Gunnedah is now part of a national network connecting travellers to the north west.
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A new RV park on Chandos Street, established by the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA), opened today and offers 30 spaces for self-contained RVs.
The site is easy walking distance to the Gunnedah CBD and is one of six proposed sites in NSW linked into CMCA's huge network of parks around Australia.
Rotating CMCA members will act as on-site custodians and will be there to welcome travellers who can make use of the potable water, waste water dump station, fire pit and sheltered barbecue area.
Travellers can stay for up to two weeks and will be given information on all the sites to see in the area, including the award-winning mural of the late poet Dorothea Mackellar, painted on the Gunnedah Maize Mill.
The organisation is leasing the land from Gunnedah Shire Council, and has worked alongside staff to get the park up and going. CMCA's business development officer Sean Constable was in town on Monday to see the park ahead of its opening.
"We're looking for strategic locations. [Gunnedah] is on the junction of a few different highways ... I used to live in Gunnedah, so I know it's got a lot for people travelling," Mr Constable said.
"We're hoping to develop a bit of a network in the state so they can travel from southern to northern regions."
When considering potential park locations, Mr Constable said CMCA looked for councils that were supportive, "and we've had that support the whole way through".
"It has been a bit of a learning curve for the [Gunnedah council] staff because it's a new type of development for councils in NSW," he said.
Mr Constable said there was a "mass migration" from the south to the north every year in April, May, and he hoped the Gunnedah park would be well-used by travellers.
"Hopefully, it will be a successful park and people will get to see what the north west has to offer," he said.
While many RV users have been travelling "within their own patch" the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Constable said they were now starting to venture out again.
"Now the borders have opened again, they're starting to plan longer trips again," he said.
Council's tourism team leader Nikki Robertson said a reluctance to go overseas amid COVID meant towns like Gunnedah were still benefiting from regional tourism.
"The drought, floods, COVID has changed the nature of tourism. Tourists would like to do good while travelling ... doing volunteer work while in a town, and that will of course encourage people to stay longer," she said.
"Looking into the future, we're hoping the koala sanctuary will open and I'm hoping to tap into that tourism, that grey nomads will stay in Gunnedah and help feed the koalas.
"Voluntourism will be big."
Ms Robertson said Gunnedah had many attractions, including the Rainbow Serpent, street art and the Vietnam War murals.
"It's about encouraging [travellers] to really see everything in Gunnedah ... I think a lot of people will come back," she said.
"I think if the koala sanctuary goes ahead, that would be a game-changer."
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