Andysue

Hi All,

I have had to re-register as my previous ID wasn't working properly (Andy66) and I have a question...

We are planning our validation trip for March - April and one of the things we were considering was spending a few days in Sydney, then getting a motor home to explore up the coast, and then down to melbourne, as well as doing a little exploring around Victoria and everywhere in between.

There will be the two of us, with our 2 year old daughter and I would be grateful for any views from people who may have done this.

Some concerns we have are:
Would our daughter feel quite "isolated" in the motorhome whilst on the road, as it seems that child seats are fitted well towards the back of the motorhome.
We have a rechargeable baby monitor which has good range, but would feel pretty uneasy about leaving her (sleeping) in the van whilst having a bite to eat in a restaurant, even with the thing parked directly outside.
Is it pretty easy to park where you want, or do you have to go to the official parks? Some look great, and we will give them a go, but I am sure there will not always be one where we would like to be.

As I said, any experiences and guidance would be gratefully received!

Cheers

Andy

beach bound

Hi Andy

My husband and I went to Oz last Easter and hired a motorhome for the 3 weeks. We were out there on a exploratory trip and took our two children then aged 5 and 3. We flew to Adelaide, stayed a couple of nights in a hotel to acclimatise, and then picked up our motorhome. We got one that is for 6 people so that we had plenty of room. We drove south to Kangaroo Island, then across to Melbourne and surrounding area, and then up to Sydney where we handed it back and stayed a couple of ights in a hotel in the centre before heading home. We hired the motorhome from Britz/Maui and the motorhome was fairly new and clean - no complaints.

In all we travelled 2000 kms and found it easy to drive (no traffic jams) and easy to park up and get around - but don't underestimate the distances between places especially in relation to the relatively low speed limit you can travel at.

The only time we found the parking difficult was in the main cities. There are few places to park in the centres. In Melbourne we just left the van at the caravan park and caught a bus into the centre, which was no problem. Outside the cities you can park up overnight just about anywhere (there are signs saying if it isn't allowed but there weren't many places). We had wondered about where we could stay but even the rental company said it was fine to stay most places and we spent quite a few nights 'on the side of the road', esp in SA. But you will need to stay at caravan parks on a fairly regular basis to top up water and empty out sewerage!

The children are at the back of the van and it is quite a way back - hard to talk so you end up staggering about to the back to speak/pick up crayons/etc. Our 2 had each other to entertain each other, plus they love listening to stories so we got some cd's and that worked well (onboard cd player on most vans but check). We didn't leave the children alone in the van because we found that even in April (Autumn) it got very hot inside the van so be careful about this with your little one.

We found it a great way to look around and we met so many friendly people. Travelling this way instead of staying in hotels was great because it meant living in Oz, ie, trying out the supermarkets, chemists, local cafe's/truck stops, etc as well as the beaches, parks and other great sight seeing. It meant we could go where and when we wanted which was ideal for looking around.

We have just got our visas and plan to go out in August. We are seriously thinking of doing the van thing again for going around Brisbane and up and down the Sunshine and Gold Coasts before we make our absolute final decision on where to live but it depends on costs (we're expecting to be relatively poorer money wise after all this visa, bond, removals.... ).

Hope the above ramble helps a bit.

BB

wmoore

Andy, send a PM to Paul and he'll be able to sort you out.

Andysue

Thanks BB for the informative reply - it really helps to hear from someone who has tried it! Sounds like you had a great trip!

Thanks for the tip wmoore, I did contact the webmaster who said everything seemed to be fine, but no matter what I couldn't log in to post, even though I could log in at the main login page - strange. I'll stick with the new ID now but thanks for the tip.

Andy

datamile

Done the campervan thing in NZ for 3 weeks, but hired cars in Oz. 4 of us, so vans can be quiet expensive if you have to pay for the sites etc.

In Oz got a car, and stayed in apartments, and the occasionaly motel. Out of season these can be pretty cheap, and you get lots of room.

Vans can be a bit slow, and hard to move in limited spaced (had a 3 double berth job)...

We've done Sydney to Brisbane (and back), and brisbane to Cairns on our trips. Try to limit the travel time, or do several small days + 1 large day, or the kid will sleep all day, and give you hell at night

J+J

Hi

We did the Alelaide to Sydney via Melbourne route last year too. There were 4 adults and two kids in the 6 berth (It was cramped !!) the one thing I didn't look into enough was the distance and time it would take to cover it. Doing it again we would have covered less ground or taken longer, it was still excellent but if I had to change one thing it would be that. A hotel when you first get there is a good idea to 'cos you will be knacked. We took the kids (20months and 4 yrs) out with us in the evening (OK early evening) they were fine, nowhere had a problem taking the kids in for a meal.
In fact unless we were near a bigish town a lot of places seemed to close around 9 in the evening anyway.
Like the other poster said the kids sit at the back so you might find one is doing the entertaining whilst the other drives.
If you plan on doing much city driving I would think about the motel and car idea as it can be a bit hairy if you are a less than confident driver. :scared:

I'm sure you'll enjoy it regardless how you go.

Best of luck

J

kcsb17

Hi Andy,

My family and I did the same trip for our validation last year. Went from Sydney to Blue Mountains and then up to Brisbane.
Two main things I would do differently if going again;
1. Limit daily mileage, or alternate between long days and short days of driving. We only allowed 8 days in total and it was hard going to make the distance. Children (Twin boys age 8) begged to stay an extra day in some of the nice beach campsites, but we couldn't as we would not have made it to Brisbane on time.
2. Pack lightly. We were combining hotel stays at either end of the journey, but found it impossible to unpack or store the 4 family suitcases we had. There is only 1 tiny wardrobe in the 6 berth Maui van we had and only storage bins for soft sports style bags. Ended up piling the cases onto the top bunk by day and having them in the middle of the floor by night.
The only other thing we found was the boys did get a bit car sick quesy (spelling?) as the back of the van does tend to sway and bounce around a fair bit. We all had to rotate round so the kids spent time in the driving cabin and Mum & Dad had turns up the back. It was not much fun for the kids as they couldn't read or draw. We played cards a lot.

Hope this helps a bit.
Regards,

Karen
(ps. I did almost 900 miles of driving myself as Hubby preferred to navigate !)

scottyboy

Hay Andysue

We took a vw combi around Oz a couple of years ago and loved every second.
Buy yourself the Rough Guide to Australia before you go. It's like a bible.
It lists camp sites in some of the smallest of places and we found it invaluable.
The campsites in Oz are both many and good.
I guess you can pretty much stay where you like.
We had the image of pulling off the road into a nice little spot and camping down for the night but in practice it's not as easy as that. You have to imagine "do I feel safe?". We had to spend the night in the odd rest stop and we didn't feel totally safe. You kind of get to thinking if you can pull in and spend the night then so can someone else.
We now have a two year old and I can't really imagine him being happy being strapped in to a kiddy seat for the kind of distances that are involved. If you are going to go where you say then there is going to be a lot time on the road.
I wouldn't advise against leaving your daughter in the van alone.
As nice as Australia is you can never be sure. It has its share of funny folk like anywhere. Anyway, there's a lot worse than eating outside your van watching the sun set with a cold V.B.
You'll find your own groove once you are there though.
Wish you all the best with your trip.

Scotty.

sula

Hi Andy,
I am planning a similar trip with my husband in March. We fly to Melbourne on 25th March and return to UK from Brisbane on 11th April. We haven't booked the campervan yet. The campsites look quite good.

http://www.big4.com.au/NewSite/findparkcompletefset.asp

During the trip we plan to visit Victoria, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Maybe we can meet up whilst we are over there?

Liz

markeh

Hiya Andysue,
it's an interesting thread you have started.

I went to Oz on my own for two weeks last July, hired a car & went a wondering, stopping wher I liked. Brisbane to Sydney & back via gold coast & then the Sunshine coast

I think a campervan would be great for a family, allowing you to see the country. There is soo much to see. It's something that I've mentioned to the wife about doing when we fist migrate to Oz. I was thinking of taking some time in doing it though.

The distances between places is something that makes you realise how small the UK is!
It's not a race, it's a holiday

Bye
Mark

Andysue

Wow Guys - thanks for all the replies!

I am still in two minds about this but your different perspectives have definitely given me some ideas on how to address the shortfalls.

Thanks again for your time!

Sula - have sent you a PM

Cheers

Andy

kevinl

Hi Andy,

We drove almost the whole way round highway 1 in 92/93 and camped most of it, staying in on site vans for a bit of "luxury" now and again.
Loved it.

We also hired a small camper in Perth after we sold our car and travelled up to Exmouth, ok on the Tarmac but no good on tracks into Exmouth state park etc. We ended up hiring a little Jeep thing and leaving the camper at the site.

We visited NZ in 96 and hired a bigger (Based on Ford Cargo) camper, was supposed to have it for 2 weeks, after a week I had enough and changed it for a car.
I found it too much like hard work to drive and park, too bouncy a ride and very slow.
Also found it claustrophobic to sit in of a night.

If we get our visa we are going to buy a car and camper trailer (probably) as camping/campering (the adj of campervaning ?) is the best.
You can hire camper trailers.

Kevin

Banksia

I think it is a good idea. But only if you are not too ambitious in your itinerary. The distances can be awesome and camper vans are slow. This is a country to be flown around not driven around unless you have a l o n g time at your disposal. Consider climatic, seasonal issues too.

If it's too hot, it can turn heaven to purgatory. And if you have a scratchy toddler, it can turn into hell. Chasing the surf up the coast as footloose youngsters in a ute or Vee Dub or as grey nomads with plenty of time is one thing. Kids have different agendas and why shouldn't they?

A retired Irish mate of mine has caught the bug and travelled from Gosford to Cairns several times. He raves on about the evening rituals of lighting a fire and opening the Esky to draw a crowd. His English wife is more sanguine about his new found interest/obsession.

Parking in (level) suburban streets or streets on the outskirts of country towns just on dusk is a good way to spend the night for nothing. Parks in country towns are well provisioned with outdoor taps, loos and shaded picnic tables for midday breaks. Some truck stops/large service stations have showers. You will usually find recreational facilities by the side of rivers in country towns for midday breaks.