Gramping hits prime time TV

The popularity, diversity and affordability of caravanning and camping holidays have been highlighted on prime time TV.

A seven minute segment titled Living the Dream recently featured on Channel 9's popular weeknight program A Current Affair, covering the full gamut of camping and RV options, from $900 tents to $280,000 luxury motorhomes.

The up-beat segment, which can be viewed here, also showcased the variety of experiences on offer, including the rising popularity of gramping (camping with grandparents) and glamping (glamorous camping).

Young families with children, baby boomers and retirees were all featured in the show, at locations including the upmarket NRMA Ocean Beach Park in NSW, Brisbane Holiday Village in Queensland and award-winning Great Ocean Road Tourist Park in Victoria.

The value of a back-to-nature getaway was summed up by Caravan and Camping Industry Association of NSW’s Theo Whitmont, who was interviewed at the recent NSW Caravan, Camping, RV & Holiday Supershow at Rosehill Racecourse.

“Most kids now days don’t get access to all the great Australian outdoors that their parents did, so going on a caravanning/camping holiday (enables you) to turn back the hands of time and have a great holiday with the kids,” he enthused.

The segment also highlighted some of the more expensive options at the Supershow, including the latest whizz-bang Trakka motorhome, but also featured more modest family options like a $6000 canvas-top camper.

“You can get into a great Aussie holiday for as little as $100 and that’s the joy of it, you can set up your fabulous little tent on the edge of a beach, watch the waves roll in as the sun comes up, throw a line in and you’re catching your breakfast,” Whitmont concluded.

The segment follows a more in-depth look at the grey nomad lifestyle, featured on Sixty Minutes a couple of years ago. You can watch that video below…

However, not all mainstream media coverage of RV travel has been positive of late. One irate journalist from The Cairns Post blamed slow-moving caravanners for extending the time it normally takes to drive from Townsville to Cairns from four to nine hours.