Monday, February 16, 2015

Summary of our Motor Home trip from Gosford NSW through Victoria including the Great Ocean Road. - October 2014


This was our second experience driving a Motor Home in Australia and we enjoyed it even more the second time.  We rented the Motor Home from Ausventure at Erina (Gosford) and chose the same type of vehicle that we had the first time as it is very comfortable for two people.

The weather was a problem early in the trip when we reached the Victorian waterfront when the rain and wind set in.  It was not enough to spoil our trip but we shortened some of our stays and moved on to better areas which is one of the best things about having a Motor Home.  We were not locked in to any place and could stay longer if we wished as well.  We chose a quiet time to travel when there were no school holidays which made it easier to find caravan parks with good sites available.

I used the Wikicamps Australia App on my iPhone to find selections of available parks to stay and found it very useful.  We could check out the parks before we got there, choose which park was the best for us and then I could ring ahead and book our site.  The app also provides reports from our guests which gave us an indication of what it was like.  The prices and maps were also included on the app which were very helpful to find our way there.

 We travelled Gosford to Goulburn, Bateman's Bay, Moruya, Mallacoota, Lakes Entrance, Phillip Island, Angelsea, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, Port Fairy, The Grampians, Ararat, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca/Moama, Shepparton, Benalla, Wagga Wagga, Cowra, Bathurst, Katoomba and then back to Gosford.

It was a great trip - 21 days in all.

We only had one mishap with the vehicle - suffering a broken side mirror and scratches down the side of the van from a low overhanging branch on the side of a narrow road,  (Something to watch for when travelling in a vehicle with extra height).  That aside we had a fantastic time.  The Great Ocean Road was spectacular and we were lucky enough to have good weather there.

Every place we visited had its own special attraction and we saw as much as we could in the time we had.  I have arranged my photos in the order that we travelled so you can look at each place in the right order by clicking on "older post" when you get to the bottom of each posting.  Alternatively you can select the places you are interested in by clicking on the name of the town from the menu on the top right hand side of the page.

We highly recommend this mode of travel and we estimated that the cost would have been equivalent if not cheaper than staying in motels.  It gave us much more freedom of choice and the ability to change our mind along the way, Breakfast, morning tea and lunches were not a problem from the Motor home kitchen and once camped for the night the Camp Kitchens were available if you did not want to use your own kitchen.  It was much cheaper than eating out at restaurants and coffee shops.
Also it is nice to be able to sit outside in a deck chair with wine and nibbles when the touring has finished for the day.











Sunday, February 15, 2015

Goulburn NSW - October 2014




We travelled from Gosford leaving at 4.45am to beat the traffic, arriving 3hrs 10 minutes later in Goulburn for Morning Tea.

We had a good run without any hassles.  The weather was good. 

Goulburn to Bateman's Bay NSW - October 2014









We travelled from Goulburn to Bateman's Bay via Bungendon and Braidwood.

It is a very pretty part of the country.

Bateman's Bay, NSW - October 2014








We stopped for lunch at Bateman's Bay which is a lovely spot.  The waterfront is beautiful with all the boats in the bay.  We travelled on then to Moruya for our first overnight stay.

Moruya NSW - October 2014












Moruya was our first overnight stop - and it was a good choice.  We stayed at the Riverbreeze Tourist Park that we highly recommend.  We had a beautiful spot on a grassed area on the river front.  Peter could fish right outside the van.  It came up a bit too windy to catch any fish which was a shame as it was a lovely calm day when we first arrived.

The Camp site was good and well secured with good amenities.  The cost was $35 per night for a powered site.  We understand that it is very busy during the holidays so we were lucky to be there at a quiet time to get a good spot.

Moruya NSW to Mallacoota, Victoria - October 2014






We travelled from Moruya via Bodala, Narooma, Bega, Wolunia, Pambula, Eden, Genoa to Mallacoota for our overnight stay.

We stopped at Narooma for Petrol.

Mallacoota, Victoria - October 2014















Mallacoota is a very popular place for campers - we understand it is fully booked out in the holiday periods.  It is a very small place with a village atmosphere.  There is a huge public Caravan Park right on the water which was busy for a quiet time of the year,

We decided to stay in a smaller park away from the water as we were only having a one night stay.
We stayed at the Awangralea Caravan park which was only small and had a lot of permanent campers and cabins.  We had a nice shady spot where we could drive in and out easily. The cost was $28.00 per night for a powered site.

It was a pretty little spot but not much to do there except to fish if the weather is good. I believe that at Christmas time it is hard to find a spot so families love it as an escape.

We moved on to Lakes Entrance from Mallacoota where we planned to have a two night stay. 

Orbost, Victoria - October 2014






We travelled from Mallacoota to Lakes Entrance  Travelling through Genoa, Cann River, Cabbage Tree Creek and Orbost where we stopped to have  lunch in the park before travelling on to Lakes Entrance.

It was a lovely drive even though we had rain for most of the day.  The roads were good and we were looking forward to a two night stop over at Lakes Entrance.