I have been lurking in the background reading posts for a little while now. The apparent friendliness and willingness to share helpful information from others in this group has encouraged me to come out of the shadows! Covid has made us reassess how we want to holiday into the future. A couple of years ago we thought we would settle into a couple of cruises each year interspersed with six or seven weeks a year at timeshare resorts, primarily to get us out of southern winters....we reside in Geelong. Then along came Covid and the disasters it caused on cruise ships. As I have a compromised immune system due to cancer treatment for myeloma , cruising (and most likely flying due to being in confined spaces with who knows who) is now off the future holiday list. Consequently we have now decided to travel around this wonderful land of ours staying at timeshare resorts and in camping grounds.
Now here is our problem.........we have a beautiful BMW Z4 which we purchased on retirement for travel between timeshare to timeshare (and to wineries on Sundays!!) . It only has a very small boot, most of which is taken up by the roof when it folds away for storage. It can take two carry-on sized cases and maybe a "Coles" shopping bag. We have recently looked at small motorhomes and campervans as a more viable option for the travel around the country bit, but Terry (my beautiful wife, carer and driver) is not too sure she would be comfortable driving something of this size and is opting (at this stage anyway) to squeeze what we can into the small boot and travel in the Z4 and still use cabins in caravan parks or BNB's along the way. What we would like to know to help us decide which way to jump is; (i) do most parks around the country have cabins and how far in advance would you have to book ahead and (ii) are small motorhomes or campervans tricky for a novice to learn to drive??
Whatever the decision, we are intent on getting out on the road as soon as these covid restrictions are lifted to begin enjoying what this beautiful country of ours has to offer. Hopefully we will meet many of you out there and learn many of your peals of wisdom that you may care to share.
Welcome to the gang John and Terry, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Motor Homes might take a week or so to get used to as would towing a CV, maybe longer. Nearly every CVP these days have some sort of cabin arrangement so no problem there. A quick phone call each night to see what is available for the next day or a few days later would be a good idea IMO. School and public holidays as would coastal travel might be different though and phone calls and bookings might have to be made a week or so in advance.
If people can travel this great land on a push bike, I'm sure you would cope OK in your Z4.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
__________________
Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
I do not go to many caravan parks, but those that I had been to, seemed to have a few caravan/cabin available to hire
It would most certainly pay to (as Doug has already said), ring and book in before hand, to ensure of a place to sleep
The smaller motorhomes, are not that much larger than a car, and would be easy to manage, after a bit of practice
In the free camps, I have seen people on bicycles with tents, up to luxury mansions on wheels
I will not try and predict the future, as far as Covid-19, or any future viruses, which may stop/start travelling
I will point to the recent past, when lockdowns first came in
Free camps were closed, and caravan parks were only accepting, self contained RV's (Recreation Vehicles), as ablutions and camp kitchens were off limits
If I was to purchase a RV today, I would ensure that it was self contained, just in case stop/start/lockdowns come back to bite us
Thank you to Dougwe, Aus-Kiwi and Tony Bev for your warm welcomes and timely advice. As you would have picked up by now, Regional Victoria has been granted some freedom at long last to be able to commence travelling between other regional areas within the State. We are not wasting any time in getting out of lock down to assist our regional towns on their road to economic recovery and at the same time to trial Terry's (wife's) notion of travelling in the Z4 with a few pairs of socks and jocks in the boot. We intend to set off next Tuesday (home schooling grand kids until then!!) from Geelong along the Great Ocean Road to Portland, then up to Halls Gap and across to Ballarat and back down to Belmont (Geelong) across country. We plan to stay in a mixture of caravan park cabins, motels, air BNB's and hotels for the two weeks or so that we are away. That should give us some idea of whether travelling around the country in the Z4 would be a viable option for future travels around Australia next year, or whether we need to commence searching for a small motorhome or decent sized campervan.
Thanks again for your welcome to the Grey Nomad forum. We will look forward to finding many of you out in the wild!!
Cheers John and Terry
