Hello from Australia! (1 Viewer)

[neatnik66]

Hi,
My wife and I are in our early 40s, and live in Western Australia.
We've started planning a three month motorhoming trip of Europe (mostly France) in mid-2011. We travelled around the continent in a rough old Westfalia VW in 1996, and are now ready to reprise the adventure... albeit with a few changes.
This time we'll definitely have a better vehicle: we intend to hire rather than buy, and it'll have a shower, toilet and a fridge (only had a coolbox in the old Kombi).
Also, looking back, we feel we were a little insular on our last trip. That is to say, we freecamped a lot and, while we were quite content with one another's company, we regret not having mixed with locals much. This time we're keen to make friends where ever possible.
We've found there's so much to be gained from reading books (eg. David Shore and Patty Campbell's Europe by Van and Motorhome) and material on the internet by other people who have done this sort of thing.
Look forward to any comments and suggestions, and reading the posts on the site!
Cheers, Craig.

 

[theresa]

hello and welcome :thumb:

 

[tick59]

Welcome to the FUN, I'm sure you will get plenty of tips for your trip from the funsters on here, you might even manage to get to one of the meets, but be prepared, the booze flows freely

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[tony morris]

Hi to you both you come to the right forum you should get all the help you want Tony

 

[crazylazy]

Hi,
My wife and I are in our early 40s, and live in Western Australia.
We've started planning a three month motorhoming trip of Europe (mostly France) in mid-2011. We travelled around the continent in a rough old Westfalia VW in 1996, and are now ready to reprise the adventure... albeit with a few changes.
This time we'll definitely have a better vehicle: we intend to hire rather than buy, and it'll have a shower, toilet and a fridge (only had a coolbox in the old Kombi).
Also, looking back, we feel we were a little insular on our last trip. That is to say, we freecamped a lot and, while we were quite content with one another's company, we regret not having mixed with locals much. This time we're keen to make friends where ever possible.
We've found there's so much to be gained from reading books (eg. David Shore and Patty Campbell's Europe by Van and Motorhome) and material on the internet by other people who have done this sort of thing.
Look forward to any comments and suggestions, and reading the posts on the site!
Cheers, Craig.

How wonderful for you both sounds a trip of a life-time....you have discovered this wonderful web-site as well...I guarantee look no further, you will find all the help you need on this super web-site....Oh! Hello and Welcome!!

 

[bigfish]

gday mate,

All you need is here, keep an on on the callender for events and meets

Youll find the hospitallity here as good as we found touring western Aus
for a month in 02 and all the great people we met. :thumb::thumb:

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[Wildman]

Hi and welcome to the site. Hiring for a long period is not really viable much cheaper to buy then sell at the end of it, some companies even have a buy back scheme. So do enquire.

 

[ginge61]

gday and hope it all comes together :thumb:

 

[chrisboyo]

Hi
Looks like a great trip
If you are coming over to South wales you are welcome to pitch up on our drive for a few days
Happy Daze
Chrisboyo

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[Hayleylulu]

hi and a big welcome

 

[neatnik66]

Wow! Thanks everyone.
Thanks for the advice, Wildman, about buying and selling back. We did look at that option, but, as non-EU residents, it seems as though buying and disposing of a vehicle on a precise timeframe could become a headache we'd rather not have. Plus, there is mechanical support (I am not mechanical, by any stretch... and that was a problem last time!), and being equipped with all the peripherals (cooking utensils, crockery, cutlery, and whatever else), among other things.
We really need to turn up 'day one', and be able able to drive off with everything in place. The cost is something we're prepared to take in our stride (it turns out it would cost nearly twice as much here in WA for the same period of time!).
However, I'm certainly open to persuasion!
Cheers,
Craig.

 

[kickstart]

Hi and welcome to the funsters Craig,having visited Ozz cant wait to come back,were lucky to have family in northern Qeensland and Sydney but would like to spend three months traveling to see more and have been looking on one of these motorhome swap sites,it might be worth you having a look,if you dont have a motorhome or vehicle and trailer to swap you can offer your holiday home or house for the same time.

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[tony morris]

Hi and welome to you both again have you thought of the options to do a house swap and m/h i have seen forums out there that just do that the other option like wildman said you could purchase a m/h from a dealer with the agreement at the end of your holidays he will sell it for you on a sale and return with a guarantee price back to you both so if the m/h is not sold by the time you return home you know you will in the end ' you will get your guaranteed money also try p m john cross motorhomes and talk peter i have found him to be realy helpful in the past good luck tony

 

[paula2072]

Hi, hope you have a wonderful time, and have lots of fun, Im sure you will meet lots of other people on your travels. Our son Jamie has just got back from Astrailia, he had a great trip he was there for 4 months, and now he is back in England wishing he was back there lol.
Paula.

 

[Boo]

G'day Coba & :welcome: mate,

If I was you I would be tempted to buy an RV in Australia, swap with someone in europe (from one of these swap sites) then when you get home after your trip you could simply sell it of even tour some of your beautiful country in it, because once you experience a fully loaded RV........................you would NEVER go back to hotels dude, also you got that extra living space in your driveway when friends or relli's turn up for a week or two :thumb:

Boo

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[MrJinks]

Hi guys & welcome,

I repeat the link made to your compatriate ( Aussie) earlier today. No connection to the site but have used them and no problems so far.

Motorhome hire and rent - UK erento

They advertise a huge choice of vehicles from different companies and locations. Rental is expensive but try negotiating a price for long rental.

Hope the trip comes off & you have a great time. :thumb:

Garry

 

[bald eagle]

How neatnik66 and :welcome:

regards
bald eagle:thumb:

 

[Carol]

Hi Neatnick66 and welcome to a great forum the thing is just to keep asking questions as you think of them Routes sites etc, I am sure you will have a amazing time. Carol.

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[carl65]

If I was you I would be tempted to buy an RV in Australia, swap with someone in europe

great idea givin the time frame sure someone would be intrested (like me ) but if thats not possible, i know someine who has a van like mine fixed double end end bathroom and overcab slppeing fridge freezer cooker hob heating and plenty of space, its in newcastle england there for if hired could start trip up north, go into scotland then travel south as far as you want when finishing get ferry from holland back up to north and them fly home, sounds a great round trip give me a shout if you want any more help.

 

[estcres]

Hello and welcome to the best forum which caters for Morothomes.

At Devizes in Wiltshire we have a great Camping and Caravan Club site which is ideally suited for anyone who wishes to visit the many attractions which are nearby.

The site is about 100yds from the Kennet & Avon canal which has smashing walks along side it, you can walk/cycle into Devizes iteself with it's many small local shops and 1 or 2 supermarkets. there are plenty of eating places including the world famous Polly Tea Rooms, maybe you could arrange a visit to the local Wadworth brewery which produces the world famous 6X beer.

About 20 miles from the site is the roman city of Bath with all it's famous Roman Baths and plenty of shopping facilities. About 30 miles from the site is Stonehenge, a world heritage site, well worth a vist and Avebury is only about 9 miles from the site.

The ancient city of Salisbury is about 35 miles from the site and is truly a lovely place with it's Cathedral and plenty of historic buildings.

Very near the site is the 3 Magpies pub and they do great food, or the Barge Inn at Seend where you can sit and eat next to the canal and watch all the barges and boats go by.

All in all a very good position for visiting all the nearby attractions. worth staying about a week in order to see and appreciate all the sights.

 

[Boo]

Hello and welcome to the best forum which caters for Morothomes.

At Devizes in Wiltshire we have a great Camping and Caravan Club site which is ideally suited for anyone who wishes to visit the many attractions which are nearby.

The site is about 100yds from the Kennet & Avon canal which has smashing walks along side it, you can walk/cycle into Devizes iteself with it's many small local shops and 1 or 2 supermarkets. there are plenty of eating places including the world famous Polly Tea Rooms, maybe you could arrange a visit to the local Wadworth brewery which produces the world famous 6X beer.

About 20 miles from the site is the roman city of Bath with all it's famous Roman Baths and plenty of shopping facilities. About 30 miles from the site is Stonehenge, a world heritage site, well worth a vist and Avebury is only about 9 miles from the site.

The ancient city of Salisbury is about 35 miles from the site and is truly a lovely place with it's Cathedral and plenty of historic buildings.

Very near the site is the 3 Magpies pub and they do great food, or the Barge Inn at Seend where you can sit and eat next to the canal and watch all the barges and boats go by.

All in all a very good position for visiting all the nearby attractions. worth staying about a week in order to see and appreciate all the sights.

WoW!! that wasn't a bad promotion pitch..........................Did you do the advert for Cilit Bang too??

Boo

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[sedge]

If it's mainland Europe then my advice (non -UK !!!) would be to use Aires which are often in town/city centres (well nearby LOL) because you do have to park quite close to one another and it's impossible not to be sociable plus in the town ones you are nearer to the place itself instead of several miles outside the centre.

The 'All the Aires' (Vicarious Publishing) book is good, yes - but there are lots that aren't in that book. Some aren't even in the 'official' French book! - but the latter is in French .....

And/or join France Passion (Vicarious again) - because whilst finding them you do defo get to see bits of countryside you'd probably never see otherwise and you do defo get to meet the locals.

Here I agree that CC or CCC sites are normally friendly and quite a few are open to non-members, but the smaller '5-van' locations aren't. Those are often in the prettiest places!

If you need to join this that AND the other to get a holiday - it makes the trip all the more expensive and nowhere is as cheap as it used to be any more. For fuel, food shopping or anything else. Fair enough if you were planning on using proper commercial campsites, then it would defo be cheaper - but a heck of a lot dearer than wild camping! LOL

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Hi Craid and welcome to Fun.

2011 is a fair way away so you will have plenty of time to plan ahead, my own view is that you will be far better off doing a buy and sell back at the end of your time in UK and France.

It all depends on what budget you have as obviously you will not be able to get finance or short term credit in the UK and will have to pay in full.

A late motorhome circa £28k - £30k with a breakdown cover should see you right.

Peter

 

[estcres]

WoW!! that wasn't a bad promotion pitch..........................Did you do the advert for Cilit Bang too??

Boo

I can do a promotion for Cornwall as well if you like.!!!!

There is a great Caravan Club site at Carnon Downs which is situated half way between the Cathedral City of Truro and the famous town Falmouth.

Near to the site are some great cycling and walking routes, you can go down to the sea at Point or Feock which are part of the original Cornwall. the Tramway at Point recently starred on the Julia Bradbury programme about good walks.

You can catch the bus into both Truro and Falmouth at the bus stop situated just outside the campsite entrance. Truro has the Cathedral, as I mentioned earlier it also has al fresco eating at Lemon Quay and the Hall for Cornwall which has a vast range of performing arts. There is a vast array of shops catering for every taste.

Falmouth has the Docks, where you can see an arrangement of ships in various states of repair both military and civil. There are several beaches, castle and gylingvase being 2 to name, you can take the cliff walk to Swanpool beach and travel even further to Maenporth.
The castle and keep at Pendennis are well worth a visit and again they are both steeped in history. You can visit the National Maritime Museum and Hero's Square. Buy a Cornish Pasty from the Oggy, Oggy pasty shop and eat it on Custom House Quay but please don't feed the seagulls.

Cornwall has many places to visit, St. Ives, Newquay, Perranporth, St. Agnes and the Lizard Peninsula. you couls spend a fortnight there and not see everything.

So when your'e over here from Australia spend some time in Devizes and then travel on to Cornwall.

Hows that?

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[Goose]

Hello Neatnick66.

Looks like you've got an awesome holiday lined up. As others have said previously, you'd be way better off buying and reselling if you're going to be touring Europe for 3 months. David Shore and Patty Campbell's book (you mentioned in your opening thread) was our inspiration for buying a CI Coachbuilt Class C motorhome in 2002 from Bilbos (as advised in their book).

We bought the MH with a guranteed 75% buyback. The MH cost us 15,000 pounds and then there was roadtax and insurance. Even though we knew we'd be returning the MH within 3 months the minimum period we could insure it for was 6 months and that was pricey at around 360 pounds. But we were from South Africa and had to insure through Downunder Insurance (also a tip from their book??)

But all-in, once we'd returned the MH to Bilbos and pocketed the 75% buyback cheque it had cost us just under 50 pounds a day for the motorhome - massively less, I'd guess, than hiring a motorhome for those 3 months.

Mechanical issues are still a concern, I grant you. The massive uphill climb of France's Mont Ventoux, on the day they were holding a vintage car rally, was simply too much for the van and dislocated the exhaust pipe near the muffler. Limping along to a garage that welded the part for 45 euros was all part of the fun of the trip.

And here's why the guaranteed buyback was a godsend. During the course of our 3 months water had found its way into the ceiling. When I had a look on the roof I noticed a number of spots which had been filled. Presumably the previous owners had removed some kit and simply patched the holes. After a few days of rain the ceiling inside the motorhome was atually sagging with water damage. But when we took the MH back to Bilbos, the owner gave us our buyback cheque notwithstanding the water damage I showed him. All credit to Bilbos.

Don't know if Bilbos still do buybacks. When we bought, the buyback was only guaranteed if the MH was returned withing 60 days. But we got them to change the contract to 90 days. After that they would have taken the MH back but sold it for us on consignment. Imagine trying to sell a MH with obvious water damage!!