Booking a profit: Happy campers in Council but Vivonne Bay under strain  

By DANIEL CLARKE

15/05/2026

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An online booking system helped Kangaroo Island Council generate more than $100,000 in earnings from its campgrounds last year, strengthening calls to freeze fee increases and retain the sites under community control.  

 

The report tabled at this week’s Council meeting states the online booking system introduced in November 2024 resulted in $275,816 of income, exceeding operational expenditure of $142,548.

 

It states the 2024/25 result was “attributable in part to the online booking system reducing unpaid stays”.

 

“(It has) established campgrounds as a revenue-positive service, which has direct implications for how future investment should be framed and funded,” the report said.

 

Council resolved in June 2024 to review the island-wide campground strategy to support future funding opportunities. It operates seven campgrounds across Kangaroo Island, all on Crown land under Council's care and control, covering a total of 94 sites.

 

It noted Vivonne Bay campground as a top funding priority for expansion because it has been operating “above sustainable peak capacity in summer”.

 

Vivonne Bay is the most utilised campground on the island (78% overall; over 90% in summer months) and is operating at or near capacity during peak periods.

 

“The absence of an approved expansion means Council may be unable to meet visitor demand in coming seasons,” the report says. 

 

“Expansion west of existing sites is the highest-priority capital recommendation in the strategy, subject to Native Vegetation Council approval.”

 

It recommended that concept design work be progressed as a priority to enable a costed proposal to be brought back to Council. The report makes clear there is no budget allocated to implement the recommendations but said State Government community infrastructure grants were likely funding options. 

 

However, the co-contribution requirements of most government grants remains problematic for a Council in the midst of a sizable debt reduction strategy.  

 

“Vivonne Bay expansion, flushing toilet upgrades (across the network), and accessible amenities improvements are the categories most likely to attract grant funding,” the report said. 

 

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly welcomed the profit and the findings in the report but said while “good progress” had been made “we can still improve”.

 

“We’ve upgraded campgrounds and it’s something that needed to be done,” Mayor Pengilly said. “It’s an area we have been far from successful at but it’s improving.

 

“Lots of visitors want to come here and camp and we’ve got to compete with other places. If we want to be in that market, we’ve got to give them something to come to.

 

“We can’t just push for internationals all the time. Our domestic visitors, the families, have always been the backbone and I see potential to get more caravans over here as the retirement sector is huge. Not to mention the island locals who utilise the sites a lot.”

 

He warned against further fee increases to use the sites but agreed Vivonne Bay needs expansion.

 

“We’ve got the extra area there - it’s under the care and control of Council - it’s just a question of dollars to do it,” he said. “Otherwise people will camp along the bank of the river or down at Point Ellen. They’ll still camp there but they won’t pay.

 

“It costs people a lot to come over to the island. If our income from campgrounds has gone way up from where it was I just think we leave the fees as they are. That’s a Council decision - not mine - but you can’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg.”

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Campground fees for 2025–26 generally start around $23 per night for unpowered sites and $37 per night for powered sites.​ Kangaroo Island residents can purchase an annual camping permit from Council’s website for $178 for a family of up to two adults and three children. 

 

A community survey conducted in 2023/24 indicated that improving infrastructure at existing campgrounds was a higher community priority than expansion or new sites, but ranked below roads, footpaths, and playgrounds. 

 

“This is consistent with Council's constrained financial position: the strategy appropriately focuses on maintaining and incrementally improving existing assets rather than proposing new capital works beyond the financial horizon," the report says.

 

After Vivonne Bay, Emu Bay (45%), Stokes Bay (41%) and American River (39%) were the most utilised Council-run campgrounds. 

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