london chap Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Hey everybody, hope your all having fun planing and doing your travels. Has anybody thought of or brought a campervan to travel australia or is it best to just do hostels or house shares etc. I'm going to be traveling alone so some parts of me thinks hostels etc as maybe better to meet people. Would it be cost effective to maybe get a bigger camper then needed and share rides with other people to keep cost down ? Any advise or pointers would be great, hope to hear from you all soon :xmas23: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celt Down Under Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Check out Gumtree. Can often see campers for sale on there from people who have bought them to travel around, and are selling them before heading back overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenKav Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I have heard camper van is an excellent way of getting around & also the cheapest. I am certainly hoping to meet some people with a camper to tag along with as it also gives you freedom & you're not just restricted to where buses stop etc. when are you planning on going out & what is your plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I hired a camper for a few weeks to see some off the beaten track, less usual tourist, areas. It was great. I met locals rather than just backpackers, and it helped me decide I wanted to live here (I did this back in 07/08). The, very valuable, advice I was given though, and this was by the people I hired from, and later by various locals in towns I went to, always stay in an actual campsite area - rather than pitching up on a side of a remote road. Apparently there have been some nasty roadside robberies over the years.... Better be safe than sorry! But yes, it was a hugely valuable and amazing experience. Just to add, I mixed it up, some hostel travelling, and a stint in the van mid way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
london chap Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Im hoping to head off september time but still havent decided 100%. I will more then likely do the east coast, How about yourself ?. I can see lots of positives on it espesicaly as i want to do the 3 months farming work so would be able to set up where the work is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
london chap Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Thank you tickled pink sounds great, Was you too travelling alone or as part of a group ?. Did you find camper being a good way to travel meaning was it comfy to living in with insects and heat etc. (im far from a moaner) but know sometimes heat can be a killer. Do you wish you had traveled more of your travels by camper ?. How long have you lived in australia for now then was it a case you never returned from you whv ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled Pink Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I travelled with one other for the time I had the camper, we split the cost. It was comfy enough, I did a fair bit of bush camping up the west coast, so luxury after that! I did all I wanted to, so felt four/ five weeks was enough time with it. It was like a sauna in the mornings when first waking up. I wasn't on a WHV, I saved prior to going, and did several 3 months stints in between doing other things overseas. i dint work at all, and spent all my time travelling nearly the whole of Aus. I am now here based on my and my husbands skills and qualifications, so this more permanent move was organised from the UK. I came for work purposes to Melbourne in 2010, went back to UK for a period, and we returned long term to Brisbane a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 It's a good idea and definately cheapest when there's more than one of you, but saying that if you got your own camper even on your own it'd save you a bomb in public transport and hostels. You can stay in your campervan for free in some spots (obviously no power) and the cheapest i've seen for campervans is about 15-20 dollars which is really good. We had a tent and a car and not a campervan but still checked these prices out. We travelled NZ in a camper and definately worked out cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenKav Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Im hoping to head off september time but still havent decided 100%. I will more then likely do the east coast, How about yourself ?. I can see lots of positives on it espesicaly as i want to do the 3 months farming work so would be able to set up where the work is Im flying out to Perth in February, travel up the west coast as winter kicks in, cross over to cairns & then down the east coast when summer arrives. I am also hoping to do the farming work but I will just do it as the opportunity arises. I don't know how I will be getting about but I will be travelling a fair few miles over the year so hopefully I will find some other lads who will be up for getting a camper van. It definitely sounds like a good way to travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickachu Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I've had a look on gumtree at some, and you get people in similar position to you selling them for between $5000-$10,000 from what I can see. You might be lucky enough to pick up a bargin, but make sure you've got enough to lay out the expenditure on it, you'll get most of the price you pay back probably selling it onto more people like yourself, but still fair bit of whack to stump up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 If you newchums are going to drive around Australia, take a mate for company. There are some very long and monotonous stretches of road, an example, across the Barkley (NT) there are straight sections to 60 km long, 4 km long curves and 53 metre long road trains to encounter. It is not uncommon to see the remains of a combi, or caravan pushed off the hard shoulder, most likely due to a driver dozing off, or trying to overtake at 130 km/h. Cheers, Bobj. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masken Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Although it was a few years ago now we travelled round in an estate car having removed the back seats and putting a mattress in the back. During our travels we were woken one morning to someone tapping on the window asking us if we would like some brekky, as the smell of a cooked breakfast was wafting through the mozzie nets we'd shut into the door allowing us to have the window open a little way each night we eagerly accepted. When we got out of the car we there was a coach parked up, it had obviously arrived whilst we had slept, and it was amazing. The couple who had invited us to breakfast had converted the whole coach allowing them to travel around Australia. The passengers seat was a swivel armchair which when turned around became part of the lounge. They had a TV build into the wall and a couple of armchairs. Then they had a kitchen with a small kitchen table to sit at, perfect size for two. There was then a double bedroom and a loo and shower, we couldn't believe it, I think even looking at it now it would still be amazing and this was about 18 years ago!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 This is what we've done-we started back in Feb in Perth, and now are in Brissie, with many many kms between the two. We got a 4wd bush camper, which has made a MASSIVE difference to us - most of the things we wanted to see you need a 4wd for (the kimberley/Gibb River Road/Bloomfield track/lots of 4wd only tracks in the centre etc), so we wouldn't have had half the trip we have if we didn't have our bushie. We paid around $17K, which we have more than saved, and probably will get most of that back as we have a) kept her serviced and in tip top condition and b) actually made improvements to her as we've gone (hubby is handy like), so rather than just pay out for hostels, its more like banking the money lol We are in the good position of having PR though, so don't have to dash to sell her at the end of a WHV year, which will help with getting a better amount for her than if we were rushed, obviously. We set up buying her before we left, because we knew we wanted a Bushcamper, and they don't come up as regularly as a panel van camper or something cheaper, and it all went very very smoothly indeed - we are very happy with it all. Found her on Gumtree. WA and NT its very easy to free camp, pretty much anywhere (although don't pull over anywhere, go to the rest stops - get a copy of Camps Australia to start with (an old one is fine) or one of the other camping guides (WA have a couple of very good much much cheaper books) until you get the hang of it - its a bit different from the UK lol. QLD we've found its easy to free camp in the country, but out by the coast its a lot harder, but tbh if you have saved pennies free camping for most of the trip, paying for campsites isn't as much of a wrench, and it works out cheaper than a dorm bed. You can be as socialable or as anti-social as you want with a camper - you just have to speak to people, but that's the same as in a hostel tbh - other campers are so friendly over here, and if you stop at proper rest stops or caravan parks there will 99% of the time be others there to chat to, of a wide background, which is a bit more interesting imho than a youth hostel where most people are from a narrower demographic (eg younger etc). We've had some wonderful and interesting experiences chatting to all sorts that we otherwise would never have met, stopping in various places in our bushie. Take the number of people you can have in the camper with a grain of salt btw as well - we are licensed for 3, but unless one of those was a tiny dwarf, we would be killing each other - the 3rd seat in the front is only really 1/2 a seat, and it would get pretty hot inside with 3 sleeping in there imho. Having said that, I've seen lots of young 'uns (we are in our 30s and early 40s) piled into vans so they don't seem to bother too much - but in summer sticky heat, its not the most fun ever. There always seem to be adverts both on campsite noticeboards and on gumtree for lift shares, so you can always pick up people to share costs/company on different legs of the journey too, so that should help a bit too. Plus you know you won't be getting bed bugs from a dodgy hostel bed, as you have your lovely clean bed everynight The flexibility it gives you is fabulous and I would say to people, especially if they are going to WA, you should get a camper if you can, it makes it all so much better imho as you can go where you want when you want (pretty vital in WA which is a LOT less populated than the East coast). We love it so much we are seriously considering buying something a bit bigger and just carrying on going, round and around many times over lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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