Are there any Australians on here?

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Im in the early stages of planning an Austrlia trip, wondering if there are any Australia based forums like this to help with info?
 
Im in the early stages of planning an Austrlia trip, wondering if there are any Australia based forums like this to help with info?

I think you might need to do your text upside down for them to read properly....🐨🦘🙄
 

Are there any Australians on here?​


and you think any Funster is going to admit to that what with the amount of slagging off the Welsh get about their rugby prowess!:unsure:
 
iirc there is a forum called Grey Nomad , there was when I lived over there. If you want to maximize what you can see think about flying between major centres, otherwise you can spend most of your time driving thru MOBA :)
 
There's a group on FB called Motorhomes Australia. Might be worth joining it and if you look on their info page there is a link which lists several other related groups.

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Hi, i have,sent you a link to our blog of when we went in 2018, probably not too much usefull information, but maybe ideas for a couple of places to go.

But remember, Australia is as big as the US and there is an awful lot of nothing as well, we split our trip into two, Adelaide to Darwin, and a second trip from perth to monkey mia and back. Most of our trip was driving, and up through the middle long straight roads with not a lot to see, we only had 4-5 weeks, you realy need months or even years to see the place, unless you have plenty of time, try not to do too much (we did), and get more out of what you can do.
Dave
 
iirc there is a forum called Grey Nomad , there was when I lived over there. If you want to maximize what you can see think about flying between major centres, otherwise you can spend most of your time driving thru MOBA :)
Yes I went on that the last time I almost persuaded my wife, but it seem a bit low volume, they seemed more interested in the kit than the travel. One of the things Im after is an aussie P4N, S4S etc, we used the rankers app in NZ but seems it only does WA
 
I know its overcrowded in Spain and Portugal....but going Downunder is a tad extreme...to beat the crowds.
 
It's worth investigating the visa system for Australia being careful to do that through the official .GOV website. How long do you expect/hope to be there? There are restrictions and a visa is needed. A wonderful experience in a wonderful country.
 
We went in 2023. Is it Motorhome Tavel you are interested in?
We travelled around but only had a MoHo for 12 days.
We didn’t pre book Sites, which was a mistake and some were full even though it was October I’d say off peak. But down under they travel all the year round big time. Moho hire is very expensive. It was a great experience we drove from Sydney to Brisbane, but also went to the Blue Mountains.
Stayed in hotels the rest of the time.
We go again next week to drive the Great Ocean Rd in a Moho.
But we have pre booked all sites. The rest of the time we have booked Apartments and Air BBs. This time we go for 6 weeks.
There are a lot of Facebook Forums that are very helpful.
Let me know if anything else we can help with.

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We spent six months travelling around Australia in 2006 in a motorhome. I know it's a long time ago and it was before apps were in regular use but we found a particularly useful book was Camps Australia Wide.
I see it's now available in app form, so you might like to check it out. www.campsaustraliawide.com/app/
We rarely stayed in caravan parks. Wild camping (or freedom camping) is so easy and safe. Don't make the mistake we did. We gathered sticks to use on the barbecue and managed to pick up a Huntsman spider that scared the living daylights out of us when it dropped from the overhead locker and landed in the bed. Don't tell me they're harmless. It certainly didn't look it.
Be aware that a lot of the hire companies do not allow you to drive on dirt roads and they check under the vans for bull dust. It's almost inevitable that you will gather dust underneath because you have to go off the tar seal when a massive road train is coming straight at you.
 
Ok, have we got all the 1970's era 'jokes' out of the way?

I'm Australian and have a Hymer in the UK. I come over every year for about 4-5 months during your summer. I also have one at home in Tasmania (sitting in it now in Victoria).

Wikicamps is the best equivalent of Park4Nights.
PetrolSpy for fuel prices.

One thing I found with apps is not all of them are available outside their home country if you don't have a phone from that country. I reckon they must have to pay extra to be avialable globally.

Food is more expensive than the UK, particularly stuff from overseas (since Covid shipping has not come down). Fortunately we produce a lot here. There is nowhere near the level of variety of supermarkets as there.

Diesel is cheaper - around A$1.90 (95p) a litre now, but most Australian motorhomes are far from fuel efficient being based on heavier vehicles than typical European ones. Also you drive a lot further than in Europe so budget for more than you'd spend there. The drivers are worse, very selfish and short tempered. Terrible at merging, roundabouts - anything other than a straight road.

Motorhomes are more expensive, though I've noticed the Covid hike in prices seems over (same as the UK).
 
Im in the early stages of planning an Austrlia trip, wondering if there are any Australia based forums like this to help with info?
To answer your question, there are certainly groups and apps in Australia that will be useful and helpful. On a visit back to Australia last month, we hired a little campervan (my son and I) and made a lads' trip up the East coast while my wife stayed visiting her elderly mum North of Sydney. The apps we used were;

1. WikiCampAustralia
2. Camps Australia Wide
3. Hipcamp

My preference was No.1, WikiCampAustralia, but they're all readily available on the App Store.

You don't mention if you are planning on going there in your own moho, and I assume not, but that's ok - you can hire a good range of them there easily. A good site to check out for this is ''Camplify'' which has a database of large RV rental outfits, plus individuals who own campervans/motorhomes and rent them out under the Camplify umbrella. Camplify - easily googled. (www.camplify.com.au)

Further info................. we lived in Australia for 22 years and I can confirm what others have said here about the size of the place. It is VAST. People think they can go there and ''do'' Australia in a month. That is impossible. You'd need a year at least, to even begin to do it justice. More like two years. If this is not feasible for you, then my suggestion would be to just do a segment of it, unless you have TONS of time.

I have been to most of the State Capitals - Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin (but not Hobart) and they all have their own particular charm. I have also driven from Sydney to Perth (east coast to west coast) a couple of times (via Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road) and it was wonderful. But it needs TIME if it is to enjoyed properly. Assuming that you don't have unlimited time, then I'd recommend the best bang for your buck would be to ''do'' the East coast, which is far more populous than the West coast and the interior or the country, which is largely desert, with towns few and far between. Some wonderful places there, certainly worth visiting, but hard work compared to the East coast.

There are more ''rules' in Australia than European perception of the national Australian stereotype might suggest, but still, it is a wonderful place peopled by equally wonderful people and I'm sure you'll have a tremendous experience there, whichever route you decide upon.

Happy travels!!

Mick
 
We've hired motorhomes/campervans on Australian trips (to visit family) on a number of occasions. Not sure about forums, but the app we find most useful is Wikicamps Australia. Similar to S4S (our go-to in UK and Europe), with loads of information - click on icons for links and reviews for campsites, dump points, shops, tourist attractions etc.
We never booked. It mirrors our experience in UK / Europe; if you travel at peak holiday times and want to stay in 'honeypot' locations, sites may be booked up. Travel a little 'off piste' and you'll find lots of places to stop, for free, by lakes and rivers, in forests etc. If you want all the facilities and a powered site (EHU) then perhaps think about booking. If you're happy to go off grid, and rely on recharging the (often inadequate) battery when driving, then you can enjoy much more freedom.
The biggest restriction is going off metalled roads. Usually we've been allowed max 12km dirt road to get to a recognised campsite. The best trip was a (very expensive) Toyota Landcruiser, with tent on the roof. We could go anywhere - think rutted tracks, fording crocodile rivers, isolated campfires with only the sound of birds and wildlife!
Finally, Australia is huge, as already stated, and the scenery can make long journeys monotonous. Select an area / areas, and spend time exploring the landscape, wildlife, history, art etc.
Oh, and take advantage of the free barbecues, available in most parks and tourist stop-offs!
 
We spent six months travelling around Australia in 2006 in a motorhome. I know it's a long time ago and it was before apps were in regular use but we found a particularly useful book was Camps Australia Wide.
I see it's now available in app form, so you might like to check it out. www.campsaustraliawide.com/app/
We rarely stayed in caravan parks. Wild camping (or freedom camping) is so easy and safe. Don't make the mistake we did. We gathered sticks to use on the barbecue and managed to pick up a Huntsman spider that scared the living daylights out of us when it dropped from the overhead locker and landed in the bed. Don't tell me they're harmless. It certainly didn't look it.
Be aware that a lot of the hire companies do not allow you to drive on dirt roads and they check under the vans for bull dust. It's almost inevitable that you will gather dust underneath because you have to go off the tar seal when a massive road train is coming straight at you.
When we went in 2018, we were told that they were clamping down hard on free camping, but also hire companies said no off road, we only did a little, mainly just to get to viewpoints etc, the other thing to bear in mind, that if you are out in the country, mobile phone reception stops about 20k out if town, so you are on your own if you brake down, make sure you have plenty of water.

We had a small camper with no facilities, but lots of sites have ensuite pitches, with your own shower and toilet, also pleanty of space for chairs tables etc, so you dont have to pack the van to go sightseeing.

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