Black Gold or Brown Poison - Coffee On The Road.

Cafe au bord de la mer - Now that's fancy!

Nothing is more likely to evoke wrath on internet forums and groups as the topic of coffee.
The term 'coffee wanker' is not uncommon, probably due to there being an abundance of coffee wankers out there. All said and done, a love of decent coffee is nothing new and one doesn't need spend twenty bucks a cup on something shit out of an Indonesian civet, to enjoy a good cup or two.

Yes the petulant pain-deers of generation Y have fucked up coffee for many of us. Largely by loitering in coffee shops sporting a Ned Kelly beard, 'fair-trade footwear' or band T shirts from their parent's generation, smugly thinking they discovered them, but most of all by boring us with talk of coffee instead of just shutting the fuck up and drinking it. Of course, they discovered coffee too; just like everything else they've re-hashed and fucked up for everyone else. In reality, coffee is like music; it's either well made and pleasant to consume, or it's shit. Whilst some people go for factory pop and others prefer to kick back and listen to Geoffrey Tozer tinkling away at Medtner, neither preference makes one a better listener.

All said and done, one man's meat is another man's poison. Oh fuck! I just mentioned meat and gender in the same sentence. I'm now officially the mortal enemy of generation Y. All condescension aside, coffee means different things to different people. Whether you're satisfied with a cup of International Roast with a splash of UHT, or you prefer a ristretto brewed from 'bespoke' roasted beans, it's all a matter of taste and nobody gets points for their choice.

"If you need to have fancy coffee every day, you shouldn't be camping!" Oh fuck off you myopic old twatgannets!

People can drink what they like. The thing that gets me about opinions, is not only are they not all the same as mine, but people happily proffer them without considering other people's circumstances. The problem with discussion pertaining to life 'on the road' is that Australia's road warriors are split into a number of demographics.

Most conflict occurs when the part time Harry Butler impersonators clash with those who live permanently on the road. Whilst I'm generalising to a degree, it's often a case that the Harry Butlers live in houses and make pilgrimages to the bush where they shit in a hole, eat road kill and talk for hours to people who can't escape, about suspension! Those who live permanently on the road fit into a number of sub-demographics, but invariably they endeavour to enjoy certain home comforts, primarily because they're mobile accommodation is just that; their home. Nobody begrudges the Harry Butlers their opportunity to roast beef under the bonnet (Boeuf  a la Distillate), craft tools from a rock, start campfires with just the sun and an old Coke bottle, or whatever else they get up to in the privacy of the bush. Likewise, they should mind their own fucking business and realise that it's not a crime to consume espresso ('expresso' to them) outside of the city walls.

So now that I've offended every group, let's get into how one goes about knocking up a decent espresso on the road, because I am indeed one of those wankers who enjoys a decent brew.

Without over thinking it too much, making decent espresso is a little like photography. Light, shutter speed and aperture size are loosely akin to heat, pressure and speed of extraction. Like anything that's essentially pressed, the first stage of extraction, produces the most desired product. The objective is to extract as much of the good stuff from the coffee as soon as possible, because what follows is largely acidic water, which does little for the flavour.

Electric Machines

All forms of extraction obviously require heat. Some argue (including me) that the best coffee machines utilise a boiler (usually electric) to heat the water, but rely on a hand operated piston to pump the water through the beans at great pressure, allowing the operator complete control over the speed at which extraction occurs. There are small domestic machines that apply this principle, the better known of which are the La Pavoni machines. Starting around the $850 mark, they ain't cheap.

Piston type electric machine

All electric home espresso machines work on the same principle, most using an electric pump to force the water through the ground coffee, they can range in price from $100 to way up in the thousands. The quality of the machine is usually measured on it's capacity to control temperature, pressure and pump speed.

There's really not a lot more I can say about electric machines without boring every one's socks off. If you stay on powered sites and have the room for such a machine, you're sorted. As far as off grid living goes, if you have a big enough battery bank and solar array to handle it, you're sorted too. However, unless you're absolutely sure of how much of your battery capacity you're consuming and how much power your array is generating, you could be, albeit inadvertently, doing irreparable damage to your batteries.

Anything that generates heat consumes significant power (W). Anything that consumes significant power draws significant current (A). Current drawn x time, results in battery consumption (Amp hours). The more powerful your coffee machine and the more often you use it, the more likely you are to be discharging your batteries deeper than 50% depth of discharge, which in terms of AGM batteries, means irreversible damage. Your espresso could end up costing you significantly more than that which is shit out of an Indonesian civet.

Also be aware of safety issues relating to inverters. Please see my previous entry, "Inverters - Physics or Juju?"

As for generators. Well I'm not one to judge (sorry, picking myself up off the floor), but I think generators are about considerate use. If your coffee making procedure involves pissing everyone else off with the noise of a generator every morning, I don't think consideration is your top priority.

Plungers

Plungers make a certain type of coffee. Extraction is achieved by slowly steeping ground coffee in hot water, then depressing a mesh diaphragm onto the grounds in order to get the most out of them. It's not a controlled form of extraction as pressure and extraction speed cannot be adjusted. Plunger coffee is designed to produce whole cups of coffee, as opposed to espresso, which is a concentrate that's consumed either as it is, or diluted with either milk or water.

For those who drink espresso, a plunger won't cut it, but it's a particular style that's the coffee preference of many people. Plunger coffee had it's peak in the 1990s, when it was common place, even in cafes. It's nowhere near as popular these days, but for those who enjoy it, it's a very simple option that doesn't require the use of electricity.

Hand Press Espresso Machines

Hand press machines are a relatively recent development. OK, so they were borne out of the gen Y desire to feel at one with nature without sacrificing the morning macchiato, but they are in fact an excellent, relatively low cost solution to achieving desirable espresso extraction without power.

Like the plunger, the ground coffee steeps in hot water, inside the capsule, but for significantly less time. That's due to the hand press having the capacity to apply considerable pressure to the mixture of coffee and water, by means of a hand operated pump.

The most popular hand press on the market is the Aeoropress, which retails for around $70. Like anything, they have their limitations. For those who drink the classic milk based coffee styles, a separate milk heater / frother is required. That's not difficult as there are a number of stove top units available, that don't require electricity. They do however, constitute an additional expense.

Hand Press Machine

For me as one half of a coffee drinking couple, the biggest limitation is that most hand presses offer the best results when making only one shot of espresso at a time. Therefore, if two decent shots are required, you have to empty it, re-fill it and go through the process again. This means that sitting down to have a coffee at the same time as a friend or partner, isn't really possible without compromising the results. On the flip side, hand presses such as the Aeropress are relatively inexpensive, so owning 2 units for simultaneous operation, is still considerably more cost effective than buying a decent electric machine.

Stove Top Machines

There are stove top machines and there are 'stove top machines!'

The basic principle of stove top machines is that ground coffee is placed in a basket above a chamber containing water. There's a top chamber in which the finished espresso is collected. The top and bottom chambers are sealed in order that steam and liquid cannot escape easily from the bottom. There's a capillary system located above the coffee basket that ensures that hot water can only escape from the bottom chamber by means of being forced through the ground coffee as a result of convection.

The most common and affordable stove top machine is the classic eight sided Bialetti Moka Pot. Generally speaking, they don't extract a highly concentrated brew. Some people use them to make a 'plunger-like' coffee, with which they fill an entire cup and add a dash of milk. It's not an unpleasant coffee drinking experience, but probably not the first choice for espresso drinkers who are used to coffee made by pumped based machines.

The Classic Moka Pot

With a bit of jiggery pokery I've achieved fairly decent results from the classic Bialetti pot. I've found it's about the strength of the coffee blend, the grind, packing the basket correctly, applying a vigorous flame and removing the pot from the flame before all of the water has risen from the bottom chamber. I've managed to make fairly concentrated espresso, suitable for lattes or short blacks. The downside is, it takes a lot of effort to get it right and if you do like milk based coffees, you'll also need a stove top frother. This type of stove top pot is also crafted from aluminium, which is undesirable for some people.

Espresso / Frother Combo Machines

As someone who lives permanently on the road and often off grid, this type of machine is very much my personal choice. The better known machines are the inordinately stylish Atomic, the very practical Vesubio (defunct) and more recently the Bellman, which is a replica of the Vesubio, with which parts are thankfully interchangeable.

Given my expression of thanks for being able to access parts, you have probably worked out that I own a Vesubio. I found a vintage model (1967) on ebay many years ago. It had never been used and arrived in its original packaging. I paid $35 including postage! Virtually the same machine is readily available again, under the Bellman name, for around $200. Atomics are once again being manufactured to the original design. Whilst they're irresistibly groovy, at $500, in my personal opinion, they don't achieve as desirable a result as the Vesubio / Bellman machines. That's not to say I wouldn't want one just to look at.

Vintage Vesubio - On my stove

The differences between the classic Bialetti and 'combo' machines are subtle, but they make an immense difference to the end result. The ratio of water to ground coffee is higher. This not only generates greater pressure for extraction, but also allows for the operation of a frother. The pot is much more effectively sealed and the capillary arm from which the coffee emerges into a collection vessel, involved more intricate plumbing, resulting in greater extraction pressure. That arm also has an adjustable valve and nozzle, which allows control over the speed of extraction.

Once loaded, the process is fairly automated. My preference is to measure an accurate volume of extracted espresso, simply by extracting into a Pyrex measuring jug. This means that I shut the extraction valve before the lighter coloured, more acidic liquid is extracted into the collection vessel. The extracted espresso is always dark and concentrated with a decent golden brown crema. As soon as that valve is shut off, all heat is dedicated to building up steam pressure for the frother. The frother is very powerful, extremely effective and enables me to heat and froth at least a litre of milk in either one or two separate batches.

One of the downside of combo stove top machines are that they aren't as economical in terms of ground coffee as typical electric machines. The other is that the espresso has to sit in the collection vessel for a few minutes while the frother builds up steam. That's going to upset the odd purist as there's a coffee making mantra about pouring milk onto concentrated espresso within 20 seconds of extraction. I'm sure that philosophy has it's merits, but after having owned several high end coffee machines, including a vintage La Cimbali, the Holy Grail of commercial hand operated piston machines worth thousands of dollars, I'm still impressed by what we can do with the Vesubio.

The Coffee Itself

The choice is endless. There are excellent large large Australian roasters such as Vittoria, which is very consistent in terms of supply throughout Australia. There are also many, many small roasters throughout Australia, even in regional areas. Experiment.

I'm not going to pit one coffee brand against another. I don't mind upsetting entire generations, but I'm not game to go there. That would mean all out confrontation.

Who Makes The Best Gas BBQs? Pick me! Pick me! It's me!

"THE SCOTTY COOK DELUXE!"

I haven't posted anything in quite a while  We've been flat out adjusting to a new routine, brought on by unforeseen circumstances.

Whilst we're grounded for a little while, I've been keeping up with travel and off grid living matters by moderating the Caravan, Camping and Glamping group.  With over 50,000 members, it requires quite an effort, but I thoroughly enjoy doing it.

One questions that very often comes up is "which gas BBQ is best for travel?"  It's usually in the context of "Ziggy or Webber Q". Curmudgeonly, pedantic old bastard that I am; my choice of answer would be 'none of them.  They're not barbecues.  Barbecues use charcoal.  They're gas grills!" Well, whatever you want to call them, they're bloody handy, even if they aren't a real barbecue.

The big brand name products usually carry big price tags  There's no way I could afford either a Ziggy or Webber Q.  I believe that they're somewhat limited and quite bulky items to carry.

Enter a few checker plate offcuts, an old folding card table and a $50 cast iron Chinese wok burner.
We've had the old card table for over 2 decades.  It was our first camping table and we couldn't bear to get rid of it. It's from the days when you could still buy Australian made campi+ng equipment.  Just a simple, but solid metal table with sleigh legs that fold away inside it.  That's what illuminated the light bulb in my head.  It folds away and packs flat.  It's the perfect base for "Scotty Cook Deluxe".

I thought about why commercially available gas BBQ's are so bulky and came to the conclusion that it's because they're all in one.  If I could break down those components into something that could not only pack down to nothing, but also be assembled in seconds, I'd be on to a winner (winner chicken dinner).  If I could utilise items that I already had on board, it would be even less hassle to pack and carry.

The commercially available product's bulk is down to:
1.  burners that need to be enclosed i order to shield them from the wind
2.  a lid for covered cooking.

GRILL MODE

Firstly, I had to find a burner.  After a little looking around, a $50 cast iron, concentric 2 ring wok burner seemed to be the perfect solution.  So I had a stand in the form of the old table that folded down flat and a burner that could fit in the told drawer in the back of the Landy.  I was nearly there.

The next task was to ensure that the burner was shielded from the wind.  We had just finished putting checker plate cladding on the caravan.  I had a few off-cuts hanging around, so with the aid of a couple of hinges and some pop rivets, there it was.  A big arsed, tri-fold windbreak, ready to block out a cyclone.  It simply sits on the table, ,shielding the flame on 3 sides, while the 'chef' shields it at the business end.  When not in use, it folds down to a lightweight, small flat object that packs away between the folded legs of the table.

WOK MODE

'But what do you cook on?' I hear you ask.  Always trying to catch me out, aren't you?

We were lucky that we already owned a beautiful French  manufactured enamelled cast iron grill.  One of the finest cooking surfaces available.  Now one of these puppies will set you back the best part of a 'couple of ton', but you can pick up a basic cast iron grill plate from a camping store for twenty bucks.  To be honest, it'll be as good as the Chinese made grill plate on any big brand name gas BBQ.

'But I want covered cooking' I hear you say.  There you go again with your pessimism (the voices are worrying me a bit).

Hah!  Gotcha again!  One of my favourite things to cook in is a wok.  Indeed very handy with my new wok burner.  However, when it isn't being used to sizzle up our favourite Asian delights, it sits perfectly, upside-down on my fancy French grill providing me with a lid big enough to fit a chook or a sizeable joint of meat under. The wok packs away in its normal spot, adding no more bulk or weight to the "Scotty Cook Deluxe".

COVERED COOKING

UNCOVERED COOKING

That leaves me with my stock pot, which I often use to make litres of fish stock from the spoils of a marathon filleting session, following a successful trip out to sea.  It fits on the wok burner perfectly.

MAKING STOCK

We have a beautiful French enamelled cast iron casserole, which is superb for slow cooking stews and curries. Probably our most used item on the grill, is our lovely old British made, Salter cast iron saucepan.  Made in the 1950's, it's bullet proof.  I picked it up years ago for $15.  It has become our trusty deep fryer, enabling us to cook up beautifully crisp, golden brown floured saquid or garfish fillets, two of our staples.

SLOW COOKING

The burner can even provide heat for my old Furphy camp oven, which is a treat to roast or bake in.  It can sit on the ground and pre-heat the camp oven, before suspending it above it, using a tripod and chain.  The perfect solution to camp oven cooking in places where fires aren't permitted.

THE DEEP FRIER

I'm not a chef by trade, but I have owned restaurants and cooked in them, as well as working  for many years as a food writer and broadcaster.  I'm very competent around a flame and I've cooked in everything from the most high tech commercial kitchens to a wood fire in the bush. I've used many of those big brand gas BBQ's and whilst I can knock up some decent grub on anything, I much prefer to cook on my own very versatile, space saving creation.

So there you have it, the "Scotty Cook Deluxe".  No patent pending, so go and make your own.  It'll take you an hour and you'll have change out of 2 golden drinking vouchers!

Deep Blue, Second Novel By Scott Watkins-Sully, Published and online.

Deep Blue, on sale now.
I've chosen now to publish my second novel, as I'm trying hard to raise funds for our daughter's treatment in Sydney. (She's responsible for the jacket art, by the way.)
I try as much as possible to help people out with SAFTEnet, which is aimed at being an advocacy for low income earners. I particularly try to help out those who live on the road.
I do it all for the cause and back it up by helping out in The Caravan Camping and Glamping Facebook Group that has more than 40,000 members.
I really enjoy giving advice where possible and advocating for a fair deal for low income earners on the road.
All I ask is,  if you like a good read, please buy a copy of Deep Blue for $4.75.
⚠ Contains coarse language plus a bit of sex and violence etc 

 Click Here To Buy

A Robust Read - Please Help

I really enjoy publishing what I hope are helpful tips, particularly for those travelling on a low income.
It'd be wonderful if I could get a few sheckles back in my pocket in return, through book sales.
The Curse of Rome is a police drama set in contemporary rural NSW.
⚠ Contains: Sex scenes, violence, coarse language, adult themes, drug use and all that other good shit ⚠

https://www.amazon.com.au/Curse-Rome-Scott-Watkins-Sully-ebook/dp/B073X4S2YF

Inverters - Physics Not Juju!

Those of us who live in mobile dwellings are as entitled to all the conveniences of home appliances as anyone who lives in a bricks and mortar home. If I read another example of someone lecturing along the lines of "if you need a (insert appliance), you shouldn't be on the road," I'll hunt them down and demonstrate exactly how one inserts an appliance, namely a stick blender.

In saying that, at the end of the day, we must realise the extent of our limitations in terms of electrical power, when living off grid.

The kettle and toaster question comes up perpetually in groups and forums. It's like a revolving door. The average kettle consumes 1,800W, as much as many air conditioners, yet people are always asking if there are 12v versions available. The same goes for toasters.

Anything designed to generate a lot of heat over a short period of time, is always going to consume a hell of a lot of power. That power needs to come from somewhere. In off grid 12v systems that's always going to be the battery bank.

In every identical online thread, some genius always comes up with the same solution to running powerful appliances off grid! "Get an inverter."

Whilst inverters do indeed convert 12v DC to 240v AC power, they don't pluck power from out of thin air. It still has to come from the battery.

Let's refer back to Ohm's Power Law and do some simple sums.

I (Current in Amps) = P (Power in Watts) / E (Electromotive force in Volts)

In the case of an average kettle: 1,800W / 12v = 150A

Yes! The kettle would draw 150 Amps from your 12v supply.

Now let's throw an inverter into the equation. The general rule of thumb is to substitute the value of 12 representing EMF in volts, with 10, in order to allow for typical inverter inefficiency. This of course varies slightly between inverters, but it gives us a very good estimation.

The equation therefor becomes 1,800W / 10 = 180A

That's huge! That means that a kettle could drain a 180 Amp hour battery in 1 hour. Take into consideration that most deep cycle batteries should only be discharged to 50% depth. it would actually discharge a 180Ah battery to a point of being unusable, in 30 minutes.

The kettle and inverter would in fact be consuming 3Ah per minute. That means it would discharge a 100Ah battery to the recommended safe Depth of Discharge in 17 minutes.

A combined ten minutes of boiling a 1,800W kettle each day, would consume a whopping 30 Amp hours from a battery bank.

Using an electric kettle or toaster would require a significant battery bank, a fair sized solar array and a very powerful inverter. That's one hell of an expense when one considers how easy it is to put a kettle on a gas ring or a couple of slices of bread under a gas grill.

Back to inverters. Inverters supply potentially lethal 240v AC electricity from a 12v system that isn't earthed. In the case of caravans and RVs, inside a metal box. There are a lot of cheap Chinese OEM manufactured inverters for sale on ebay, but would you want trust your life and the lives of your family members to one. An el cheapo 2,000W inverter could cost as little as $300 from ebay, but if you want something that offers trusted safety features and reliable power, you're looking at more like $2,000! Throw in extra solar panels and an extra 100Ah in your battery bank, we're talking about a bloody expensive cup of tea!

It's probably important to note here that good quality inverters in the 600W to 1,000W range, are significantly more affordable than a 2,000W plus inverter. Using appliances that consume under 1,000W is significantly more manageable and affordable. However one must still pay close attention to power consumption and recharging.

But wait there's more!!!! No, there's no steak knives.

The serious current draw takes place between the inverter and the battery. Just yesterday, someone asked in a camping group, how they might power their 1,000W blender, off grid. What was the first suggestion posted as a reply? "Get an inverter and plug it into your cigarette lighter!"

Thankfully, if someone did attempt something so insane, chances are the car cigarette lighter fuse would shit itself instantly and prevent a potential fire. But be aware! I have known blade fuses to melt and fuse 'in contact!' That means there's something very wrong in the circuit, but instead of breaking that circuit, the fuse literally fuses together. It's not common, but it happens.

An inverter that consumes significant power, requires cables with a significant internal surface area between the battery and the inverter, even if the cable run is very short. That connection also requires a breaker that's able to handle the current that the inverter draws. That's quite a breaker and they don't come cheap. Without the correct cable gauge and a breaker, the cable between the battery and the inverter will very quickly melt down and start a fire.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to power an appliance that consumes a lot of power, you're going to need to have a lot of power available in order to power it. Inverters don't just suck power out of thin air. Quite the contrary. They draw current from your battery. The bigger the appliance, the bigger the inverter you'll require. The bigger the inverter, the more it'll cost and the the bigger the battery bank that you'll require. The bigger the battery bank, the bigger the solar array required to charge it.

Whilst most things are possible; do you really want to spend in excess of $2,500 on a heavy, space inefficient 12v setup, in order to avoid sticking a kettle on a gas stove or some bread under the grill?
Everyone is entitled to have whatever appliances they want, but everyone must also ensure that said appliances comply to the laws of physics and don't burn down their car, caravan or motorhome.

End Of A Good Transitory Community In FNQ

The end of an era. More importantly the end of a well established transitory community, as one of the last of the old school council owned caravan parks goes out to private tender.
What a disaster. What a shame the council doesn't realise what an asset they have.
Leasing out the Mission Beach Caravan Park marks the end of one of the last remaining council run caravan parks on the Australian coast.
With the economy facing an uncertain future, this will become just another overpriced caravan park, the likes of which an increasing number of Australians can't afford to subscribe to. This will be a huge blow to tourism in Mission Beach.
This park costs very little to run and yet has the potential to turnover $300K to $400K per annum as a budget caravan park. The margin, I'm sure, is significant. The current management have done an excellent job of running the park, as did the previous management who were there for several years, building up a great deal of return trade in the process.
If a lessee was going to pay an annual lease equalling or exceeding what the council makes by running the facility, they're going to have to put up site fees considerably. Let's face it; the council won't put it out to tender, if it means recouping less than they currently do.
There's a high end caravan park directly across the road that has significantly lower occupancy rates and a far more transient  customer base. Higher priced parks are far less popular with people who stay in one place extended periods. A privately leased Council Park will struggle to sustain current occupancy levels with higher site fees. As a refurbished private enterprise, it will compete directly with the park across the road.
This will result not only in the park being far less viable, but it will also be a blow to other Mission Beach businesses. Businesses that also pay rates!
Many visitors come to Mission Beach, because of the park and it's reasonable weekly rates. I spend my permitted 3 months at the park each year. I barely move from the park during that time and I put around $8,000 into the local economy per annum.
The park is virtually full for 4 months of the year, with scores of other people doing the same. That constitutes around $400,000 going into the pockets of council rate paying businesses in just 4 months of the year.
If the dynamic of the park changes, the park will attract more transient tourism. Transient visitors do NOT consistently pour money into the local economy, partly because they spend a greater portion of their budget on accommodation, not on groceries, not on fishing charters, not on fuel,  not on sky diving, not on white water rafting. They invariably stay for shorter periods of time and bring supplies with them.
The park is one of the few in FNQ that provides budget accommodation to overseas van hire travellers. Australia's biggest foreign tourism sector. They are the people who keep local adventure activity businesses alive. Especially during the tourism low season. Neither budget accommodation or adventure activities ensures that Mission Beach enjoys a steady flow of tourism. It's a symbiosis between the two.
This is a very short sighted decision by a council that I always thought excelled in taking a fairly unique and open minded approach to tourism.
Not only is it a case of cutting one's nose off to spite one's face, it's also a case of cutting income from businesses that pay rates.
The park is currently very well managed under the existing arrangement and there's no necessity for significant change.
The council simply needs to refurbish existing amenities and put a small portacabin style bock at the northern end of the park. Contract somebody to do a little marketing and develop plans to diversify slightly and this park could remain a public asset for years to come.

Print Media Failing? - That's OK. Scam Them With An App.

There's often discussion online about the best app for finding campsites.
For $8 you can't go past Wikicamps.
I just noticed that the "Camps" app is now $10. It was previously $50.
I decided to give it a go. So many people bang on about how much they love "The Book." I'm totally aware that it's just an over attachment to media crafted from trees,  but I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
I was going to praise it's interface and search functions, but fuck 'em.
After paying $10, I discovered that they want another $20 a year for updates! We're talking anything updated beyond what one installs, will cost you money. Not like Wikicamps that you pay for once and is updated constantly. That's unarguably a huge fucking scam. You'd feel less ripped off if you paid the transfer fees to allow an oppressed Nigerian dissident to stick an imaginary 50 mil in your bank account!
The version you get for your 10 bucks, is based on the latest edition of the book. Well I can tell you for free that the book offers a fraction of the information that Wikicamps does. The book is basically only useful if you get caught short in the bush with no shit tickets!
There are hardly any reviews. Funny that. Not many people have been stupid enough to burn 10 bucks on this cyber bollocks. APART FROM ME!!!
Even if the amount of reviews grows, you can't see them unless you pay more money.
The worst thing - A considerable amount of very well known council campsites and showgrounds are missing. Especially those close to caravan parks that are featured. It's bloody obvious that they're getting a kick back from the caravan parks for not featuring them!
Take Mission Beach QLD. Two council camps, a tiny camp with 7 sites at Bingil bay; that's featured. There's also an extremely well known 50 site council caravan park on Mission Beach's main drag. Guess what! It's not on there. Strangely enough, the Big 4 directly opposite, is there.
This is the publisher that for years has claimed to be the great advocate for free camping. They still feature "free camps," provided they're nowhere near a van park that has crossed their palm with silver! This company is literally ripping off people who purchase their products.
I know some people have a thing about hard copy, but seriously, why would you give your money to crooks. Get over this dinosaur and move on. If you can use the internet, you can use Wikicamps. If you're worried about not having mobile coverage, download the maps. If you want to write notes buy a fucking note pad.
I see it as a failing print media company, investing in an app that scams money out of people in order to make up for their rapidly dwindling market share!
Absolute RUBBISH!
Don't go near it. I'm going to demand a refund.
I have no affiliation with Wikicamps. I just want to see an end to scamming by these unscrupulous, out of touch shit weasels.
The moral of the story is; in 2018, information doesn't grow on trees.