Over the Christmas area my wife and I (kinda off the bat), decided to go for a 2 day camping trip to the "Southern Forests" region of Western Australia. However, each site we checked ended up being full. (I guess not surpising over the holidays, though the one that was miles down a gravel road did surprises me.) So it was getting late, and was getting tired. So we pulled in to a Rest Area, (Marked P) to make a plan. It was about 20km from the nearest town. We spotted an alcove where it looked like someone had camped before, and said "right, we are stopping here."
People sleep in their cars in the rest stops all the time. My car was too small and we had much better camp beds. So we set up the tent. It was nice enough, and we were not confidant of finding another site, that we stayed for 2 nights (It was only missing a toilet).
During that time someone else stopped for one night in a Motorhome (like a Winnebago I think). Someone else turned up each night and slept in their car (but left during the day).
My question is: Were any of us breaking the law, or violating some guidelines as to acceptable/intended use of the space? Or are rest stops intended to be point-of-last-resort / amenities-less campsites?
There is a note in this brochure which says:
24 Hour Rest Areas: 24 hour rest areas are not intended for camping and stopping is NOT to exceed more than 24 consecutive hours
And the list of signs seem to indicate that 24 rest areas are specifically marked. But it is somewhat unclear as to if the 24 hours is exceptional, as you are Allowed to stay for up to 24 hours (and on normal sites you are perhaps not meant to say for more than 8 hours rest). Or if it is the reverse -- on normal sites you are allowed to camp, but 24 hours sites you can not.
