It would seem an odd thing to do. Take a tent away with you when you’re caravanning around Australia, but like many others on the road for an extended time we did just that and can highly recommend you do too. Why?
Why Pack a Tent for Your Caravan Trip?
In addition to a welcome change from the caravan lifestyle it allows us to go to the places where a caravan is not suitable or even possible to take. For us these places were along the Old Telegraph Track in Cape York and Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia.
Even though we did take our caravan all the way up to Seisia, the top of Cape York, it was still not suitable to take it along the OTT, so we left it behind and swagged it at Eliot Falls. Luckily at this stage our kids were only 1 and 2 years old and we all comfortably fitted inside a big double swag.
What Tent Gear Do You Need When Caravanning?
A couple of years later, when we were in Western Australia and the kids were 3 and 4 years old, we had to upgrade to a four-man tent so we could head over to the Western most point on mainland Australia, Steep Point. From here we boarded the barge to Dirk Hartog Island which is too small for even our relatively small 16ft caravan. Both these experiences away from our caravan, and camping it very much back to the basics style, were a standout from our 3 years on the road.
The only additional things we needed were the swag/tent and blow-up mattresses. Everything else we already had as part of our “big lap” setup.
How to Safely Store Your Caravan for Tent-Only Trips
Even though we used the tent a total of 5 nights all up, it gave us the opportunity to explore more wilder and remote places. In those times we packed our van down and stored it at local caravan parks or stations for a small storage fee.
Because we were only gone a maximum of 3 nights per stay, it was affordable and also helped decrease the risk of any property damage, crimes or unwanted attention to our van just sitting there.
A Quick Checklist for Packing Up Your Caravan
As for packing the caravan up, we dumped our black water at the dump point, disconnected the water hose, transferred our fridge items into the car fridge, packed the awning away, popped the roof down and packed in the beds and made certain our hitch lock was on.
It can be a bit nerve-racking leaving your caravan sitting unattended, but we found the short visits worked well with us, as we weren’t straying too long from our van. Nothing worse than property damage and things going missing during your road trip.
We were fortunate to not have any negative experiences while away.
Explore More: Tent-Only Destinations Your Caravan Can’t Go
There are many more places around Australia that are worthwhile visiting however difficult or impossible for a caravan to access. A basic swag/tent setup will let you get amongst it to experience places like K’gari (Fraser Island) or crossing the Simpson Desert.
Some of these we still hope to get to ourselves in the near future.
Words and Photos: The Adventuring Pals
Q: Can I take a caravan onto Dirk Hartog Island?
A: No, the barge to Dirk Hartog Island is too small to take caravans, even relatively small 16ft models.
Q: Where can I store my caravan while camping in a tent on tour?
A: You can pack your van down and store it at local caravan parks or stations, usually for a small storage fee.
Q: What’s an easy way to secure my caravan when we’re camping away from it?
A: An easy way to secure your van is to make certain your hitch lock is on as part of the pack-up process before leaving it unattended.
