This is our 3rd travel guide in our current series and focuses on a great region starting around Sydney and stretching down to the small port of Eden. This section of Australia is ideal campervan country and Campers Oz can easily arrange a hire campervan fro this trip.

Guide 3 – The South East 

Port  Macquarie

It is not surprising that Port Macquarie is amongst one of Australia's most popular holiday destinations, no matter which travel guide you read they all talk highly of this region. Beautiful hinterland reminiscent of many places in Europe, many large national parks and wonbderful beaches..

The Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley stretches from the Goulburn River and Wollemi National Park to the South right up to Barrington Tops National Park to the North. Not only does the Hunter boast wonderful scenery, but it is also one opf the largest wine producing areas in Australia.

The vineyards can be found in the Lower Hunter, although the Upper Hunter also has its own attractive quality with its vast horse breeding and racing as well as several vineyards. Many of our previous customers have commented how they just cruised this region in their hire campervan and spent days wine tasting and sight seeing. What a way to spend a holiday in Oz!

Newcastle

Newcastle is an industrial city about 2 hours travel north of Sydney. It is a very busy commercial port exporting produce from the region in general. There are some great surfing beaches and quite a number of museums around Newcastle and a visit to these is a real look back in time to this regions early history.

Sydney

Sydney , the capital city of  New Soth Wales. It is Australia's oldest and largest city with a population of around 5 million - which makes it the 5th biggest city in the world! Not bad considering it started as a Convict settlement some years after Captain James Cook landed near Sydney at Botany Bay, the site of Sydney's airport now.

The city is divided into two regions - North and South and they are clearly seperated by Sydney Harbour. The harbour is crossed by the Sydney Harbour bridge and more recently the Cross Harbour tunnel. There are toll fees for both these crossings so make sure you understand these and how to pay for them.

  

The Rocks

The Rocks was the area of the first European settlement in 1788. Before the 1820's it was full of convicts and ladies of "ill repuite". It later became the centre of the shipping industry and was the place where all ships docked to unload their cargoes for the new colony. The Rocks region was demolished due to a plague. After the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It has been developed into a thriving tourist area, full of cobbled streets, old colonial buildings, gorgeous quaint shops and a lively nightlife filled with cafes, pubs and restaurants.

The Rocks also features a fabulous market at the weekend, as well as a variety of live music at various venues around the Rocks. There are a full range of stalls offering unique and wonderful gifts, as well as delicious food stalls and much more.

Thredbo – Premier Snow Ski Area

Thredbo is popular in both summer and winter. During the summer a chairlift takes you to the top where you can walk to a wonderful lookout at the top of Mt. Crackenback. You can see great views of the park and the spectacular wildflowers that grow in that region.

In the winter things change, and of course it is time to get those skiing boots on. Thredbo has a very good beginners skiing range called Friday Flat. For those more advances, Thredbo also offers the longest skiing runs in Australia. If 3km of run down a 670m vertical drop sounds like heaven then Thredbo is the place for you.

Mount Kosiusko

Kosciuszko National Park is the largest National Park in New South Wales covering an area of 6900 square kilometres. The various walking trails around the park are spectacular with beautiful lakes, caves and bushland. There is a daily entrance fee into the park, so if you are visiting several times then it is worth buying the annual pass.

Wollongong to Eden

Wollongong is surrounded by beautiful landscape from all directions. The area around Wollongong is known as Illawarra with the hilly Illawarra Escarpment making a perfect backdrop to the city and the Illawarra Lake to the south.

There are plenty of walking tracks around Wollongong in the Illawarra Escarpment with various lookout points. You can get great views of the city and surrounding area from Mt Kembla and Mt Keira as well as from the Bulli Scenic Lookout which is situated just off of the Princess Highway to the north of Wollongong. A tourist train operates during the weekend heading into the Illawarra Escarpment along a spectacular scenic route. To the south the beautiful scenery of the Morton National Park is worth visiting, as well as Lake Illawarra which offers various water sports. You then, of course, have some great surfing beaches on the coast.

If you did choose to undertake this trip in a hire campervan then it is well worth looking at our next travel guide in the Australia series - South Coast - and continuing your hire campervan on to Adelaide.

To view Campers Oz range of suitable vehicles for a Camper, Campervan or even a 4wd adventure rental just go to Home | Vehicles

• Download The Complete Travel Guide FREE - The South East Coast of Australia.