motorhome touring in Australia

I'm sure others will have other views.

A few years ago we did the Brisbane to Melbourne route, however by car and staying in a mixture of motels, renting apartments and hotels. 

We looked into going again a couple of years ago, this time using a motorhome. After we costed it all out it would have worked out better to do the same as last time. 

Hi. We did Adelaide up to Cookstown, spent 9 weeks in a hired van and did over 5000 miles. We went inland or by the coast depending on weather mainly. We travelled January to March and came inland when cyclones were forecast on the coast. There were 2 areas
which we didnt like, one was inland where there was widespread mining which meant a lot of the sites were full of workers. Also the coast area above Sydney is very built up. We didnt book anything in advance but that depends on time of year. Get some good
maps, use local tourist information offices for this as sometimes the scale of a road map is insufficient for your needs.

A superb trip, didnt plan much just made it up as we went along. If you want any more detail as to sites/routes/what to see then I am sure the club would supply my e mail address if that helps.

Hi songbird 6,

Have you checked out websites of Apollo, Britz or Maui to get an idea of van types/sizes and costs? We have done 2 trips to Australia and each time hired an Apollo Hippie Camper. They are small vans without loos and  are good workhorses. We did look initially at hiring a van conversion with loo but the cost is phenomenal. We enjoy the motorhoming lifestyle and by hiring a small (relatively cheap) van we could have that experience in Oz. We  found that hiring the Hippie Campers ( one was 3 years old and the other 5) cost about the same as a more modern car and campsite fees were obviously a lot cheaper than hotels/motels and cabins/lodges on camping parks. Not having a loo on board was no real problem - all the camping parks on which we stayed had fine facility blocks and camp kitchens were generally good/very good, often with free electric barbecues.There was no problem (Oct/Nov)  in finding places to stay and we could have coffee and make lunch or evening meals in the van when we didn't want to eat out.

The small vans to which I refer would not suit everyone but for us they were fine.

If I can help in any other way please let me know.

At the other extreme, we met a couple from Belgium who were in Oz for 8 months and had their own A class motorhome with them. They had it shipped from Zeebrugge and the return passage for the van was 17000 euros ---but cheaper than hiring a similar van for 8 months. I would think that Aussie drivers would find it strange  seeing a left hand drive vehicle!

If driving up from Sydney to Brisbane, take the Pacific Highway but detour into the rainforest region inland north of Coff's Harbour.

My daughter studied and worked in Brisbane for several years. I drove back to Adelaide with her in her Subaru.

The inland towns up in the rainforest of north east New South Wales are fantastic.

I remember pulling up at a town, Bellingen if I remember rightly. We had fish and chips at a cafe overlooking the hillside with big ferns everywhere and vines draping over the hillside. Driving up into the Great Dividing Range we could hear the bellbirds singing in the bush.

Take your time to do the trip . . . . at least a week . . . . and you won't be disappointed with the scenery and friendly folk in the townships off the main Pacific Highway.

Don't feel you have to pull into a caravan park each and every night. If you like a spot, just drive around to find a quiet spot and pull up for the night. Chances are, you'll find a couple of other motorhomes or caravans parked up too. Australia is quite safe to travel around and "free camp" overnight.

Happy travels.