I believe that there are two types of caravanners: those who travel quickly to a destination and stay there for several months before returning home, and those who enjoy the actual travelling, and may stay in one place for up to a week before moving on to check out another town, lake, river, beach or the outback.
There are, of course advantages for both these groups.
Group A often travel north to escape harsh winters and they meet up with friends who stay in the same van park at the same time each year.
Apart from the obligatory happy hours, they will all meet to go out to the local pub or restaurant for dinner and they may enjoy a weekly game of bocce, lawn bowls or disc bowls (or some other non-energetic sport). Many bring their tinnie and go fishing. May I take this opportunity to publicly thank those people who have given Denyse and I some fish fillets!
Some of these groups really stick to themselves and do not welcome outsiders, and I can understand this, however Denyse and I have often been asked to join a group in their activities and happy hours.
Some parks still have lots of these long-stay caravanners, particularly coastal Queensland parks and those in Darwin and Broome. However, it seems that the numbers have thinned out considerably in recent years: these vans are tending not to travel as far north as before and not staying as long. Some parks have lowered the discount they offer for extended stays and this is probably having an effect as well.
Group B caravanners enjoy travelling from one town or attraction to the next, and would probably become bored staying in one town for three months. They enjoy the journey, and exploring new places, meeting other travellers and experiencing different areas, markets and what each new roadway brings, whether it is outback, sea or river.
Denyse and I fall into the latter category, although when we travel so far to get to Broome or Darwin we stay in each place for around three weeks. We also write a story and shoot a video on the area and that, along with sightseeing, takes awhile. I guess after so many years of caravanning, we know which areas/towns we enjoy revisiting, and those that we have placed on our "don't need to go back to" list.
Which category do you fit into, and why do you prefer it?