If you’ve been to NRMA Motorfest then you’ve probably spotted one of Bob and Yvonne Kerr’s lovingly restored plywood vintage caravans. An avid interest in their 1930s and 1950s mobile homes sees them head off to their favourite place once a year to meet other devotees.

“There’s no shop to buy vintage caravans from as they’re handmade,” explains Bob. We joined an online forum - vintagecars.com - a few years ago so we could chat with other (pre-1970) caravan enthusiasts. Most of them have a nom de plume, so we spend all year talking to people on the site yet we don’t know their names, let alone what they look like.

“We decided to meet up once a year and a woman who lives in WA suggested Coledale Beach, between Sydney and Wollongong. I don’t know how she knew about it but it’s perfect.

“With the Sea Cliff Bridge it’s so accessible, and you get to drive through the second oldest national park in the world to get to it - the Royal National Park.

“The place is just beautiful - quiet, relaxed and safe. You can look out to the ocean or back at the escarpment, which I think is just as attractive as the beach.

“Coledale doesn’t have many restaurants but it does have several old wares shops. Everyone’s caravan is kitted out with authentic equipment - we have everything from an icebox and metho burner to art deco food canisters and a 1950s toaster.

“We meet over a weekend in October. When you get here on the Friday, you spot a caravan that you’ve heard about and go up to the person and say ‘I like your caravan’, and off you go chatting for hours!

“There’s a surf club on the camp ground and on the Saturday night we have a party there. We all enjoy the weekend so much and it’s Coledale that really makes it. It has a sense of tranquillity about it - perfect for relaxing and talking about caravans.”