a lot to learn from them.
We stopped at Sovereign Hill and asked the attendant whether there had been a drop in numbers. He reported that there was little change if any and every day was busy. I’m beginning to wonder whether part of the economies being made are shorter trips closer to home.
This is certainly what we are hearing from those at the parks we speak to. As an example one family parked alongside us tonight have decided to move home so that they no longer have to drive their children to school because of the extra cost.
This has implications for the tourism industry and although caravanning numbers might be down drastically, there seems a steadiness in the day trippers. What some people don’t seem to realise is the down stream effect on businesses that rely on roads tourism. It certainly has implications for regional and rural townships.
Ballarat is very impressive and the short tour we did indicated that it was business as usual for the town. I believe the make up of domestic tourism will alter as a result of the petrol crisis if it is allowed to persist.
When I think of businesses in small towns such as cafes, van parks, newsagencies, grocery shops and so on. What happens when they don’t have the money to spend on their .investments.
All I can say to those in major centres, you can help by taking a holiday in one of these towns. Even if you short time it by a day, it is important that these people continue to get your support.
And yes I did wash to van and do the laundry and make the tea and even did the ironing.
All I can say to those in major centres, you can help by taking a holiday in one of these towns. Even if you short time it by a day, it is important that these people continue to get your support.
And yes I did wash to van and do the laundry and make the tea and even did the ironing.
PHOTO top left: The Eureka Information Centre in Ballarat
PHOTO below: Talking tourism and caravans in Ballarat.
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