New Age - Big Rad

The name New Age sums up these caravans in a nutshell. From the outside, few would realise that these vans are a little different to most. Sure, there’s the mean-looking chequer plating wrapped around the van, a prominent sloped front to promote reduced wind resistance, large tinted windows, mesh in the A-frame, and LEDs, but wait until you open the door. Here it becomes clear where New Age is gaining a reputation for being both unique and contemporary.
New Age has found a very good niche in the market by shunning the usual caravan interior design trends, creating insides ?that resemble a modern, inner city studio apartment. Definitely no timber veneer in sight! Instead, you’re greeted by a bright, uncluttered, fresh interior, with light wood lino floors, white walls, beige cabinetry ?with stainless steel handles, and LED downlights throughout.
While still a relatively new caravan brand, New Age owners Joe and Gabby have actually been in the industry for many years, building framing, woodwork and other components for many manufacturers, before turning their passion to their own brand. While many predicted their modern caravans would fail, they soldiered on, and now the team is building hundreds and hundreds of New Age caravans per annum.

Adria Adiva 642UP

When it comes to travelling, the Robson clan are not the most efficient packers in the game. In fact, if there’s one extra of something to bring on a trip, you can be guaranteed that we’ll bring it and its friend. On this overnight trip, though, we may have outdone even ourselves by hitching up one heck of a lot of caravan...
Planning a weekend escape can be very easy. Find car keys, put wallet in pocket, head in one particular direction of the compass. That works very well if you’re not afflicted, as we are, by ‘adorable’ young offspring and their attachment to stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. (That said, Dad isn’t much better.) End result? It can take more time to pack and unpack from a family holiday than the amount of time we actually get to spend on holiday...

Scenic Vega

Towing this great little centre door van to the beach, it’s hard to believe that such unbridled enjoyment comes from something requiring a few clever compromises.
We were driving along the Mornington Peninsula just south of Melbourne, scouting for a good photo location, when Terry explained ‘The Great Compromise’ to me – his thoughts in regard to the Vega centre-door van we’d hooked up to the back of the Jeep. As director of the South Eastern Caravan Centre, Terry Ward knows his stuff. And, as he saw it, there were several key factors to consider…
Most critical was having a shower and toilet combo while still maintaining living space. With a cabin length of just five and a half metres, the tightest spot was around the bed, where access to the dining room occurs. And yet, the advantage of the smaller body size was a nimble van for hauling around towns and tight spaces.

Kangaroo Island

Flinders Chase National Park covers the south-western edge of Kangaroo Island and offers plenty to see and do, from bush walks ?and camping to a visitor’s area for major attractions. Even a ?one-day visit is sure to impress.
Our journey started at the visitor centre, where we booked a campsite for the night at Snake Lagoon, before visiting some of the stunning attractions in the park. Our first stop was the (reportedly) 500-million-year-old Remarkable Rocks. These granite formations are amazing, and walking around them leaves one feeling very small indeed.

Outback New South Wales

After a decade of torture by drought, the past few years have been kind to outback NSW. 
The Macquarie Marshes are full of fresh, clean water, so the birds are back in big numbers. The Darling, fed by its many tributaries, is up on its banks and flowing strongly. The country around Bourke, which wore the grey, miserable pallor of drought-stricken decay for much of the past decade, is now wonderfully lush, vibrant and green.
It won’t last, of course. That’s the way it’s always been in the western districts of NSW. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, they usually get a whole lot worse.

For the rest of these stories, plus more, the February/March 2012 issue of Australian Caravan+RV is currently on sale in newsagents. You can purchase a subscription online or by calling 1300 782 312.