Australia is a destination that’s very popular with backpackers, particularly, but you don’t need to be a backpacker to enjoy caravanning across this vast, beautiful land. With more than 12,000 beaches along its 60,000km of coastline and its vibrant cities and isolated outback, there’s something for everyone in this incredibly diverse continent.
Caravanning around Australia
Renting a caravan is an excellent way to get off the beaten track and explore the natural delights that Australia has to offer—with friends or with family. We’ll start you off with just five of the best places to caravan in Australia. There are many more, so keep exploring!
Great Ocean Road (Victoria)
The popular Great Ocean Road route, which takes a minimum of five days (take longer if you have time), stretches from Torquay to Allansford along the beautiful coast of Victoria. This is wonderful caravanning country offering everything from the 12 Apostles, a stunning limestone formation in the sea, to whale watching, kayaking, swimming, and surfing in Apollo Bay to fishing and seal watching in Portland. It’s impossible to get bored! Along the route, you’ll find a wealth of caravan parks and campsites with excellent facilities and a warm welcome.
Sturt National Park (New South Wales)
If you are caravanning around Australia in search of the best views, Sturt National Park is worth adding to your itinerary. There are three self-drive tours with incredible scenery and wildlife on offer. Take the Gorge Loop Road to see emu and kangaroo, try the Jump-Ups Loop Road for a stunning sunset at Oliver Downs Campground, or drive from Tibooburra to Cameron Corner to experience the total isolation of the outback. Be sure to pack plenty of water, spare tyre, and tools for changing as this route covers some rougher terrain.
Cradle Mountain (Tasmania)
One of the most abundant and diverse locations for spotting wildlife is Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. Experience thick rainforest, deep gorges, glaciers and snow-covered peaks and spot wombat, platypus, and Tasmania Devil here too. There are plenty of activities as well including hiking, fishing, mountain biking, climbing, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, rafting, kayaking and even skiing. Be aware that you cannot stay overnight in your caravan within Cradle Mountain Park but there are caravan parks nearby.
The Great Barrier Reef (Queensland)
It would be impossible not to include the iconic Great Barrier Reef in this round up of best places to caravan in Australia. The reef is the world’s largest living organism at over 2,300km in length and covering an area of around 344,400 square km. Here you can snorkel, scuba dive, swim, sail, kayak, fly or even bungee jump to experience the sights of this World Heritage Site that is also one of the seven wonders of the natural world. A useful resource is the Caravanning Queensland website which lists dozens of caravan parks close to the Great Barrier Reef where you can park up for the night as you travel along this amazing coastline.
The Nullarbor (Western Australia – South Australia)
The Nullarbor road trip stretches from Western Australia to South Australia on one of the longest and flattest roads in Australia, the Eyre Highway. Despite the long route, there’s much to see and do including the Nuytsland Nature Reserve, Bruce (the biggest windmill in Australia), whale watching and even playing the world’s longest golf course, which covers 1,365km with a hole at each town along the drive. There are hotels, motels, and caravan parks along the route for overnight stays. Expect your trip to take around 7 days.
Experiencing the real Australia
If you have moved to Australia, whether on a temporary working holiday visa or you now have resident status, the immigrant experience in Australia isn’t complete until you have toured this magnificent place in a caravan. While you are probably drawn to the big cities for work, Australia has much to offer in the smaller towns and more remote locations and a caravan is an inexpensive way to see and do much more.
Using money transfer services while you are on the move
If you need to send money from Australia to family back home, Western Union has a variety of ways for you to make cross-border payments. Check out our money transfer app, which is quick to set up and enables you to make recurring payments with minimum effort—at home or on the road. Our Help Centre gives comprehensive answers to all the frequently asked customer questions.
