ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHS
Beyond the big cities, western Canada has barely begun to coalesce into a
nation — and a camper van is the perfect vehicle in which to explore the
spaces in between.
There’s a strong touring culture here, too, which means a well-organised
system of camp sites. Oh, and it’s home to some of the most spectacular, and
empty, landscapes you’ll ever see.
If you have no more than two weeks, then a Rocky Mountain tour is the
itinerary to aim for, heading west into Banff National Park, then tracking
north, along the Icefields Parkway, towards Jasper. The further north you
go, the quieter it gets, and you should schedule as many stops as you can
for biking, hiking and picnicking beneath the pines.
June is the best month for a tour, and Hemmingways (0870 742 2673,
www.hemmingways.co.uk) can organise the hire of a four-berth C25 RV for £69
per day, with an allowance of 60 miles per day. Camp-site prices vary (many
work on a first-come, first-served basis), but the fully serviced Wapiti
camp costs £13.50 per night and can be booked by calling 00 1 877 737 3783
or visiting www.pccamping.ca. Hemmingways can also organise flights from
Gatwick to Calgary; from £346pp.
SNOW-CHASING IN THE ALPS
It might sound like a stupid idea — a skiing or snowboarding holiday by camper
van. But come March, warmth is returning to the valleys, while the more
turbulent spring weather is brewing frequent snowstorms higher up. So, in
the same way that surfers chase waves, why not follow the snow? Modern vans
are snug and well heated; many resort areas are home to at least one
all-season camp site; and, best of all, you can ski as many different
mountains as you like — wherever the powder’s freshest.
As far as motorhome holidays go, this is the hardcore option — just think of
the smell of all those drying socks — so you should trade up in size to make
life more bearable. Two people should hire a four-person vehicle, four
people a six-berther. Leighway (01784 455073, www.leighwayrental.co.uk),
based in Middlesex, has a six-berth Riviera 363 for £101 per day in March,
including unlimited mileage.
Camp sites vary in price: contact each resort’s tourist office for details.
For example, Le Versoyen (00 33 4 79 07 03 45, www.leversoyen.com), in Bourg
St Maurice — handy for resorts such as Les Arcs, La Plagne, Val d’Isère and
the Trois Vallées — charges £22 per night for a camper van.
Give yourself a fortnight, and even when you factor in return ferry crossings
(from £60, Dover-Calais, with SeaFrance: 0870 571 1711,
www.seafrance.co.uk), fuel (£400-ish) and motorway tolls (about £100),
you’re looking at basic costs of about £550pp, for a party of four, for the
ultimate Alpine tour.
THE WINELANDS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Oz is great for camper vans — provided you’ve got six months or so to explore
its vast interior spaces. But what if you’re limited to a mere fortnight?
Simple — fly into Perth and head south towards the Margaret River. By
Australian standards, this is the land of milk and honey: well watered, and
home to an easy-going mix of top-notch vineyards, civilised country towns
and fine beaches.
Camper-van rental is cheap, too. The motorhome specialist Britz (020 7569
3075, www.britz.com) has four-berth Explorer vans from £48 per day — £672
for a fortnight — and the trip can be incorporated into a wider Australian
tour by Travelmood (0870 066 0004, www.travelmood.co.uk). Return flights
from London start at about £550. Britz has an agreement with the camp sites
of Big 4 Holiday Parks (www.big4.com.au), where staff help Britz customers
with their vans.
And you can mix the rough(ish) with the smooth. In the Leeuwin-Naturaliste
National Park, which stretches for 75 miles along the coast, from Bunker Bay
to Augusta, there are several basic sites, with toilets and running water,
costing £2.50 per night for each adult. Further north, on the shores of
Geographe Bay, Beachlands Holiday Park (www.beachlands.net: £12 per night
for a van and two adults) is an all-singing, all-dancing five-star site,
part of the Big 4 chain, and the perfect place to clean up, stock up on
essentials and solve any niggling van problems.
AROUND THE EMERALD ISLE
Foodies should head to Co Cork and work their way along its southern coast,
armed with a copy of the Bridgestone Irish Food Guide (Estragon Press £10)
and an appetite for top-quality seafood. Surfers, meanwhile, need to be in
Donegal Bay. This is where Ireland’s most reliable waves unfurl, between
Easky, in the south, and Rossnowlagh, in the north. It’s also the setting
for some of WB Yeats’s most magical poems.
For van rental, contact Motorhome Ireland (www.motorhome-irl.co.uk), which has
two collection points: Banbridge, in Co Down, Northern Ireland (028 4062
1800); and Dublin (00 353 1 869 8000). A four-berth Hymer Class 3 from
either starts at £85 per day. Away from the main towns, wild camping is
feasible, provided you ask around first. As a backup, consult the Irish
Caravan & Camping Council (www.camping-ireland.ie) — a pitch at its
Greenlands site, at Rosses Point, Co Sligo (which features in Yeats’s The
Stolen Child), costs £14 per night.
