Wicked Campers
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2006
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21
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Trip End
Jul 15, 2008
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Pacific Palms,
Australia
Monday, December 18, 2006
We checked out our Wicked Campervan in downtown Sydney and headed north on Motorway #1 also called M-1 and also called the Pacific Highway. We had learned about the Wicked vans from some on-line communication with Australians who thought they looked like a lot of fun. They have some wild graphics and each van has a different motif. Ours was the Monty Python version, with "nudge nudge, wink wink, you know what I mean" scrawled on the back. Wicked vans really get you noticed on the highway. We rented it for seventeen days to drive to Cairns where we would turn it in. They advertise it at $40/day. But that version was not available even though we had reserved ours more than a month in advance. So we were kicked up to a more expensive version. Then because it is "summer peak season" the cost went up again. Finally the per day cost ended up at $72. Then we had to get basic insurance for $10/day and opted for improved insurance for another $150. Then another $100 fee because we were not returning the van to Syd. Bottom line: $1644.00 for 17 days. But we have unlimited mileage. We ended up driving about 2091 miles or 3346 Km and spent $384.62 for gas. All prices here are in Australian dollars which are about $.80 US. You can often find hostel lodging for two under $50/nite but some places here cost more. When we stayed in caravan parks they uniformly cost about $20/night. The buses would probably have been cheaper even for the two of us. There might have been some saving on food costs since we could go to the supermarkets.
12-18-06a
But we often over bought in the markets. Over all we'd say financially it was a wash. We really decided to drive Australia because of the convenience of being able to haul all our luggage and ourselves to locations we wanted to go to when we wanted. The convenience and independence of having the van is balanced by the fact that you have to drive and navigate yourselves. Irina became an expert at reading the map and navigation. Arvid had enough to do keeping his eyes on the road, the van in the left lane and turning where Irina said to turn. M-1 is a federal highway and even the Aussies think it is a pretty lame road to be called Australia's number one route. It is mostly two lanes with a passing or overtaking lanes every so often. Like the old US Route 66 it goes right through the centers of every town in the way. So there's no setting the cruise control and settling back on a nice four lane Interstate.
On our first day out of Sydney we made it to Pacific Palms and spent the night at a caravan park over looking the Bulahdelah River. Coordinates: 32 20.523S 152 31.546E
Dec. 19, 2006
The afternoon of the 19th we stopped at the home of Garry 'the surfer' in Port Macquarie. Garry had offer to let us sleep over at his house for a few days prior to us deciding to hire the van. Now we didn't really need his bed but his location just a block from Elizabeth Beach made a great spot for us to park. Garry already had two Belgium girls staying with him, but he would have still put us up if we needed. The girls were traveling Australia during their gap year after college. After cleaning up we headed to the beach until evening when Irina cooked up a great beef barbie and with veggies for everyone. Coordinates to Garry's place: 31 26.154S 152 55.413E
Dec. 20, 2006
Surfer Garry told us about Miners Beach a few Ks down the road which is euphemistically called a free beach, meaning it's clothing optional. So we headed there in the morning when it was pretty much deserted to shed some tan lines. Coordinates: 31 27.697S 152 56.117E . This afternoon we drove to our next tourist destination; the Pub With No Beer in Taylors Arm. Coordinates: 30 46.119S 152 42.985E There is a popular country western song here from the 1950's named the Pub With No Beer sung by Slim Dusty. The song was written by Gordon Parson but there is a dispute as to which pub in Australia the song referred to. According to the newspaper clippings on the wall this dispute resulted in a lawsuit with another bar, but we don't know who won. Anyway we can say we've been here and that is about all.
