Unique Aussie camping spot where guests pay what they feel

Tourists are flooding to a sleepy, off-the-beaten track town in the depths of the outback thanks to its quirky approach to pricing.

There’s a little-known camping and caravan spot in outback Australia that lets people decide how much they pay.

It may be out of the ordinary but the small community that makes up the town where the pay-as-you-please option is offered, does things differently.

I found this out on a weekend away with my family to the farming town of Kulin, which is a three-hour drive inland from Perth, Western Australia.

The place has a population of about 300 people and is surrounded by fields of wheat crops.

In a strange contrast to the landscape, it is also home to a little piece of the Sunshine Coast, in the form of regional Australia’s biggest water slide.

Kulin Caravan Park caretaker, Trish Mahe said the park’s unique payment model was implemented in 2015 to draw visitors to the town.

“We’re not on a main road,” she pointed out.

The water slide at the Kulin Aquatic Centre is open during the warmest five months of the year. Picture: Supplied

Kulin is situated in the interior of the lower part of the state. Not even direct routes from Perth to Albany, Esperance or Kalgoorlie would usually take motorists through the town.

Despite that, the park was booked out for many nights during the summer school holidays.

It may not have the bells and whistles of a Big4 Holiday Park but that is not what the shire is aiming for.

Situated right near the centre of town, the park is not completely fenced off, but given the town’s size and sleepy nature, it works.

As well as 11 powered caravan sites there is a modern amenities block, laundry facilities, a campers kitchen and a grassed area for tents.

Kulin Caravan Park caretaker, Trish Mahe. Picture: Supplied

At the caravan park, our children made their own fun.

Mahe said the amount people paid to stay differed and that was OK.

She said those with bigger setups often paid a bit more.

“I say, tell me how much you want to pay,” she said.

Mahe said on average, families paid between $40 and $50 per night, couples a bit over $30 and someone just with a swag might pay $10.

So how does that stack up? According to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, the national average price of a unpowered site in 2022 was $44.26 and a powered site $51.28.

While the incoming funds from paying guests may not make the shire a profit, the aim of the park is to incentivise people to visit the town.

“We are there to get people in, so hey can support the town and they can go have dinner at the pub, go to IGA and go to the Mitre10 gift shop,” Mahe said.

And that was very much the case on our visit.

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures that make a place. Picture: Supplied

We ate at the pub the two nights we were there and spotted a handful of other families there who were also staying at the caravan park, who we had also seen at the town’s water slide.

The water slide at the Kulin Aquatic Centre is open during the warmest five months of the year and is the biggest of its kind outside of Australian cities.

Its existence in Kulin came about thanks to a generous local farming couple who bequeathed more than a million dollars to the town more than two decades ago.

A portion of their bequest paid for the slide, while an army of local volunteers drove trucks across the country to bring it all the way from Queensland to Kulin and reassemble it.

It’s been operating since 2021.

Only by taking in the view at the top of the slide, looking out from 18 metres in the air towards the tractors and farm machinery and towering eucalypts, can its unique setting really be appreciated.

The aquatic centre, with its pool and water slide are open air, providing space to unwind in contrast to the noise and chaos of enclosed leisure centres in metro areas.

It is also just a 200 metre walk from the caravan park.

My family got the full country experience in Kulin.

The park has 11 powered caravan sites there is a modern amenities block, laundry facilities, a campers kitchen and a grassed area for tents. Picture: Supplied

Having mobile phones that were not on the Telstra network, meant we did not have any mobile or internet connection so we were able to switch off.

Mahe said many families enjoyed the back-to-basics getaway that Kulin provided.

“Getting away from the commercial side of things in the city and getting them out into the fresh air, spending a day as a family at the pool, and getting out and about especially for kids from the city, showing them a slower paced holiday that they don’t get to see as often.”

At the caravan park, in lieu of a bouncing pillow, our children made friends with other young campers and made their own fun.

Around town we met friendly locals only too happy to point us in the right direction for coffee and let us know opening times for the few local retailers, which, without mobile coverage, we were unable to lookup.

Kulin is situated in the interior of the lower part of WA. Not even direct routes from Perth to Albany, Esperance or Kalgoorlie take motorists through the town. Picture: Supplied

Those who live in Kulin are vested in the town, literally. Local investors joined forces to buy the Kulin Community Hub which is both the town pub and cafe and the bank in the town opened 25 years ago after locals fundraised to establish it.

Other drawcards to the town are the area’s wildflowers and a couple of big events, the Kulin Bush Races and an offshoot of America’s desert gathering, Burning Man, known as Blazing Swan.

Races week is the one time of the year a standard schedule of fees are in place for the caravan park.

The spirit of the bush races is celebrated in another attraction, a scenic drive of kinds called the Tin Horse Highway.

Spotting the equine artworks made of farm junk by creative locals on the 12-kilometre stretch of road, proved just as much fun for us big kids, as it was for our children in the back seats.

Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures that make a place.