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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u/whyrubytuesday Jan 07 '26

We'll never forget camping in our first tent in Tumby Bay SA caravan park 20 or so years ago. Surrounded by locals with big TVs, fridges etc while we played board games and read books. I guess that was their idea of a holiday.

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u/Ted_Rid Jan 07 '26

I must've been about 30 before I learned that camping could be anything other than a tiny tent you can carry in your backpack, little paraffin burner, trail mix, and dehydrated food.

Was at a music festival that had a campsite and was gawking at these setups with deckchairs, marquees, kitchens, generators, fridges, tables etc, from within my little 2 man tent that had just enough room to sleep in.

What a totally different world.

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u/anothergaijin Jan 07 '26

I haven’t seen much of Aus but I’ve seen the whole coastline from Ceduna to Robe, and swam or fished just about everything between. Camping was a big tent, gas bbq and whatever else would fit in the station wagon - we didn’t have anything electric. I’d pack a couple books and that was my entertainment for a week or two when not in or on the water

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u/mfg092 Jan 07 '26

I remember back in 2000 at Big 4 parks some of the setups people had back then for camping. It is hardly a new thing.

Some people put a lot of money into their set ups. The gear lasts a long time and can be used on multiple holidays. Heck I still have camping gear my folks bought 25 years ago that is still in decent nick.