See you soon Outback!
After spending a few days in Sydney, Charles and I flew to his hometown in Mackay, Queensland where we were planning to start our North Queensland road trip. It was my first time in Australia and I had not seen much of it yet, not even a single kangaroo, so my excitement was building up as our planned departure grew nearer. After celebrating Charles’ birthday with his family, we got down to business and started planning our first road trip together.
Our Road Trip Checklist
Book a car rental– Before we even left Manila, we scoured the net for the cheapest camper van we could rent. Australia is huge and motorhomes (campervans and caravans) are great way to get around, especially for us who had 6 weeks to spare for this trip.
The Wicked Camper
We had been eyeing Wicked Campers, which is very popular among backpackers and costs around 45 bucks per day. It’s just like a pimped L300 van with a convertible bed and dining area inside and an improvised cooking area at the back. It’s very basic, and the campers are a bit old and rusty (and perhaps not guaranteed to last the distance!), but they’re still luxury compared to camping.
VW Camper Van
Fortunately we didn’t have to put the reliability of the Wicked Campers to the test, as Charles’ parents agreed to lend us their outfitted VW camper van a few days before our planned departure. Although still a small van, it was in great condition and very comfortably outfitted – I could live in this van for a year!
Hoarding free brochures, maps and tourist guide magazines from the Tourist Information Center
Book accommodation – With a free campervan, we finally had a mobile home for the rest of our trip. Using a campervan allowed us to save a lot of money that would have otherwise gone towards accommodation (the cheapest backpacker’s hostel costs 20 bucks per head). There are camping grounds everywhere even in the Outback and some of them are free. The van also had a stove and fridge, allowing us to cook our own meals and save on food, especially when staying at camping grounds without cooking facilities.
Plan itinerary and driving route – We have no fixed itinerary just a map
For 6 weeks, this is only what we had covered
Check weather – The weather is perfect. It is wintertime in Queensland, which is dry season as well. Roads to some remote areas are often flooded during summer, which is their wet season. Winter here is pleasantly warm like most tropical countries. It’s the peak of the camper vanning season, when hordes of retirees and backpackers migrate to northern Queensland to escape the cold winter in the south of Australia.
Camper van tutorial – It took us almost a whole day to learn the nitty-gritty details of operating the campervan – from setting up the van for camping overnight, to filling up the water tank, setting up the bed and table, raising the roof and the awning, operating the fridge and the stove, getting familiar with all the storage areas and even changing tires (which would prove to come in handy later!). It’s a lot of work in the beginning but it was fun learning from the experts. Charles’ parents had lived in their camper van for years when they were touring around Australia.
Charles getting camper van lessons from his dad.
Things to pack - Holiday essentials like maps, insurance, emergency numbers, cash, music, electronic equipment and extra batteries, emergency numbers, first-aid kit, clothes and food supplies for a few days. We were able to bring lots of gear and gadgets because this time we didn’t have to lug them around in our backpacks.
And now that everything is set, I’m off to my first Australian road trip . 
wow! ansaya ng campervan
mukhang matipid pa… looking forward sa roadtrip…
Thanks Flip, ako din excited na rin balikan ang mga memories
i don’t mind living in a campervan someday!
Same here, it’s fun actually, saw so many families with toddlers and babies camper vanning, easier for you guys with Luna now
sarap parang Merry Prankster…tara patak patak tayo bili tayo ng third hand na beat up van dito sa Pinas png road trip…have fun Claire…I’ll look forward the rest of your “Aussie Road Trip series”
Thanks Marky, naiisip ko nga din yan, di lang kasi uso sa atin ang road trip kasi watak-watak na isla tayo, major destinations lang ang may RORO.
… Waw ang swiit, musta n claire? Katuwa talaga mga adventures mu =’)
hahaha, ok naman po, nagtrek pa ba kayo lately?
australia is a country-continent, so i wouldn’t be surprised that you only get to cover a small portion of the northeast side of australia despite the 6 weeks of cara-vaning. yet, i’m still surprised.
could you bring me to that pool? it has a very great view. hahahaha…
We are also slow travelers as well. We tend to stay longer in one place and scour every interesting place they could offer. Others have covered more area in a span of 2 weeks, from Sydney all the way to the North which is also possible. It’s kinda exhausting for us and you tend to miss many things when you rush from one place to another. (By the way they have a few public pools like that in the north with many sun-worshippers, in two-piece and sometimes topless)
i wouldn’t mind that, nu-uh! hahaha
wish ko lang makapag bakasyon din ako ng ganyan kahaba! swerte mo naman! =)
kakaresign lang namin nung time na yun, syempre after a while back to reality again, work work work, para makapag-travel ulit
wow! ganda ng view sa pool.hehehe. sounds like you have a great road trip. i’m looking forward to this series claire!
Yun talaga ang napansin na view
hi claire!
mercia here, happy to read your stories again. i followed your advise tnx tnx ng madami, im starting to live my dreams
can i use your site as a link?… happy adventure hope to hear more stories from you 
no worries Mercia, sure spread the love, it’s very much appreciated
uy earl, halata tuloy tayo na mga pseudo-travelers tayo, kung anu-anong view pinag uusapan hahaha…
naku antayin nyo ang post ko sa Nude Beach, malamang favorite view nyo rin yun
i’ve always thought the greatest journey in Australia is through road trips! i am daydreaming when i can do this. i have a few friends over in Sydney and Melbourne and they have been telling me to do the great ocean road? i am not sure if it’s the right name. but yeah, this looks like a rockin’ trip! very nice, claire!
Thanks Jerik, yep it’s the Great Ocean Road route, very popular for road trip, I would like to do that as well one of these days
how cool! sarap ng road trip na yan.. kakainggit claire. astig din ng van
Sobra, buti na lang talaga pinahiram sa amin, kumpleto na lahat pati cutlery, cooking utensils, beddings, etc. damit na lang namin inilagay at food supplies
oh wow! you’re almost in darwin. i just found out that there are flights to darwin but i need to check out what’s good to see there. looks like i need to buy a travel guide to australia.
havent tried rv travel.
Darwin is still a long way though from North Queensland by land travel, but RV is fun, punta ka ba ng Darwin?
i had to stare at the first pic for a few seconds – ganda.
but walang nakatalo sa sun-worshippers, umabot ng minutes. hehe
Kayo talaga, basta mga ganyang picture tumatagal ang viewing
Wow…nice adventure !
Thanks Sid
yeah I read nga in LA Times about those campers being so famous with backpackers. An dameng palang ma-e-explore jan at for 6 weeks yun plng na-cover nyo? ang laki nga ng Australia grabeh!
I like the 1st pic din, na mesmerized ako! 
Yep the area we covered for 6 weeks is small, it’s like circumnavigating Luzon with a few hours of drive each day, mas malaki pa pala sa Luzon, ang dami kasing attractions and activities
Wow! This looks so exciting! Can’t wait for the next installment.:)
Thanks Pauline, I already posted the next installment
wow! i really like the 1st photo!
i love the first photo, rusty colored earth, blue sky and cotton clouds. and wait, is that a topless girl sunbathing?!? hahaha
yep top less yun, normal na sa mga sun-deprived backpackers who just came from the harsh winter of their country
and i love how you turned Charles’ parents van into a home, napaisip ako tuloy to buy a van, make it my home and do some road trip in from luzon to mindanao
hmmmm…
hahaha, naisip ko din yan dati kaso mahirap sa atin, puro islands, walang katapusang RORO ito, at ang ibang destinations walang RORO