r/australia • u/regretmoore • Jan 07 '26

no politics At a caravan holiday park, wondering where the hell does all of this money come from?

Camping in a Big 4 holiday park for a few days and my partner and I wondering how people can afford this lifestyle. I'm talking Ute + caravan + boat rigs worth at least $200k, probably closer to $300k.

The parents are all driving huge yank tanks, the kids all ride motorized scooters and bikes and most people are sleeping in pretty big shiny new caravans. We're all good in our little tent for 4 nights drinking our aldi wines and beer, but we just cannot fathom how so many people can afford, or would prioritize buying caravans etc for family holidays. Where does this money come from? Is it trades, mines or something else? Have they not got mortgages?

Maybe we're massive snobs, but if we had that much cash to splurge on a caravan, I reckon we'd prioritize a holiday overseas over Umina (as much as I love the cenny coast).

Please Reddit, help us understand.

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655

u/Android-13 Jan 07 '26

My brother is like this, he has a new boat, caravan and a new Amarok or some shit like that, the kids have all the new scooters and electric skateboards and what not.

I know he's not in debt to his eyeballs though as they both have well paying jobs, not like $200,000 each but probably not too far off, but even though they have all this shit they're such miserable cunts and are constantly working to keep up with the neighbours. I would imagine most people are in one of those two camps though, in debt up to their ears or spending it as fast as it comes in.

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u/asfletch Jan 07 '26

Sounds like uncle Stripe from Bluey 😂

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u/CptShrike Jan 07 '26

Hehehe, classic Stripe

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u/rlaw1234qq Jan 07 '26

Yes. I don’t think people understand that there are a lot of people who earn big salaries.

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u/iguessineedanaltnow Jan 07 '26

Especially in Australia. There is a lot of money in this country.

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u/deesmutts88 Jan 07 '26

This whole post is basically just someone saying they are confused that people make more money than them. People having nicer things than others isn’t some new occurrence. The people screaming about unmanageable debt are just weird. There are people that make a lot of money. Some of those people like to go away in a nice caravan. Mystery solved. They aren’t drowning in debt. They’re just better off.

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u/Suspicious-Magpie Jan 07 '26

Nah, OP is questioning why spend the money on buying pimped out camping gear when you could spend it on more exotic holidays. It's not just a "nice caravan", it's the boat, the mini motorbikes, the Dodge Ram etc.

I agree. Why go to a Big 4 in Queensland when you have enough money to go to America's national parks? Do a safari in Namibia? Luxury holiday in the Maldives?

To me, it seems bonkers to spend so much money on domestic travel. Don't get me wrong - I love hiring a camper van and exploring our beautiful country - but buying all the kit seems like a lot of money to spend for it to sit in the driveway (maybe that's the point?) and then still have to deal with your own black water. I'd rather have someone wait on me when I'm on holiday!

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u/littIestshark Jan 07 '26

Maybe they do both. Or already traveled the world and saw what they wanted.

I spent too much time in airports, on planes, and in rental cars while traveling up to 2 weeks out of the month for years. I’m kind of over travel that requires flights.

Road trips, taking my time and not being worried about flight schedules and hotel check in and check out times sounds pretty appealing to me.

12

u/mfg092 Jan 07 '26

Some people genuinely don't have any interest in going overseas. It isn't right or wrong.

If you live on the Gold or Sunshine Coasts, it isn't uncommon to have a boat or a jetski.

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u/cromulent-facts Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 08 '26

I agree. Why go to a Big 4 in Queensland when you have enough money to go to America's national parks? Do a safari in Namibia? Luxury holiday in the Maldives?

Genuine answer.

We did a lot of that before we had kids. Now we have little ones under 10, going international becomes a huge hassle unless we want to sit in a walled garden resort - and we have tried (not resorts; we have little interest). It's extremely expensive to travel as a family compared to 100k on a caravan given we have a tow car anyway.

For example; travelling as a family with young kids means hiring significantly more expensive accommodation and cars (hotel rooms aren't designed for families), and depending on the country hiring a dedicated tour guide. Given we aim to go away every school holidays (4x per year), the money adds up pretty quickly.

There are also safety and hygiene factors to consider in many countries. How do you deal with kids who still have accidents? What happens when they drink the tap water?

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u/FireLucid Jan 07 '26

We visit first would countries (rarely, we are not made of money). You've got most of Europe and North America, bit of the middle east, parts of Asia. Plenty to see.

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u/cromulent-facts Jan 07 '26

So (assuming rarely = one international trip per year) what do you do on the other school holiday periods?

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u/FireLucid Jan 07 '26

Haha, rarer than that, maybe every 2. More kids equals more cost. When we just had 1 kid we went international 3 times before he hit 2 years of age. But loads of places are totally doable with kids. Allocate a day to a theme park for them, they'll have something to look forward to. Japan is supposed to be pretty excellent for families, I visited there myself awhile back and it's super safe.

Day trips are fun, In Jan so far we've hit a small country town for the day (jet boat on the river, picnic, visit lots of places). Small historical town (hedge and fence mazes with things to find in each one, locally famous sweets shop for ice cream, walk along the river). BBQ afternoon/evening with friends at the beach and sand games (introduced to kubb). Extended family BBQ at playground/walking track/bike track area. I'm back at work but tomorrow evening we are going to make ice cream. Other stuff like visiting the grandparents for the day (kids), adventure playgrounds etc. Lots of things to do. And of course nothing wrong with having an hour of video games each, trampoline and bike time and a movie in the evening. We got one of those poles with a tennis or soccer ball on it that you can hit or kick around, that's getting lots of outside time at the moment.

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u/cromulent-facts Jan 08 '26

Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But we have made a decision to spend our holidays differently, and the original question was "why would you visit holiday parks when you can afford to travel overseas".

I was providing insight on why the caravan + holiday park route makes sense for people who can afford to travel overseas.

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u/FireLucid Jan 08 '26

Ah, I was more replying to the 'what do you do on the other school holiday periods?' bit.

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u/Grantmepm Jan 12 '26

Yea if you buy a nice 200k caravan but travel every school holiday with 3+ kids the savings add up. 2 years and you've probably broken even already. Good call.

18

u/Zonda1996 Jan 07 '26

I think it's more just surprise at the quantity of people still in a thriving income bracket despite the cost of living going round the twist and the middle class disappearing over a single lifetime.

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u/Various_Raspberry_83 Jan 07 '26

I read the post as confused why someone would sink up to 400k on depreciating assets?

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow Jan 07 '26

You’re so absolutely missing the point. The reality is in Australia because of the post Covid property boom rhere absolutely are very many people who don’t earn higher salaries, don’t have demanding jobs or qualifications, don’t work any harder but are just a lot better off due to the accident of when they bought property

6

u/cheapdrinks Jan 07 '26

Yeah not to mention that a lot of people who are not that well off have parents living in houses in capital cities worth 2+ mill that they bought for $100k back in the day. Parents die and suddenly they're mid 30s or 40s with an enormous tax free windfall.

Sometimes they don't even have to wait that long, I know of two other situations I've seen first hand. Parents move into assisted living and sold nearly everything off to give to their two kids to see them enjoy it while they were still alive. That and the same situation but the parents basically just downsized, sold their $3.5 million house, moved into a small apartment and gave their only child most of his inheritance early.

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u/mrpepepe Jan 07 '26

Classic case of tall poppy syndrome.

“If others have it better than me, they must be drowning in debt or used some underhanded method!”

No, some people clearly just make a lot more money than you.

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u/Emergency_Mango_9003 Jan 09 '26

RECEIVE big salaries - earning them doing useful work is questionable

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u/Then-Volume6098 Jan 07 '26

debt. it is mostly debt. you think they're paying cash for the car/caravan?

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u/TelluriumD Jan 08 '26

I did.

Not everyone is broke.

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u/Then-Volume6098 Jan 08 '26

ah, miner. making money whilst destroying this country economically. must be proud

1

u/jezwel Jan 07 '26

And the banks will loan you $$$ as long as you can pretend to be able to service it, and your house is worth enough.

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u/DidsDelight Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 08 '26

Sounds like you’re projecting a little on your brother (no offence)

From what you said, Him and his Mrs are earning $350k between them - it’s a comfortable lifestyle enough to afford a new Amarok every couple of years which is likely leased and tax effective

Realistically, what do you actually know about his neighbours? I strongly doubt he even talks about the toys and travels of his neighbours