Day 5: Mooloolaba Beach / Sunshine Coast

June 26, 2018

The alarm goes off at 7 am. I didn't sleep well again - woke up multiple times...
Looking out the window, it's not necessarily sunny, but dry!
Rain is forecasted for today - and quite a bit... sniff... but it's still dry. Maybe we'll get lucky...

Today is the big day - we pick up our Australian campervan.
We're already experienced with campervans. After 4 RV vacations in the USA and Canada, where we rented RVs from Moturis, Roadbear, El Monte, and Fraserway, we are familiar with Star RV (Apollo Group), but we've never tested it before.
Finding an RV was not easy. In the end, the size of the beds was crucial, in addition to the price. Australians seem to love cuddling... only a few RVs had bed sizes over 1.20m, which was definitely too narrow for two people to sleep in one bed.
Then, while searching, I saw a current daily deal from STAR RV at cu-camper, of course with the right bed size, so I quickly took advantage of it.
In Germany, we were already given a pick-up time of 10 am. We thought it was pretty good since we couldn't book an early pick-up.
Since it's uncommon for rental companies in Australia to offer shuttle services, you have to travel to the location by car or taxi.

I was often asked after the trip if there were any differences to American/Canadian RVs:
Yes!!!
First difference: the size!
In Australia, you mainly get 'campervans' - small van-like vehicles with sleeping space under an elevated roof.
The well-known 'Class C' RVs are much less common. Since we are traveling with four people, it had to be such a Class C RV.
We decided on a Star RV Hercules 6 Berth - the second longest RV you can rent in Australia.
Length: 7.70 m (approximately 25 ft).
In the USA/Canada, it would be a medium-sized RV at most, maybe even 'small'. In Australia, it's a 'battleship'!
The roads and parking lots in Queensland, where we were traveling with our 'battleship', are NOT designed for large RVs...
Compared to the USA/Canada, everywhere is darned tight and narrow. Finding parking, especially in small towns (like Noosa NP) or cities (like Cairns), became a test of patience. Shopping at Aldi, Woolworth & Co only worked if the parking lot was empty and we could occupy multiple spaces. We didn't find any dedicated 'RV parks'...

But now, back to the current day:
We leave our apartment after breakfast and drive towards the airport, where Star RV & Apollo have their location just a few kilometers from the airport.

We reach the location at 8:45. The plan is for the kids and me to wait here with the luggage while my husband returns the rental car to the airport and then comes back by taxi.
As soon as we unload our suitcases, we are already greeted by an employee. We're surprised because even though we're supposed to pick up the RV at 10 am, it seems to be ready for pick-up already.
So we take care of the paperwork and while everything is being copied and sorted, my husband returns the rental car.
He's back at 9:30 and we are assigned our RV.
In the row of rental vehicles, there's only one Class C RV with a 'huge overcab' - our Hercules. It towers over all the campervans.
The first thought: where's the rest of Hercules??? I knew that the RVs would be smaller and narrower, but from the front, our Hercules looks like a normal large car - a Mercedes, by the way. Are we all going to fit in there!?
Looking inside shows that the interior is not much narrower than that of an American RV. It's tight, but there's still enough room to move around.

Unfortunately, we don't have a slide-out. We found that very convenient in Canada. But well, this time we're only short-term campers and we'll only spend 9 days in the RV. So it's not a problem.

'No worries', as the Australians like to say.
The design and interior are typically American:

cheapest particleboard, unusual shades of brown, and to top it off, green seating. I can only wonder about the color choice...

The nice lady asks us where we want to sleep because here's the next difference: there are no beds!!!
While in the USA/Canada, you can at least find a bed with a somewhat comfortable mattress (usually in the back of the RV), you won't find any in Australian RVs:

the Aussies value tables and benches more than beds...

So our RV has 2 seating areas. A 4-seater in the middle and a huge circular seating area with a large table in the back of the RV.
It's quickly settled that we will sleep in the back area. The lady folds down the table and arranges the seat cushions into a makeshift mattress - seat cushion tetris... they're all different sizes...
This could be interesting. It doesn't look comfortable at all...
The puzzle bed is set up (I'll put on the sheets and bedding later), the other sleeping space is in the overcab (the second seating area remains a seating area and won't become another bed).
At least the kids have a somewhat mattress-like surface.

The RV is practically new - it has only been rented out twice - it has less than 4,000 km on it. Wow - doesn't look so new at first glance....
Um... yeah... and now we come to the topic of 'workmanship' and 'cleanliness'. The stove is still covered in grease, the refrigerator has mountains of cookie crumbs, and under the seating areas, we find chocolate and candy wrappers from the previous renter. The seating area shows clear signs of use, the passenger seat fell victim to a spilled coffee or cola cup.

The lady waves it off, 'No worries', it happens.

A quick look at the bathroom is enough for me to know that I won't be using it here. There's no storage space at all. Not even a shelf, a small cupboard, or a toothbrush holder. Nothing! The sink is tiny, but we got an RV where you can use the toilet WITHOUT having to fold up the sink beforehand... No joke, that's the case with the other models.
The shower will now be our bathroom cabinet - all the little bags and toiletries will fit there.
Let's move on to the overhead cabinets. There are quite a few - okay, someone was thinking - however, we already wonder at the entrance to the kitchen about the open shelf, which can actually only be used when the vehicle is not in motion. Otherwise, everything falls down immediately.
Well, we're only going for 9 days - it's all no problem - 'no worries'.
But I wouldn't want to spend 4 weeks in this vehicle... mainly because of the missing mattress.

Let's continue outside.
Where in the USA and Canada, there was a ton of storage space waiting for us, we find NOTHING in Australia! There is hardly any storage space or trunk space on the outside of the RV. A small side compartment holds various hoses, a single large compartment in the back is full after the Apollo/Star RV lady stowed the camping table and 4 chairs in it. Oh well... if we're lucky, we can fit one more suitcase in the 'trunk'.

The connections are also different from those in the USA/Canada. In Australia, the European system of the 'cassette' has prevailed. So there's no 'black water hose', but a removable cassette that has to be emptied at a corresponding dump station or possibly in a normal toilet. That's something new. I still don't know if I like it or not.
Then there's the 'grey water hose'. The lady shows us the hose and the corresponding connector, but when she says 'You can put it anywhere you want', I mentally check out - where are we supposed to put the hose!? My husband nods - okay, he was listening. I don't think about it any further - but this topic will still occupy us...
When we ask if we're still allowed to drive the RV after dark, she casually answers 'Yes, why not?'.
Hm... I've read several discussions in internet forums that many rental companies prohibit driving after dusk due to wildlife crossings and increased risk of accidents. We ask again, regarding 'wildlife'. She smiles, advises us not to drive in the middle of the night, not to drive too fast, and if possible, to be at the destination before dusk. Star RV doesn't have a nighttime driving ban.
Hm... okay. So we'll be at the destination before dusk, should work out... or at least that's what we think today and we have no idea how quickly this plan will go wrong....

The lady goes around the RV with her clipboard and checks off and marks things, then she hands us the keys with a smile and wishes us a 'Great Trip!'
After our belongings found their place, the kids are buckled up, sitting at the table with games in hand, and I start my navigation app on my phone (the Star RV navigation has been refusing to work from the beginning...), we're ready to go.

Our destination today is Mooloolaba Beach.

We roll off the lot at 10:30 am. Perfect timing!
We drive north on the M1. We've only driven 10 km when I notice a stone chip in the windshield. Darn it - we overlooked that!!! Should we turn back? No, I take a few photos and decide to report the stone chip to Star RV by email later. Hopefully, that will work.

So far, the weather gods have spoiled us with warm temperatures and sunshine. But the further we drive north, the darker it gets. Just as we're about to turn towards the Glass House Mountain Lookout, the sky opens up. Darn it! It's raining... not suitable for the lookout. In the distance, we see the many different volcanic mountains. Well, maybe it'll be better at the beach? Another idea was to visit the 'Australia Zoo' (Steve Irwin), but that's not much fun in the rain either.

So we decide on the relaxed program: shopping and chilling.
I had already looked up the address of an Aldi near our campground at home. Since groceries in Australia are significantly more expensive than in Germany, we wanted to try out the Australian Aldi. It's funny, you fly around half the world and then find yourself in an Aldi (South, mind you) ;-)

After a successful shopping trip at Aldi in Brightwater (the range is similar to home), we continue to Mooloolaba. It's already been raining heavily here. The streets are partially still under water, but the sun is shining.

We quickly find our campground. It's very close to the beach, the sanitary facilities are okay, and the space between sites is good too.

Fits. Anyway, sitting outside isn't recommended since it's quite chilly. With rain jackets and fleece jackets on, we head to the wide sandy beach. Wow - great!

Too bad that the clouds are getting thicker again and the sun disappears.

We relax on the beach, find a pizzeria on the promenade where we have a late lunch, and then stroll along the beach until it's interrupted by rocks. It's low tide right now - so we naturally have to climb the rocks.

On the way back to the campground, we finally get caught in the rain.

Just as we arrive in the RV, the sky opens up and it pours like buckets. Our campground turns into a sea of puddles and streams. It's a good thing we don't have to go out.

I use the time to unpack. We can pack our suitcases into each other and store them in the 'trunk', the duffel bags fit under the bed.
Since it's already dark at 5 pm, we play a few rounds of 'UNO' with the kids, eat sandwiches, and fall into bed around 8 pm.
Despite the lack of a mattress, I sleep surprisingly well on my 'tetris puzzle bed'. I wouldn't have expected that.
The last look at the mobile app shows that it's going to continue raining... sigh...!

For the statistics:
Campground: Mooloolaba Beach Holiday Park
Cost: 43 € / Powered Site without Slab
Driven: 100 km
Wildlife sightings: Seagulls
Weather: Sun, clouds, rain at 18-20 degrees
Conclusion: No sunshine at the Sunshine Coast