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Road Trip Sydney to Brisbane

Sydney to Brisbane

Australian place-names usually have the accent on the first syllable. An akubra-hatted local put me firmly in my place when I asked him if he knew the way to Bulahdelah, which I rhymed effetely with lah-di-dah. 'No mate, but I can tell you the way to Buller Dealer!'

We were on our way from Sydney to Brisbane in a brand-new rented Maui Spirit 4 motorhome. Picking up the vehicle at Mascot, near Sydney airport, had been easy, and we were soon battling with the traffic and trying to find our way across the Harbour Bridge.

Australia is set up for motorhoming: the roads are OK, fuel is two-thirds the UK price, campsites are plentiful and cheap, and the weather is usually pleasant. The roads tend to follow the pretty coastline, and there are many attractive routes to drive for a holidaymaker with two to three weeks to spare.

Sydney to Brisbane is a popular route. It incorporates several of the classic Australian experiences, including Sydney itself, vineyard visits, and the beaches of the Central and Gold Coast. But you can also visit Uluru at the heart of the continent, dive the Great Barrier Reef, see Perth and the Kimberleys, drive the stunning Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne, or do a Crocodile Dundee at the Top End.

We started by taking in some of Sydney's northern beaches and the Ku-ring-gai National Park. Just an hour out of Sydney, you can be in the park, marvelling at the lush vegetation, with wallabies and white-tailed sea eagles for company. And – rather less welcome – a few persistent leeches. If you want an early stop, camp at the luxury Big4 site at Narrabeen on the way up, or at the (more basic) Basin Camp Ground, in the park itself.

You can book campsites in advance through the state organisations, such as the Caravan and Camping Association of New South Wales or private companies such as Big4 Holiday Parks. All the campsites we visited were clean and well-organised, usually with barbecue areas and often with stunning views and beaches nearby.



Recommended sites between Sydney and Brisbane include Jimmy's Beach Caravan Park at Hawks’ Nest just north of Nelson Bay, where dolphins are regularly sighted, and whales occasionally from May to July. One essential detour is a wine-tasting visit to a vineyard in the nearby Hunter Valley. Otherwise you can save precious time by visiting one along the route, for example at Port Stephens or Innes Lake Vineyards just outside Port Macquarie.

Another place you should not miss is South West Rocks, where the historic and forbidding Trial Bay Gaol looms over one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. There is a choice of campsites here, from South West Rocks Tourist Park with a lakeside frontage to the Big4 Trial Bay Eco Park, but the best and most expensive is the state park on the eastern end of the beach, below the walls of the gaol. If you're here in May, and very lucky, you might catch one of Australia's extraordinary sights here as the mullet and blackfish enter the bay in their millions and turn the blue sea black.

Coffs Harbour, an hour or so up the coast, is another place to stop and relax. Take some time to gorge and stock up on the locally grown avocados and bananas. Yamba is a couple of hours to the north. The Calypso Camp Site is the place to stay, with two beaches, good fishing, the Pacific Hotel, a famous surfers’ pub with a fine ocean view, and one of Australia’s legendary surf breaks just round the corner at Angourie.

If you're on the way to Brisbane, don't bother with Surfer's Paradise, unless you're desperate to blow all your money on the poker machines. Instead, visit Byron Bay with its huge, crescent-shaped beach. A former hippie hangout, it is Australia’s most easterly point, and the height of backpacker cool – all teenagers love it.

How much does a trip like this cost? As with everything, you get what you pay for. Four-berth campervans start at about Aus$140 per day. The all-inclusive insurance package is expensive at about $50 per day but covers both underbody and overhead damage with no excess. In most cases it also includes the one-way fee charged for picking up your camper in Melbourne, say, and dropping it off in Adelaide.

Maui campervans are modern, economical, and equipped with everything. The Spirit 4 is based on a Mercedes diesel van, and you get a four-burner cooker, good-sized fridge, and two foldaway beds. You also have your own shower and toilet on-board, though all campsites and most popular beaches are well-equipped with shower blocks.

Maui’s sister company, Britz, offers a cheaper basic product, with extras available according to the budget. These include 4WD, bedding, canopy, picnic tables and chairs, and an outback survival kit.

Other rental companies include Kea and Apollo, which have similar rates and about the same coverage of cities all around the country. One excellent tip is to visit the Kea website and look for the list of relocation offers. Since most people rent campers from Sydney to Brisbane, say, they offer rentals going the other way at very cheap rates, such as a dollar a day. Worth changing your itinerary for!

At the cheaper end of the market is Wicked Campers, which offers secondhand converted vans with bespoke paint jobs for about Aus$60 per day. The Wicked website was recently living up to its name by offering the first day free if you turn up to pick up your van naked!

No matter which campervan you hire, you will need to bring some of your own kit, such as torches, fishing rods, fly and mosquito repellent, sun cream, adaptor plugs and a collapsible umbrella for when the weather breaks.

And the best tip of all: Australia is huge, and if you get lost, you can drive for miles without seeing a soul, particularly in the outback. Avoid those difficult marital arguments by hiring a satellite navigation system, or bring one from home loaded with Aussie maps. It'll save you many hours – and you'll never have to make a Pommie twit of yourself by asking for directions.

© TheTravelEditor.com

Reproduced with the kind permission of TheTravelEditor.com

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