CAMPERVAN VACATION

Load up a campervan and soak up the sites along the NSW north coast

The butcher sold oysters. Big, succulent rock oysters direct from local growers in the Macleay River region of NSW’s Mid North Coast. The pub, not so unexpectedly, sold wine. So we bought some of each in the beachside shopping village of South West Rocks’ Horseshoe Bay, climbed back into our motorhome and trundled off to our hideaway.

We’d spied it a few hours earlier while exploring the sights of this stunning part of Australia’s eastern coastline, all the while keeping an eye out for an overnight camping spot. It was perfect: on the edge of South West Rocks Creek, where fishermen cast a line just shy of the ocean and a charming, wooden bridge stretched across the shallow watercourse. No signs said it was out of bounds to temporary nomads, so we backed our 2-berth Voyager mobile home up to the cliff rising above the creek and settled in.

We pulled out the folding chairs and table from the storage area above the cab, set them up outside and chopped some lemon in the van’s well-equipped kitchen. Then, just in time for sunset, the oysters and wine came out of the fridge. Residents on their afternoon walk wandered by with their dogs, smiling at us, one offering: “Nice spot you’ve got there.” No doubt about it.

I know some towns have problems with messy and loud campers (they make me cranky, too) and I know van parks often lobby councils to make the practice difficult so they get more bookings. But I also know this: people like us would never hire a mobile van – and spend our tourist dollars in little towns – if we had to be corralled into a caravan park every step of the way. Part of the fun of travelling in a “land yacht” is scouting out pretty places away from the madding crowd.

Our rented, modern Renault van was designed to make sure we left nothing behind. A wastewater tank held all grey water from the sink and shower, which had surprisingly good pressure. The shower was in the same cubicle as the toilet and, while the space was tight, the van was fully curtained so you could step outside the cubicle to towel off in privacy. We checked in at a van park every third day, at which time the tank and the toilet canister were emptied and the water tank filled.

On picking up the van at Let’s Go Motorhomes’ depot at Geebung, in Brisbane’s north, we received a run-through on what various dials and gauges meant, how the automated manual transmission worked, turning the gas on – and importantly, off, before leaving each day – converting the seating to a bed, emptying the toilet and filling the tank. It ran on diesel and did about 15 litres per 100km. There’s a TV and microwave (the latter only usable when on 240 volts) and plenty of space for clothes and groceries, but take soft bags, not suitcases, for easier storage. A user’s manual helps fill in any memory gaps.

One thing to consider: insurance. I shopped around and found an alternative company offering the same cover with nil excess for almost a third of the cost offered by Let’s Go, which had a $450 excess. Luckily, we had no accidents – never too proud to get out of the van to guide the driver when backing up – and didn’t have to test the cover.

The van was shiny and new, and we hit the highway smiling, the 2.3-litre engine easily managing the 110km speed limit. On this trip to Newcastle for a wedding, we decided to eschew all the usual stopovers – Coffs Harbour, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie – and check out some of the smaller towns on the Pacific Highway. There was no need to book accommodation ahead – we’d just drive as far as we wanted each day, take a side road and end up somewhere by the water.

So it was the magnificent Lennox Head the first night (Williams St Kitchen and Bar, a groovy converted cottage on the beachfront, does a great breakfast), then South West Rocks, and by day three we were at Hawks Nest in the picturesque Myall Lakes region. (For the return trip, we camped on the banks of the Kalang River at Urunga and at the riverside North Coast Holiday Parks at Brunswick Heads.)

At Hawks Nest, we booked into Jimmys Beach North Coast Holiday Park ($37 a night for a powered site), set in bushland with towering gums and offering excellent ablution facilities, a fire pit, playground and even a dog bath. It is only a short walk to the shops where supplies can be bought for a barbecue in the camp kitchen.

Best of all, it has a walking track through bushland and over a sand dune to a spectacular, unpopulated beach, punctuated by Yacaaba Head, a volcanic remnant that rises to the south. With our home on wheels secure, we took a long afternoon stroll to the headland before finding a dune to sit on and watch the crisp waves of the Pacific Ocean barrel in.