Traditional car shows may have died almost two decades ago but in a curious twist of post-COVID consumer fancy, interest in lifestyle, caravan and 4WD shows has never been stronger, with consumers prepared to shell out huge sums to "live the dream".
The ACT region has the biggest outdoor lifestyle crowd-pullers of the year this weekend, with the Caravan and Camping Expo at Exhibition Park and the annual Murrumbateman Field Days a short drive away up the Barton Highway.
In wet and muddy conditions last year almost 16,000 people visited the caravan show and around 20,000 strolled around the field days, so with a warm and favourable weather forecast, both are expecting bumper crowds despite the clash of fixtures.
The chief executive of the NSW Caravan Industry Association Lyndel Grey said that with overseas leisure travel returning quickly and cruise boats filling Sydney Harbour once again, competition for the travel dollar was getting tougher.
Yet beyond the now well-established grey-nomads-on-the-Big-Lap, she says there are a number of emerging sub-groups hitting the road in caravans and campervans, including single, professional women.
"Access to high speed internet from almost anywhere has been transformative for the caravan and camper industry; there are digital nomads and bloggers working out of their vans from wherever they feel like stopping," she said.
"And what's surprising is more women travelling in their van on their own.
"It's something that didn't happen that much before but remember when you stop at a caravan park, it's a community in itself; there is security in the knowledge that there are heaps of other people around you doing the same thing you are."
Caravanning with dogs, of course, is always popular and such is the power of word of mouth and social media that accommodating parks fill quickly. During Floriade, Canberra's caravan parks were turning away dozens of travellers who'd arrived on spec, filled with only hope.
The pop-up Kombi camper of yesteryear has now morphed into something much larger and far more luxurious, with inbuilt coffee machine, king-sized bed, a separate full bathroom, and Netflix on view from your slide-out, leather-lined chaise lounge.
Yet with 150 exhibitors, there's a mind-boggling variety of everything needed to leave home in comfort, from 4WD roof-toppers (definitely for the more nimble, given the climb needed) to the $229,000 Winnebago outfitted like a Kingston foreshore studio apartment on wheels.
There are some clever domestic ideas too, such as the $160,000 Kimberley Karavan which packs down under tow but electrically expands upwards, with solid walls which fold out and lock into place.
With more than 300 exhibitors, the Murrumbateman Field Days are an annual fixture for many Canberrans. While it's solidly geared to the consumer, the tractors alone are well worth the trip.
