Cemeteries As Campsites?
Thrifty backpackers in small-town Australia poach campsites on hallowed ground--but not for much longer
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Campsite fees wearing you down? You could always sleep with the dead. Plenty of people poach campsites to save a few bucks, but the territory town of Katherine, Australia has been inundated with backpackers bivying up in the local cemetery. Now they’ve posted signs threatening to fine those who camp next to the deceased.
According to Katherine’s Mayor, Anne Shepherd, these quirky nature enthusiasts are pitching tents and parking campers near the ablution block, which traditionally serves as a place of cleansing in religious ceremonies. So to curb these cheapskates, this irreverent/blasphemous act of misguided sleeping under the stars next to Great Great Grandpa Fred now comes with a cost: A $50 fine goes to anyone caught pitching a tent on cemetery grounds.
I can’t imagine I’d ever get any sleep camping near a cemetery; that’s the beginning of a zombie movie scenario waiting to happen. But maybe some people just take out their iPod, put “Thriller” on repeat, and call it a night.
How ’bout it backpackers: Where’s the creepiest/weirdest place you’ve ever camped?
—Jordan Olmsted
Cheeky Tourists Pitch Tents In Cemetery (NTN News)
Photo Credit:Â TheTruthAbout…