Increase In Illegal Camping At Gnaraloo
From Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation:
Sadly for the wildlife and heritage values of Gnaraloo, there has been increasing instances of illegal camping and 4WD activities within the dunes and beaches here. This is despite there being adequate camping facilities available at the nearby business of 3 Mile Camp and at the Gnaraloo Homestead area.
Illegal campers are bypassing these facilities as there seems to be a mindset and perception that 'free camping' is now possible due to the Gnaraloo coast no longer being managed by the adjoining pastoralist. Tenure and management of the Gnaraloo coastline changed hands to the State Government in July 2015.
A ‘mini camp city’ that was set up by illegal campers during May 2022 on the southern Gnaraloo coastline (at the 'Heart Attacks' location between 3 Mile Camp and the Gnaraloo Homestead tourism accommodation area). The campers set up in fragile, but precious desert country, for a large party and gathering of people. This incident saw about 30 cars with 60 to 80 people illegally camped at the area for 2 nights. There is no cooking, toilet, waste or other infrastructure or management facilities where the illegal campers stayed.
The location of the illegal beach gatherings and the opportunity to camp there are being shared and promoted on social media. This lack of respect shown by illegal campers on the Ningaloo coast at Gnaraloo and the flouting by some of the applicable rules within a World Heritage Listed reserve puts pressure on the fragile location and results in damage to environmental, national, and world heritage values.
If the poor examples being set by illegal campers and some 4WD tourists are not addressed on-the-spot through the timely presence of Government rangers who issue fines to them, and it spreads to others who do the same, the situation could quickly become unmanageable where visitors and vehicles to the Gnaraloo coast can no longer be controlled or responsibly managed to protect the environment.
Other instances of new damage from 4WD vehicles at very important Loggerhead sea turtle beach nesting areas further to the north (at Gnaraloo Bay) during July 2021. There was no vehicle access or traffic here at all prior to 2015. The Gnaraloo beaches and dunes were previously maintained and strictly managed as completely vehicle-free for almost four decades. Illegal camping and 4WD activities now impact the entire Gnaraloo coastline .
These activities destroy the paleontological fossils, Aboriginal history and culture buried in Gnaraloo’s dunes, it damages nesting habitat of endangered species, it interrupts the natural activities of shore birds and multiple crab and other species, and it changes critically needed habitat in this spectacular wild area which sustains life.
Are the measures being put by Government into management of the Gnaraloo world heritage listing sufficient to protect this area? Illegal campers need to be picked up more frequently, fined-on-the-spot and moved on before they continue to unwittingly destroy and diminish what is sacred and spiritual ground for many. The rules apply equally and fairly to all, or so it should be, for the sake of wild Gnaraloo, its turtles and all of us, including our children, so that they may enjoy what we were otherwise allowed to destroy.
Stop the illegal activities to protect the unique Gnaraloo coastline!
As the only charity focused on the protection of the Loggerhead turtles, we call on you to help them by doing the right thing on the Gnaraloo coast and staying in designated accommodation areas and on permissible tracks (click on the video below). We also encourage stronger management action to curtail the damaging activities.
Comments
Dickheads.
A growing problem in South Australia too
Amend the State, National Parks & Councils' policies to be focused on
"ab'user pays" system for rehabilitation of the beautiful land of Oz.
eg. It took 30 years of volunteer efforts to rebuild sandmined east coast sand dunes back to littoral forest, that has withstood the last 3 years of storms or ...
a minimum of 1440hrs/person/km
Everyone spent money during COVID on camping rigs and all these amazing wild zones are getting loved to death. I've heard NW has been nearly unbearable the past couple of seasons. Wonder if OS travel will assist with that this year?
Not sure 'loved to death' is the right phrase but I get where you're coming from Soli. These people that mistreat our beautiful coastlines have no love for the environment, all they are doing is chasing likes on IG. IG is the root of all evil, I wish it never existed...along with all other Social Media, it is simply fucking society up the arse.
I hear you mate. Couldn't agree more. Motives are so different these days. I don't know why you wouldn't want to just pack your tent, rod, board and keep it on the quiet. People don't want do anything unless people know they are doing it.
Bang on mate. Social media is breeding a generation of entitled, narcisitic pricks who don't give a fuck about anyone else but themselves...oh and maybe their mates who are on the same crusade to 'stardom'. Sad state of affairs.
#vanlife
#vainlife
quokka I should probably be on an episode of Grumpy Old Men but I'll relate a personal issue I have with Instagram and how it's destroying pristine areas of our country like what is happening at Gnaraloo, etc, etc.
We have spent the last 20 years frequenting a particularly pristine and breath taking part of the Tasmanian east coast whenever we could. Our kids grew up holidaying there and we were so in awe of the place when we finally had enough coin we bought a small shack there in early 2019. The first Christmas we spent down there and on a particularly hot day, we decided to go to one of our favourite beaches for a swim which was normally very quiet. The overflowing carpark was the first ominous sign, and once on the beach, I sat there and watched this swarm of g-string clad, fake tan young Instagrammers and their boyfriends spending most of their time posing for the camera. One even had the audacity to let a fucking drone go up. Add to this the explosion of luxury German vehicles driving around the local town with rich old fuckers behind the wheel, we finally decided that times had changed and sold the shack 18 months ago. I think about this every day and how these entitled fuckwits the world over are destroying the reason we go to places like Gnaraloo.
Anyway back to this article and the end result in this instance I reckon will be that the simplest solution for a government department will be to just close the whole area down. Problem solved. Unfortunate for those who appreciate it the most though.
You and me both mate. I can relate, similar experience at a place east of Esperance. Due to IG the place is now overrun with loggers, vloggers, with all of them being floggers. Us dinosaurs will simply be left behind to grumble into our beers.
Add to this the explosion of luxury German vehicles driving around the local town with rich old fuckers behind the wheel, we finally decided that times had changed and sold the shack 18 months ago.
Exactly why we sold in Dunsborough WA... Explosion of non surfing twats.
Yes. Why is it socially acceptable to have your instagram account printed on your 4x4?
COVID has fucked the NW. OS and fuckwit Ozzie travellers have no care for the area. We had hoped the borders opening would have resolved this situation to a degree but it hasn't. The SW is no different with travellers camping in 4WD track carparks, leaving rubbish and literally shitting everywhere. The human species is so far from being the clever species, we are simply the selfish species. WA Govt needs to crack down on this now. Alternatively we all need to call it out on the Soical Media posts promoting this as a good idea.
I was there for the first time in April. Stunning spot that needs to be preserved. Hope the farkheads pull their heads in and do the right thing.
Giving Exmouth one more go this winter. If it's anything like last few years it will be the last for a while.
Mate if it's anything to go by chatting to people from round here in Perth then it will be as chokkas as the past two years. Not sure what will move the needle back to OS travel but hopefully it happens soon, or maybe it's fucked for good because the genie is out of the bottle.
It’s cooked.
I often find these articles somewhat hypocritical.
Don't get me wrong, I can't stand 4WD clowns and don't condone this idiocy.
But, surfing glorifies the intrepid, off the beaten path travel, where shoe string budgets are stretched and off road is seen as more exciting.
I mean, screw these guys and girls and that camp - yuck, but you just can't win these days. Humans just destroy everything we touch.
I don't see how it's hypocritical, it is simply calling out the poor behaviour. I was up there in May with a mate and stayed at The Bluff and apart from a bunch of so called A listers choking up the camp and ruining the tranquility every night due to a wedding, there was still room for more people to camp. Gnaraloo was pretty chokkas but there were still vacant sites, therefore there is no excuse not to camp in the designated camp grounds other than being a cunt and wanting glory on Social Media.
Obama, Beyoncé and Queen Elizabeth were at the Bluff?
Surely they’d be up the North end dog camps with those corgis?
Said A listers are a major part of the problem, promoting their antics on social media. They had fuckall respect for the paying guests up there, just as long as they could post about their partying. Not a hard thing to join the dots about who I'm talking about.
Do a Les Patterson on them
Yes - agree we all want our share of waves and that contributes to the pressure on the area but there is such a thing as responsible usage and following simple rules especially in world heritage areas.
I think its more about human impatience and this sense of entitlement that comes with nature. I want it now and I will get it now - not having to wait until you get your spot at a designated campsite. Its this terrible mindset that we "own" nature and have some God given right to it....oh, wait....read the opening passages of the "good book" and we DO have a God given right to it....now THERE is a can of worms that is probably more fitting to a theology forum not this humble bunch of surf rats that gathers here....
This is such an important point. Contrast this to the attitude to nature for all religions before the good book, everywhere in the world - much more in balance.
Yeah, it’s all money and ego tripping. I seriously doubt whether a lot of these kooks would even know the first thing about feeling nature. For them it’s what can they GET out of it. It’s what they get that matters - but this getting is all in their head because they are fundamentally disconnected to nature. They are grateful for nothing- they just swoon from place to place with their deluded sense of entitlement and big cars. Pretty sick stuff. It won’t be long and it will be a Brazilian podium where one grumbles and smashes boards in anger and then in the next gesture waves kisses at God!! But whose god ? I guess they would say their own as it is ownership and exclusivity that is the nature of this unholy beast!! Watch out they’ll be wanting to own us before long. Why not?, it’s been done before!!
Nope. Crew have been camping in the area for decades without fucking it up like that.
Hopefully it can be reigned in before it ends up like the Noosa to DI beach. That stretch is disgraceful, and in a supposedly world heritage area.
fuck had no idea it was heritage listed. a literal shit show
Phil Ogden used to have discrete little signs around the Bluff, mostly in the shittas, which said “Please have an ACT . It’s important.”
Crew understood the concept of personal responsibility to the area. Those days are gone.
Sadly for my kids, I think they are.
Wait till the digital nomads migrate from Canggu when the Telstra tower gets upgraded. You ain’t seen nothing yet when it comes to cock heads.
You know what that means….
Are you suggesting they will migrate down here to Oz and the NW...holy shit no...that's close to Armageddon. Gonna become like Mad Max.
Only a matter of time.
Christ almighty we're fucked!
Spoiler: He’s not ready to move to Ulu yet because there’s not enough businesses. But they’re getting a CrossFit at Bingin soon so he’ll reconsider in the near future. He said it’s a great place to embetter yourself. He really, really says that.
This is the future of the North West. They are coming with the Wifi speed increase.
I watched a minute of that and two things sprang to mind- he ain't gonna be pretty forever and second- please oh please can that rock give way.
Ffs.
Haha, that thought crossed my mind as well....oh well they live another day to ‘ nourish’ their bodies! FFS.
I got to 43 seconds. Fuck me
Everyone needs to embetter!
Hahahahaha locals from Italy and France....WTactualF. Please no.
Am I the only one who was fantasising about shoving both of them off that cliff.?
Yep, that's about as bad as it gets.
I'm not religious at all but God help us. What a couple of vapid and self-obsessed flogs. I just about choked when I saw the "locals" they stayed with.
Actually "vapid, self-obsessed flogs" is spot on! I was so enraged I couldn't think straight, settled for "fckn fckwits".
I can't believe what I just saw! All 14 minutes of it. What a pair of narcissistic fckn fckwits. Wish I could think of something stronger to say but there aren't the words in English or probably any other language to describe these fckwits. All they're into is eating (and promoting) food to feed their fckn nauseating faces, and looking good in resorts and cafes. Oh.. and looking good on the beach, and sharing with the world how good they look at subject resort/cafe/beach. Granted, actually having to walk down (and up!! the horror!!!) a cliff track to get on the sand was pretty tough - at the limit of their tolerance for adventure. All good though, a couple of beach chairs or whatever the fck they're called to soak up the rays at $US70 p.d EACH helped them over it. I still can't believe it. It's gonna take a while to get these two out of my memory. Sorry about the negativity and language but it's done my head in.
Can't believe you watched it right through. I did a minute and felt like shit.
I treated it as a learning experience.. the only way!
Stu, you should get in touch with them and take them to G-land with you. They'd appreciate a local like you showing them the ropes.
People like that would be funny if the shit they cause wasn't so tragic.
That was superb.
Need more of this bloke in the world, I reckon I'd enjoy a beer with him
I've got one...CUNTS
WTF are the digital businesses these people are doing- I was also just hoping for that section of cliff to fall away.
Surely he gets told to fuck off a number of times a day and if you carry on like that you i'm would be surprised if he hasn't been punched in the head a number of times.
i don't get it
oh my god...cant believe these wankers...also anyone else get the shits he owns property in Bali and lives there but cant pronounce canggu properly? its chah-nggu not chang goo...gave me the shits every time.
I hear the Bukit is the new Bondi but didnt realise it was this bad.
I got to 5 minutes and there was so much to digest even by that point.
The human race really is on infinite divergent paths hurtling into oblivion.
Wonder what he’ll think when he watches that back in 40 years?
Kinda looks like he’s 20 push-ups a day down the footy oval fit
Got 1:07 in and found it very difficult to continue.
It's John B. Calhoun's mouse utopia experiment, writ large. Enormously large.
He is one of the beautiful ones.
“ When the population started declining the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors, including having sex or caring for their young.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-mouse-utopias-1960s-led-gr...
:) you get it Andy
Is being a 'dogparent' replacing caring for one's young?
What a fuckwit.
What a fuckwit
How much does it cost to stay in the designated areas?
For example- just prior to me leaving Oz, a place that my bro and I used to camp and fish was very reasonable ($8.00 for the site per night). Qld. parks and wildlife built a long drop dunny and fenced off the area and the price was jacked up to force you into buying a 'yearly' pass per vehicle at over $100 with no daily option available and by memory, I think it went to an additional $15 per night per adult. So, a couple of days fishing went from being less than $20 to $160.00 +. Consequently, we stopped going straight after.
I'm wondering, are the illegal campers saving a few quid, or is the price of camping up the NW pretty pricey?
Nope. Bluff is $20 a night per adult, and that's with long drops and rubbish removal. They are just cunts, that's all there is to it.
Fair enough. No excuses then.
Gnaraloo (one mile) is now $50 for 2 adults on shoulder and at peak $70 2 adults / night. I reckon that's getting way too steep. No excuse for the flogs doing the wrong thing but is getting up there. They have showers though, which is a big plus for some.
If anyone is reading this thread and thinking of going north, don’t. The flies are horrendous and there are no beachside massage or hair braiding options
Fuck yes the flies at the Bluff were ravenous
Brutal at Gnaraloo when I was there. In every orifice and crawling on your eyeballs.
Eeeeww!!!!
There wouldn't be any flies in the gym would there?
I don't know about Gnaraloo and Bluff but carnarvon and kalbarri have had a shit load of mice over the last year.
Practice minimal impact camping and travel. Otherwise get the fuck out. Call out poor practice. Conserve and observe what you came to enjoy. Easy. Every surfer coastal user has a responsibility to care and protect. It must be either encouraged or inforced. No excuses.
https://bigbluecollective.com/blog/what-is-minimum-impact-eco-tourism/
https://bushwalkingmanual.org.au/environment/minimal-impact-bushwalking/
Don't be the crew with all the gear and no idea. It starts and ends with us. We are all responsible. From local to afar. Happy travels.
It really sucks that people wont look after the place. But from experience on the east coast and Australia in general it sucks more that we complain until new rules come in that restrict more of what we like to do. Same pattern seems to follow every time. Find a nice place, people come in, disrespect it and ruin it, everyone complains, rules are brought in, restricts what we can do and where we can go, limits spots, prices go up, can't go there anymore. The two biggest problems in that chain are the disrespect and the complaining. This place is on the way to being Noosa, it's just at the start of the line. Enjoy it while you can and the memories you have already made, soon you wont be allowed to, or be able to afford it.
Spot on.
struth.!!...I suspect the problem isn't the state gov't so much as a) inc'd covid traffic (exmouth is becoming like byron) and b) the unstoppable march of humanity across the planet
let's face it we're fukt it
My in-laws did the lap and said free camps up north were full by 830am with no option other than camp road side. 6 months of home schooling has opened the eyes of those who are happy to have strangers sleep in their beds and Air B&B their homes. Guess the positive is there is gonna be a glutt of cheap caravans in the next couple of years.
I guess an alternative option is to keep driving rather than camping where you’re not meant to camp
How far is to far to drive in the Australian outback while looking for somewhere to stay when your 70 ? At least they know not to leave their shit behind like the #taggers.
Yep, tricky situation. Safety must come first sometimes. Your in-laws sound more considerate than a lot of the Instagram flogs
Covid taught that if a small minority wants to do whatever they want, they can, and social media can amplify and celebrate this. Witnessed the local young crew go nuts on 4x4 rigs (our lot sticking to the right areas for it) and have a lot of fun while everything else got banned.
I was trained up for remote work with 4x4 courses. They stressed treading lightly on tracks. I was sent remote for a long time, and practised this throughout my working life - and saw some incredible stuff that is off limits to Joe Influencer. Also saw a generation of midwest grommets kind of disappear and fox racing took over at southgates. Nearly had a sandboarding child run over by a troopy cresting a dune at speed at Lanno...
But I still love 4x4s, for they allow access to remarkable places. With great power comes great responsibility. Or bitches, or something.
RIP to the NW.
PS Re: idiots' bad behaviour inadvertently bringing in rules: try beach driving on this coast in Vic - no siree!
This is depressing. I am going to miss the annual trek north for a few weeks to escape the depths of winter.
Have to agree with idiots not only ruining the environment but ruining it for everyone else when the inevitable new restrictions are introduced. It's so common these days all over this country , coast and bush.
It's one of those things that really grinds my gears.
And there's so many 'vloggers' and 'influencers' who don't surf , fish, dive or really do anything but talk shit on instagam , youtube and farcebook that are exposing out of the way or lesser known places to the masses.
#gofuckyourselves
The hashtag would get my like shooter
Do your bit to preserve what makes these areas special. Encourage a lighter footprint. Some of these areas have been shut down to poor practices in the past. Don't take the b line. Conserve and respect.
Give something back. Grab some litter. Add some rocks so paths and roads are higlighted in sensitive areas. Keep your scene clean and low profile. Bring your wood in. Leave it as you found it so you can continue to enjoy it. Respect the place not just from a surfing perspective. Allot of these areas are highly significant culturally and environmentally.
Your experience will be so much more rewarding doing so. Most local crew keep an eye out because they love their home grounds as most do. Loosing spots or giving surfing a bad name is in no ones interest.
Many hours are often spent by groups trying to restore areas that only take a few minutes to trash. Do be those crew. Seeing somewhere restore its self or maintain it's beauty is a great thing and makes it all the more special when you return to those treasured grounds.
Environmental spaces are rapidly still shrinking. Don't accelerate it. Protect what you love. Australia and the world will be better off for it. Dont be lazy It's easy and makes for a more enjoyable experience for all in and out of the water. Basic respect. Wether it's a one off trip or a regular location.
Make no excuses for what is in some instances environmental vandalism. If you don't get it. Don't visit or be surprised if you get called out. Fined or reprimanded in some areas for overall lack of respect. The more people that do and help contribute to the right thing the less of an issue it is will be. Encourage healthier attitudes and outcomes. Environmentally.
What a nightmare.
The desert, meets the sea, meets humanity. Yuk.
Another classic surf zone lost.
Don't agree with a ban on 'illegal camping', next you won't be able to camp by a creek in the bush. So long as the area is respected there should be no such thing as 'illegal camping'. BTW the Vic Gov has recently made it legal to camp on private property which has a water source - what difference does it make if it's near the coast?
Yeah i agree with that. Keep it lowkey, don't stay more than a night or two, don't set your shit up everywhere, bury your turds deep and out of sight, and for fucks sake, don't go advertising your new discovery on social media with a map.
humans
Some are ok
Bury your turds away from areas frequently used. Not hard at all to walk an extra 100-200m. Don't be afraid of the dark or the bush. Filth will make unsanitary conditions that spread to your food stuffs. Let alone stepping in it. I reckon locals have a right to throw it back at you if you can't be bothered, same goes for dog shit, fish remains and litter. Have a tidy act. So easy. surf keen, surf clean.
Enter the Cramiverse"....
Wanker
What is the cramiverse. Campbell. I'm not following what's your point.
Enter the Cramiverse I'd a surf video that was on here a while ago showcasing the north west, south west and south oz , surf and a lot of spots that haven't been shown before , running all over the bush and generally making out like he is the only one there "starring " a rich pro surfers kid from Sydney .
Not sure what your problem with me is Rob but, I'm not hiding so go fuck yourself .
I dont have facebook or instsgram either , so I,m exposing less shit that you too at that rate
Total Misunderstanding on my part.see further below. I will leave you too it. Good to see some passion. It is what it is.
Sour cunt. What do you add fuck all. What a waste you can't add anything positive to a growing problem. See you when I do but you most likely will stay comfortably anonymous. I wouldnt expect anything less. If you want me you can find me. Just ask Easy. No doubt you tow four foot beachies and claim everything for your boot lickers. Fuck you and all that you stand for. Your a weak cunt. I'm calling you out. I don't care how good you surf or who you hang with. Put that on your instagram and Facebook. I'd be proud of it.
"Cramiverse" must be that snivelling east coast cunt that freeloaded the whole west coast for a year, NC bellend
Rob, there could be a misunderstanding, campbell i think is referring to a certain snivelling east coast cunt that freeloaded the whole west coast for a year at least, made many friends with the locals....., son of a former pro surfer, NC bellend
cheers seaslug.
There should be a total blackout on content from the NW and other similar coasts. If you’re a wannabe pro or a content producer for a surf company, give it a rest. We’ve seen enough. It’s not original and you’re not hardcore
In that case I apologise. I and many others are all about the preserving and trying to maintain whats left of the environment. If I was being a wanker it's unintended. I'm just supporting a cause that is dear to us all and fast diminishing because a few over step. I don't condone or encourage violence but am happy to make a point. Plenty of crew do the right thing. Happy travels wherever they may be. Stand up for the environments you enjoy. They are worth loving and a protecting. Once they are gone they are gone. Greenie or not take a fucking stand. Our kids, your kids will benefit from this approach surfing or not. Engage in a healthy way with you environment. It can't survive if you do not understand how and why it works. It's a beautiful thing for free.
Greedy station owners squeezing in more campers for more dollars is the true problem. During peak season 350 plus campers at Gnarloo at 25 plus dollars a head. That is over 61 grand a week and not one cent put towards conservation. Rictcho does not give a fuck about the land . Gnarloo is a failed sheep station that has let the goats breed and run wild turning the place into a barren wasteland. The goats are better at destroying the land than surfers so if you want to complain tackle the real problem
Interesting, sounds like some Brumbies parallels there.
Yep, goats and hard hooved animals. Devastating for much of Australia, which has very little natural fertility under the remnant vegetation (fire/eucalypts leaching being a cause).
There's a reason Australia's megafauna were soft-footed.
Rob, I hear you brother
Why add to it further when you can tackle both. Those goats need a cull. Plenty of people who could do it. Property management. Eradicate ferals and weeds where possible. Government grant perhaps. Nature foundation etc. private hunters. Hunting organisation groups. Regional shooters club.
. Don't run it further into the ground. Humans follow humans. Monkey see monkey do. No excuse that photo looks pretty dumb and ignorant . Use some common sense. The land maybe marginal but that's what also contributes to its fragility. How can it recover if we don't respect it. Be pro active or get out. One of western Australia's ultra wealthy success stories could finance it in the interests of WA flora and funa. Now Wouldn't that be a dream. Way to big a job to manage for one person on their own with the numbers that visit and area used.
Had a chat about the van packer explosion on the NSW north coast with an old mate years ago , and how we would camp pretty much anywhere we wanted in the 60s and 70s .There wasn’t that many of us back then and we did the right thing by the environment. Problem now is there’s just too many people chasing that lifestyle.
Serious question, where did the locals do their business in the pre-European days? Judging by comments here they didn't make or leave any mess.
#Effluencers
Upvote
Serious question, where did the locals do their business in the pre-European days? Judging by comments here they didn't make or leave any mess.
Dunno about business, but there's definitely evidence of coastal habitation with all the shell-middens (eg NW Tassie coast), which themselves now have archaoelogical and cultural value. The midden pile would have been an area near the camp where dinner was stacked after the eating.
Where's the local enforcers with a shotgun like Cactus in the old days? Or is it better those methods can be replaced with legislation?
Currently on a slow tour the NW and everything being said about the entitled brats travelling is spot on....
Spent a chunk of time at the Bluff again and it was busy but still enjoyable, I think the fact that sites can be all over the shop and not level put some of the "instagrammers" off and many just day tripped, took the standard beach shots and a few with the left reeling off in the back ground. Thankfully when the swell kicked it sorted things out in the water as well.
Blowholes free camp was out of control, bloody pigsty, with backpacker vans jammed in every where without any thought regarding rubbish and toilet needs, Didn't see many portable chemical toilets amongst the vans so god knows where they were all dropping their loads....Grey nomads free camping in vans as big as a ship while driving $200k worth of 4wd and caravan but too tight to spring for a van site in Carnarvon or Quobba...
Mice plague added to the mix....
Gnaraloo was good, didn't see any free camping idiots while there for 10 days but the 4wd damage was becoming excessive in the dunes and along side the road in.
It seems crew don't give a f..k at times as there were 3 or 4 4wd/van combos that ignored the road closures after rain and took off only to get bogged to the floor pan and then cry for help...
Copped some big fines for their efforts....
The Gnaraloo coast needs protection and if the Govt doesn't step up it will be wilderness lost..
Hadn't been up here for some years and can't say I was happy with the changes but at least the waves are still smoking....
The Gnaraloo coast needs protection and if the Govt doesn't step up it will be wilderness lost or even worse they'll eventually allow resorts to be built that will "maintain" the area.
I think you're right HG about the Bluff being more diffcult to camp at with it being on the side of a scarp and undulating so a lot of the beautiful people see it as too hard. WTF is up with these travellers rocking up to a joint and thinking they're a local after being there for 1/2 day, they can go fuck themselves.
Ahh the WA Government master plan, the tarmacked coastal road.....
Now that would be the END
Just spent 2 months in the region, Waroora Station, Gnaraloo, Red Bluff, and Exmouth all paid for and staying in proper areas. Beautiful spot, unreal waves and majority people met were cool. Some dicks trying out their 4wd on dunes at Turtles was sad to see.
Hard one as I am east coast blow in who has wanted to go there for years, I loved it as did my family. Hard to tell people not to go anywhere, but if not doing right thing then penalties such as big fines and vehicle confiscation could work? Lived in Bali for years and do not know whether to laugh or cry at that video, lasted less than a minute.
Guess U have to be thankful you had it when it was good and relatively quiet before dick head influencers came on scene....
Great to hear you and your family loved your trip Andy-Mac
Thanks mate.....
Out of curiosity I googled a little out of the way spot near me that seems to be getting a lot more traffic in the recent year or so. Sure enough there's a heap of relatively recent instagram and youtube shots , drone footage etc etc. from vloggers who don't surf , fish or dive. Only interested in using the aesthetic beauty of the place for 'likes'
One of them even starts out with that "so secret even the locals don't want you to know." FFS
I mean , surely they realise they are pissing people off when they use titles like that.
These fuckers are way out of hand. It's easy to use a title like the one above when you've left the place and your several hundred KM away. Unfortunately the days of old school enforcement (eg cactus) are pretty much over and these arseholes are now in plague proportion.
Sadly I can't see things changing.
#lowlife
'Serious question, where did the locals do their business in the pre-European days? Judging by comments here they didn't make or leave any mess.'
So they didn't do any damage or leave turds, an amazing race indeed.
Just another nail in the coffin for ever going somewhere without some flog posting it or checking in somewhere.....
Nothing is sacred anymore. Facefuck and Instaknob has killed any kind of innocence or solitude within surfing. Must tell everyone what we are doing at all times otherwise did it happen?
Glad I travelled Australia before the interwebs took hold. Physical maps, solitude, empty free camps, word of mouth knowledge and respect for keeping things to yourself. None of this # shit or look at me posts on social media exposing every nook and cranny.
Woah, "let he be without sin cast the first stone".
So every commentator here has never pooped in da bushes? ok ok it's about not camping at sites with facilies, what about makeing it law all cqmpers have portapottys? nz does.
Fineing ppl for "desecrateing" aboriginal sites when rio tinto were "allowed" to blow up a world heritage cave? ...crooked beauracrats, incompetent waste of spacers.
Mentioned this numerous times here about poops at surf spots et all, u locals have influence to demand longdrops at ALL spots and please ffs toilet FIRST then your boardwalk and lookout platform and bitumised road, bl#^*no^# pt sw vic perfect example of dumbness...no tlt!
It's the govt state + federal who need harrasing not nomads, nfa is a way of life for ppl from all walks of life and is going to get bigger cos of housing crisis etc, (me too one day).
I think the slant of most of the comments are not against free camping per se, if done correctly, it's more about the shameless exposure of fragile environments by people who have no clue and don't give a fuck. I'm pretty sure, post that big group in the photo above leaving, there would have been damage and litter left behind. I'm judging, oh fuck yes I'm judging, but take a look at the vehicles in the photo, 'Travellers' vans, clapped out station wagons and 4WD's with all the gear and no idea, screams OS tourist and bogan Aussie dickheads, who are the major culprits as they have no idea what those places mean to us Aussies who do give a shit.
long drops at ALL spots would bankrupt the nation
Some good points, ⁷instagram is today's modern version of vhs,DVDs,magazines and old school photos,iv got a heap of these so I can't blame the youngns for indulging in instagram etc
Iv always been stoked to show my collection and photos to others
It would good if whoever is doing wrong up there could pull their heads in before place is ruined
I never had instagram
..i just got back from my annual trip to NW WA; happy to report we had 95ml of rain in 36 hours - followed by a mouse plague, leading to an evacuation at the 3M camp by 50% of its el patrons; by observation, the well-heeled ones in thier expensive caravans and "off-road campers" were the first to leave.
It's definitely been "a thing" to go up there the last few years for east coast peeps, most of whom are very respectful of OUR shared wilderness. (COVID?)
This year a euro trash gatekeeper at the shop explained to me why "you don't need to read a weather map, I'll explain the weather to you?" - mate - just stick the map up outside the shop door every day, same as its been for 20+ years - you're not god, I don't care what your interpretation of the weather is, stick to your tram line and I'll stick to mine. You can't sell me a bag of ice until you've "answered my emails" - fuck off to city then. These egocentric people can go somewhere else' soon as they like, as far as I'm concerned. Now that Indo is back on, hopefully, those that prefer to show and tell on instagram and have servants pour their cold beers won't be coming up that way.
Seriously though, I think NOW is a once in a lifetime opportunity for those that have been doing the NW trip forever to peacefully teach/lead by example, so as to keep it a wilderness forever. Ergo my best wave for the trip, happened in my first surf, instead of observing and repeating the snaking, I padded a mature woman into what she described as "the best wave of my life, I'm so excited right now, thank you, thank you" - it was a nice reminder to me that "you give and you shall receive".
https://m.
Found this quite amusing re influencer crowd!
2022 Professional Instagrammers SAV (Surf Access Vehicle). Just need to find some space for your board and wetsuit bucket amongst all that vital recovery equipment. Hard to find on any beach but quite common in your average asphalt surf spot car park.
All hat no cattle.
haha
hahaha "hang on I need to get this duck"
Spent Feb out west coast of South Oz and so many yellow, purple and blue plates just out right flouting any local lore and respect. Shit everywhere, driving over fragile clifftop habitat and showing photos/directions to other travellers of spots locals have kept quiet for decades and treating line-ups like the pass. Social media has really made the average joe a pigheaded c#nt, it's all for the gram nowadays.
If you're on instagram regularly,, Stop it , Get help.
A smaller example of idea saturation in the modern "instaworld" getting ridiculous, embarrassing and no longer harmless. The rock cairn plague:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-26/park-rangers-call-to-end-rock-cai...
Yes! I fucking hate those things, been kicking the cunts over for decades. Totally take me out of nature seeing one. I go to nature for nature, not to see some man made rock pile bullshit. Same with photographers in the channel, can you not point that fucking thing at me, instant self-awareness/zone killer I don't consent to, can't kick those cunts over though haha.
13th beach surf club has beach access stairs and an adjacent 4WD access made of treated pine chained together which enables access for rubber Duckie and club Ute as well as Barwon Coast works vehicles .These are also available for use of surfers and beach users.It is offset from the car park by about 12 metres. Apparently not good enough for some users who have mangled the fence and created their own access straight in front creating a separate path through the dune. 12 metres. This is the selfishness we are dealing with.
Or the crew who drive over all the new tree guards and plantings on their way into or out of a certain wave area. This is exactly the behaviour that has got spots shut down Australia wide as in the past.
If you see me walking in can you run me down, if you don't kill me. It will give me an excuse as many others to take your fucking soul. No excuses for this type of shit head. As the local farmers say city justice is no different to bush justice. Take care of what you've got or get out. Simple.