Sydney to Brisbane (1 Viewer)

[Griffithii]

Hi Funsters, we are travelling from Sydney to Brisbane in a rented "campervan" courtesy of Britz in March 2018. We have 8 nights. I'd welcome any suggestions for "must sees" along the route or any experience of good campsites. I'm thinking Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley will be worth a night each at least. We'll have a few days on the Gold Coast so beaches are not our priority. Any one been along this popular route already?

 

[Langtoftlad]

Probably too far north of Brisbane but Fraser Island is definitely worth a visit - one of those "only in Australia" places...
Not much further is Bundaberg, home of their famous rum.

Whilst on the coast, keep an eye open for the surfing clubs... excellently located on beaches for great views and good value eats & drinks.
In the same vein, keep an eye out for RSL Clubs - good food at reasonable prices.
Visitors welcome, just sign in.

Plenty to do & see in Brisbane itself. Depends on what you like.

There's something called the Rainforest Way - scenic drives through er, rainforest as a contrast to sun sea & sand. Passes through Lamington National Park.

 

[pappajohn]

Sorry, only driven the other way....Brisbane to Cairns.
8 days isn't long to be doing detours through the blue mountains etc.
Last visit, we took a leisurely 4 days to drive the thousand kilometres from Sydney to Melbourne but mostly on the coastal highway.

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[Glandwr]

Did it in 1972, up on the New England Highway (only partially paved then), back on the Pacific. Be prepared for hundreds of miles of pineapples followed by hundreds of miles of sugar cane and so on. Colangata and Mawolumba were historic settlements then but believe they are non descript now. Near Sydney the Hawkesbury River was worth a look but I don't know how much you will see of it from a camper. Likewise Tamberine Mountain near Brisbane.

 

[rangi]

The blue mountains are "the other way" (WEST) and are not what you expect. Just north of Sydney, 120 miles or so, is a little country place, Budgewoi .
There is one hell of a beach there, good fishing spot if you are into that kind of thing There is a camp site there. Nora Head is one end of the beach King Rock the t'other, about 8-9kms in between.

To drive none stop Syd-Bris took me 14 hours. Hunter Valley is where the Winerys are. We were last there xmas 1999, and there was a bit of a hoo haa going on about an open cast coalmine starting up, wether it did????/
Coolengatta's a nice spot. If you can pop into the a local RSL do it. you just show your passport.
Don't know how long you have in Sydney, but if you can pop into the "Revesby Workers Club" Don't let the name fool you. 1275 Pokies, 5 Restaurants (Silver Service to Bistro) 200 bed Hotel. great place to spend the night.
Port Stephen, swim with the Dolphins and chillied Crab at "Gelignite Jack's"

Last but not least. THE BIG PRAWN! I had had the worst burger EVER! there.

One honest tip I can give you though, when the speed limit sign says 120 kph it means exactly that, in particular on the Pacific Highway
Have a great trip, Australia is one big country, and one that there is only ONE of.

AND! watch that Sun rise over the sea as dawn breaks , from some isolated beach somewhere, far from the maddening crowds
it'll be a memory you'll keep forever!

 

[Griffithii]

Thanks for the tips so far. I'm liking the sound of the Rainforest Way. What is a RSL club? In what way are the "Blue Mountains not what you would expect"? I hadn't really thought about what to expect yet and although it's west (not much is east of Sydney) I thought a loop inland would work on paper. We have 8 days to do the 14 hours city to city and I'm sure some of it we can just whizz (at 120kph) by.It seems fast enough in a 7m motorhome.

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[Glandwr]

Thanks for the tips so far. I'm liking the sound of the Rainforest Way. What is a RSL club? In what way are the "Blue Mountains not what you would expect"? I hadn't really thought about what to expect yet and although it's west (not much is east of Sydney) I thought a loop inland would work on paper. We have 8 days to do the 14 hours city to city and I'm sure some of it we can just whizz (at 120kph) by.It seems fast enough in a 7m motorhome.

Returned Serviceman's League, social clubs but in some states NSW in particular they have gone into gambling in a big way and some are essentially slot machine (pokies) casinos. If yo head to the Blue Mts. Katoomba will give you a good flavour of them

 

[pappajohn]

1275 Pokies

Just what is the Australian fascination with slot machines ?
There seems to be more machines per bar than beer pumps.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Returned Serviceman's League, social clubs but in some states NSW in particular they have gone into gambling in a big way and some are essentially slot machine (pokies) casinos. If yo head to the Blue Mts. Katoomba will give you a good flavour of them

Katoomba is where we went in 1999 when we were near Sydney.
I think there’s some rocks there called the three sisters?
The Blue Mountains name comes from the haze off the trees if I remember correctly.
I would make sure you see the Opera House, key side maybe a trip to Manly Island you can walk the bridge?
However much time you think it will take, double it

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[Chris]

Katoomba is where we went in 1999 when we were near Sydney.
I think there’s some rocks there called the three sisters?
The Blue Mountains name comes from the haze off the trees if I remember correctly.
I would make sure you see the Opera House, key side maybe a trip to Manly Island you can walk the bridge?
However much time you think it will take, double it

We went to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains when we were in Sydney.

I thought it was a bit of a waste of a day to be honest.

 

[Glandwr]

The blue mountains are a spectacularly difficult range to walk though. Sydney had been a large settlement for 50 years before they were crossed. When I was in Sydney in the 70s a light aircraft went missing in the mountains, it was 5 days before the wreckage was found, it was less than 50 miles from the center of Sydney.

 

[Silver-Fox]

We went to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains when we were in Sydney.

I thought it was a bit of a waste of a day to be honest.

I wouldn’t of wanted not to go but if time had been pressing I would have done something else.
Funnily there was an Aboriginal man in native dress at one of the view points.
Having photos etc taken with tourists.
Blow me down if a few years later he came to London and met the Queen

As we had a week staying just North of Sydney we had plenty of time to look around.

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[rangi]

Just what is the Australian fascination with slot machines ?
There seems to be more machines per bar than beer pumps.

NSW State Government in 2000 were getting $A130.000 per Pokie in a State levied tax, (RWC had 1275 of them, from 5c - $A2 a pop.)
RWC still managed to make a massive profit, that subsidised meals ,drinks, Shows. We saw Tom Jones, Cher,The Big O, all at rock bottom prices. Community projects by the score.
And the State were still getting their bundle.

Imagine the tax the UK government would be up for if a similar amount of tax was levied on each similar machine in the bookies premisies

 

[Glandwr]

The Aussies are huge gamblers. But in the early 70s the only way they could was at race meetings, the Government owned TAB betting shops and the pokies. Oh and pitch an toss on ANZAC day.

There was however a network of illegal underground casinos in Sydney. Any local blood, copper or taxi driver could take you to one. The Sydney Morning Herald decided to run a campaign against corruption that was taken up by a local TV station. The upshot was that the casinos were raided and closed down. Clients, employees and owners were arrested and went through the courts.

The next bit is unbelievable. The TV station decided to do a follow up the next year, all the casinos had reopened, so far so believable. Then they decided to look up all those that had been prosecuted to see if they were the ones involved a year on. Got the names and addresses from court records, dozens of them.

Guess what? All had gone though the court system, been found guilty, paid their fines on false names!
Don’t know what it’s like now but things were really dodgy there then. I used to keep a 50 dollar note folded in my licence back then. Maybe an idea for you.

Dick

 

[jockaneezer]

From what I remember of Katoomba and the Blue Mountains, we drove from Sydney up onto a high plateau and the "mountains" were formed by valleys, I don't remember any significant peaks like you would expect on a "normal" mountain range like the Cairngorms or Alps. So basically, you're on high levelish ground with lots of creeks and gulleys forming the landscape in front of you that's all a bit blurry cos of the blue haze off the eucalyptus trees which carpet everything. I don't think I'd rush back.
The Hunter valley is nice if you like wine, lots of tasting experiences available at the various vineyards.

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[Teuchter]

Coffs Harbour is quite nice and is on your way and there is a decent campsite there (Park Beach) also take a look at Surfers Paradise, only a quick look though!! just to say you have been there!

 

[Silver-Fox]

Also Bondi Beach just to say you’ve been there