“The smell of salty air, the breeze in your face and the comfort of your bed on wheels… Is what it’s all about when it comes to Van Life.”

There is so much to love about an Australian road trip! With summer holidays fast approaching, this month we are sharing some inspiration from the NSW coast, written by a lover of Van Life travel, Sarah Puckeridge.

Our van, ‘Helen’ is a 1998 Toyota Hiace and after much planning, we had her renovated, decked out and ready for adventures. One of my favourite things about exploring in this way is that it brings you down to earth, you meet amazing people living the same way, you can support beautiful small towns, and you get to see our country in a different light that staying in hotels can’t show you (although, a hot shower is so welcomed!).

Here are a few of my favourite spots on the East Coast of Australia, that we’ve explored, and that maybe you can add to your list too.

We are lucky enough to call the Coal Coast our backyard. Only a 30 minute drive from the south of Sydney and you find yourself on the doorstep of some of the most pristine beaches, gorgeous coffee shops and local hangs.

Some of our favourite little spots to park the van up for a surf or swim are: Coalcliff, Sharkies beach and our “old faithful” McCauley’s beach at Thirroul. Highly recommend the coffee and brekky bun from Honest Dons in Thirroul, or an afternoon beer at the beautiful Headlands Hotel!

Our favourite place in the world, and now our special place is it’s where my fiancé proposed to me, is Killalea State Park just out of Shellharbour. There’s a fantastic camp ground, with a 5 minute walk to famous surf spot “The Farm” and “Mystics”. You can hire canoes in the river, walk to the local coffee shop and kiosk, or spend the day at the beach. A true gem.

A little further south is the ever beautiful Gerringong – rolling hills, a quaint little town with gorgeous boutiques and stunning beaches – what more could you want? We love heading down here for a long weekend with friends and enjoying all that nature has to offer. Highly recommend visiting The Collective Beat – they host small and local businesses and showcase their products in an indoor market setting – its fantastic.

SAPPHIRE COAST 1.png — The Sapphire Coast

In 2019 we did a 2 week, 2650km road trip from Sydney to Melbourne and back. We spent most of our time exploring The Sapphire Coast and it is a hidden gem in my opinion. Our top tips for stop overs are:

Pinnacles Beach in Ben Boyd National Park – a dirt track in will lead you to empty beaches and the amazing Pinnacles Loop walking track – breathtaking

Mystery Bay Camp Ground – A first in, best dressed camp ground surrounded by crystal blue waters for snorkelling, swimming an exploring – a great stop!

Mossy Point – We hire a canoe and explored the beautiful waters and had a picnic on our own little sandy point – a beautiful way to break up a day of driving.

Bermagui Blue Pool – A natural ocean pool that is just heaven – we had such a fun afternoon floating around here and exploring the underwater world.

You can’t go wrong on any part of this coast.. and there is so much to explore, and towns and people to meet.

For a great little trip 2 hours north of Sydney, we love Shoal Bay in the Port Stephens region. There are some awesome pubs and small cafes, great camp grounds and big hikes. Highly recommend getting fish and chips and heading to Zenith Beach, or doing the hike up Tomaree Mountain. We camped for the weekend at the Fingal Bay Beachside Holiday Park.

And saving the best for last, my family holiday destination for over 30+ years and my absolute favourite place in the world – you can’t go past Forster and Tuncurry. A beautiful town, now built up with some great bars and cafes but still with the slow, coastal energy of a small town. Surfing, snorkelling, swimming, boating, hiking, cafes, shopping and more.. it has it all. A beautiful spot.

We love living our slow life in our van when we get the chance, and have an endless list of trips we have planned and places we want to explore. I hope this has inspired you to get in your car and get exploring. You don’t need a van, or even a tent (although of course I recommend this kind of travelling!), you just need yourself, some good friends, a car and a few days or weeks to explore what our incredible country has to offer.

Written by Sarah Puckeridge - @the.sparkk

http://www.thesparkk.com.au/

Van Life Adventures on the NSW East Coast