Australia travel advice please!

peeps01

Hi there,

I will soon be travelling to Australia and I'm wondering, timewise, how long will it take to travel by campervan from Cairns to Brisbane including all the touristy things?

Also, with regard to settling somewhere to work. I'm keen to settle in a lively city like Melbourne but with the sunshine of Cairns. Am I being unrealistic? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

idontknowmyname

I did 6 weeks in a camper from sydney to cairns- think from Brisbane we spent 20 days getting to Cairns. You can get sunshine in Melbourne, just depends on what time of year you go. I was there in June and it was miserable and freezing cold, it'll start getting warmer soon. Cairns isn't really a city, more like a large town.

niborm

peeps01 wrote: »

Hi there,

I will soon be travelling to Australia and I'm wondering, timewise, how long will it take to travel by campervan from Cairns to Brisbane including all the touristy things?

Also, with regard to settling somewhere to work. I'm keen to settle in a lively city like Melbourne but with the sunshine of Cairns. Am I being unrealistic? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

It'll take as long as you want it to. To see all the best stuff, give it about 2 1/2 weeks.

As regards a city to live in, it depends on the time of year you are there, but I would recommend Melbourne ahead of all the others, unless you're a surf junkie!

idontknowmyname

with regards to a camper van- Wicked are alright but the vans we seen were smelly and dingy. They were really cheap but we looked at smaller campervan companies. We went with Network Rentals in the end, super clean and very well equipped- ours had a proper little kitchen in the back and a fridge that charged when we drove. Because we were getting the vans for so long, we haggled on the price and eventually got it for roughly the same price as a Wicked van. Network have branches in most of the bigger towns on the east coast and if we did have any queries, we always called the one in Sydney, highly recommend them.

juvenal

I would say give yourself three weeks for Cairns to Brisbane.

We planned on spending about four days in Cairns itself, taking in Cape Tribulation etc., but thanks to a tropical cyclone, we were stuck there for over a week! As previously mentioned, it's more of a big town, and there's a load of backpackers, as it's usually the starting or ending point for the whole east coast thing. There are a few bars that are rammed seven nights a week and with all the same people

I would highly recommend going to Cape Tribulation for at least one night. We were lucky with our weather there, it was sensational (before the cyclone!), and it was a great place. You can get a guided tour for the day up there, and then stay the night and take in some kayaking or 'jungle-surfing' on your second day.

On the way down the coast there is plenty to see, so I would say give yourself plenty of time so you don't have to stick to any particular timetable. Heading south you'll get to Innisfail; Mission Beach; Townsville/Magnetic Island; Airlie Beach/Whitsunday Islands (take at least three night - two on the islands); Rockhampton; Bundaberg; Hervey Bay/Fraser Island (awesome four-wheel driving - take at least three nights, two on the island); Rainbow Beach; Noosa (loved it, spent three nights - did Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter's Australia Zoo from here); then on to Brisbane.

Brisbane is pretty cool, we spent a few days there pottering around, and then headed on down to Surfer's Paradise, and onto Byron Bay & Nimbin. I would say in total four weeks if you want to take in south of Brizzy as well (recommended), as you can spend several days between Surfer's and Byron.

Regarding work, I found that economically, Sydney was far better for work than Melbourne while I was there. I worked for four months in Sydney (up to Christmas) and was clearing AU$1,200 per week, and in Melbourne (Feb-Apr) my friends couldn't find decent work and I didn't bother looking, just hung out for two months. Sydney & Melbourne are both great cities, quite different, although you may find Melb more laid-back. It's kinda like New York and Boston; some people I knew found Sydney a bit to fast-paced for their liking.

IMO the best way is to knuckle down and get your work done early and then enjoy yourself. We were all professionals travelling, and had a fair bit of money leaving, but in fifteen months on the road, I worked my ass off for the first five and lived up the other ten.

Any other q's just post them here and I'll reply if I can help. I'd love to be going back!

paddylonglegs

Hey,good info here.gonna get a camper myself for the west coast of oz.Will be there around nov/dec,peak season i guess?In your experience,would it better for us to pre-book the van online before we leave or will we get a better deal in Perth when we arrive?

sioda

Pre book the van its a better option. I took a hippie camper from Appollo and it was fantastic really new van 21000 k on it. The newest wicked I met in 6 months in oz had 240000 on the clock.

If you doing the west coast and head south great camp site in pemberton allows you fires next to you site really class.

if you intend on doing a bit of camping join Big4 the campsite company they are the best sites in australia.

Did Perth to albany in a week and then spent 5 weeks doing sydney to cairns. Any more info ask away

juvenal

We bussed our way around Oz, and then did the campervan thing in NZ. Like Australia, there were a number of choices, ranging from the Wicked 1990 Hiace to the brand new campervans with all the modern kit.

We took the plunge and went all out, and having met other people along the way in the Wicked jobs, I would do exactly the same again. Sure, you're paying more for the comfort, but ours had a fully stocked kitchen, so we cooked in every night and saved ourselves a packet, whereas the Wicked crowd had a hotplate, and eventually gave up on cooking as it was a PITA. What you spend extra on the proper van you save on food IMO. Plus, it leaves you a bit more $$$ for goon and the like

If you've got the money, I'd to for a mid-range to top-end rental. The place in Christchurch we rented from is this crowd: http://www.maui.co.nz and they also have an Australia company: http://www.maui.com.au/

There's another crowd called Britz, who do the same sort of thing: http://www.britz.com.au , and Apollo, as sioda already mentioned.

One thing I will say is consider the insurance. We got the fully comp, and of course nothing happened. You don't want your holiday ruined if something unexpected happens. I do know of a group of lads in Oz who were tipping down the road when Skippy made a guest appearance in front of them. 'Roos don't look that big, but if a van hits them at 100km/hr, you're going to do some serious damage. Another lad I know had a hawk come clean through the windscreen between Alice Springs and Adelaide and f*cked it completely.:eek:

Just something to consider.

Spud83

First off all I would recommend extending your trip and making it Cairns to Sydney. You shouldn't be missing out on places like Nimbin, Byron Bay, Surfers Paradise and plenty more. When it will only mean an extra week or two traveling. Altogether I would say 4 - 6 weeks, depending on how much money you have to stay around places etc.

Secondly, what exactly is your plan. Are you going for the year? Is that the only traveling you are going to do and then settle in one city? If you are spending a year in Oz you really shouldn't be thinking about one city.

Each city has its plus and minus points, its good weather and bad weather depending on time of year.

If you are going for the year I would recommend you do a lot more traveling. Lets say you do Cairns to Brisbane and then settle in Brisbane. You will never see Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, not to mention all the places in between like the often underrated west coast.

As for travel arrangements you have a number of options. Rent a camper van, Buy something, Bus it.

Rent: You can stay in campsites (cheaper) without having to bring a load of equipment. More expensive than the bus, and you have to do the driving.

Buy: Probably only worth it if you are going to do a lot of traveling. If you want to use campsites you may have to buy camping gear depending on the type of car/van you buy.

Bus: A little more restrictive but there are plenty of options out there. Probably have to stay in hostels (more expensive).

paddylonglegs

Just got an email from the camper rental company about leaving the camper in Broome when we're finished.He said they don't have a drop off point in Broome at this time of year(december) as its cyclone season and we could get stranded!Yikes! I'v always wanted to do twister chasing in the states but I guess I'll get the chance in oz!

Lucky i got the heads-up on the old cyclone thing,don't think it will stop us though

Doubs

Myself and my mates did Bris to Cairns in about 2 weeks, although your prob better off spending about 3 as you'll get to see pretty much everything then. As Juvenal said above Fraser Island and the Whitsunday Islands are absolute musts, they take up a week alone (the drive between is about 900-1000km, we covered it in a day but we had plenty drivers and had 6 man campers so were plenty comfortable). Plenty other things to do and see along the way, a skydive on Mission Beach and Australia (Steve Irwin's) Zoo would be high on my list. Noosa's a nice town too, and Rainbow beach is apparently worth stopping off at but we bombed on past due to time/money constraints!

As for the camper, there was 10 of us so we rented 2 6 mans from Apollo Campers. Would recommend Apollo, campers are very modern and well equipped. Look after them though as they overcharge for any damage done at the end (they estimate the cost of the repair...). Wouldn't be two keen on Wicked, most of them are pretty old and dont'd look very comfortable. For a few bucks more get something decent, well worth it. Prepare to spend a bit on Diesel, from Sydney to Cairns your covering about 3000km's! Well worth it though, had some of the best times of my life doing the coast.

peeps01

Thanks a mill for all the info! Reckon I'll give myself 3 1/2 weeks to get down to Brisbane. By the way, anyone have any experience relocating campervans over there? It was suggested to me recently but when I looked it up on the web, the majority appear to be from city to city rather than town to town. Probably not ideal for east coast but a possibility for longer drives?

Thanks again for info

Spud83

peeps01 wrote: »

Thanks a mill for all the info! Reckon I'll give myself 3 1/2 weeks to get down to Brisbane. By the way, anyone have any experience relocating campervans over there? It was suggested to me recently but when I looked it up on the web, the majority appear to be from city to city rather than town to town. Probably not ideal for east coast but a possibility for longer drives?

Thanks again for info

I know it possible. I don't have any info regarding companies or anything. I always though it was more car rental places that did stuff like rather than camper vans.

You should be able to do relocations from Cairns, its a fairly major spot and although its not really city, its a big town. With lots of tourism which these relocations are based on. If you are doing a relocation do it from Cairns to Brisbane. However these things are good because they are obviously a cheap option but you should remember that these places give you a set time to get from start to finish. Meaning it might put restrictions on your travel that you don't want.

paddylonglegs

peeps01 wrote: »

Thanks a mill for all the info! Reckon I'll give myself 3 1/2 weeks to get down to Brisbane. By the way, anyone have any experience relocating campervans over there? It was suggested to me recently but when I looked it up on the web, the majority appear to be from city to city rather than town to town. Probably not ideal for east coast but a possibility for longer drives?

Thanks again for info

Yep just booked our campers from Perth to Broome and Melbourne to Sydney.Relocating to fairly large places but you could enquire locally when you get there.Maybe smaller local companies do smaller towns.