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NEWS
Free camping at Tassie farms
New free camping scheme connects farmers with RV travellersTasmanian farmers are offering some of their land for free camping as part of a new tourism initiative kicked off recently on the Apple Isle.
The new Farmgate Mate scheme is open to owners of self-contained motorhomes, caravans and camper trailers, who can buy a 12 month membership for $55.
For that, members can stay on participating host farms, which currently amount to around 20 farms in Tasmania including Seven Sheds Brewery, Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm, Turners Beach Berry Patch, Westerway Cherries and Tasmanian Natural Garlic and Tomatoes.
The deal is you can stay for up to 24 hours on farm land, as long as you purchase something from the farmer in return. The commercial transaction ensures Farmgate Mate participants don't breach overnight camping legislation.
“The farmers could offer a meal, a tour of the farm or some of their products, it doesn’t matter as long as there is a commercial transaction,” Farmgate Mate co-owner Vicki Fox said at this year’s Agfest show in Launceston.
“It allows people in self-contained motorhomes to plan their trip around the people who have signed up to the program, we say it means they can travel further and stay longer.”
The Farmgate Mate concept is not new, with similar tourism membership communities established in other countries over the past 25 years including France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and USA.
According to the the website the “new agri-tourism program (is) aimed at getting more drive tourists out into the regional and rural areas of Australia to sample our great produce and experience our warm hospitality”.
Farmgate Mate is planning to roll out the scheme across other states in mainland Australia.
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Written byCaravancampingsales Staff
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