The Lorikeet Tourist Park

We’ve booked here each year for the past four years because our family live in the park, but we won’t be booking again. The cabins are incredibly expensive at $425 a night. The newer ones seem a bit cleaner than the older ones and have more room in the bunk room. The park is quiet because most people are permanent residents, though there are no holiday activities or facilities for kids. It feels like there’s little reason to improve standards when the cabins always seem booked out. Next year we’ll bring our swags and stay with family, or book at the park next door. We had good water pressure in the shower, but that was about the only practical plus. The furniture and carpets were stained, and the toaster smelled of melted plastic when used. There was no drain cover or plug in the bathroom sink. After we dropped a retainer while brushing our teeth, we had to take apart the S-bend one night to get it back. There are ants, so food needs to be stored carefully. Five plug-in fans were filthy. The air conditioning was awful, with an Arctic lounge and bedrooms like sweatboxes. The office was rarely staffed, and we had to chase someone to pay. We couldn’t get spare toilet rolls because nobody was there, so family had to give us some. The laundry costs money, and we had to save coins because the office was never open. The rec room is for residents only. WiFi and mobile data were both dismal, though the park next door has the same mobile coverage issue. When I asked for directions to the rubbish dump while cleaning before we left, a staff member rudely told me to check the map.

We chose a deluxe cabin because it looked newer, but it wasn’t clean. There was mould on the curtains in both bedrooms, the freestanding fan was dirty and bent, and the shower and floor were mouldy and dirty. The exhaust fan was dusty. I found hair among the utensils and some sort of substance in the freezer. Every wall had marks, and one bedroom wall even had a hole. The lounges were dirty and the air conditioning was full of dust. The gutters were full of trees, so I hoped it wouldn’t rain during our one and only stay. You’d think they’d switch on the air conditioning or heating before guests arrive so the cabin is comfortable. They charge guests if they leave things dirty, yet the place didn’t seem to get cleaned. It felt more set up for retirees.

There was nothing I liked. A chemical product was beside the dishes, which weren’t properly clean, and the washroom was in poor shape with algae in it. The sheets looked unwashed for months and had yellow stuff on them. The gas didn’t work at all. WiFi was poor, and they said we had to pay to use the dryer. The TV had fixed channels, and when I tried to watch, they said I couldn’t choose anything, only cartoons. I’d rate it 1/10. They charged me $409, which was expensive and not worth it.

These caravan parks seem to have no limit to their greed. There’s a rest area on the Pacific Highway not far from this park, called the Arrawarra Rest Area. The government built it so tired travellers, or people driving after dark, could stop and rest. I stopped there and an officer patrolling the area told me I could stay for only four hours. There are signs saying that. It makes no sense that if I stop at 10 pm because it’s dark, I have to leave at 2 am. The officer said it wasn’t like that before, but local caravan parks lobbied the government to impose the four-hour limit because they didn’t want people staying there instead of paying to use their parks. That’s greed at its worst. They don’t care if drivers’ lives are put at risk as long as they make money. DO NOT STAY IN THESE CARAVAN PARKS!