campervaning brisbane to melbourne
 

Hi Guys,
we are in the early stages of planning our trip to oz next year. we want to hire a small camper van for the two of us. has anyone done such a trip and how much are the campsites. also i have been looking at some old threads and people have mentioned about parking up on the road and sleeping for the night, is this acceptable in oz or could you get fined or anything?
havent a clue really where to go to start planning i guess it would be with a big map and pin point some stuff. anyone have any good tips or places that we should stay on the way down?
thanks alot
sarah

Re: campervaning brisbane to melbourne
 

There have been a few threads on campervans and touring recently
that have turned out a fair bit of info.

We bought a VW Kombi as opposed to renting and made $1000 when
we sold it. Worth considering.
We drove that route a few times when we did it.

I'd start now by buying "The Rough Guide". It lists loads of sites in some
of the smallest of places as you never quite know where you'll end up at sunset.
This is a good time to get off the road due to wildlife.
Another good book (funny) is Sean and Davids Long Drive published by
Lonely Planet. Its about two guys that set out from Melbourne and drive
around Aus. We re-read this as we went to the places along the way.

Join the "Big 4" campsites for a decent discount at any of their sites.
There is a book that lists all the free camp spots around Aus but I can't
remember the name (try searching for Winnies posts or Winnebego)(spelling).

We bought a thin paper back that showed all the rest stops in Aus which
was invaluable at times. These are places beside the road where you can
stop and which can vary from just a clearing to a place with toilets and
a place to make a fire/bbq and some even provide wood to burn.
I'd recomend getting both there as you can't really just park an spend the
night just anywhere as you wouldn't do in the uk.
You run the chance of being woken by the cops or even worse.
We broke down and had to spend the night outside an Auto Electricians on a
backstreet which was different to say the least.:blink:
We once had to set up outside a campsite in Byron Bay in a major rain storm
after we were locked out when the office closed for the night.
We got woke by a cop with a gun in the middle of the night.
Luckily my wife answered the door and he didn't know what hit him.
The tongue is mightier than the gun.

We intend on doing the same and buying a Kombi once we get to Aus.
This time with two little uns in tow:eek:

Wish you all the best.

Scotty.