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Bubble Van
A couple in their seventies climbed out of this one morning! We've seen some weird and wonderful campervans and tents while we've been on the road. Since we have our own travel trailer at home we're thrilled to see the different caravans here. At home in Canada it's quite common to see 5th-wheels or motorhomes that are upwards of 45 ft. or more. Those motorhomes are often towing a little car or SUV too. Since we've been in Australia we've only seen one, maybe two, large 5th wheels and no huge Winnebago-type motorhomes. Of the hundreds of trailers (caravans) here, most that we see are 18 - 20' long. Almost every single one has a pop-up roof. They must be so easy to tow and easy on the petrol too (as a matter of fact, most of the caravans and tent-trailers are towed by cars or SUVs, not pick-up trucks like at home.)
The shorter length means that sometimes they don't have a bathroom but with the great caravan parks they have in Australia that isn't a problem. Every park has one or more amenities buildings (also called ablutions), each one with several shower stalls and toilets that are available for campers' use. And, we love this, many caravan parks
Outback Camping
We would have loved a tour of this one. Kitchen facilites on the outside. A whole family camped in this one. have tiny buildings that are actually 'ensuite bathrooms' (we had one last night so I can add a photo of one). A campervan, or whatever, pulls in beside it's own tiny building. The building is the campers' own personal bathroom for the night. The bathroom we had is bigger than the ensuite we have in our own home! Besides the toilet it had a vanity and sink and a large shower. All this for about $33 per night. Of course, this is off-season so I'm sure the price is higher in the summer.
There are lots of different caravan rental companies. Since we were going to be here for three months we went with a 22' Winnebago; we couldn't see the point of having anything smaller than we were used to traveling in at home. It seems to be one of the biggest on the road and, in fact, we get lots of people asking us questions about it. One type of rental van has a balloon-type structure that pops out the back hatch. That becomes a bed. There are vans in which the bed perches on top of the roof. There are tent-trailers that look like they're from
Small and Compact
This tent trailer can handle any type of weather or road conditions. outerspace, built high off the ground for outback traveling and tough-as-nails looking. Each one is interesting in it's own way. And rooms, there are add-on rooms to both caravans and tent-trailers that double the size of the living space.
Since we're here in the fall/winter, we're seeing more retired people than young who are camping. I can't tell you how many times a hippy-style van pulls up near us and an adventuresome-looking elderly couple steps out. Within minutes they've constructed the balloon projection out the back and have settled inside it for the night.
I said this before in an earlier blog that the caravan parks are really wonderful. They're not just campgrounds, they're family tourist parks. Each park consists of a tenting area and an area for campervans. For people who want to be close to the beach but don't have a campervan there are cabins to rent quite inexpensively, probably about $60 per night. Most parks have an even cheaper alternative: permanently-settled campervans that have rooms built onto them. A family can stay in one and have full kitchen and bedroom facilities. It's great for people who want to travel around Australia. It would be cost
Pop-up Caravan
Most of the caravans we see are similar to this one. No waste space at all. prohibitive to stay in hotels (and there aren't always hotels in small towns) but, wherever they travel, they can be assured they can stay in a caravan park. As well as bathroom facilities there are laundry rooms, playgrounds for the kids, and on and on. I like the book exchanges - you pick a book you like out of a library and leave one you've already read in it's place. One of the best features is that every park has at least one camp kitchen. It's outside and has a roof over it. It usually has a fridge and two or three propane-fired grills for cooking on. Anyone can use the kitchen as long as they clean it before they leave. Every park has it's own personality and it's been fun exploring so many of them as we've been traveling through Australia.
PS One afternoon Barry and I went looking at caravans that were sitting in a dealer's lot. We especially liked the nice lay-outs of the units. We were surprised, though, to see the prices of them. Trailers that are the size of ours at home are selling for twice as much money as we paid. I guess
Pop-up Campers
This is a rental vehicle. that explains why we see so few really large ones on the road.
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Gary
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Campervan
Love this blog and the pictures as well as explanation of the different 'trailer' types in Australia. And their caravan parks sure are fantastic, aren't they? We did a 3 month, 19,000km, trip in the fall (Canadian) of 2008. Now I live vicariously thru blogs such as yours. Keep up the good work. Oh, and we are in the process of buying an Australian made Tent Trailer. Here in Alberta. ENJOY