Planning a long coastal trip is a big challenge in itself, even more so if it’s on a foreign continent. Once I had come up with the idea of us driving to the Barrier Reef and back, I spent countless hours in reading, google-ing and other scientific research. Selecting the right vehicle was essential, for it had to be comfortable for four, yet easy to manage. Caravans and large house-like motorhomes went out early of the competition, the natural winner of which was a tidy campervan with a rooftop tent.