tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi all, Just wondering if you can help please, my husband and I are emigrating to Oz in July/ August this year and we're going to rent a campervan to go up to the East coast for a couple of months before travelling back down to Melbourne to settle. We were wondering, does anyone know if it's cheaper to book a campervan online before we get over there, or book when we arrive? Or is there any sites that people are willing to rent out their own even maybe? Suggestions, tips and advice very much appreciated Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you have no set schedule and are just wanting to get from A to B look at campervan relocation, Google Immova. To be honest it isn't that much cheaper hiring a campervan when it's full price unless you use the relocations. Remember you have all the insurance etc and deposits to add on. When we last hired a Britz the deposit was $1000 and the insurance was an extra $60 a day. Then you have fuel and camp sites. Flights are quite cheap on the East coast with lots of specials that come up. Ie Melbourne to Sydney $29, Melbourne to Cairns $99 another way is to look at the Greyhound bus. Don't get me wrong I love travelling and would personally opt for a camper but just realise there are probably cheaper ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chewitts Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi!.... the cheapest option is probably juicy campervans, a 2 berth with no loo or shower. As soon as you look at bigger ensuite ones the prices are huge! it would be very doubtfull that you would find a private hire one due to the insurance restrictions have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi Pom Queen. Thank you for your response. We have 2 months to go from Melbourne probably as far as Brisbane, go up the coast and return inland a bit more so we get to see as much as we can. We have our dog with us too though so no flying. We've had a look online and have held back £2000 for 2 months for the full campervan and insurance. Just looking if it's worth doing here in the UK online or once we touch down to save some pennies Thanking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi Pom Queen.Thank you for your response. We have 2 months to go from Melbourne probably as far as Brisbane, go up the coast and return inland a bit more so we get to see as much as we can. We have our dog with us too though so no flying. We've had a look online and have held back £2000 for 2 months for the full campervan and insurance. Just looking if it's worth doing here in the UK online or once we touch down to save some pennies Thanking Remember your dog can fly with you up and down the coast with Virgin it's around $40, also note 99% of the rental companies won't allow pets so you may have to have a think. It may even work out better for you to buy your own van maybe from another back packer who is flying home. It is a lovely drive up the coast and you will see some beautiful place along the way. Price wise I don't think it will make any difference whether you book it here or there. If you want ideas of places to see give us a shout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chewitts Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 There are a few companies now that allow dogs but they will only rent a bigger van not an economy one so the prices are going to be way above your budget..... i would agree you are going to be much better off buying a cheap van.....there are lots for sale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thank you so much guys!! We are now looking at buying one and using our savings that we've put aside for our deposit and first 3 months rent for a house, as once we've done travelling we can sell the campervan and get the money back for the deposit and rent, as well as the money back we used to buy the campervan ... that we wouldn't have got back of course if we'd be renting one Does anyone have any ideas on insurance or is it called registration out there? So we can buy privately and get everything sorted so we're legal on the roads out there. New to all of this! Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hellooo Where would be best to look at campervans for sale please? Any ideas? Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hellooo Where would be best to look at campervans for sale please? Any ideas? Many thanks You usually find the companies like wicked have ones they sell off and a few of them do it with a buy back option. Also check out gumtree as this is where the backpackers tend to offload theirs. In regards to your question in the other post. Each state is different. In Victoria you purchase your rego (like the UK car tax) and it includes 3rd party insurance, in Queensland this is called CTP now although you can legally drive a car with this insurance alone and it says it's third party, it isn't third party like we know it in the UK, the CTP only covers you for injury to the person you hit, for example if you were driving along in your camper and fell asleep at the wheel and drove in to a BMW, the driver of the BMW would be covered for any injury to themselves ie whiplash, broken bones etc, however, you are responsible for any damage done to the BMW. I highly recommend you take out fully comp as not only does it cover you for any incidents caused by yourself but if an uninsured car hits your camper you would be covered. So basically fully comp works the same as the UK. Now when you come to buy a car each state is different but must States insist the seller has a safety certificate/RWC (road worthy certificate) if you buy a car without this it's like buying one in the UK without MOT. It can get even more complicated but that's the basics I feel you will need. Also if you currently have a no claims bonus bring a letter over stating this as it can be used here to receive a discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I realise this is a bit left-field but have you considered buying camping equipment and a car. A lot cheaper to pitch a tent and you may be able to vary things a bit by finding overnight accommodation with a roof (providing dogs allowed obviously). A car is often better for sightseeing too as once you pitch up you are much more free to explore an area. The camping equipment you can then keep and use in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Pom Queen you are an absolute star, thank you so much for all the info, it is greatly appreciated Anything else you can think of throw it this way please! Thanks Gbye grey sky but I'm not a big tent fan at all so definitely looking for a campervan only. Thanks though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungbean Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Please excuse me butting into the thread, butt... - What ball-park figure are we talking to buy a "cheap campervan"? - Is UK driving license recognised in Aus or do you have to apply for some kind of transitional thing? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Is there not a degree of risk arriving in a new country with jet lag and immediately seeking out a cheap reliable campervan with a view to immediately driving it thousands of miles on the open roads of an unfamiliar country or am I just over cautious? I would need to research breakdown assistance and a mobile phone package with the best coverage. I suppose that if it breaks down at least you can still sleep in it lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hi mungbean. We have up to a max of $16,000, we're looking at Toyota Coasters - love them on Gumtree! You can drive for 3 months in Oz on an English driving licence but my husband is doing the transition thing anyway for work. Hi Gbye grey sky. We won't be landing and going straight away. We have friends that we're planning to stay with for the first 5 nights whilst we wait for our dog to come out of quarantine. Then get a campervan and start our journey, we're thinking of taking 3 weeks to go up and 4 weeks to come back down before we settle in Melbourne. My husband and I have also drove to Croatia 3 times from Nottingham England in the past 3 years so we're used to foreign country driving and very long journeys Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chewitts Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 We have up to a max of $16,000, we're looking at Toyota Coasters - love them on Gumtree! Hi!....we spent a year driving around Australia when we arrived here, we were in a Mazda 3500....very similar to a coaster. Just bear in mind driving what is essentially a bus is very different to being in a car. You will be driving slower, $16,000 and you would be probably looking at a 30 year old vehicle and certainly at least the first month or so while you get used to driving it you will probably find it much more tiring. 2000km in Australia is very little tbh, in our year we did 33,000km and did not actually even do QLD on that trip! Also you are not wanting to do this to drive just from a-b and back you are going to be touring and seeing places. Don't forget that to see places there is often a drive away from the main road, going from Melbourne to Sydney is stunning along the coast but the coast road is about 1000km as apposed to 700km on the main highway but something that I would be wanting to do. Also take into account that July/august is the middle of winter here and while nothing like a winter in Nottingham, Victoria and most of (well certainly the south of) NSW is likely to be very cold for sleeping in a camper van. Also you can expect lots of rain which makes touring the coast fairly depressing! You'd probably need to be as far north as Brisbane to be getting some reliable weather, maybe mid 20's during day. Brisbane is about 1,700km from Melbourne (2,000km if you drive the coast road) IMO the big mistake in touring in Australia is people trying to do too much in the time available. I understand the draw to doing the whole campervan/road trip thing but be honest I think that at that time of year in that area with the time available it may not be your best bet. I would be looking at doing a couple of trips by air, maybe Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef and maybe Uluru. One be other thing to bear in mind is that it would be a really bad idea to use the money you have put aside for renting on buying a campervan relying on selling it before you have the money back to enable you to rent. Selling motorhomes and campervans is not as easy as that, it often takes months also august/September is not generally a good time to sell. Sorry to be a wet blanket on your plans, obviously you will make your own decisions but just thinking that you really want to start your new life on a good note have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Hi!....we spent a year driving around Australia when we arrived here, we were in a Mazda 3500....very similar to a coaster. Just bear in mind driving what is essentially a bus is very different to being in a car. You will be driving slower, $16,000 and you would be probably looking at a 30 year old vehicle and certainly at least the first month or so while you get used to driving it you will probably find it much more tiring. 2000km in Australia is very little tbh, in our year we did 33,000km and did not actually even do QLD on that trip! Also you are not wanting to do this to drive just from a-b and back you are going to be touring and seeing places. Don't forget that to see places there is often a drive away from the main road, going from Melbourne to Sydney is stunning along the coast but the coast road is about 1000km as apposed to 700km on the main highway but something that I would be wanting to do. Also take into account that July/august is the middle of winter here and while nothing like a winter in Nottingham, Victoria and most of (well certainly the south of) NSW is likely to be very cold for sleeping in a camper van. Also you can expect lots of rain which makes touring the coast fairly depressing! You'd probably need to be as far north as Brisbane to be getting some reliable weather, maybe mid 20's during day. Brisbane is about 1,700km from Melbourne (2,000km if you drive the coast road) IMO the big mistake in touring in Australia is people trying to do too much in the time available. I understand the draw to doing the whole campervan/road trip thing but be honest I think that at that time of year in that area with the time available it may not be your best bet. I would be looking at doing a couple of trips by air, maybe Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef and maybe Uluru. One be other thing to bear in mind is that it would be a really bad idea to use the money you have put aside for renting on buying a campervan relying on selling it before you have the money back to enable you to rent. Selling motorhomes and campervans is not as easy as that, it often takes months also august/September is not generally a good time to sell. Sorry to be a wet blanket on your plans, obviously you will make your own decisions but just thinking that you really want to start your new life on a good note have fun! I do agree with a lot of what you have wrote, although I still recommend them going for it. We absolutely love road trips and no matter how many you go you can never see everything. Like you have said down South is going to be freezing at that time of year. My idea would be to try and buy a van from somewhere like Queensland then start at the top Cairns or further North and spend the 7 weeks going down the coast and have day trips inland. Our first trip we flew in to Alice and then went to Darwin across to Cairns and back down the coast. We loved every minute of it. The last long road trip we did (not counting the recent trip from Sydney back to Cairns) was 8000km in a 3 week period, we covered a great distance and so some beautiful places, we went from Cairns to Agate Creek, Agate Creek to Charters Towers to Richmond to Ranken to Harts Range to Alice to Katherine to Kununurra in WA (we could have made it to Broome and back but I wasnt 100%) then to Darwin then back to Cairns. It wasn't rushed, well I didn't feel rushed, I do wish we had longer but with the little one at school it was impossible. Coming back hubby was driving 1000km a day. I think the op means saving the money from renting a van rather than use the money they were going to spend on a house rental. I think a budget of $16,000 is ample unless they are looking for a Winnebago lol. I am more than happy to help you plan a route if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Hi mungbean. We have up to a max of $16,000, we're looking at Toyota Coasters - love them on Gumtree! You can drive for 3 months in Oz on an English driving licence but my husband is doing the transition thing anyway for work. ! This varies from state to state but in Victoria if you are on a temp visa you can drive indefinitely and on PR you have up to 6 months to change over https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/licences/renew-replace-or-update/new-to-victoria/overseas-drivers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Is there not a degree of risk arriving in a new country with jet lag and immediately seeking out a cheap reliable campervan with a view to immediately driving it thousands of miles on the open roads of an unfamiliar country or am I just over cautious? I would need to research breakdown assistance and a mobile phone package with the best coverage. I suppose that if it breaks down at least you can still sleep in it lol. Nah you are being to over cautious :laugh: if they are driving up and down the East coast they will be fine but yes I'd still take out RACQ or RACV and get a Telstra phone. After we rolled our 4 x 4 in the outback I'm glad we also had a sat phone although it still took the police 3 hours to reach us. Silly me didn't realise though that I could still call the police on my mobile even though there was no signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungbean Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 didn't realise though that I could still call the police on my mobile even though there was no signal. This is an urban myth, right? If there is no signal at all then your cellphone is useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 This is an urban myth, right? If there is no signal at all then your cellphone is useless. Obviously not because that's the way we managed to call them in the end. I think however that it converts to another mobile tower that may be in range when yours isn't. I did get a bang to the head though so maybe I'm dreaming it all :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungbean Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Obviously not because that's the way we managed to call them in the end. I think however that it converts to another mobile tower that may be in range when yours isn't. I did get a bang to the head though so maybe I'm dreaming it all Connecting to another network's signal, for emergency services, when your own network has no signal isn't the same as there being "no signal at all", from any network. If you can't get a signal full stop, from any network, then you have a Candy Crush playing machine in your pocket. So is it normal practice to hire a satellite phone if you're travelling into the wilderness? Do van hire places offer them as part of the deal? Sounds sensible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiffanysamantha85 Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Good morning all, Thank you so so much for all your comments, you are helping us more than you know and we really appreciate it So...Our flights are looking at getting into Melbourne on the 7th of August so we're thinking now of staying in Melbourne for 3 weeks whilst we get our stuff together and find a campervan so we leave last wk August / first week of September because of the weather but going straight up to Cairns or Brisbane and taking it slower down the coast so as to follow the weather. We're not looking at doing any bits by air at all to be honest, as we enjoy travelling and we will have our dog with us. We're both 30 next year so this is our chance to have 2-3 months off work for the first time in our lives before settling in Melbourne for our new jobs and hopefully starting our own family. So we want to experience as much as we can. We're also now looking at getting a loan from the UK for the campervan so we don't have to rely on getting the money back asap for rent etc. Then once we sell the campervan we just pay off the loan in full. But we're going to leave enough money in the bank to pay the first 6/ 7 months just in case. (Thank you again for this idea and advice). Thanks Pom Queen, I will add the RACQ and RACV to my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Connecting to another network's signal, for emergency services, when your own network has no signal isn't the same as there being "no signal at all", from any network. If you can't get a signal full stop, from any network, then you have a Candy Crush playing machine in your pocket. So is it normal practice to hire a satellite phone if you're travelling into the wilderness? Do van hire places offer them as part of the deal? Sounds sensible. They do hire them out or you can go to an independent company. We have had to use our sat phone twice and each time it's been a terrible line, the first time we put it down to cloud the second time it was a clear day. I'm just glad we got the grant for living rural as it only cost us $500 to buy outright and is a PAYG. I think for our next trip we would look at the find me spot http://au.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102 they are around $199 to buy and then you have the subscription charge on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Good morning all, Thank you so so much for all your comments, you are helping us more than you know and we really appreciate it So...Our flights are looking at getting into Melbourne on the 7th of August so we're thinking now of staying in Melbourne for 3 weeks whilst we get our stuff together and find a campervan so we leave last wk August / first week of September because of the weather but going straight up to Cairns or Brisbane and taking it slower down the coast so as to follow the weather. We're not looking at doing any bits by air at all to be honest, as we enjoy travelling and we will have our dog with us. We're both 30 next year so this is our chance to have 2-3 months off work for the first time in our lives before settling in Melbourne for our new jobs and hopefully starting our own family. So we want to experience as much as we can. We're also now looking at getting a loan from the UK for the campervan so we don't have to rely on getting the money back asap for rent etc. Then once we sell the campervan we just pay off the loan in full. But we're going to leave enough money in the bank to pay the first 6/ 7 months just in case. (Thank you again for this idea and advice). Thanks Pom Queen, I will add the RACQ and RACV to my list. The Q is Queensland the V is Victoria, Sydney is NRMA. We go with the ultimate it is $253 a year but has saved us a fortune. The first time we broke down in the outback, they towed us to the nearest town and paid for us accommodation and a hire car until it was fixed. The second time was when we rolled the 4x4 it was the mine rescue who found us and waited until the police arrived. RACQ towed the car back to Mt Isa which was 3 1/2 hours away they then gave us the option of 12 days car hire, 12 nights accommodation or you could split it ie 6 nights accommodation and 6 days rental. They would also fly you back home if needed. When accommodation is $200 a night you definately get your money back. Take a look here for one place that sells ex rental campers and offers buy back http://www.travelwheels.com.au/site/cars/ex-hire-used-campervans-for-sale-sydney-travelwheels-campervans/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamffc Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Good morning all, Thank you so so much for all your comments, you are helping us more than you know and we really appreciate it So...Our flights are looking at getting into Melbourne on the 7th of August so we're thinking now of staying in Melbourne for 3 weeks whilst we get our stuff together and find a campervan so we leave last wk August / first week of September because of the weather but going straight up to Cairns or Brisbane and taking it slower down the coast so as to follow the weather. We're not looking at doing any bits by air at all to be honest, as we enjoy travelling and we will have our dog with us. We're both 30 next year so this is our chance to have 2-3 months off work for the first time in our lives before settling in Melbourne for our new jobs and hopefully starting our own family. So we want to experience as much as we can. We're also now looking at getting a loan from the UK for the campervan so we don't have to rely on getting the money back asap for rent etc. Then once we sell the campervan we just pay off the loan in full. But we're going to leave enough money in the bank to pay the first 6/ 7 months just in case. (Thank you again for this idea and advice). Thanks Pom Queen, I will add the RACQ and RACV to my list. Apologies for the personal questions but you do realise a WHV is not permanent and a baby does not have any rights to residency just by being born in Australia? I think it sounds like an excellent adventure but wouldn't get hopes up too much about staying for ever (that is not to say its impossible though). It sounds like you already have jobs arranged in Melbourne which of course is a massive start, but can I ask why they are not coming with sponsorship visas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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