Living in motorhomes and recreational vehicles has become wildly popular in recent years. Young and elderly people alike are waking up to the conveniences and incomparable mobility that the motorhome lifestyle provides.
Whether it’s by choice or forced upon them by financial circumstances, those that have moved into an RV and perpetually roam the countryside are claiming that it has done wonders to their mood and general outlook on life. People often tend to point towards the ‘no-strings-attached’ feeling of ultimate freedom, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and pressing responsibilities of the office job they’ve left behind.
Nowhere else is motorhome living kicking off as much as it is in Australia. It should really come as no surprise given the country’s vast landscape and plenty of roads to traverse across. It is not only an increasingly popular lifestyle choice — loads of Aussies are choosing to spend their vacations that way, too! Unrestrained by the tight rules and requirements of expensive hotels and resorts, you can pretty much scoot around the entire continent in a Swift motorhome, without ever worrying about having a place to stay for the night or a way to get from place to place.
Regardless of whether you’re trying to permanently get away from the relentless vultures tracking down your every move in one of the many Sydney business centers, or you just want to take some time off and hit the road with your loved ones for a month or two, you need to know that the Australian motorhome scene and infrastructure is quite different than in the rest of the world.
Ride for free!
If you simply want to go on a short (or long) holiday and experience the various aspects of living on the road in Australia without having to splash loads of cash on renting a motorhome or an RV, you should know that there are relocation services that allow you to do so. You’d be getting the vacation you always wanted, while also helping out other folk get their vehicles to where they need to be.
The way these services work is that rental companies with large fleets of cars offer up some of these machines to travellers to drive for free, with a tiny catch: they need to drive from one particular location to another, in a pre-established period of time. It makes for a great deal, as these companies spend tons of money every year on vehicle relocations, while tourists splash their hard-earned money on renting RVs or other motor vehicles.
Those relocation websites like Transfercar are the perfect example of killing two birds with one stone. Rental companies give up their cars and RVs to tourists at no added cost whatsoever, in exchange for simply delivering it to their original destination. The time periods within which you need to deliver the vehicle vary from as little as three days to as much as two months, making this option the perfect choice for a weekend getaway, as well as a summer-long excursion into the depths of the Australian countryside. Of course, if you find yourself in need of extending the delivery deadline, you can do so at an additional fee as well.
Map out your stops
It might not look like it on regular world maps or globes, but Australia is really, really huge. It takes ungodly amounts of time to get from one end of the continent to another, and the space in between is not exactly the most hospitable in the world. Every man, woman, and child on the planet is at least vaguely familiar with the infamous Australian wildlife and what it can do to humans.
This is why you should do loads of research and preparation prior to setting out on your motorhome adventure. Especially if you’re planning to turn it into a whole new lifestyle. While you’ll probably be fine staying the night in uninhabited areas most of the time, you should at least have a vague idea of the campsites and campervan sites in the region you’re currently in. A lot of stuff can happen on the road, and when things go south, it’s absolutely necessary to have a place you can turn to for a prolonged stay in the company of other human beings and the presence of amenities, such as stable internet access and electricity or running water.
Break free
The good old Down Under is the perfect country to be in if you want to try out the nomadic lifestyle experience. The vast, Australian countryside has got a lot to offer, and some of the wilder places will have you feeling like you’re the first human being to ever step foot in them. There is nothing quite like waking up in the early morning, unencumbered by the soul-crushing pressure of the city life and stepping out of your motorhome with a cup of coffee, admiring the vast empty deserts of Western Australia only to have a go at Victoria’s lush plant life just days later.