The trend was brought to light when Aussie dad @outback_mike took to Instagram to speak out on the ‘entitled’ act.
In the Instagram reel, Mike explains that ‘ghosting camping’ is when a camper books a campsite just to keep the option open, but don’t follow through, or when they intentionally book out a bunch of spots at one campground so that they can have the place to themselves.
"Do we even need a booking system?" he asked in the video, before saying the current one "isn't working well" and is "no longer needed."
"This is a fully booked campground in Kosciuszko National Park. Basically, this is number 19 and I think there’s more than 20 sites here and only one in five actually has someone in them. But the whole place is booked out,” Mike explains, as he shows viewers around the empty campgrounds.
Now, in a bid to make the great outdoors more accessible for everyone, Queensland is cracking down on the trend.
Queensland's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) will now be enforcing an immediate fine of $322.60 and a maximum penalty of $3,226, to campers in Queensland caught in the act.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a DESI spokesperson has said: "It is now an offence to not attend a booked campsite or to put up tents and leave them unattended for more than 24 hours without a reasonable excuse, such as in an emergency.”
DESI says the issue has been "depriving genuine campers the opportunity to enjoy" the state's national parks.
Since it was introduced last month, park rangers have been keeping an eye on campsites to ensure campers are following the rules.
Image: Getty
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