Ever since my husband Ash and I travelled through New Zealand’s North and South islands in a rented Maui motorhome a few winters ago on a ski trip, I’ve wanted to recreate that trip here in Australia. Before we did the NZ trip, I was concerned about the cold, especially overnight, and nervous about driving a motorhome in the snow and up steep, icy roads. But what I learnt was that motorhomes are, without a doubt, the best type of RV to take to wintery alpine areas.

Making the time for it back home, however, hasn’t been easy. But, this past winter, with me unable to ski at nearly eight months pregnant, we decided it was the perfect time to head to the mountains in a motorhome for a little taste test!

In order to make the most of our time on the mountain, we needed a motorhome that could accommodate all of our ski and snow-play gear. And not all motorhomes are created equal when it comes to storage space. Enter: the Jayco Conquest Play!

Designed specifically for trips exactly like ours, the newest Conquest model boasts a huge rear garage capable of storing anything from bikes and ski gear right up to golf clubs, motorbikes, and dirt bikes! In fact, the garage is so integral to the Conquest Play that the entire layout and design works around it. It’s truly a monster storage space, measuring 1200x850mm (3ft 5in x 2ft 2in) and running the full width of the motorhome (2390mm). It easily swallowed our skis, boots, poles, a bike, our luggage, and had room for plenty more. The only thing to be wary of is the garage’s 300kg loading capacity – it’s certainly got room for more than 300kg worth of gear, so you’ll have to be careful not to overpack it. Bonus features in here are the interior lights, so you can see what you’re doing when you pack or unpack in the dark (as is often the case in winter!), the full-length tie-down tracks to secure your bike or motorbike, recessed shelving, and the tough rubber floor which is protective and easy to  clean if it gets wet, muddy or dirty which, if you’re using it properly, it probably will!

But as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a heap more external storage available on the Conquest Play, including two large lockers just forward of the garage, and another smaller one on the offside.

A BRIGHT START

So, we loaded up the Conquest Play with all our ski gear and headed north for the High Country. Mt Hotham was our ultimate destination, but we stopped over in beautiful Bright along the way.

Bright is one of those rare places that’s perfect to visit at any time of year and, if I’m honest, one of the few places I could see myself living long-term. In summer, it’s warm, vibrant and buzzing; in autumn, it’s awash with spectacular autumnal colours and foliage; and in winter it’s cosy, inviting and the perfect gateway or base for two of Victoria’s best ski resorts (Mt Hotham and Falls Creek).

Leaving Melbourne late on a Friday afternoon, and with the stop  in Myrtleford to secure suitable snow chains for our weekend adventure, we arrived late, in the cold and dark, into Bright. But we awoke early to the most perfect winter’s day you could hope for in the mountains – the air was crisp and fresh, the sky beautifully blue and cloudless, and the sun almost painfully bright. Most of Bright was yet to rise and we found ourselves the earliest customers at the riverside Ginger Baker Café for breakfast, where we warmed up with a gorgeous feast and hot coffee in front of a roaring fire – what better way to start the day?

After breakfast, we strolled along the swollen Ovens River, which was as high as we’d ever seen it. But as the sun burnt off the last traces of the early morning fog, we decided it was time to head up the mountain.

THE LONG ROAD UP

Anyone who’s not familiar with the drive from Harrietville – at the base of the mountain – up Mt Hotham might be surprised to learn that it is the highest altitude bitumen road in Australia. The 31km road climbs from 510m above sea level at Harrietville to over 1860m at the summit of the Great Alpine Road in Mt Hotham Village – but it’s not all uphill. The road climbs and then descends again in several places, making it a challenging drive (and ride, for the hundreds of bike riders who train here in the summer!). Just when you think you’ve nearly  reached the top, you dive back down into the valley, losing several hundred metres of altitude at a time, then you do it all over again.

But, due to all of that, and the clear, unbroken views out over the Great Dividing Range, this part of the Great Alpine Road is truly one of the most beautiful drives in Australia at any time of the year. In winter it’s nothing short of spectacular when those surrounding mountains turn into snow-capped peaks and the whole region looks like it’s been dusted in icing sugar.

Due to the recent fresh snowfall (about 60cm in the 48 hours before we arrived – ‘Blizzard of Oz 2.0, as the resorts were calling it!) and the still-below-freezing temps, we were a little hesitant about how the Jayco Conquest Play would go on these roads. Driving a nearly 4.5T (3.76T at tare) motorhome up steep, winding, potentially icy and snowy roads is not a task for the fainthearted. In fact, we’d deliberately kept our itinerary loose enough that we didn’t have to descend Mt Hotham via the Great Alpine Road (and, thus, back down the same, steep 31km we were about to climb) if we didn’t feel the motorhome could cope.

Driving in these conditions requires some skill – the most important of which is driving in manual and not using the brake when descending. That’s simple enough in a manual passenger car  but a 4.5 tonne motorhome with an automated manual transmission (AMT) is another proposition altogether. However, within minutes we found the Conquest Play’s Mercedes-Benz Sprinter base vehicle was more than up to the job. The seven-speed AMT held the motorhome beautifully on steep descents, and the gear changes were super-smooth – another important factor on snow-covered or icy roads. I’ve always enjoyed driving Sprinter-based motorhomes and this was no exception; in fact, it only cemented my opinion of it further!

Due to our leisurely breakfast in Bright, we missed the worst of the Hotham-bound traffic heading up the Great Alpine Road to ski what the resorts were calling ‘The Day of the Season’ (they’d used ‘Day of the Decade’ a couple of weeks prior when the first storm-front, the ‘Blizzard of Oz’ hit)! This meant we could drive at a safe, comfortable pace and didn’t need to pull over to allow traffic to pass very often. We did, however, keep pulling over to marvel at – and photograph – the spectacular views along the way.

While there are no rules against motorhomes within ski resort boundaries, it’s a pretty rare sight here in Australia and we did draw some stares as we rolled through the very busy village. However, attention was quickly diverted away from us as a dinosaur on skis came swishing down a run in front of us. The dinosaur was joined by another dinosaur on skis, then a procession of other skiers and snowboarders in various states of fancy dress!

Mt Hotham is known among skiers for its steep terrain and is the go-to mountain for many advanced skiers and boarders, however, it has plenty of beginner and intermediate runs as well, attracting crowds of all ages.

One of the things I love best about taking a motorhome to the ski-fields is the ability to return to a comfortable, warm place for lunch or just when you need a break. There’s nothing better than taking your ski boots off, turning the heater on, cooking up a hot meal (and not having to pay ski resort prices for it!), and relaxing at  – another, smaller ski-field just 13km from Hotham village. This part of the Great Alpine Road is much flatter, but still stunningly scenic, with snow gums hanging peacefully in the snow-covered fields that line the roadside and even a few traditional old cattlemen’s huts to explore.

Just 2km before Dinner Plain, we stopped and decided to trek over to JB Plain Hut in the late afternoon light. We retrieved our snow gear and snow shoes from one of the Conquest Play’s many external lockers and set off on foot through the beautiful fresh snow. The hut is actually only a couple of hundred metres from the road, so it’s definitely worth the walk. And, while the snow shoes weren’t strictly necessary in these conditions, they made it a bit more fun!

The hut sits in a sheltered little plain surrounded by snow gums, with a walk-in campsite nearby where an adventurous group of schoolkids were camping that night. It’s incredibly picturesque – from the outside anyway. The inside looked like it could do with a bit of love! The hut was built in the 1940s in the Swifts Creek area (70km away) for forestry use and was relocated to JB Plain in the 1970s.

It was named for Jim Brown (JB) who was one of two stockmen who became the first non-Aboriginal people to visit this part of the Bogong High Plains in the 1850s.

For another taste of old High Country life, you can also visit nearby CRB Hut, which is located on the other side of the road to JB Plain Hut and across from the entrance to Dinner Plain village.

CAMPSITE WITH A VIEW

Heading east past Dinner Plain at dusk, we reached our overnight camp about 38km later (7.7km before Omeo). The Mt Kosciuszko Lookout is also an RV friendly camping area (with no facilities). On a clear day, like we’d just had, the views out over the Great Dividing Range were nothing short of spectacular, however, we’d have to wait until the morning light to enjoy them as it was dark when we arrived. We bunked down for a quick overnight stop, sans power or external facilities, but the Conquest Play had pretty much everything we needed within easy reach.

This Conquest Play is Jayco’s prototype model and features two single beds up the back. The single bed arrangement, coupled with the rear garage, may speak more to a couple of mates or a single person  travelling around to bike shows or competitions than a touring couple. However, Jayco recognises that the single beds won’t suit everybody and has since built a model with a queen-size bed up there instead. I can certainly see why they opted for the singles in the first place – the amount of storage space it allows is insane – and, for short trips, I’m not fussed by them, but if I was handing over $165K to buy this  motorhome myself, I’d probably go for the larger bed option.

There are three steps up to the level of the bed – two with storage built into the step – a drawer and a large cabinet in between the beds, huge overhead lockers in the airspace above, and both beds lift up quite easily to reveal even more storage underneath. The space under the nearside bed is fairly shallow, but entirely empty, while the offside space is cavernous and deep, suitable for larger items. It is partially taken up by the washing machine (unusual location but it’ll work!) and the hot water system.

Between the kitchen and the bedroom, is the Conquest’s split bathroom. This design is still not hugely common in RVs, with the majority opting for a full rear bath or small corner combo option, but I think it works. In this instance, the toilet/vanity cubicle is to the left (offside) of the hallway, while the shower cubicle is on the right (nearside). I like that it allows for separation of the facilities, however, it does mean that if anyone is using the toilet, you can’t move between the bedroom and front of the motorhome (or vice-versa) until they’re finished. But I think that’s a small price to pay for the convenience of a larger bathroom over a cramped combo unit.

The next day dawned bluer, brighter and clearer than the day before, if that was even possible, and we were treated to the sensational, uninterrupted views over the Great Divide all the way to Mt Kosciuszko as we enjoyed a warm cup of tea.

Our free camp was sans power, but we used the gas burner of the Dometic cooktop to boil up some water. The Conquest Play’s kitchen is not huge; in fact, it’s quite compact for a motorhome of this size, but it basically has everything you need (sink, microwave, four-burner, grill, pantry) – except for  an oven. And, again, the focus is on storage and lots of it, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding a place for everything.

THE BOTTOM LINE

When we managed to tear ourselves away from the view, it was time to, reluctantly, bid goodbye to the mountains and begin the five-hour trek back to the city. Our snowy little sojourn was over but it’d proved to be everything I’d hoped for, and more – perfect weather and acres of fresh snow to enjoy from the comfort of the fit-for-purpose and supremely capable Jayco Conquest Play.

The only thing that could have made the trip any better would have been more time. So, next winter, I’ll make sure we’ve got a lot more time to enjoy the ski-fields and the motorhome, and I might even have a better crack at filling up all that storage space in the Conquest Play!

Category: Reviews
Written: Sun 01 Apr 2018
Printed: April, 2018
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