The southern winter famously sends grey nomads scuttling north in search of summer warmth … and a substantial number of them decide they never want to shiver again.
While many are on the road full-time and can travel with the seasons, others simply decide it makes sense for them to establish a ‘home base’ far away from the threat of snow, ice and sludge.
In the Queensland town of Bundaberg, for example, while caravan parks and local businesses are enjoying the annual economic boost injected by mature-aged caravanners and motorhomers, real estate agents are also rubbing their hands.
Real Estate Institute Queensland president, Le-Anne Allan, told the Bundaberg NewsMail newspaper that many short-term visitors are eyeing off long-term prospects in the region.
“Those southern buyers are well and truly back in the market and I haven’t seen them for a few years,” she said. “Some are looking at investing and others are looking at relocating.”
Ms Allan said that, at some open homes, at least 30% of people were potential buyers from Victoria and South Australia.
As well as the weather, travellers enjoy visiting some of Bundaberg’s tourism hotspots like the Rum Distillery and the Hinkler Museum … and some in the tourism industry say visitor numbers are well up on previous years.
Big4 Cane Village Holiday Park manager Dawn Taylor has been at the helm of the Avoca-based caravan park for a decade. She told the NewsMail that the park, which fitted about 60-65 caravans on its two-hectare site, had been full all winter.
“It’s always like this from mid-June to the end of the August as all the southerners come up here for the good weather,” she said. “But I have seen a few more because some have come in off the road that haven’t booked, and I’ve had to turn them away … they didn’t realise how busy it got here.”
• Have you thought about buying a ‘home base’ in the north? Comment below.
Not that many years ago, when asked on our travels where our home base was, very few fellow nomads had heard of Bargara. All had heard of the famous Bundaberg Rum but had never taken the time to detour off the Bruce Highway at Childers to come to Bundaberg. The few that had were pleasantly surprised to find a major regional city with a choice of several beachside townships just an easy uncongested half hour drive away from the city. Now the secret is out and as the article above confirms, travellers from all states south are discovering that there is far more to enjoy in the region besides our famous rum and fantastic climate. When prime oceanfront homes at Bargara Beach can be purchased for a similar price to an old unrenovated home in a congested area of Sydney or Melbourne, why wouldn’t southern buyers consider relocating here and potentially still have money in their pocket.