CAMPERS BACK ON THE ROAD
PACK the swag and hook up the van.
Gold Coast campgrounds are back in business and happy campers are starting to trickle back as the parks usher in the first full weekend with restrictionfree travel within Queensland.
From June 1, Queenslanders were able to travel anywhere in the state for overnight stays.
National parks and their campgrounds were also approved for reopening from yesterday.
Big4 Helensvale holiday park owner Theo Whitmont says every lift in coronavirus restrictions has been a blessing, with the park at 50 per cent capacity for the first time since the pandemic set in.
“From our viewpoint every point in the road map to recovery is a good one,” he said. “We are feeling very bolstered by the level of support by the customer base, who take heir holidays seriously.
“We are fielding 200 emails a day from people across the state and outside of the state with a strong intention to book, just waiting for restrictions to be lifted.’’
For avid campers Miriam Mace and Chris Maujean, this weekend could not come soon enough.
They have waited for months to use their new caravan, which they bought in NSW just hours before the border was closed.
After watching the van sitting in their driveway for months, Ms Mace said she was excited to take the first opportunity to hit the road and meet their mates.
“We meet up with our friends when camping so this was our first weekend we could do that,” said Ms Mace, from Shailer Park.
“This is our dream caravan so we couldn’t wait – it was agonising not being able to use it. Saturday was a bit late notice last week so we booked in here as soon as we could.”
They plan to travel farther afield now they are free to do so.