my way is the highway

Before you hook up and head off, read our insider’s tale on how to plan a motorhome holiday

WORDS CAROLINE MCCONNACHIE
PHOTOGRAPHY NIALL MCCONNACHIE

As I drive over Sydney Harbour Bridge, my eyes well up as it dawns on me that a momentous journey has ended. For the past year I have explored Australia living in a campervan. Was it liberating? Hell, yes. While resort holidays lounging by the pool have their place, there’s nothing quite like a road trip. Being self-contained means you can go for unplanned adventures, explore places without encountering a single other human, and have total freedom – no one else knows where you are and if you love a place, you can stay longer.

One of the great free campsites
around the country

Taking a campervan for a holiday, I’ve discovered, makes it so easy to get out and explore a place without it descending into a huge, cost-the-earth trip. It means that, in future, I’ll always consider flying somewhere and hiring a campervan, rather than holding off due to expense.

However, before hopping in a camper it’s essential to do some research. A few companies publish books listing places to camp that are either free, or under AU$20. Most states publish a guide to caravan parks, listing what kind of facilities they have such as camp kitchens, free internet, whether you can bring a dog, and their prices. It’s also a good idea to pack a travel guide (my favourite is Lonely Planet) to give you a taste of the place, but don’t always rely on someone else’s opinion as you may have a totally different experience.

Swimming at Litchfield National Park,

Northern Territory

Living 24-7 in a space the size of a bathroom can be a challenge. At times, my husband and I needed near-telepathic skills, or the coordination of synchronised swimmers, to avoid collisions. On the road I’ve learnt to accept a few other things. Overtaking is a minor miracle, standing up inside the camper before we “pop the top” ends in sore heads, cooking with more than four ingredients creates another kind of headache, and without power-steering, a three-point turn is only a dream.

I’ve also become rather zen-like with distances. Australia is a vast continent that specialises in hypnotically long roads. Helping you keep an eye on the road ahead as your white knuckles grip the wheel are the burly road trains that thunder past. At night, they’re unavoidable, lit up and sparkling like Christmas trees. Two places you’re guaranteed to see these impressive beasts are along South Australia’s Nullabor Highway and Western Australia’s Great Northern Highway.

A caravan park in Port Fairy, Victoria

A motorhome is often the best way to see Australia’s national parks and may also afford you more time to explore. About 100km south of Darwin are the spectacular waterholes of Litchfield, one of my many highlights. I loved spending a day swimming and snorkeling at the nearby Florence Falls before returning ‘home’ and dining alfresco among the eucalypts next to a romantic campfire. Other favourite spots? Along the New South Wales coast we found hundreds of pristine beaches and great waterfront campsites, such as Pebbly Beach and Mimosa Rocks. From Melbourne, Wilson’s Promontory is less than four hours away and absolutely stunning (they have stylish cabins here, too).

Nothing about a trip, though, is as memorable as the people you meet. It goes some way to explain why we spent 28 days camping in Western Australia’s Cape Range National Park. Even others on shorter holidays extended their stays. The main attraction is its azure sea, majestic whale sharks, and the beautiful Ningaloo Reef that lies just off the beach. But what kept us glued here were our campsite hosts, retirees Mary and Don, who held a happy hour outside their caravan every night. Dragging their fold-out chairs and clutching beers, campers would gather each night to share stories. It occurred to me one evening that we were more familiar with their lives than those of our Sydney neighbours of three years.

The writer relaxing at a beachfront
campground in Mimosa Rocks
National Park, New South Wales

Australia has many free campsites, but it also has a slew of commercial caravan parks that, like other forms of accommodation, range in standards. While facilities are a little ramshackle, council-run Palm Cove Camping Ground (149 Williams Esplanade, tel: +61 (7) 4055 3824), 30 minutes from Cairns, shares a beachfront address with five-star hotels, boutiques and exclusive day spas. Just south of Perth, Fremantle Village (Cockburn Rd, South Fremantle, tel: +61 (8) 9430 4866) has what can only be described as a resort for motorhomes; you park next to your own little hedged garden and picnic table.

Beach cricket with fellow
campers at Wilson’s
Promontory National Park,
Victoria

Heading out of cities, it becomes clear which towns service the carefree I-don’t-have-to-work-tomorrow tourists. If you visit an isolated mining town such as Queensland’s Mt Isa, the birthplace of sporting wunderkinds Pat Rafter and Greg Norman, don’t leave your supermarket shopping ’til Sunday when everything except the pub is shut. However, places such as Port Douglas, South Australia’s Robe and Port Fairy, a pretty town at the end of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, are open seven days.

Coursing through remote stretches of farmland has given me a perspective on the distance our produce treks to our supermarkets. It’s also made me extremely conscious of eating seasonally. One thing I crave already is Tasmania’s myriad farm gates selling delicious raspberries and cherries, or picking up fresh produce from Barossa’s bustling farmers’ markets.

While I am enjoying being at home, I know that one day I’ll jet off again, and jump behind the wheel of my very own home on wheels.