The unique ways you can see Australia without a caravan
Australians are finding creative new ways to explore the country, with rooftop camping, sailing adventures and pet-sitting emerging as alternatives to traditional caravanning.
It turns out caravans aren’t the only way intrepid travellers are making their way around Australia.
With explorers heading out to see our country via road, sea, or shacking up with some furry friends, Australian Tourism Industry Council CEO Erin McLeod said the variety was testament to Aussies’ determination to head out and find adventure.
“Intrinsically as a nation, we are creative in our styles as travellers, we always have been a creative nation,” Ms McLeod said,
“It doesn’t surprise me that there are new and emerging ways travellers are finding to get the experience they’re looking for, making their way across Australia … whether it be caravans, or rooftop camping or sailing boats.”
Ms McLeod said regardless of their means of travel, nomadic travellers were crucial to keeping bush communities alive.
“A really important part of nomadic tourism is they’re spending 9 out of 10 nights in regional destinations, supporting regional communities by spending money there,” she said.
“Having travellers go out into our more remote areas means they’re supporting a really important part of our country.”
A ROOFTOP ROOST
Rooftop tents, which are bolted onto a vehicle’s roof, are proving popular, with Google searches for the camping product growing by 450 per cent in five years.
These tents, which cost between $5,000 and $15,000, are more expensive than the poles and pegs variety but are still an affordable alternative to a van, according to Australian Traveller founder Quentin Long.
“Any sort of tent is always going to be the cheapest option, by buying a van you’re having to tow it around, pay for registration, repairs and using more fuel,” Mr Long said.
After two years in their caravan, full-time travellers Lily Czeszek and Jacob Burridge switched to a rooftop tent earlier this year, but say trading their bathroom and kitchen for a camp shower and portable cooktop was worth it.
“Things are more accessible with a smaller set-up, the places we had to skip in our travels previously we’ve now been able to do,” Mr Burridge said.
Ms Czeszek said: “It’s much smaller, especially travelling with (dog Hazel), but it’s different in a good way. We wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Matt and Holly Rossato have completed several laps of Australia using both rooftop and pop-up tents on their overlanding SUV.
“We wanted to be really mobile and not have to worry about the cons that come with towing,” Mr Rossato said.
“You can actually go anywhere, park anywhere … and it’s cost effective.”
HITTING THE HIGH SEAS
Kayleigh Brown had “never sailed yachts” when she and partner James Gibson bought their 41-foot vessel Mon Ami for $75,000 last October, with the pair sailing through North Queensland for the past six months.
“We absolutely love it, we have a lovely cosy bed, a galley and a shower, it was worth it … but it was a big adjustment,” Ms Brown said.
“People think you’re sitting in the sun drinking cocktails all day but in reality you’re constantly checking the weather, things break all the time and if you’re caught in bad weather you can’t stop, you have to keep sailing through it, sometimes overnight, even if you’re seasick.”
Aside from repair costs and berthing fees, the YouTubers found their travel method “relatively cheap”, coming ashore every few weeks to buy groceries and spending their days swimming, snorkelling and playing board games.
“Including our repair costs, which were more than half the total, we spent about $35,000 for the entire six months,” Ms Brown said.
“It’s a tiring lifestyle and very physically demanding … but the sacrifices we made to make it happen were well worth it. On our last week at sea, we anchored north of Fraser Island and could hear humpback whales singing through the hull of our boat as we laid in bed … I can’t live any other way now.”
That much is true too for Sara Rice, husband Lee and their teens Taj and Bella, who left NSW’s northern rivers in 2015 for a two-year sail around Australia.
Ten years later, they’re still at sea, and have travelled South-East Asia, California, Mexico and El Salvador, sharing their adventures online.
“There’s a lot of life lessons and things we’ve learnt the hard way … we didn’t really have a plan and blew our budget pretty quickly, and left Australia with only $5,000 in our bank account, which shocked people,” Ms Rice said.
“But we pushed through it, and we’re still here.
“It is hard, not knowing when you’ll be home and see your family and friends again, but the adventure you find every day absolutely makes up for it … it’s been really fun, raising our kids on the boat.
“They’re old enough now to go on their own adventures, but there’s no end date, we’ll take each day as it comes.”
NOT SUCH A RUFF TROT
While less popular, petsitting is also emerging as a way for travellers to see Australia.
Hopeful wanderers have been able to score adventures by looking after pets at their owners’ homes while the pet parents enjoy a getaway themselves.
MadPaws’ founder Justus Hammer said the practice offered the “perfect solution” for travellers without accommodation and pet parents looking for a sitter.
“Most people join up because they are pet lovers … and the invention of working from home allows lots of them to travel Australia or even the world, working from wherever they are,” Mr Hammer said.
“ (Petsitting) works really well for people, they get to travel, make money but also have a place to stay if they’re petsitting within the owner’s place.”
But Mr Hammer warned would-be sitters to temper their expectations on bookings.
“The marketplace has really become flooded, the people with experience in giving medication or special care are the ones with the most bookings who can charge the most,” he said.
“The key to being successful is to build up a profile locally to show you can be trusted, before targeting larger areas.”
UK traveller Rena Bradshaw worked in a zoo before trying her hand at petsitting, with the 23 year-old graphic designer travelling to Uluru, Perth, South Australia and Darwin by caring for peoples’ pets.
“Hopping around Australia, I needed to travel strategically,” Ms Bradshaw said.
“I saw other people talking about it on social media and how it meant they could save money but also spend time with cute animals … it seemed like the perfect choice.”
“It’s not the easiest thing in the world, you’ve got to look after someone’s kid essentially, but it’s so rewarding, the interaction with the animals … I’d do it for free if I could.”
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Originally published as The unique ways you can see Australia without a caravan
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