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New Fees Sign in The Pines


Sabu

17-Oct-2012
4:02:21 PM

Emailed.


ajfclark

17-Oct-2012
4:05:25 PM

On 17/10/2012 ado_m wrote:
>Based email below though has more impact if it is customised.

First customisation should be fixing the spelling of Arapiles throughout...


shortman

17-Oct-2012
5:17:33 PM

On 17/10/2012 ajfclark wrote:
>On 17/10/2012 ado_m wrote:
>>Based email below though has more impact if it is customised.
>
>First customisation should be fixing the spelling of Arapiles throughout...

....and maybe changing the whole thing....tell people what they want to hear in a more refined tone...highlight more about how climbers see a place like Arapiles and how they keep it pretty darn clean, plant trees, work on tracks, the rescue group....and how this primarily....(helped of course by the cheap fees of the past)....is the reason climbers are so passionate about keeping the place beautiful.....and how you are always amazed the effort foreigners and dirt bags go to when cleaning up......blah blah blah....blend your disadvantaged person with all the positive elements....sell them something they can't refuse.

prb

17-Oct-2012
5:51:32 PM

And I assume the ranger's name is spelt Alan Braithwaite?


jackb

17-Oct-2012
7:08:35 PM

And why email the ranger? Would it be better to be directing the emails to someone in a more decision making or budgeting position?


ado_m

18-Oct-2012
12:59:40 PM

Re suggestions above on person to send the message to, the content of the message and my shit spelling, please draft a better response and post it here so people can use it.

Parks told me on the phone to address it to Alan, he is ranger in charge. If you can find out if there is a better person, fantastic.

Will_P

18-Oct-2012
3:51:50 PM

C'mon ado_m, d'you think government functionaries take seriously correspondence where the subject itself is misspelled? But I've taken up your gauntlet...

Dear,

Re: Changes to the fee structure for overnight visitors to Mt. Arapiles - Tooan State Park

I’m contacting you as an active member of the Victorian rock climbing community and regular fee-paying visitor to Arapiles. As you would be aware, the park holds a special place not only in the Australian climbing scene, but maintains a unique reputation amongst the climbing community worldwide, and attracts visitors to the Wimmera region from throughout the world. As such, the maintenance and upkeep of the park and its facilities is an important issue to us.

Contrary to some feedback you may have received, we are not opposed to a reasonable camping fee increase per person. The former accepted fee of $2 per night was recognised as being far lower than other similar destinations, and for those who were reluctant to pay, significant peer pressure was often brought to bear to encourage compliance, with the understanding that these fees contributed to park maintenance and facilities upkeep. We believe the revised fee structure, with its complexities and vagaries, along with the difficulties of enforcement, will deprive the park of funds.

For example, if a car arrives with two to four passengers on a Thursday night, and is joined by another car (or two, or three) the next day, with another two (or three, or four) passengers, but one car load of passengers leaves after only one night, and the remainder stay a further two nights… how should the fee be paid? And, if this group can figure out how to pay, how will the Ranger determine accurate compliance? Or who to fine if non-compliance is seen? A degree of flexibility needs to be built in to an Arapiles fee structure to enable and encourage compliance.

We encourage and would support a return to a ‘per person, per night’ tag-and-envelope fee system, and are confident a simple system, with a reasonable fee (affordable for students and low-budget international travellers), would ensure greater revenue for the park than the complicated new fee structure.

Sincere regards,

Leah

18-Oct-2012
6:09:06 PM

I was at Araps last week and knew something about the increase but had not yet seen the sign. Well surprise, surprise!! It's a ridiculous increase and makes no sense to charge per site, when there really is no designated sites at The Pines. Also as mentioned so many travel solo and it unreasonable to charge $15 per night.

Say you have a group of 4 people all with separate tents that would mean you need to camp in close proximity to each other, pretty impossible with the way The Pines is. I search for the most even/flattest spots possible which often means I camp scattered from my group. To comply with this new system would mean you are expected to be in close proximity and therefore some tents get the comfort and the others miss out, no way!

It just a crazy increase and I hope with feedback they will realise they need to go back to a per person fee structure. I have no issues with the per person, per night fee increasing a little, I mean $2 was pretty crazy really, but $15 is plain stupid!

19-Oct-2012
6:01:31 PM

I really don't understand all this nonsense being spouted. Surely the comeback will be: "That is the way it has been in the Grampians for decades and you haven't complained about it." And you haven't, have you?


Miguel75

19-Oct-2012
8:49:07 PM

martym

19-Oct-2012
10:30:08 PM

On 19/10/2012 BA wrote:
>I really don't understand all this nonsense being spouted. Surely the comeback
>will be: "That is the way it has been in the Grampians for decades and
>you haven't complained about it." And you haven't, have you?

We complained to the person at Halls Gap when they said we had to drive halfway into the grampians to pay... I suggested they adopt the honour system that functions well at the arapiles campsite. The person didn't know what I meant.
Shoulda emailed hey.


Doug

20-Oct-2012
8:00:15 PM

On 19/10/2012 martym wrote:
>We complained to the person at Halls Gap when they said we had to drive
>halfway into the grampians to pay... I suggested they adopt the honour
>system that functions well at the arapiles campsite. The person didn't
>know what I meant.
No surprise there ... the honour system at Arapiles doesn't function well.


BoulderBaby

20-Oct-2012
10:43:24 PM

Well, there goes any teens dream of living out there for 6 months.

One Day Hero

20-Oct-2012
10:48:06 PM

I think the first step is working out what the sign is made from, i.e. is it a flammable material, or metal?

kieranl

21-Oct-2012
9:39:51 PM

On 20/10/2012 One Day Hero wrote:
>I think the first step is working out what the sign is made from, i.e.
>is it a flammable material, or metal?
Wow, Are you trying to suggest that it might be possible to burn the sign? That'll achieve a lot. About the same as was achieved by trying to burn the fee box and dump faeces into a post hole a couple of decades ago.
Infantile, dumb and not even original. About the level of constructive input to be expected from one day zero.


Dane

21-Oct-2012
9:56:45 PM

As opposed to a targeted insult?

Your point: It lacks punch.

As for the fee increase, there goes any chance of me getting down there for uni holidays next year...

kieranl

21-Oct-2012
10:11:44 PM

On 21/10/2012 Dane wrote:
>As opposed to a targeted insult?
>
>Your point: It lacks punch.
>
Guessing that relates to my previous post but don't really get your point.
Let me be more clear if it's needed. I was around when the utterly stupid vandalism of the fee box happened many years ago. Any suggestion that similar acts might be a sutiable reaction to this fee change is stupid and irresponsible as are any people proposing it.

>As for the fee increase, there goes any chance of me getting down there for uni holidays next year...
You have to be kidding. If you're a uni student and you can't come up with a way to camp at Arapiles and only be liable for $2.50 a night you're not really trying.


Miguel75

21-Oct-2012
10:18:41 PM

On 21/10/2012 kieranl wrote:
>You have to be kidding. If you're a uni student and you can't come up
>with a way to camp at Arapiles and only be liable for $2.50 a night you're
>not really trying.

I agree with Kieran. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to do it on the cheap...


ajfclark

22-Oct-2012
6:27:54 AM

Make friends with 5 other people travelling alone who also don't want to pay $15 per night by themselves. I imagine it shouldn't be too hard at most times of year.

anthonycuskelly

22-Oct-2012
8:37:16 AM

The sign says that the area is patrolled regularly, though the ranger appears to be doing what he always was (ie, the maintenance, and avoiding checking tags). I'll continue my previous practice of putting arbitrary and variable cash amounts into blank envelopes on random weekends, it makes about as much sense as the new policy.

There are 117 messages in this topic.