One of the things I love about caravanning road trips is having a different view out of the window every day or so. No day is ever the same and even if you’re staying in one spot the view can change dramatically from day to night. What can look quite bland during the middle of the day can look completely different with a spectacular sunrise or sunset, casting a whole new light, literally, on your camp site.

We are very lucky in Australia to have some pretty fantastic free camp areas with great views and quite a few caravan parks in prime positions on the coast or rivers. National Parks are also a great source for picturesque camping spots, surrounded with natural beauty and usually well laid out with enough space between yourself and other campers.

My last getaway saw us setting up camp overlooking everything from cliff tops and salt lakes to deserts. Even in caravan parks if you’re lucky enough to strike a non-busy time you may be able to have the choice of a site that suits you.  For us that included overlooking a pool, or a river, bright blue water beaches or tucked away amongst tropical greenery.

Having uninterrupted views to a sunset was a bonus in some places as was being able to free camp away from lights and other campers, seeing millions of stars and the Milky Way with clarity.

Of course changing locations every few days also brings a change of neighbours which means you’re never stuck for conversations if you want to socialise. Swapping stories and tips with other travellers is a great way to find the next top spot. It’s handy to be able to ask someone who’s just come from the direction you’re heading what particular places were like including how road conditions are, how busy places were and a whole lot more.

Not all our campsite visitors were of the human kind, we were lucky to be visited by a few different critters dropping by to say hello or just passing through.

 

Of course we made wrong choices along the way too where the view wasn’t what we were expecting or like the website pictures showed, but the beauty of caravanning is if you don’t like it just pack up and leave. We did this on a few occasions, once where we stopped at a free camp and thought, not bad but then after a short time we had second thoughts and moved on only to find something much better.

Even in caravan parks we were taken by the brochure pictures and moved in only to think there must be better and left after one night to another park that was perfect for us. What makes a caravan park great is entirely up to the individual of course and depends on whether you are travelling with kids or a dog, looking for somewhere close to or away from the highway. In our case, it’s always about the view first, usually followed by if it’s within walking distance to a town, attractions, and a hotel if we are looking to eat out.

Doing a road trip in Australia though we are very lucky knowing that the difference between a bad holiday and a great one is probably only one night (and a few kilometres) away.

Cheers

Glenys