Motorhome relocations a bargain - but are they worthwhile?

RELOCATIONS are all about logistics. Vehicle-hire companies have to move their vehicles to where they are in most demand. And the best (and cheapest) way to get them there is to let travellers do it for them. They charge a nominal fee and sometimes even throw in fuel.

Recently I relocated a four-berth motorhome from Cairns to Darwin with fellow travel writer Fiona Harper.

That's two women driving 3200 kilometres across the top of Australia in seven days. What could go wrong?

Stopping to soak in hot springs, marvel at mango and avocado plantations, an elegant windfarm and op shops for a start. That puts us behind schedule.

Relocations come with time and distance limits - you're on a deadline and are expected to travel the most direct route.

We breeze through Mount Garnet, where a rodeo is gearing up and there's a turn-off to Undara Lava Tubes... if only we had time.

Our stop for the night is Cumberland Chimney free camp on the edge of a lily-filled lagoon.

We find mixing free camps with caravan park stays helps keep costs down.

Big, blue skies, wide-open spaces and a long, long road seem to be the order of the day - every day.

Croydon is a welcome stop with a rich gold mining history and colourful locals at the Club Hotel. In Normanton, Krys, the enormous life-size model of the largest croc ever caught, stands guard just across from the famous Purple Pub.

There's Burke & Wills Roadhouse and Quamby, with ruins of a pub but a public phone that still works.

On to Cloncurry, the birthplace of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Mount Isa, where we stop for the night.

Then Overlanders Way (Barkly Highway) takes us west past Camooweal and the Queensland/NT border.

One constant is that stretch of bitumen reaching for the horizon and at least 20 road trains a day going the other way. We see cattle and horses, wedge-tailed eagles feasting on road kill and kites circling above.

The scenery changes often from sparse patches of gum trees to open plains, low-lying shrubs, dense scrub, rich red soils and all dotted with termite mounds that get larger and more elaborate the further north we go.

Boring? Not at all.

Nights are star-studded and soothing to the soul.

When we reach Stuart Highway, Darwin (our destination) is to our right, but we head south to play with the Devil's Marbles.

Relocations come with a bonus 500 kilometres - if it fits into your time limit - and sometimes the chance to add extra hire days for $75 a day.

We buy two extra days to detour then spend the night at Tennant Creek.

It's a 400 kilometres drive north to Daly Waters - one of those outback stops you "have to do" along with Larrimah's infamous Pink Panther Pub.

The trek north is through hot springs territory - Mataranka, Bitter Springs and Katherine (not so) Hot Springs.

Katherine Gorge is calling but we must get to Edith Falls before dark.

We make it as the setting sun casts an orange glow on the cliffs but not in time to secure one of the coveted campsites... 20 kilometres back to the highway and a free camp for us.

Our last day is a 300-kilometre run for the finish line in Darwin.

Did we cross Australia for $5 a day? Not quite.

After adding accommodation, fuel and insurance, the relocation deal cost $114 a day ($57 each).

But when you consider the cost of hiring a motorhome can be $300 plus a day, and you still have to add those fuel, insurance and site costs, these relocation opportunities are a bargain.

To find the deals, go to motorhome relocation websites like www.drivenow.com.au or directly to the motorhome hire company websites.

If you don't mind deadline pressure, love driving and can handle lots of fun, this is the ideal way to test the nomadic lifestyle.