10 Aussie Caravanning Tips Everyone Needs To Know

Thinking of joining the ever-increasing number of Aussies hitting the open road with a caravan in tow? Here, then, are the Top Ten things you should know before pulling into your first tourist park.

1. There’s no such thing as sleeping in

People in caravan parks like to rise early. They have places to be and they need to get there ASAP. I know, I know, they’re on holidays – but there’s no rest for the wicked and the early bird gets the best site at the next van park.

Plus, many caravanners are older retirees and they’ll be the first to tell you they usually wake by 5am anyway. So expect a lot of clatter and banging, car engines starting and loud morning greetings before the sun is even in the sky.

2. Privacy is a thing of the past

You may dream of quiet nights in a tranquil bush setting with a book and a folding chair, but while that can happen if you head off the beaten track, most of the time you’re on a small site (grassed, if you’re lucky) with another caravan a few feet either side of you.

Quite possibly one behind as well. Most have flimsy walls and lots of open screens, so sound travels a long way. Your own conversations, and those of people around you, will bounce around your not-so-quiet oasis for all to hear.

Build in bed in 4WD. Backpacking Australia with camper van.

And that’s before the lights go out and the snoring starts. You can hit your own husband (or, to be fair, wife) when they start to grunt and snort, but you can’t do much about the foghorn five caravans down.

3. People like to watch

Caravan parks are like mini theatres, with an ever-changing cast and crew watched by an openly curious, often downright nosy, audience. New arrivals are like a new set of actors taking the stage.

Oldies sit at their outdoor tables and stare as the latest travellers struggle to reverse their vans, maybe exchanging a few harsh words to each other in the process. A good domestic during the treacherous setting-up-of the-van process can brighten any caravan park afternoon.

If you’re young and appear inexperienced, so much the better. If, like my husband and I, you’re still in your 30s and on your first long-haul caravan journey, you’ll draw plenty of attention. Try not to show fear.

4. The toilets stink in the morning

We humans often follow a fairly set routine when it comes to eating and, um, expelling our waste. The post-breakfast trip to the amenities block is, therefore, never a pleasant experience. Often there’s a queue and the toilets invariably stink.

There are also all those embarrassing bodily function noises emanating from the cubicles while those in line cringe and await their turn.

5. Someone will always know better than you

There are tens of thousands of people currently on the road around Australia. Many of them have lapped the country more than once and, let me tell you, they know a thing or two (or three or four) about caravan travel.

They know where the cheapest petrol is, where the best views are, and which places not to bother with. And they won’t be backwards in coming forwards when it comes to telling you the things you should be doing or shouldn’t have done. There’s no solution to this. Just nod politely and agree.

6. The honeymoon is over

Living in a confined space for an extended period will test the strongest of relationships, no matter how much you love your partner. Especially if your chosen mode of transport is lean (in our case a 12ft, 26-year-old caravan).

Being with someone 24/7 can be tough, especially when you can’t move from one side of the van to the other without crashing into each other. Tension between couples on the road is the subject of many jokes.

Expect it and do your best to create space when it’s needed. The other alternative is to have a good old fight and add to that afternoon’s caravan park entertainment (refer to Point No. 03).

7. Things go wrong

No matter how well laid your plans, things will invariably come undone from time to time. The caravan park you want might be booked. Your warm tropical week in northern Australia might be windy and rainy. You might blow a tire or your vehicle might suffer some other type of mechanical problem. Be prepared and stay flexible. Throwing the odd tantrum sometimes helps, too.

8. The washing lines are always full

Washing and drying clothes when on the road can be a difficult chore to complete, especially when the limited number of clotheslines and driers seem always to be full.

A campervan passes beneath the memorial arch on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. The scenic road winds down the coast of Victoria and is popular with tourists.

Unless you’re one of the aforementioned early birds, my advice is to wash at night. Get in and hang your clothes up way before the sun has come up.

9. You instantly become a slow driver

Before we began caravanning, my husband and I complained about caravans driving below the speed limit and holding up long lines of cars. “Bloody caravanners," we’d been known to mutter. Now we are one of those moving roadblocks.

We drive carefully and usually sit just under the speed limit, not because we have to, but because we get better fuel consumption that way. And with petrol one of the biggest on-road expenses, I guarantee your hooning days are over once you start towing a caravan.

Of course, some people do take this concept to new levels, crawling along at a snail’s pace . . . bloody caravanners.

10. Caravanning is one of the best things you’ll ever do

Despite points one to nine, nothing beats the freedom of the open road; the sense of adventure and fun as you explore new places and the flexibility that comes from taking your accommodation with you.

Australia is a fantastic country full of beauty and diversity and there are lots of great people to meet. Don’t put it off. Hook up that caravan and hit the road.

The country’s rawest places offer some of its most transformative, restorative experiences.

Australia offers sublime opportunities to disappear into the ancient, untouched wilderness, worlds away from modern stress. Wild Bush Luxury offers a collection of experiences that are a portal into the continent’s wildest, most undiscovered landscapes, from wide floodplains to vast savannas, where the only distractions are birdsong, frog calls, curious wallabies and the daily drama of sunset. With a focus on conservation and Indigenous knowledge, these all-inclusive experiences allow guests to slow down and quiet their minds for intimate encounters with the natural world.

1. Bamurru Plains

safari tent at Bamurru Plains wild bush luxury — Let nature take front row.

In the remote Top End, just outside Kakadu National Park on the fringes of the spectacular Mary River floodplains, you’ll find Bamurru Plains , a peerless Australian safari camp. After a quick air transfer from Darwin to the camp’s private airstrip, you’ll be whisked away via 4WD to a vivid natural wonderland of shimmering floodplains, red earth, herds of peacefully grazing water buffalo and 236 bird species (Bamurru means magpie goose to the Gagadju people).

Accommodations consist of 10 mesh-walled bungalows and two luxe stilted retreats where guests enjoy panoramic, up-close views that invite them into their rightful place in the landscape (and binoculars to see it even better). Being an off-grid experience designed to help guests disconnect, the only distractions are birdsongs, frog calls, curious wallabies, the occasional crocodile sighting and the daily drama of the spectacular golden sunset.

It’s a place where nature’s vastness rises to the level of the spiritual, and Bamurru’s understated, stylish, largely solar-powered lodgings are designed to minimise human impact and let nature take front row. Guests relax in comfort with plush linens, an open bar, communal tables that allow for spontaneous connections and curated dining experiences from the in-house chef using local ingredients and bush-inspired cooking methods.

Bamurru Plains airboat tour — Zoom across the floodplains. (Image: Adam Gibson)

It’s a restorative backdrop for days spent zooming across the mist-covered floodplains in an airboat, birding with expert guides, taking an open-sided safari drive or river cruise through croc country. Spend time at the Hide, a treehouse-like platform that’s perfect for wildlife spotting.

In fact, nature is so powerful here that Bamurru Plains closes entirely during the peak monsoon season (October to April), when the floodplains reclaim the land and life teems unseen beneath the water. Yet Wild Bush Luxury’s ethos continues year-round through its other experiences around Australia – each designed to immerse travellers in a distinct Australian wilderness at its most alive and untouched.

2. Maria Island Walk

woman on a headland of Maria Island Walk — Maria Island Walk offers sweeping coastal scenes.

Off Tasmania’s rugged east coast, the iconic Maria Island Walk is an intimate four-day journey through one of the country’s most hauntingly beautiful and unpopulated national parks, encompassing pristine beaches, convict-era ruins, and wildlife sightings galore. Accessible only by a small ferry, Maria Island feels like a place reclaimed by nature, which is exactly what it is: a penal settlement later used for farms and industry that finally became a national park in 1972.

These days, the island is known as ‘Tasmania’s Noah’s Ark’ and its only human inhabitants are park rangers. It’s a place where wombats amble through grassy meadows, wallabies graze beside empty beaches, dolphins splash in clear water just offshore and Tasmanian devils – successfully reintroduced in 2012 after near-extinction on the mainland – roam free and healthy.

Each day unfolds in an unhurried rhythm: trails through coastal eucalyptus forests or along white-sand bays, plateaus with sweeping ocean views, quiet coves perfect for swimming. Midway through the journey, you’ll explore Darlington, a remarkably preserved 19th-century convict settlement whose ruins tell stories of human ambition at the edge of the known world.

At night, sleep beneath a canopy of stars in eco-wilderness camps – after relaxing with Tasmanian wine and locally-sourced meals, and swapping stories with your fellow trekkers by candlelight.

3. Arkaba

two people standing next to a 4wd in Arkaba — Explore Arkaba on foot or on four wheels.

For a bush immersion with more of an outback flavour, Arkaba offers a completely different type of experience. A former sheep station and historic homestead in South Australia’s striking Flinders Ranges that has been reimagined as a 63,000-acre private wildlife conservancy. It’s now patrolled mainly by kangaroos and emus.

Small-scale tourism (the homestead has just five ensuite guestrooms) helps support rewilding projects, and guests become an essential part of the conservation journey. Days begin with sunrise hikes through ancient sandstone ridges or guided drives into the ranges to spot yellow-footed rock-wallabies. And end with sundowners on a private ridgetop watching the Elder Range glow vibrant shades of gold, crimson and violet as the air cools and time stands still.

Here, you can join conservation activities like tracking native species or learning about Arkaba’s pioneering feral-animal eradication projects, then unwind with chef-prepared dinners served alfresco on the veranda of the homestead, which is both rustic and refined. The highlight? Following Arkaba Walk, a thriving outback wilderness where emus wander and fields of wildflowers grow.

It’s an unforgettable immersion in Australia’s vast inland beauty, a place where the land’s deep and complicated history – and astounding resilience – leave their quiet imprint long after you return home. In a world where genuine awe is rare, Wild Bush Luxury offers a return to what matters most in the untamed beauty of Australia’s wilderness.

Disconnect from the grind and reconnect with nature when you book with at wildbushluxury.com

Ten Aussie caravanning tips everyone needs to know