December 19, 2022
As recfishers, we crave a fishing experience that immerses us in nature to relax and unwind. It’s even better when we have the chance to camp alongside Victoria’s amazing rivers and streams.
To encourage recreational users, including fishers, campers and hikers, to practice a responsible ethos while enjoying the outdoors across the state, VRFish have developed a responsible recreation campaign called Naturally Vic.
It is your guide to responsible recreation and provides users with best-practice guidelines to leave our great outdoors how they found it. The campaign includes tips on campfire safety, setting up camp, litter and so much more. It also helps you to understand the new regulations that allow camping on certain Victorian Crown water frontages.
In Victoria, there is approximately 30,000 kilometres of Crown water frontage for recreational users to enjoy. Crown water frontages are a public asset and recreational use by the public is permitted. Some Crown water frontages are licenced for riparian management purposes or to allow adjacent landholders to graze livestock on the frontage. Other Crown water frontage is unlicenced.
The Land Act 1958 was recently amended by the Victorian Government to allow camping on certain Victorian river frontages. These changes apply to Crown land where a licence has been granted to the adjoining landowner for grazing. Designated camping sites on licensed areas have been assessed as suitable for camping and opened by the State Government. There are different regulations for camping on licensed and unlicensed Crown water frontage.
Earlier this year, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) began assessing suitable campsites and many have since been opened up to allow camping. These campsites are listed on the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) website here.
There are now campsites open along 35 different waterways including the Goulburn, Loddon, Mitta Mitta, Ovens, Murray, King and Glenelg rivers.
