Remember the days when staying in a caravan park was relatively inexpensive? For us, that was the BC days....before children. Now that our two children are over the age of 2, we often find we have to pay for them on top of the site fee at a caravan park. For example, on the Australia Day long weekend we stayed at the Riverton Caravan Park and were charged $28 per night for the site plus $10 extra for the two kids as the site fee only covers two people. Now, the caravan park is quite nice; it's small, has a nice playground and the facilities are clean, but it's not a flash caravan park by any means. I believe it is run by the local council and has a reception desk available during usual office hours. While we were there we took a drive to Saddleworth in the Clare Valley and found a nice little caravan park next to the town oval. We chatted to a bloke there who was on the committee for the caravan park and he said they charge $20 for a powered site and $10 for unpowered, regardless of how many people were staying there, you only pay for the site. The showers and toilets were basic and nothing flash, but he did mention that they had received some government funding and are planning to install ensuites which will make it a bit nicer. There is a playground and undercover bbq area with sink and hot/cold running water. The grassed area was lovely and shady and it was a short walk into town.
Armed with the knowledge that bookings weren't required, it was first in best dressed at this caravan park, for the Adelaide Cup long weekend just gone we headed off in our camper trailer to Saddleworth. When we arrived there, the powered sites adjoining the grassy area were already taken. There was one more powered site, but no grass and it was next to the septic outlet so was a bit "on the nose." So we set up camp under a shady tree and went unpowered for the night.
That was Friday night. On Saturday morning two of the caravans packed up and left, so we quickly moved camp over to the powered site, set up our camper trailer on the grass and were very pleased with the spot. Even more pleasing was the price. When the caretaker came down later, we paid $50 for three nights accommodation - $10 for one night unpowered and $40 for two nights with power. The kids were happy with the playground, even though it wasn't really suitable for our 2 year old, our 5 year old loved it. If you have ever used toilets in a small town you will know what I mean when I say the toilets and showers were clean enough but not spotless (small spiderwebs and the occassional insect sharing your shower with you). The grassed area was lovely, had shady trees and on two nights we cooked our dinner on the free and exceptionally clean bbq.
One thing I like about staying in these small town caravan parks adjoining ovals is that usually over the weekend there is some sport to watch. We got to watch the cricket matches played in Saddleworth over the weekend. I saw the most amazing thing - the batsman hit the ball high into the air. It would have been a sitter if the fieldsman could have got under it, instead he didn't get there in time. The ball fell to the ground, bounced, hit the wicket and knocked off the stumps! As the batsman walked off the ground my husband and I figured that technically he was bowled out. The fielding team couldn't believe their luck.
Saddleworth Caravan Park isn't widely advertised, they apparently like the fact that their little caravan park is quiet and not too popular. So if you want a trip down memory lane to the days when camping in a caravan park with or without kids was cheap, it's worth checking it out. If you don't live in South Australia, the next time you are driving through a small country town, check out it's local committee or council run caravan park. You may find it a lot cheaper and friendlier than larger caravan parks in larger towns. Saddleworth Caravan Park is also pet friendly (at the caretakers discretion).
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