Holiday with a Difference : Driving a Campervan in Perth

So I have been mentioning about the Campervan a lot in the previous few posts. Time for me to share the photos of our campervan which we used for 6 days and 5 nights. It took us to many places such as Swan Valley (1,2,3), Tin Horse Highway, Wave Rock, Lake Grace, Sheep Shearing in Springhills, Wagin, eating Yabbies in Cambinata, Margaret River etc. Too many places, too little time. Western Australia is amazing.

And of course, how can you not be taking Instagram photos at the amazing Blue Boat House.

Map of the route we took with the Campervan

A map from the organiser of this tour (Chan Brothers) which showed where we went with our Campervan. It was a circular loop. Very well planned.

So we booked our tour with Chan Brothers, and among other things (e.g. Getting us the Australian visa, booking hotel stays for us in downtown Perth, detailed planning of the whole trip including farm visit and even organizing a campfire and a small wine tasting one night), they also helped to arrange the campervans (with GPS, insurance and even portable wifi router) and also the booking of campervan sites (every night) for the whole group. There were about 20-22 camper vans ! Very impressive. Very special. It was an experience I will never forget. It helps that we had a great tour leader, Tevin !

Check out these photos and a video !

A video of all the Campervans in a convoy in Perth

Renting a Campervan in Perth

You could, of course, rent your own Campervan and not join in such a big group. It was my first time driving a large vehicle like a Campervan and also was my first time driving in Australia, so I thought it was safer and better.

Indeed, there are many things you need to know (e.g how to clear grey water, black water, how to connect electricity and fresh water to your campervan, where to park them at night etc). And so it was actually very valuable to have Chan Brothers’ help and advice. They even got an expert in Campervan to accompany us on our tour. Nevertheless I will cover some of these useful information in my next few blog posts. Example here.

Or you can check out this post already. https://www.facebook.com/ChanBrothersTravelSG/videos/1533694283369506/

We collected our campervan at the Blitz office near to Perth airport (it is about 5-10 mins from the airport), so that’s where you can plan your trip to start.

Our Campervans parked at the collection office:

From there, it was a short drive to a nearby supermarket (e.g. Coles, IGV) to stock up on your supplies and then it was another short drive to Swan Valley and to spend the night at the nearby Discovery Park Perth Vineyard.

For my campervan, although we booked a four person campervan, the company was able to give us an upgrade to a 6 person campervan (one more bed, converted from dining table !). It was cool. The brand of our campervan was Maui but no difference lah. I think I am even the first driver as it felt so new.

Photos Of a Beautiful Campervan

Hey baby ! You are mine for the next few days…

Inside a Campervan

Driver’s area with a nice big view and a DAMN Good GPS

And lots of storage areas in the car and two power plugs for your phones. One of them will be working at night (when you plug in at electricity point at the Campervan site) and one of them only works when the engine starts.

I know these are important to people 🙂

A good storage space above the driver. Put a bluetooth speaker there, and u have music all the way from ur phone 🙂

Sleeping in a Campervan

A nice bed at the back of the campervan where you have three big windows.. nice place to view and even nicer to sleep in…. don’t worry. Curtains are there to cover for privacy.

Another sleeping quarter above the driver seat

Lots of privacy at night, with curtains to close off the sleeping area above the driver seat and the front driver area

Now in the daytime, this area are where the passengers’ seats (and you need to have a child seat in very strict Australia highway rules) and you can then convert this area first to a dining area and then later at night to a sleeping area (enough for 2 person !)

Cooking in a Campervan

There was a kitchen and boy did we cook. Australia’s fresh food are so yummy (the vegetables, the meats, the fruits…)…

In this photo, you can see lots of storage above the kitchen.. we used it to store our food to be cooked:

The campervan came with everything, even a bread toaster, a microwave, cooking utensils, plates, bowls, pots and pans (which make a lot of sound when you are driving). You really can cook up a decent meal !

Some of the food we cooked…

Chai Siew even !

Relaxing and Dining out in the Open

And when the weather is good (well it was good every single day we were there in June 2017), you can move out your table and chairs for a nice dinner outside ! The table and chairs are very foldable and are kept at the back of the campervan. No worries.

Toilets in a Campervan

My Campervan came with a toilet (we will talk about how to get rid of the “stuff you passed out from your body” in the next blog post)..

Behind this small door is the toilet..

Be Very Careful of the Tall Height of a Campervan

Do be very careful of the height of the campervan. Check out how close I was to destroying a petrol kiosk roof top!

Be Careful !! 🙂

Will share more on what to do at night when you parked the car at a campervan site. And yes you must as you need to “recharge the car” and add fresh water to your car !