V & C Impressions

Almost Grey Nomads in Australia

Tag: greynomads

  • Smoko Campground – Free

    Smoko Campground – Free

    This has to be one of the nicest free campgrounds we have been to in a while. Beautiful scenery, which for us was reminiscence of Canada. A lake to cool down in, plenty of space and walking tracks.

    This campground follows on from our previous over night camp at Echuca Rotary Park.

    • Website: Bright & Surrounds
    • Fee Category: Free
    • Booking: No
    • Dog Friendly: Yes
    • Amenities: Toilet – long drop
    • Dump point: No
    • Pool: No
    • Fire pits: Yes
    • Telstra: Good
    • Starlink: May have problems with trees
    Smoko campground track
    Smoko campground track

    Our Experience

    We were initially going to stay here for one night, but liked it so much we stayed another night. The drive here through Bright was beautiful and scenic, so after the outback we were taken aback by how lush and green everything was.

    The campsite itself is quite large with lots of nooks and crannies you should be able to find a spot. When we arrived it was very busy, a 4wd club had finished their run up in the Highlands for 9 days so they were camping before the drive back home. The next day the place emptied out with just a few remaining. The spot were had was by the drop toilet so once everyone had left, we decided to move to a better position next to a fire pit. The fire pit had a movable bar that you could put a camp over over.

    The campsites are relatively level and suit all types of campers from tents, roof top tents, motor homes, vans, trucks and caravan – we saw the lot. The single long-drop toilet was clean and you do need to bring your own toilet paper. With the mountain ranges surrounding you, plus the trees, I would think this would be a good sheltered place to be. The tracks are dirt so in the rain it could get slippery.

    This campsite, and in fact the whole area, is now on our list to visit again and instead of passing through we will stay for a few more days or weeks. Definitely worth a look and stay.

    I would think in winter it could get very cold, as further up the road and round the corner is Mt Hotham and ski fields.

    A few pics

    Smoko campground campsite
    Smoko campground campsite
    Smoko campground track leading into campsite
    Smoko campground track leading into campsite
  • From House to Highway

    From House to Highway

    Embracing Full-Time Caravan Life with My Wife and Our Loyal Companion Across Australia

    This has been a long time coming, close to 5 years of planning, saving, dreaming. Now we have started, it’s kind of scary.

    The idea for this lifestyle, came up at the beginning from a trip we did 5 years ago to the Big Red Bash, we also added in Uluru, and Kings Canyon. 6 weeks on the road, in a camper trailer, and we loved it. Did not want to go back. When home, we discovered YouTube, and the various other people that were doing this lifestyle full time already, or starting to, that got us thinking, if they can, we can.

    It takes courage and determination to go ahead with a change like this. Leaving your comfortable home, job, life, to completely upend it to living on the road in a tiny home, with limited income.

    Catherine has managed to secure a part time role with her company working 3 days a week, I, on the other hand have left my job with nothing to look forward to work wise. Am I concerned? Yes and no.

    “You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.” — Andrew Murphy

    I don’t want to look back on my life and say to myself I should’ve, could’ve. We took a gamble moving from New Zealand to Australia 13 years ago, scary at the time, again leaving a good comfortable life behind heading into the unknown. Turned out the be a good decision, more doors opened, new experiences, and a better lifestyle emerged out of that decision.

    Why Now?

    Health, and tomorrow is never guaranteed. With various health issues creeping up on Catherine and I, we felt that if not now, then in the not too distant future it will quickly become a never.

    We were looking for a change. Both of us, perhaps more me than Catherine, were becoming bored with our jobs and looking for a change.

    World events, everything is going nuts, conflict everywhere, political distrust, cost of living, you name it, it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that this lifestyle we have embarked on may not possible soon, or at least not so achievable.

    Website Changes

    This website has been about my photography, birding adventures, due to the above mentioned health issues, and Covid, that ended up on the back burner, so nothing happened here for a couple of years. So, the new focus will be –

    • Our travel Blog, full of updates, hints, tips and experiences of our travels.
    • A Diary of my (our) thoughts on this lifestyle.
    • The highs, and lows of our experiences.

    So come join us on the journey and if you are travelling yourself and wanna do something together, get in touch.