Hawkesbury River Houseboat experience - February 2014

This was our first experience with a houseboat on the Hawkesbury River and we were pleasantly surprised at how easy and comfortable it was.  We were lucky with the weather which would obviously help a lot.

We chose an eight berth houseboat mainly to be able to accommodate a wheelchair.  Our houseboat was called the "Skydancer" and had ample room in floor space.  There were two large sitting areas - one downstairs and one on the upper deck - both covered.  The Upper deck also had a BBQ for convenient cooking.  downstairs had a good size kitchen, gas stove, crockery, cutlery and a separate small dining area.
The bathroom was a good size for a houseboat and had a good hot shower.  There were two private bedrooms with double beds and storage space. The beds were not overlarge and there was minimum floorspace.  The back of the boat had an area for the boys to fish from which kept them happy.

We hired the linen which proved to be a good decision as it was all in place when we arrived and saved us the hassle of carting it to and from.

We bought ice for the big esky at the Marina and it kept cold for the whole period we were out there.The boys were also able to get their bait there.

On the negative side there are no 240V power outlets - so no computers or hairdryers and water had to be conserved.  I was saved by having a 16V charger cord for my iPhone and iPad which could be charged up at the control desk on the houseboat.

The staff at the Brooklyn Marina were very helpful assisting us with the wheelchair and one of their staff will take the houseboat from the mooring at the Marina out to deep water where we could take control without having any hassles.  We were also given an instruction tour of the houseboat and given maps of the area and advice for the best places to go for our 2 1/2 day excursion on the river.  At the end of the trip a staff member will come out to the houseboat and take control to bring the houseboat back to it's berth.  We just had to telephone them when we were ready to come in.

The house boat is GPS charted so the staff know at all times where we are in case of emergency or getting lost and we were given a copy of the trace map of where we had been when we returned (see photo above).
This was interesting to look at as when we were out on the water we did a bit of guessing of the bays and marinas that we passed.

There are some 400 moorings throughout the river system so it was not hard to find a mooring to fish or to lock down for the night.  We did not have to use the anchor as there was multiple choices of moorings available - being mid week.  I would imagine that the weekends and holiday seasons would be a different story.

The scenery was magnificent - beautiful unspoilt bushland and miles and miles of water to explore.  Our boys were keen fishermen and did manage to catch a few nice fish although the "Big One" eluded them.

It was a very peaceful few days, very quiet and the mild movement of the boat tended to lull me to sleep so it was a very restful experience.

The Internet was available on my iPhone and iPad but fluctuated so lengthy connections did not happen.  It all worked better from the Upper Deck and we could stay in touch with the rest of the world if we wanted to. There was a radio, CD and DVD player on board.

My overall impression of the houseboat was a good one.  We had four people on board which was okay, but I think eight people would need to be very good friends and be able to put up with cramped space and only one bathroom and limited water and battery power.

We found the houseboat easy to manoeuvre once we got the hang of it and we all had a turn at the wheel.

We were very lucky with the weather - we had no wind and no over hot days.  An electrical storm closed in as we were bringing the houseboat back to berth and we had to unpack in the rain. We had a few light showers when we were out on the water but we had plenty of covered area so that was no worries.

I would certainly recommend hiring a houseboat on the Hawkesbury River if fishing, peace and quiet are your thing.  There is a dingy with the houseboat and if you wish you can hire a motor to go ashore to the little beaches, big Marinas and restaurants. We did not do this as fishing, peace and quiet were on out list as we only had a short excursion.

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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.