A 14-day honeymoon road trip to South Australia!

On the day of celebrating love, we thought there was no better time to share Camplify’s very own Leanora’s romantic road trip... Whilst COVID meant a change in plans, nothing got in the way of their magical honeymoon adventure to South Australia. Read on to learn more about their 14-day honeymoon on wheels from Newcastle to the Barossa Valley.

We had initially planned to get married in May, just a few months after our engagement. In all of my wildest dreams, I never imagined that we were going to get married amongst a global pandemic, but COVID-19 was no match for the love that I have for my new husband. We were going to be together no matter what the universe threw at us. We dropped everything that wasn’t essential and focused on what we wanted to cherish on our big day and go from there. We decided that our parents were the ‘must-have’ and we would forgo the 70 guests, big dancefloor, caterer and even the flights booked for the Honeymoon.

We celebrated our Wedding Day at King Edward Park in Newcastle, with a select group of just 20 people, including our immediate family and the very best of friends. We loved our Kombi getaway car that took us off into married life!

Then it was time for our two-week Honeymoon!

When we replanned our wedding, we had to replan our Honeymoon too. We had imagined that we would fly to the Philippines and hang out at the beach for two weeks drinking cocktails and swimming with fish. After the shock, we realised that it was an opportunity to travel somewhere in Australia that we hadn’t ever been to before. So still the same fun of an adventure, but domestically. We asked ourselves where we haven’t been and where we would love to go…the answer came back: South Australia.

We went from the white linen and fairy lights of the Wedding to the bush in Rural NSW, the vineyards and restaurants of Adelaide and then onto swim with dolphins in South Australia.

Our very own Wooden Beachy Campervan, named Vanny DeVito, was our runaway van for our Honeymoon. We built Vanny just two years ago and went on a 2-month road trip from Melbourne, to The Whitsundays.

We loved that original trip so much, we wanted to share it with others, so we listed the Wooden Beachy Campervan on Camplifyfor just $99 a night in Newcastle. We love hiring out the van, as a van owner we made back the full costs of buying, building and running the van in just one year. We get to take little weekenders when it’s not on hire and the best part is that the income fully funds our trips.

After all that, now it was our turn to get on the road and go on an adventure!

For our Honeymoon, we filled the fridge with delicious cheeses, cured meats and vegetables, some wine and beer to get the trip started. Oh and a lot of Wedding Cake!

We drove from our home in Newcastle to the Blue Mountains, Bathurst then out to Orange. Camping at Federal Falls Campground at Mount Canobolas in Orange, you have a fantastic view from the top of the mountain of Orange. The spot provides amenities and some big ol' wallabies.

Then driving through rural NSW… where you don’t see anything… for a long time!

Until we hit this hidden gem: Whitton Malt House. In a quiet rural area is this Tourist Destination that was built in 2020 to showcase the region's best grains, barley to produce and highlight them in all of the drinks that are on offer like beers and spirits.

After that we drove along The Murray River, stopping at lots of little towns and villages.

We enjoyed the quaint little town of Deniliquin , where we had excellent Lamb and Roasted Pumpkin burgers at The Cross Cafe.

Then the big drive across the Hay Plain out to Mildura to cross the border and eventually enter South Australia through their COVID checkpoint.

At the time Melbourne was still in their big lockdown and we weren’t allowed to get out in Victoria or we would breach our travel pass. So we filled up and got snacks in the last town in NSW, crossed into Victoria and then came straight out at Renmark in SA. We showed them our pass, answered some questions and were on our way.

Yay! We made it to South Australia!

Free Camping: Renmark Riverlands

Hidden Gem : Black Box Camp Ground in Renmark. This place was beautiful, with individually marked spots alongside the river for campers. It had a little firepit and James didn’t hesitate in getting a little fire going. We played Uno and drank some wine by the river.

Now on to Adelaide!

We know this article is all about Vanlife and trust us, we love the van life. But what would a Honeymoon be without a very expensive night in cotton robes and a bottle of Champagne in a hotel?

So we parked the van in Valet and stayed at the Stamford Grand Hotel for a fancy night in Adelaide. We played our Honeymoon card and they upgraded us to an Ocean View Suite with a bottle of local Champagne to enjoy!

We were recommended to stay in Glenelg in Adelaide and make it a base for travelling to the Vineyards in the area. We went to lots of restaurants and bars and particularly loved Fourth on the main Promenade.

Maxwell Wines, McClaren Vale

Then it was time for the winery tours! We spent a whole Saturday in McLaren Vale, which was the first of many days in the vineyards!

Maxwell Wines do Mushroom Harvesting Experiences, with a wine and food pairing. There were also lots of places that served Gins, Settlers Gin was our favourite.

Oh, I forgot to mention it was my birthday, so my new Hubby arranged me a very fancy Dinner at Serafino with a surprise birthday dessert. I was a bit curious at first about getting dressed up to go driving in the van, but in the end, I loved it so much we had to take a photo.

Innes National Park

A 3.5 hours drive to the Yorke Peninsula, the bay was very blue and beautiful and you can see Kangaroo Island from the Peninsula, but we didn’t have time to get out there to check it out.

Instead, we were headed to Innes National Park, which ended up being one of the best natural places that we have ever experienced.

Hidden Gem: Jolly Beach

We followed a pod of dolphins from the headland down to this bay, where they were swimming. We wanted to see how close we could get, as we were by ourselves and weren’t making lots of noise. We walked out to them, into the shallows at first, then waist-deep until eventually James and I were just holding each other's hands. Alone, together as a married couple in South Australia swimming just a few metres away from a wild pod of Dolphins. It was the most majestic moment of my life.

Just when we thought we were alone, we saw a family of Emu’s and watched them forage for food in the shrubs. Then we came back to the Van and were able to feed a mob of Kangaroos, all within a few metres of where we were staying in the van!

After a few days of National Park bliss, we drove back to wine country. If you are headed through Clare Valley and onto Barossa, you absolutely have to go to the Watervale Hotel. It had the best fresh food that we’ve had in a long time! It has a huge focus on organic, local produce and everything we had was phenomenal.

Whilst we were there, we learned that the Vineyards in the Barossa were originally grown without wireframes, and instead, they look like misformed shrubs. Surprisingly, the wine from them was richer and full-bodied…so naturally we bought some.

Then came the loooooong drive home.

We took our time heading back, stopping at little villages or towns, but mostly focused on heading straight home.

If you have read this far, I’m sure you can guess that I would absolutely recommend going on a Honeymoon in a van. Sort out luxury campervan hire for your getaway with Camplify today! There are so many to choose from and you can make unique memories and then pack up and make some more at a new location!