On 17 April 2010, the Great Aussie Camp Out (GACO) will bring together thousands of Australians for one big night where they will share the experience of camping out under the stars …

... in their back yards, on a river bank, at a campsite, a National park, a caravan park

.. in fact, anywhere they might (legally) feel like!

As part of a national initiative in association with other national and state based outdoor organisations, the Outdoor Recreation Industry Council (ORIC) encourages you to participate in a one night 'camp‐out' across New South Wales with the long term goal of promoting healthy active lifestyles by encouraging individuals, families, friends and clubs to enjoy the great outdoors, and the fun and adventure of camping out.

People will be encouraged to stay at a residential camp or caravan park, pitch a tent in their own back yard, sleep under the stars, fire up the barbie, organise some games and become involved and reminded of the simple, sustainable pleasures to be found through camping.

ORIC is encouraging the support of organisations across NSW to support GACO, to host activities or events, to open up their campsite and encourage their communities to get out into outdoors and experience a night under canvas!

By encouraging and involving the outdoor recreation community, clubs, associations and government organisations and  it will be possible to reach many thousands of people and to spread the ‘healthy active lifestyle’ message across the state. As it is intended to make this an annual event, the potential to influence and change people’s attitudes towards a better lifestyle will grow year by year.

Local organisations and communities will be encouraged to develop their own programmes and activities to further encourage people to get outdoors, while the national GACO website and the local GACO sites (hosted by ORIC in NSW) will have reference information and resources readily available – hot tips, recipes, how to cook your food (e.g. Trangias, camp cookers), games, sing-a-longs ...

Community and private organisations such as Scouts, Guides, campsites, state recreational organisations and/or activity groups may wish to consider offering a range of ‘come’n’try’ activities on the day of the GACO.  Residential camps could offer activities available at their sites such as high ropes, flying fox, climbing and/or archery.  National Parks could perhaps arrange to have Park Rangers on duty to conduct interpretation activities for the night.  Caravan parks may organise a mass star gaze, guiding people through the wonders of the night sky. In this way participants will be able to sample adventure activities and experiences in the outdoors in a controlled and supported environment.

Participation will be tracked at a national level as individuals, groups and/or campsites will be able to
register online and therefore be eligible to win prizes. By recording personal contact details, a tracking mechanism is developed of people interested in outdoor activities along with information on the demographics of the groups being captured. This can help target greater involvement in subsequent years.

For more information please contact  ORIC at info@oric.org.au or on (02) 9487 1184.

More information will be coming soon about the Great Aussie Campout on the ORIC website, as well as the official GACO website at: www.greataussiecampout.org.au

General GACO FAQ Sheet

Other Fact Sheets

Campsite Organisers
School Camps
Clubs, Associations or Groups
Backyard Campers