Welcome to the Grey Nomads "Cats". I hope you enjoy your stay.
The book I think you could be referring is Camps 5. You can buy it at books stores, newsagents and online at www.campsaustraliawide.com. It costs between $40 and $50, and once you have one you'll never need another map. You may still need a GPS in the townships where the street signs are hard to see, read or find.
Safe and happy travel.

Welcome aboard from me too,

Camps 5 is almost the bible for some travellers. They also do a caravan park guide as well. Both guides contain the Hema Australia road atlas so it's good value. The 5 in Camps 5 is just the (5th) edition number.

You can also purchase a POI (or "waypoint") file of all the camps for a number of different GPSs from their website, see Granny's post above.

Jim

Thanks for the welcomes, folks. They've eased the nervousness. With the 'views' climbing and no replies forthcoming a bit earlier, I was kinda wondering if I'd maybe offended some curious local custom!



GPS? Do you folks consider those things a necessity? We've never owned nor used one, and hadn't considered doing so really. I've always sourced good maps and got by with those. But I gotta admit. I've kinda cursed the day 'privacy laws' stopped local country fire services from selling copies of their map books! Are the GPS units genuinely an added benefit when travelling around the place, or more akin to just a convenience?



Here's the camper:



It's not going to get a major reconstruct.  Nowadays it lives in retirement, at our permanent bush camp at Lake Tyers in Victoria, under a log frame/tarp canopy along with an old caravan, serving as spare accomodation.  It's being pulled out of retirement for our trip, and it doesn't really need much more attention than new wheels/bearings, really.  I'll pretty it up a tad, of course, but the major objective is functionality rather than appearance, coz it's going back into retirement again afterwards.

Here's the vehicle:



That photo is about 4 years old, and that's Mrs. Catters swinging the rake.  She's handy to have around!  My daughter (busy packing the vehicle there) has a new'n, and her hubby has been having a great time since the end of the summer break attending to a rebuild of the suspension and ensuring the mechanicals are all in great nick.  We helped them buy it initially, and they've given it back to us rather than trading or selling it, coz it's still a good goer.  We don't generally use a car much.  I have a much loved old Courier 4X4 ute (which is getting a new coat of paint while we're away), Mrs Catters has a company car and a thumper Honda Cruiser motor bike, and we both have pushbikes as well.




That permanent bush camp?

I haven't updated this much in the past coupla years, but amongst the prattling with the young'ns there's lots about it here:

http://pcpowerplay.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=90377


A lot of it has been improved since the photos there were taken.  It's an ongoing project which grows along with us.  We do family Xmas there with whoever shows up, and spend lots of time there whenever we can.



Pricey43, we've a pretty strong 'addiction' to the region where we live.  Mrs. Catters is a traditional owner of the area, and we have a rather profound attachment to it.  That, and a very close family network.  We'll wait and see how that bug hits us, though.





-- Edited by Catweazle on Monday 15th of February 2010 08:48:53 PM

Hello Catweazle and welcome.GPS navigators are not a necessity on the open road but they are superb in strange cities etc. I Would also suggest a UHF radio. Great for letting trucks know you are there and will help them pass if it is safe to do so. Also good for getting to know other nomads on the road. This is a personal choice but I also carry a personal epirb. Hope to never use it but it gives me hope if all else fails help will be coming after it is activated.
Safe traveling. Jack Cherie and the four legged kids.

Greetings Catweazle!
I think I may be one of those geeky fantasy fanatics from the early days as my first computer was a 1978 Atari 400(which I still have stored away) & I was a mad Dungeon & Dragon fanatic in the old days plus I still have a soft spot for fantasy & SciFi books & my alter ego on some sites is Dragonshard.
We rented out our house & hit the road for a couple of years without any trial run of us or the caravan on the open road. I don't know if it was brave or as many people would say...foolish, but we have been doing it now for 4 months and loving it, the only drawback is Hylda misses her friends a lot.
Ps: The others are right, a GPS is a must, Hylda gets carsick reading in a car so doesn't make the best map reader, we rely on the GPS(mixed with common sense & a map sometimes) In towns they are a godsend sometimes because when towing a caravan it can be a major problem sometimes if you pick the wrong street.
Pps: Camps 5 is a must and you can get the Camps 5 sites put on your GPS also.

Jon

Do you think you may regret that comment someday "Cats"?
You don't want to rephrase it?
I'll tell.
Maybe a little forward planning would prevent the argument factor. LOL.
It does pay to do the homework before setting out, but you have to be prepared for contingencies such as alterations to the planned route. Even the map makers and GPS folks can't keep up with highway and street modifications.
Good luck!

Cruising Granny wrote:

---

Do you think you may regret that comment someday "Cats"?
You don't want to rephrase it?
I'll tell.
Maybe a little forward planning would prevent the argument factor. LOL.

---

heh heh...

Why?  What's wrong with her being the most wonderful person in the world but yet a person for whom the mysteries of map-reading are an arcane and unsolvable riddle?

And by the way.  If you dob on me I'll come let all the air out of your tyres! 

lol


I've made a start. Went out today and purchased 'the bible'. We're now one step closer to "It's really happening!"