Sydney to Melbourne - Britz

Seven nights and 1,397 kilometres from Sydney to Melbourne in a campervan, down the coast rather than along the inland highway.

Jervis Bay comes first, where the sand is quartz and among the whitest anywhere, then Narooma on the south coast, with Montague Island offshore and its fur seal colony, and the route crosses into Victoria at Mallacoota, which is surrounded by Croajingolong National Park and has almost no development in any direction.

Metung follows on the Gippsland Lakes, then Wilsons Promontory at the southernmost tip of the mainland, where the walks run out to granite headlands and white beaches. Phillip Island comes next for the penguin parade at dusk, and the Mornington Peninsula closes the route with its hot springs and vineyards before Melbourne.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Eight days for 1,397 kilometres is comfortable, and the coast road is sealed throughout. Campsites inside Wilsons Promontory are balloted in peak season, so that one wants booking a long way before departure. A one-way hire between the two cities is common enough that vehicle availability is usually good. The stretch between Narooma and Mallacoota is the quiet part and the better half: long empty beaches, forest to the water’s edge, and very little traffic once the school holidays are over. Phillip Island and the Mornington Peninsula at the end are the busiest part, so an early booking there is sensible.