In 2006/7 we spent 12 months towing a caravan right around your immense country , and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Now weve sort of retired properly, we intend returning to purchase another rig and spend the cold Kiwi months in tropical sunshine somewhere north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Were trying to work out a bit of a budget, which is difficult considering the NZ $ against the Aussie one, and we wondered if anyone could possibly give us an idea how much it is likely to cost us per week/month. We dont intend to travel anywhere near as much as we did on our last trip, but will no doubt move about every 6 weeks or so. We'll combine caravan parks with free camping as we go. We don't want to be too extravagant, but don't intend to scrimp either. We know how much it cost us last time, but of course things have gone up since. Cheers Colleen and Dave.
jimbo said
07:38 AM Dec 6, 2010
First off Cand D..It depends a lot on the Power and water charges going up continually..It's almost impossible to have a budget...That's why I avoid caravan parks...Though I have stayed in a few......They have their place I suppose.......The east coast is soooo expensive..I'm staying inland in future....
C and D said
08:19 AM Dec 6, 2010
Thanks Jimbo I noticed the tariffs at a lot of the parks on the east coast are getting up a bit, particularly over the high season. We'll probably avoid that. We enjoyed staying at the odd roadhouse when we cruised around before, places like Three Ways etc were great. Always a cold beer too. Cheers.
bill12 said
09:14 AM Dec 6, 2010
They are getting a bit high for what you get.I would love to buy or build a fully self contained camper or van.Fuel is the biggest cost for me, but a 128ltr tank is good , because I buy as cheap as possible.There are some lovely free camps around, and I try to keep out of van parks as much as possible.
valnrob said
09:21 AM Dec 6, 2010
Kia ora C and D, welcome to the forum. You will have to plan when you are coming especially to Qld during the wet season, although its wet everywhere at the moment. Van Parks are getting more and more expensive, they are getting more like Resorts. If you have a family and want to do that sort of stuff it's fine, but most Nomads just want clean amenities and a decent parking area. Free parking is our style, as long as you are set up with alternative power arrangements. Groceries and meat are always going up, but it is possible to have a good lifestyle anyway. I suppose it's going to cost much the same (except for C.P fees) as it does to stay home, you still have to eat no matter where you are.
We have met a few N.Zedders that have vans etc stored here during the hot summers and come over during the the winter months.
All the best, Val and Rob
C and D said
10:22 AM Dec 6, 2010
Kia Ora to you too ValnRob We first experienced wet seasons when living in Samoa and quite enjoyed the humidity, colour etc that come with it. We were trapped in Halls Creek in the wet in 2007 after a few weeks of black clouds, storms and so on at 80 mile Beach and Broome, but had a great social time. The wet lingered later in Darwin, but it was all good. I guess as Bill12 said, the cost of fuel is a catch, we found that last time in the out of the way places. Free camping will be us too I think. Some of those new generators are pretty quiet I hear? Thanks for your reply. Dave
C and D said
10:42 AM Dec 6, 2010
Hi Bill12 Fuel would be a big item, one of the reasopns we thought we'd stay for long periods in 1 place. I've been googling the free camping spots and they look pretty good, so that'll be us. Maybe some fossicking this time too.
bill12 said
11:17 AM Dec 6, 2010
I have 1kva kipur genny and your can,t hear it running from 10m away. Hondas are the best ,but also the most expensive. My little one will run for 6 to 8 hrs on 4ltrs unleaded.I try to be self sufficient if I can.Solar panels are definately the go, but are xpensive to set up. My sister say I do lightning trips as I do too many klm and should stop and smell the flowers.She also says I smell of fish.Being a fisherman, I find that strange.
valnrob said
11:35 AM Dec 6, 2010
Hi Dave, we have a 80w panel on the roof, and a 60w portable. A 150 amp hr battery. A 1kva Honda gennie (its very quiet) which we use if needed but find that it is rare we use it to put in battery charge. 12v lights tv stereo and laptop. We don't like rushing from one place to another so if we like it we stay awhile before moving on. You can get a Camps Australia Wide Book quite cheaply and find updates on the net which is very helpful for free camps and parks. Fuel prices do vary, where we are it is $1.30 per litre. Hope this is helpful.
cheers Val
C and D said
11:48 AM Dec 6, 2010
Yes, thanks Val, very helpful. Looks like solar is the way to go go, so we'll check it out online before we get there. We plan to get a Camps Australia book, they seem to very helpful. Do you use mobile broadband when you're travelling? if so, what does that cost per month for say 5 GB? Thanks Dave.
bill12 said
12:16 PM Dec 6, 2010
Telstra is the only one to give wide coverage and depnding on the gigs you want, isn,t too costly. I get one gig for $19.95 when tied to my home phone and mobile.I was using dodo, but it has no coverage(optus), but is cheaper.Its up to you.
C and D said
12:54 PM Dec 6, 2010
That sounds not bad. We had a Vodafone mobile when we were travelling around last time - totally useless once out of town in most places. Cheers.
valnrob said
01:49 PM Dec 6, 2010
not sure about 5 gig, I am with Telstra coverage is good. My turbo stik cost $30 per month I have 3 gig. I am sure they have other deals. Mine combines with my home phone. I also have prepaid Mobile. You are better off with Telstra. Be careful if buying solar off E-Bay, sometimes it is not quite what you think you're getting. Better buying off a reputable shop. Ours is a Suntech, is as good as BP. The E-bay panel was sold as 80w but in reality was about 60 ish.
cheers Val
milo said
11:15 PM Dec 6, 2010
how does solar go with a week of wet weather like we have had latle
Helena said
06:18 AM Dec 7, 2010
As everyone else has said petrol is the largest expense when travelling we had a honda genie but sold it and got solar fitted on the roof worked really well for us and we free camp most of the time. Helena.
lyn-n-ken said
06:48 AM Dec 7, 2010
hi c and d
we stay at caravan parks that dont have swimming pools or play equipment there cheaper can usualy pay around $20 a night works out cheaper if you stay weekly as we do .
we always do a walk through first to make sure there clean and tidy.
we stayed at bernett heads lighthouse c.p. (its just out of bundy Q) it was so freindly booked for a week and stayed 3 months great place to winter, and the cost got cheaper for each week.
i'm pretty sure you cant free camp for weeks at a time there designed for over night stays.
i know most wont agree with me saying, but if we dont stay at the c.p. they will soon disapear. we do it on a limited income, we still manage ok.
happy travels
brickies said
06:50 AM Dec 7, 2010
Cost on the road everybody is different very hard Question , how much does it cost to live at home, it cost us less to be on the road but other may cost more to be on the road it like how long is a piece of string
C and D said
07:06 AM Dec 7, 2010
HI Lynn and Ken That place near Bundaberg sounds like a good place, we'll check it out for sure. Thanks.
C and D said
07:07 AM Dec 7, 2010
We'll definitely be looking into solar. Gotta be a lot quieter than a gennerator too.
C and D said
07:15 AM Dec 7, 2010
Just generallising here Guru. If it costs you less than being at home, that's good. Although there's still going to be on-going costs at home like rates, power, water etc. I was hoping to get by with about $6-700 per week when staying in parks, ($NZ780-900,) when staying in parks including travelling. Less would sure be preferable. We know it isn't going to be cheap, having done it before, but this time we'll be watching the $s a bit more. Cheers.
jimricho said
07:31 AM Dec 7, 2010
Here's some costs incurred on a trip from Newcastle to North Queensland in 2009
Total no. of nights on the road ..... 65 Total no. of nights in caravan parks ..... 52 Total site costs .... $ 1725 Average per night .... $ 33
Note that this includes mostly caravan parks in Nth Qld tourist areas in peak season.
The overall (all nights on the road) average is $ 27 which may be more realistic if it includes less expensive parks away from the tourist areas.
You will need to work out your mix of parks and free camps. Places like Mission Beach and Kurrimine Beach (north Qld) have council parks that are about half the price of the nearby privately owned parks.
Fuel...
Distance travelled .... 8,000 km total cost .... $1230 average cost per litre (diesel) .... $1.25 (this figure would need to be updated for your budget)
Fuel consumption figures could be significantly different depending on your set-up. No allowance is incuded for other vehicle variable operating costs such as maintenance etc.
Note that this is only one example and other GNs would have significantly different costs due to all the variables involved.
Other costs would not be greatly different to those incurred if you stayed at home, subject to lifestyle on the road, eg tourist attractions, eating out etc.
-- Edited by jimricho on Tuesday 7th of December 2010 07:36:37 AM
C and D said
08:14 AM Dec 7, 2010
Hi Jimricho That helps quite a lot, thanks. $600.00 pw should cover it nicely then without having to spend months out in the desert eating carrots and witchety grubs every day. Our huhu grub is the same as the wichety I think. Both are reported to taste like like peanut butter. I haven't got around to trying either, despite my Maori blood.
Jacko said
08:32 AM Dec 7, 2010
The only difference between been away or at home is filling up the fuel tank once a week instead of once a fortnight. We seldom do tourist attractions, dont do bakeries and coffee shops and cook everything fresh. We only free camp and we have setup our rig to have the comforts. Jacko
jimricho said
05:21 PM Dec 7, 2010
C and D wrote:
Hi Jimricho That helps quite a lot, thanks. $600.00 pw should cover it nicely then without having to spend months out in the desert eating carrots and witchety grubs every day. Our huhu grub is the same as the wichety I think. Both are reported to taste like like peanut butter. I haven't got around to trying either, despite my Maori blood.
Should be fine as long as you don't spend your money on fast women or slow horses!
C and D said
05:46 PM Dec 7, 2010
Mate, had my share of both. What's good at Randwick on Saturday?
valnrob said
05:54 PM Dec 7, 2010
hey Dave, I think huhu/witchettys taste like sawdust myself !!! Or maybe it's all in the cooking or not cooking !!! There are some nice weirs you can stay at very cheaply, $6.50 per night with power - Glebe Weir (Qld) up to 4weeks stay. Brigalow Creek Meandarra, toilets $5 for three nights. Bedford Weir is great, hot showers toilet kiosk and the management put on Sunday morning tea in the bandstand. Bring a chair and your tea or coffee, eats supplied. I think u can stay there 7 nights. Donations for hot showers. There's some heaps good places out there, we stayed at these midway thru this year.
It's all in the Camps book.
cheers Val
C and D said
06:01 PM Dec 7, 2010
Hey Val, it all sounds great. We might see you people somewhere and have a chat.
Hei kon
rosco said
11:46 AM Dec 8, 2010
lyn-n-ken wrote:
hi c and d we stay at caravan parks that dont have swimming pools or play equipment there cheaper can usualy pay around $20 a night works out cheaper if you stay weekly as we do . we always do a walk through first to make sure there clean and tidy. we stayed at bernett heads lighthouse c.p. (its just out of bundy Q) it was so freindly booked for a week and stayed 3 months great place to winter, and the cost got cheaper for each week. i'm pretty sure you cant free camp for weeks at a time there designed for over night stays. i know most wont agree with me saying, but if we dont stay at the c.p. they will soon disapear. we do it on a limited income, we still manage ok. happy travels
I reckon you're on the ball lyn-n-ken, stay at the C/P's otherwise they'll disappear. I can spend a lot of nights at C/P's for the same cost as the price of a generator or solar panels.
Same as the outback servos. Many travellers fill jerry cans so they can save a few bucks by bypassing outback servos that offer fuel at higher than normal costs. One day these servos will disappear and people will wonder why.
Ross
brickies said
12:39 PM Dec 8, 2010
Ross you are so right , don't use it you lose it but we all do things our own way and that good has long has what your doing is what you enjoy doing it other wise you stay home
C and D said
12:54 PM Dec 8, 2010
I can see there's a few different schools of thought here, I guess they all have their pros and cons. I reckon we'll be doing all of them, all modes of camping have appeal.
Were trying to work out a bit of a budget, which is difficult considering the NZ $ against the Aussie one, and we wondered if anyone could possibly give us an idea how much it is likely to cost us per week/month. We dont intend to travel anywhere near as much as we did on our last trip, but will no doubt move about every 6 weeks or so. We'll combine caravan parks with free camping as we go. We don't want to be too extravagant, but don't intend to scrimp either.
We know how much it cost us last time, but of course things have gone up since.
Cheers
Colleen and Dave.
I noticed the tariffs at a lot of the parks on the east coast are getting up a bit, particularly over the high season. We'll probably avoid that. We enjoyed staying at the odd roadhouse when we cruised around before, places like Three Ways etc were great. Always a cold beer too.
Cheers.
We first experienced wet seasons when living in Samoa and quite enjoyed the humidity, colour etc that come with it. We were trapped in Halls Creek in the wet in 2007 after a few weeks of black clouds, storms and so on at 80 mile Beach and Broome, but had a great social time. The wet lingered later in Darwin, but it was all good.
I guess as Bill12 said, the cost of fuel is a catch, we found that last time in the out of the way places.
Free camping will be us too I think. Some of those new generators are pretty quiet I hear?
Thanks for your reply.
Dave
Hi Bill12
Fuel would be a big item, one of the reasopns we thought we'd stay for long periods in 1 place. I've been googling the free camping spots and they look pretty good, so that'll be us. Maybe some fossicking this time too.
We plan to get a Camps Australia book, they seem to very helpful.
Do you use mobile broadband when you're travelling? if so, what does that cost per month for say 5 GB?
Thanks
Dave.
Cheers.
That place near Bundaberg sounds like a good place, we'll check it out for sure.
Thanks.
If it costs you less than being at home, that's good. Although there's still going to be on-going costs at home like rates, power, water etc.
I was hoping to get by with about $6-700 per week when staying in parks, ($NZ780-900,) when staying in parks including travelling. Less would sure be preferable. We know it isn't going to be cheap, having done it before, but this time we'll be watching the $s a bit more.
Cheers.
Total no. of nights on the road ..... 65
Total no. of nights in caravan parks ..... 52
Total site costs .... $ 1725
Average per night .... $ 33
Note that this includes mostly caravan parks in Nth Qld tourist areas in peak season.
The overall (all nights on the road) average is $ 27 which may be more realistic if it includes less expensive parks away from the tourist areas.
You will need to work out your mix of parks and free camps. Places like Mission Beach and Kurrimine Beach (north Qld) have council parks that are about half the price of the nearby privately owned parks.
Fuel...
Distance travelled .... 8,000 km
total cost .... $1230
average cost per litre (diesel) .... $1.25 (this figure would need to be updated for your budget)
Fuel consumption figures could be significantly different depending on your set-up. No allowance is incuded for other vehicle variable operating costs such as maintenance etc.
Note that this is only one example and other GNs would have significantly different costs due to all the variables involved.
Other costs would not be greatly different to those incurred if you stayed at home, subject to lifestyle on the road, eg tourist attractions, eating out etc.
-- Edited by jimricho on Tuesday 7th of December 2010 07:36:37 AM
That helps quite a lot, thanks. $600.00 pw should cover it nicely then without having to spend months out in the desert eating carrots and witchety grubs every day.
Our huhu grub is the same as the wichety I think. Both are reported to taste like like peanut butter. I haven't got around to trying either, despite my Maori blood.
The only difference between been away or at home is filling up the fuel tank once a week instead of once a fortnight. We seldom do tourist attractions, dont do bakeries and coffee shops and cook everything fresh. We only free camp and we have setup our rig to have the comforts.
Jacko
Same as the outback servos. Many travellers fill jerry cans so they can save a few bucks by bypassing outback servos that offer fuel at higher than normal costs. One day these servos will disappear and people will wonder why.
Ross
I reckon we'll be doing all of them, all modes of camping have appeal.