Our Motor Home Experience - Gosford to Cunnamulla and back - August and September 2013

This was our first Motor Home experience - travelling from Gosford NSW to Cunnamulla Qld for 10 days for a family re-union.

After searching the Internet for options to hire Motor Homes we came up with Aus Venture Motor Home Hire at Erina which is just a few kilometres from where we live.  We were not prepared to travel to the city to pick up a Motor Home.

We had weighed up the options of driving/motels; driving & tow a camp trailer; hiring a Motor Home.  We would have needed to outlay $800 for a tow bar for our car for a borrowed camp trailer and cost in the wear and tear on our car.  Because the Motor Home company was local we decided to go out and have a look at what they had to offer.  Alvin showed us through the 4 berth Motor Home which was perfect for our needs as we wanted to take along our golf clubs.  This Motor Home had plenty of storage, had all of the standard needs ie crockery/linen/ kitchen needs/cleaning materials/Microwave/gas cooker/good size fridge/freezer/TV/shower/toilet/separate dining area and a double bed.

We were suitably impressed and booked the Motor Home for our 10 day Cunnamulla Experience taking breaks at Dubbo and Bourke.

We were able to pick up the Motor Home on the afternoon before we were leaving so we could have it packed and ready to leave the next day.  We were not charged for this day on the condition the Motor Home was returned on the 10th day by the afternoon.

We also weighed up the options of extra insurance.  The standard amount of automatic insurance covered us for everything except the first $5,000.  Having never driven a Motor Home before we decided to take out extra insurance cover so that we only had to pay the first $250 in case of disaster.  That cost us an extra $400 on top of $140 per day rental which was our quoted amount for this rental.  The daily rental charges are variable so this is not a locked in daily rental for future trips which will be quoted at the time of rental arrangements with Aus Venture.  We thought the rental fee quoted for this ttrip was reasonable for all the amenities that we had and the comfort of the extra space and powerful Mercedes Vehicle.  The diesel fuel was not cheap but we probably did not use much more than if we had taken the car.

Peter loved driving the Motor Home and we found it very comfortable and convenient.  On the occasions that we needed to take it out of the campsites for touring it was not that big to move that it was a hassle.

Cost wise we calculated that it was a little cheaper in the Motor Home than staying in Motels and that was allowing for the fact that we did not cook in the Motor Home at night which we could have done to save money. We still got the camping experience as if we had a caravan but it was a lot less trouble to park and set up than a caravan.

We would recommend this mode of travel and we anticipate that we will do it again knowing that we want to travel to Victoria in the not too distant future.  Alvin & Jenny are great to deal with and we recommend this company to you.

Poplars Caravan Park, Dubbo - August 2013

We travelled from Gosford to Dubbo arriving about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  We had a comfortable day of travel and along the way we had to decide whether we wanted to stay close to town in Dubbo or to stay a bit out of town in a bigger caravan park with more amenities (ie swimming pool etc).

We decided to book into the Poplars Caravan Park as it was right in town walking distance from a large shopping centre and the main streets, RSL Club etc.  We were able to get a drive in and drive out site which is useful with the Motor Home.

It is only a very small park with no frills.  It is an old park but it was clean and we had no security problems or noise while we were there.  Our site was close to the amenities block which suited us as we wanted to stay for two nights.  The sites need an upgrade but it was all workable.  It would not be a park to take a young family to as there are virtually no amenities other than the usual toilet and laundry blocks. There are no playgrounds, BBQ areas or swimming pools.

The best part was we could leave the Motor Home parked on site and walk to the shops and the RSL Club for dinner.  When we needed to drive out to see the zoo and to play golf it was no hassle as we just unhooked our electricity and drove out and returned later in the day.  The sites are allocated when you book so there is no worry about anyone else taking our spot.

The position suited us and we decided to book in again on our way home which we did and it was just a matter of walking down town to see the Old Dubbo Gaol and picking up something for dinner.  There were some good shopping outlets so I did manage to have some retail therapy.

This park is probably not for everyone, but it did suit us and we would stay there again.

We loved our Dubbo experience - especially the zoo.

Dubbo Zoo - August 2013

I was told years ago that the Dubbo Zoo was a good place to see and it has been on my things to do list all of that time.  I would go as far as saying this should be on every one's MUST DO list as the zoo is very impressive both in the volume of animals that can be viewed and the set up of the zoo area.

We arrived at the zoo thinking that perhaps we should hire a buggy to get around and then was told that we could drive our Motor Home around the zoo easily and there was plenty of parking.  This was true and we drove from area to area on the zoo guide, parked the Motor Home with no problems so we could get out and walk around the various enclosures in that area.

That day the zoo cafe was not open at the half way mark but that did not worry us.  We made a cup of tea and had lunch in the Motor Home and then carried on to see the rest of the zoo.

I was very impressed with all of the zoo and the fact that we had good views of all of the animals and could get up close to some of them.  I would like to take our grandchildren there one day when they are a little older.

Some people hired the buggies which were like six seater golf buggies, some hired bikes and others walked.
It is a large viewing area and walking would only be for the most fit of people.

The Dubbo Zoo was a good experience for us and I would recommend it as a Must Do when touring.