How grey nomads can park their RV for free and extend their road trip

Hitting the open road can bring many things: freedom, spectacular scenery, fresh air, no-one to answer to - but it can also bring high costs such as petrol and caravan park fees.

And with five million domestic overnight visitors staying in a caravan or camping ground in the year ending September 2024 in NSW alone, according to Destination NSW, it's easy to see how site prices and demand can soar.

Australia-wide, there were 57.1 million nights spent in caravan and camping sites, with visitors spending $10.6 billion, and 42 per cent of overnight trips were completed by people over 55, according to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia data for 2024.

There was a whopping 19 per cent increase of campervan registrations, as well as caravan registrations going up by 3 per cent, bringing the total to 908,513 of registered recreational vehicles as at January 2024, which means spaces can be competitive.

Smart grey nomads can explore Australia knowing that if they are willing to do some casual work occasionally as part of their trip of a life-time, they can be better off financially - and even extend their time on the road.

There are many sites online for grey nomads to connect with, but start by looking at the ones advertising jobs - it could take you to a place off the beaten track you hadn't planned on exploring and it could offer you many benefits.

On a grey nomad job site there is currently a casual job for a receptionist in a caravan park in Townsville. Queensland - a paid position that also comes with a free caravan site, suitable for singles or couples.

And under a category called an "Adventure not a job", another posting in Queensland, this time in the Atherton Tablelands, is advertised with the heading "take care of bush block and stay for free".

Grey nomads just have to water the garden, keep the grass down and feed "the eight hens".

Multiple sites on the block are suited to an RV or caravan and the land comes with electricity, river water and a basic kitchen/ shed.

All around Australia landowners are advertising exchanges - to stay on their property for free if grey nomads lend some of their services.

This can range from handyman type-roles to cooking, but many just want grey nomads to water and look after their land for them.

Apart from saving on site fees, it gives grey nomads a chance to explore a part of the country they may not have contemplated visiting before and could end up making friends with locals.

However you decide to travel around Australia, keeping an open mind to locations and opportunities can make your trip even more special.

Seasoned nomads Jo and John Mills previously told ACM (the publisher of this masthead) they often use free campsites and use Wiki Camps, which is peer reviewed.

The pair, in their late 60s, also started a business to help fund their trips, Far South Coast Camper Hire, and love meeting their fellow campers.

"We started off with a couple of camper trailers so our kids could come away and then it just [morphed into] lots of caravans and into a good business," Jo said.

"The conversations and the communications with the now 700 hires we've had help keep us young because we're talking to families to encourage them to have great holidays," added John.

Laraine Whyte, also known on Facebook as The Old Duck in a Truck previously told ACM she also tends to use mostly free campgrounds to save money and to avoid crowds.

She also camps behind pubs and hotels, for the price of buying a meal, which many regional pubs offer to grey nomads.

"I went to Western Australia and was away for nine months, and I probably used caravan parks twice and only when I had a lot of washing," she previously said.