What do you need to know about trip planning? Here is more ‘how-to” in our “Camping 101” series.
When you are building an itinerary it can all seem a little daunting. There is a lot to decide – how far to travel each day, types of campgrounds and importantly just how many days, weeks or months you can escape for!
Making an itinerary is STEP 4 of our new year reset and travel goals. If you missed them, we recommend you check dates and set travel goals and build a wishlist.
I like to set it all down on paper, spreadsheet or document – like traveller, Keith Skinner, who showed us how to trip plan.
So here’s how our magnificent Tassie trip started (Heatley pictured above with friends at Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, near Devonport):
In the end, our Tassie adventure didn’t vary from the list too much. We didn’t have time for Wineglass Bay and Freycinet National Park. We ended up stopping at Launceston on our last night, close to the airport. At least my spreadsheet gives you an exact idea as to how we plan.
These days, I also use the CAMPS AUSTRALIA WIDE App’s “My Trips”. It saves me a lot of time working out kilometres between different locations. And it gives you the location of the actual campground, not just the town. See how I have used it for our recent Dorrigo Trip.
This system also works when you want to be flexible. In my spreadsheet, I also add points of interest for each area that I don’t want to miss. Some of these might be overnighters as well.
You’ll often need to check availability, book camps or caravan parks and attractions that you plan to enjoy. You may have to massage your itinerary depending on availability dates.
We go through this process whether we are taking a lap of Australia, a week – or weekend! Don’t be concerned if your plan is turned upside down (well, except if you have peak holiday bookings). The beauty of freedom camping is you can keep your itinerary fluid.
For Dorrigo, for instance, we had an end destination, and we knew our last night was with our son, working at Croppa Creek. There were several routes we could have taken. We ALWAYS opt for circuits, rather than backtracking – something Heatley dislikes!
This is the actual route we took, following the Clarence River on the beautiful (but rough) Clarence Way – we didn’t get to the coast at all:
And this was the plan I had created initially in our CAMPS App. As you can see, there were many differences compared to our actual route and stops:
But it was no matter, we’ll get back to Nambucca and Queen Mary Falls another time. With our CAMPS guides, we discovered some amazing campgrounds and must-see and dos!
TIP: Book your Christmas campground or caravan park now for 2023! If you are still searching for a camping getaway in peak periods – we have 12 tips for finding last minute campgrounds and caravan parks. Use our CAMPS App and guides to help you!
Score 15% off Camps 12 B4 (Easy to Read with Photos) by adding in the below code at checkout.
Add the code EXPLOREAUS into the checkout and SAVE today!
Download the Camps App for iPhone/iPad or Android
