The $100k caravanning trend on the rise across Australia: 'Anywhere, everywhere'
Aussies are ditching traditional holidays and hitting the road in style with camping and caravanning booming in popularity.
More Aussies than ever are packing up their lives and hitting the road, exploring what this great country has to offer. Van life has grown in popularity since the Covid pandemic put a temporary ban on international travel, and the camping trend is showing no sign of slowing down.
But gone are the days when caravan living was reserved for grey nomads. Now scores of Aussies, including couples, families and even singles, are taking to the great outdoors hoping to explore the Australian landscape while enjoying life on the road — and often with all the added luxuries of home.
West Australian couple Tim and Renee McLennan previously spoke to Yahoo News Australia from the road where they'd planned to live in a campervan. The couple, along with thier kids, set off on a nine-month trip cross-country, covering the traditional "big lap" route, starting in Perth and travelling clockwise around the country.
Meanwhile, Canadian woman Jordy Kummer moved to Australia and is now travelling solo in a van. In her opinion, it's the best way to see the country — and she's not alone in her thoughts.
And while there are simple alternatives to life on the road, with a small van, camper, hybrid, traditional caravan and smaller add-ons for utes among the options available, many are now opting for full decked-out motorhomes with the works.
Do you have a story about taking life on the road? We’d love to hear about it! Carly.bass@yahooinc.com
Aussies splashing $100k to live life on the road
According to some avid caravanners, $100,000 could get Aussies going with a suitable set-up to take the road — a motorhome designed for sleeping, eating, living and, of course, driving. With all the essentials too. And while it might seem steep, many are willing to pay it for a taste of the good life.
Speaking of their plans to travel around Australia in a motorhome or caravan, one couple said, "Why go overseas when you can see everything Australia has to offer [on the road]" when appearing on A Current Affair on Saturday night.
They were joined by hundreds, possibly thousands, of Aussies visiting the Caravan and Camping show which organiser Rod Lockwood claims has grown in popularity in recent years.
"Australia is ideal for [road travel]. It's an island, you can cross the states easily and you can just do a lap," he said. He dubbed us Aussies the "the Kings and Queens of caravans" adding you can go "anywhere and everywhere" with a suitable home on wheels, noting many are making the shift to larger-style vehicles.
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Campers staying connected in remote areas
What's also changed is the ability to stay connected and enjoy the comfort of home while still heading off the beaten path, often to remote locations. Caravanning, or camping, now offers the comforts of air conditioning, fully-equipped kitchens and even internet — mostly thanks to Elon Musk's Starlink device.
The "incredible" device has been dubbed a "game-changer" for those wanting to hit the road but still be able to work wherever they go. The satellite internet dishes have been proliferating throughout campsites in the past two years.
Among those who have embraced Starlink to work on the road is avid outdoorsman Tristan Brodeur. His job in IT as a support manager at a bank requires him to be on call — and this week he did that from a secret campsite only accessible by boat.
"It has been a game-changer for me and being able to escape to the places I love to be. My job requires an on-call schedule and sometimes that schedule cuts into my camping adventures," he told Yahoo this week from his remote worksite at a nature reserve in Maine, US.
But while the new form of travel helps boost the economy in regional communities, some say the influx of tourism has also brought its share of problems. This includes overcrowded campsites and "unacceptable" behaviour, including littering and "ruining" some of Australia's most pristine spots.
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