The summer of 22/23 has been a pretty perfect one so far, and a caravan holiday by the beach is always a great way to start the year in my book.

There has been plenty of leisure, and fishing time and I’ve managed to whip up and submit a few stories that are due to appear in magazines in the next couple of months.

Catching up with friends, and especially those that read my blogs, has been really beneficial (and really heartwarming I have to admit) and I’ve come away with some plans for my next writing and photography pursuits.

Being with like-minded people and other caravan enthusiasts always brings up interesting discussions and gives me more ideas for blogs, including this one.

One of the ideals of caravanning is having the spontaneity to just travel at whim to wherever we want at any time, choosing to stay for however long we want before moving on to another destination. This is true for most of the time but, we’ve probably all been caught at one time or another when we’ve lobbed into a town only to find that some kind of festival or event is on, and there are no sites left in caravan parks, showgrounds and even free camps can be hard to find.

At other times we’ve found that we’ve just missed out on an event…’you should have been here last week’!

With that in mind I thought it might be helpful to put out a bit of a planner for caravanners to see what’s on around Australia this year, and where to aim for, (or avoid) as you travel around. I’ve tried to include some of the bigger events and arranged them by month, so that whatever state you may be travelling through, you won’t be surprised by the crowds, or you can plan ahead.

I’ve stuck to mostly regional areas outside of the major cities, but in some cases, such as the Fringe in Adelaide, events spill over into regions and can affect accommodation too.

So here’s just a slice of what events to expect around Australia in 2023.

February

17 Feb – 19 Mar Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide and regions SA

March

Fri 3 – Sun 5 Australian International Airshow, Lara VIC

Thurs 9 – Sun 12 FABALICE festival, Alice Springs NT

Fri 10 – Sun 12 Supercars Championship, Newcastle NSW

Fri 10 – Mon 13 Colour Tumby Festival, Tumby Bay SA

Fri 10 – Mon 13 WOMADelaide 2023 Adelaide SA

Sat 11 – Sun 19 Canberra Balloon Spectacular, Canberra ACT

April

Sun 2 – Sun 9 Canowindra International Balloon Challenge, Canowindra NSW

Thurs 6 – Mon 10 Byron Bay Bluesfest, Bryon Bay NSW

Fri 7 – Sun 16 Parrtjima – Festival in Light, Alice Springs NT

Thurs 20 Total Solar Eclipse, (best viewing) Exmouth WA

Thurs 20 – Sun 30 Margaret River Pro (Surfing Festival), Prevelly WA

Fri 21 – Sun 23 Dirt n Dust Festival, Julia Creek Qld

Fri 28 – Sun 30 Wide Open Space Festival, Ross River NT

Fri 28 April – Sun May 7 Tasting Australia, Adelaide and regions SA

May

Sat 6 Elevate Festival, Northam WA

Sat 13 – Sun 14 Cable Beach Polo, Broome WA

Mon 15 – Sun 21 Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival, Moonta SA

Fri 19 – Sat 27 Ord Valley Muster, Kununurra WA

Fri 19 – Sun 28 Clare Valley Gourmet week, Clare SA

Sat 20 Bass in the Grass, Darwin NT

Thurs 25 – Sun 28 Great Barrier Reef Masters Games, Cairns Qld

Fri 26 – Sat 27 Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival, Home Hill Qld

June

Thurs 8 – Sun 11 Noosa Food & Wine Festival, Noosa Heads Qld

Fri 9 – Mon 12 Barunga Festival, Flying Fox NT

Fri 9 – Mon 12 Finke Desert Race, Alice Springs NT

Sat 10 – Sun 11 Casterton Kelpie Muster, Casterton VIC

Sun 18 – Thurs 22 Dark Mofo, Hobart TAS

Wed 28 – Sun 30 July Illuminate Adelaide, Adelaide and regions SA

July

Sun 2 Mary Poppins Festival, Maryborough Qld

Tues 4 – Thurs 6 Big Red Bash, Simpson Desert Qld

Wed 5 – Sun 9 The Karijini Experience, Karijini WA

Thurs 13 – Sun 16 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns Qld

Fri 14 – Sun 16 Rockhampton Expo, Rockhampton Qld

Fri 14 – Sun 23 Darwin Fringe Festival, Darwin NT

Fri 14- Wed 16 Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival, Grove TAS

Fri 21 – Sun 23 Hughenden Country Music Festival, Hughenden Qld

Fri 28 – Sun 30 Winter Reds Weekend, Adelaide Hills SA

Fri 28 – Sun 30 Hervey Bay Whale Festival, Hervey Bay Qld

Fri 28 – Mon 31 Garma Festival, Nhulunbuy NT

August

Thurs 3 – Sun 6 Great Barrier Reef Festival, Airlie Beach Qld

Fri 4 – Sun 13 Taste Bundaberg Festival, Bundaberg Qld

Thurs 10 – Sun 20 Bleach Festival, Currumbin Qld

Thurs 17 – Sun 19 Mundi Mundi Bash, Mundi Mundi Plains NSW

Sun 19 Henley on Todd Regatta, Alice Springs NT

Thurs 24 – Sun 27 Gympie Music Muster, Amamoor Creek Qld

Fri 25 Aug – Sun 3 Sept Horizon Festival, Caloundra Qld

September

Fri 1 – Sat 30 Toowoomba Carnival of flowers, Toowoomba Qld

Fri 1 – Sat 2 Birdsville Races, Birdsville Qld

Fri 8 – Tues 12 (dates approx) Broken Heel Festival, Broken Hill NSW

Sat 2 – Fri 29 Mudgee Wine and Food Festival, Mudgee NSW

Sat 16 – Sat 30 Tulip Time Festival, Bowral NSW

Tues 19 – Sat 23 Outback Festival, Winton Qld

Thurs 21 Sept – Sun 1 Oct Desert Festival, Alice Springs NT

October

Thurs 5 – Sun 8 Bathurst Supercars Championship, Bathurst NSW

Wed 18 – Fri 27 (approx) Renmark Rose Festival

Fri 27 – Sun 29 Supercars Championship, Gold Coast

November

Sat 12 Adelaide Christmas Pageant, Adelaide City SA

Thurs 23 – Sun 26 Supercars Championship, Adelaide SA

December

Wed 27 – Jan 1 Woodford Folk Festival, Sunshine Coast Qld

The list is huge and this doesn’t include other smaller regional events, shows and music festivals so always do a bit of research in advance on particular regions you plan on visiting. A few of these festivals and events we’ll be planning to attend during the year, starting with some Adelaide Fringe events and the Colour Tumby Festival which is a terrific weekend of street art, music, markets and more.

Let me know if there are any major events in your part of Australia that I may have missed, especially if accommodation is scarce at these times.

Enjoy 2023

Glenys