Hi there hope everyone is well.

In the process of getting my 176 visa and have set date of arrival in oz for feb2013. My wife, son and I are moving to Brisbane but will be flying in to Sydney to catch up with some friends for a week before heading up to Brisbane. In 2005 my wife and I done the whole backpacker thing and travelled up the east coast stopping at the usually locations (coffs harbour, port marqurie, surfers, Byron bay etc.) We are planning on hiring a campervan and taking maybe 5-7 days to travel up to Brisbane from Sydney. My question is, can anyone recommend good rental company (only really looking for basic 3 berth camper) and can anyone recommend any different places to stop at on the way (will be stopping at Byron to catch up with more friends).

Thanks in advance

Hamish

We used Britz but did a trip round WA so can't help with sites on the East Coast.
By the by, we were near Hawick over New Year - such a pretty town :-)

Try Wicked Campers. $55/day plus a $200 one-way fee for a basic 3-sleeper van.

And if you've already driven the east coast why not try the inland route up the New England Highway - Newcastle, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Stanthorpe, Warwick, Ipswich, Brisbane. Plenty to see along that road. From Tenterfield you can head east over the ranges to Byron bay via Casino and Lismore.

Nambucca heads south if coffs is beautiful - there are 2/3 campsites there right on the beach.

i can recommend not to use cheapa campers. high mileage / low maintenance crap.

Cheers for all the tips folks thanks. Jenny, Hawick is pretty to the eyes but after 32 years of small community living I'm really ready for a change, Hawick has lots of positives but with a lot of unemployment and no industry in the area it's a bit of a nightmare at the moment, glad you liked it though the town really needs good press and tourism at the moment

Thanks again
Hamish

Been having a look at companies myself recently as going to take a trip in a few weeks. To be honest their website gives me that impression! And they're far from cheapest either.

Britz look to be best on price and their vans seem good any time I've seen them.

Will also be taking a drive up to Byron via coast then back via inland route.

When looking at prices, don't forget the one-way charge since you will be picking up in Sydney and dropping off in Brisbane.

Britz are about $99/day with a $260 one-way fee.

It might not be relevant to your upcoming trip but, I just love this website. http://www.thegreynomads.com.au/
Have a look through it.

ours lasted 4 hours before terminal engine failure. we we're then told they couldn't get us a replacement for 4 days.....or eternity as it's called when you're stuck in Swan Hill.

Hi
We hired a Britz camper Seven years ago for our recce trip before we moved over. We went from Brisbane upto Cairns , cannot fault the camper van it was great.
If you need good camp sites try Big 4 , we used them all the way and were always top class.
Hope you have a great time !

Try the relocation websites, we got a 6 berth for for 3 days to do Brisbane to Sydney for $5 a day.

http://www.standbyrelocs.com/

Just be careful with relocations, they can be cancelled at very short notice with no obligation to find you an alternative. We booked one not long ago, cancelled 2 weeks prior to trip....enough time to book elsewhere but prices had gone up by $500, obviously in hindsight we wished we'd just booked with a company in the first place.

Also read an account on here of one being cancelled on arrival on NYE when the person had travelled to Sydney with their family and several suitcases, they had no vehicle and also had to fork out for a hotel on NYE..$$$

I know lots of people have no issues what so ever, it just depends on your circumstances I guess...i.e how much time you have/money etc.

We used 'Backpackers' in NZ, great service, great van, free service when we thought we'd burst a pipe...highly recommend!

Am adding this to my must do in Australia list

Hi Skippy, can't really give much advice on your trip other than we stopped off in Port McQuarie north of Sydney on one of our road trips many moons ago and it was very nice, it was the fact that you are from Hawick that caught my eye. I was born there, lived on Galalaw road, revisted before we emigrated to show my daughter where I was born, good luck on your journey.

Rob.