Hi all. Newly joined and this is my first post. It will probably be over long as I'm that kind of person. Life and relationship changes mean at 60 I am set to travel and last week I collected a second hand Avan Ray 402 from country Victoria. THe 250km trip home was my first time towing a caravan. I did spend half the 80's towing a horse float behind a Leyland P76 and a few years in the 2010's doing it again behind a Volvo wagon and, frankly, the Avan weighs less, has electronic sway control and brakes that work. Definitely an improvement.
Other than the occasional trip with my ex-wife or my daughter I will be travelling solo. My long term aim is to travel the western half of Australia but I need to crawl before I can walk. What destinations would folk recommend within a 250km radius of Melbourne? That radius covers Warrnambool in the west, Lakes Entrance in the east and the Murray in the north. Destinations with drive through parking are preferred as my reversing skills are sadly rusty.
My Avan came with external shower, porta-potty and shower tent, however I recently read that many free camping sites require that campers be fully self contained and shower tents are a no-no. Is that true? Is a shower and outside toilet still possible if no water ends up on the ground?
Any advice would be appreciated, including "You are doing it all wrong" because I proably am.
Cheers, Tracy
(By the way, my Avatar is my Amazon parrot Tuto. He is on the radio beacuse I am also a radio Ham and caravan portable HF operation is part of my plans. He won't be coming with me though.)
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Kia Sportage Turbo Diesel. Avan Ray 402. ------------------------------ Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul
Hi Tracy
Welcome to greynomads forum you will have lots of responses to your questions on towing and travelling in a van. I'm a (mostly solo) traveller who doesn't own a van so will leave that up to others to answer your van questions.
I bought my vehicle just as Covid hit so have only done one relatively big solo trip (Adelaide to Alice) and some shorter ones. I hope to do a lap of W.A. next year. In the meantime I've made several trips with my hubby (dodging Covid) across the boarder to Melbourne to visit my grandchildren each time taking 2 or 3 days to get there trying a different free camps each time (not showering till we got there).
You are right to start small, you will learn more about your van, yourself, what you are capable of, what you need and what you don't need as you go along.
Get yourself the Wikicamps app (it's cheap). I did and it opened up a whole new world for me I didn't know existed, it tells you a lot about the camps, the facilities and you can read the reviews and there's a lot if them in Vic (not so many on the Great Ocean Rd though). I've yet to decide on a favourite, because I'm still trying new ones.
Thank you for the welcome. I have the wikicamps app and I will be using it as a reference. In the past we have tent camped a few times around Victoria with friends who have been doing it for years. They bought a camper tralier over lockdown and have already started to head further afield interstate. I'll be revisiting some of the places we've been before, like Barmah Lakes, and possibly joining them for some of their journeys. I'll be sticking to the bitumen or reasonable gravelled roads though, the Avan is definitely not an off road vehicle like theirs!
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Kia Sportage Turbo Diesel. Avan Ray 402. ------------------------------ Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul
You don't say whether you want to do lots of short trips or just stay in that radius for a longer trip.
My 2 cents worth would be to start up round about Albury and follow the mighty Murray River as far as you can or want. Lots of caravan parks/free camps and sights to see.
Or head to Ballarat, check out the goldfields etc then cruise over to the Grampians, then down to Portland and back along the Coast and the Great Ocean Road.
This radius is just for a starter until I get the hang of vanning and work the bugs out. 250km is a distance I can do in a day and not too far from home if something goes wrong. I'm set up in my driveway at the moment and I've already realised the onboard batteries are a bit tired. I like your suggestion of the Ballarat -> Grampians -> Portland -> GOR loop. I've been over all those roads before but not for a while and never in a van with time to look around. Barmah Lake Camping Gounds is a lovely free camp up near Echuca I'm planning to return to but there is a lot more Murray to discover.
Cheers, Tracy
-- Edited by TSR on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 09:07:08 PM
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Kia Sportage Turbo Diesel. Avan Ray 402. ------------------------------ Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul
Welcome to the gang Tracy, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Mate, things will fall into place very quickly once you start getting out in the playground and I tell you that for free. It did for me anyway and I have now been doing this full time for 9 years, 3 years part time prior to that.
You will find heaps of great places from Free Camps to Showgrounds to Donation Camps to Caravan Parks. I have used all those mentioned and enjoy all of them for different reasons. I have even been known to hide behind a pile if stones for a night or even in a rest stop for a night.
As already mentioned, Wikicamps is you best friend on the road but make sure you read more than just the first few reports go further down. Not only that but as well even, contribute by adding you review of a place for future users.
Keep Safe on the rods and out there.
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