Campervanning in Australia

Hi All

Is anyone interested in joining in this adventure experience next year?So far, Esther has expressed interest. We met in S’pore during the vegetarian lunch at Chinatown Point. The others are self, hubby and his cousin. So 3 of us are from Perth. We have no experience in campervanning nor even self-drives outside WA. So any tips or interest in joining up, especially if there are a few campervans will be fun.

A campervan is a vehicle which you drive and has sleeping berths, toilet, shower, cooking facilities etc. It’s not a caravan which you tow and is preferred by some. With a campervan, you can stop to take rest, save a bit on motels and cook your own simple meals. It can take 2 – 6 people, depending on range and price.

To cut petrol costs, we fly 1 way and drive 1 way between Melbourne and Adelaide. From Melbourne, we can drive to Canberra, Sydney and explore the outback – Ayers Rock, Alice Springs etc and make our way back to Melbourne.

So if anyone is game or has tips to offer, I welcome comments. The 3-4 week trip is planned for Mar/Apr 2009.

Regards

Joan (Perth)

14 thoughts on “Campervanning in Australia”

  1. Hi Joan

    We have not met but I hope to meet you one of these days. The campervan holiday sounds just wonderful! I wonder if it’s possible for me to join you only at the Ayers Rock n Alice Spring segment of the campervan hol (and then I might go to Darwin to pay a lightning visit to a cousin there if time permits.)

    Let’s keep in touch. My e-mail: kdaae2005@hotmail.com

    Tks for initiating this exciting adventure.

    Regards,
    Jassmine

  2. Hi Ann and Jassmine
    Will certainly do – on this website. I hope that from S’pore there can be a group that can team up either on their own. They can then travel up together, discuss the details when they meet one another. It’s also good to have at least two campervans rather than just 1.

    The maximum people a campervan takes is 6. The small ones take 2 or 3.True, more people means cost pp is less. Let’s see the response.

    Jassmine, let me work out the route. I’m thinking of 2 segments – Mebourne – Adelaide and Melbourne – Ayers Rock. If so, you can join the 2nd segment.

    Regards
    Joan

  3. Hi Pauline, Jassmine and Ann

    Hope that you three can form a group and can share out the driving. As mentioned, we can have a few campervans instead of just 1 large one for 6 people. Hope to email some links with regards to campervans to you all.

    Regards
    Joan

  4. Hi Joan

    Am not sure if Pauline and Ann G are joining the full route or just the 2nd segment.

    Hi Pauline and Ann G

    We can also invite our friends (non-members), especially drivers, to join us. Who knows, we might end up with more than two campervans!

    Jassmine

  5. 4 weeks is a little too long for me, so perhaps I will have to think of only doing a partial route/segment. Don’t know enough to decide. Advice anyone?

  6. Hi Ann #8,

    I remember when you last went camping with me in Chiangmai, you had always wish to do an Australia trip. Guess, a week or two weeks would suit you well.

    I love Perth, and I think this city can be a great starting point to other cities in Australia. Mind you, there are many exciting and lovely places in Western Australia.

    For SHC, I am glad that we have Joan and Mary, both residing in Perth. They are our contacts in Western Australia, and I hope they will help us to build our 3 months, short-term retirement concept down under. Not forgetting, we also have Ron-Oz, who joins us from time to time on this forum.

    Terence Seah

  7. Hi Terence

    Thanks for the comments and support. I hope that with my post/s, SHC members can get info/news of what activities that they like to join in if they come to Australia.

    It’s also good if Mary (Perth) and Ron (Oz) also put up their posts or comments. The more news, the merrier and members have a chance to find out about various interests of people. Do join in the trip if you can.

    Regards
    Joan

  8. Hi Irene and all SHC members

    I haven’t worked out the costs as at the moment, I’m sourcing for info re: costs, suitable dates etc. Moreover, as you may want to hire a campervan yourself depending on your group and how long you wish to travel etc, the costs may vary from group to group.

    If there are several groups/campervans and we decide on dates/places that we are similarly interested, then it’s good to meet up and travel together. Eg. I’ll fly into Melbourne, meet up with you all there at and then campervan around Mel before going on to next place eg Canberra and Adelaide.Those who choose to stay longer or visit other towns can do so.

    You may wish to vist this site: http://www.britz.com.au to get info about different Britz campervans and work out your own costs. Keep in touch.

    Regards
    Joan

  9. Hello all

    Here’s my short “introductory” comment about campervanning. It is certainly a novel way to tour and only suitable for people wishing to do so at a very leisurely pace. Generally speaking, you will be visiting only three or four destinations in a week of campervanning, so planning is most important.

    Ideally, you would have four people to a campervan. Four people sleeping in this “mobile hotel room” is fairly comfortable. Try to have at least two drivers among the four of you.

    Unlike a car, there is a little bit more “maintenance” involved with a campervan. You need to replenish the water tank each day so there is water for washing and cooking. You need to park at a powered site in a caravan park at least every second night to recharge the batteries that power the lights, fridge, and other appliances. The gas bottles need to be refilled. The toilet in the campervan needs to be “dumped” and disinfected.

    It is recommended to park at a caravan park each night to sleep for safety reasons. Also to take advantage of the caravan park’s facilities – mainly its toilet, ablution, cooking and washing facilities.

    A budget of $1000 per person per week should be adequate. This should cover campervan rental (which means your accommodation for the week), petrol, site costs and basic meals for the week. You could perhaps plan for breakfast and lunch within the campervan budget and “eat out” for dinner.

    I hope this is a helpful “introductory” comment to give you an idea of what to expect from campervanning.

  10. Hi Ron-Oz and All

    Thank you for your helpful comments. I will keep the tips in mind. Am still working out the itinerary and when to make the trip. I’m still thinking of Mar/Apr 2009, before the Apr school holiday in Australia.

    The plan is still to start from Melbourne where we will pick up the campervan. I have a sister in Melbourne and so will likely sightsee Melbourne and maybe have a chance to visit her and maybe meet up with you. Following your suggestion, we will look at caravan parks.

    Most likely, as it’s our 1st time campervanning, we can plan for just 1- 1 1/2 weeks of the activity instead of longer. I may visit Ayers Rock from perth another time as Perth is nearer to fly to the location than from Melbourne.

    Hope that there are others able to join in. From earlier comments and emails to me, there are 3/4 others – all ladies and I think that they would like to team up with some guys especially to help out with the driving. Maybe Ron, you may like to join in.

    I have a group of 3 and most likely, I may do most of the driving.

    Regards
    Joan – Perth

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