All along the coast, tent cities full of thousands of campers are making the annual pilgrimage a tradition for their families that are passed down through the generations.

In places such as Peterborough, when the caravan park fills up, the population of the town of 250 more than doubles – and that’s not counting those in the holiday houses.

Peterborough’s caravan park is playing host to at least 350 people, and at Easter there can be as many as 400 campers.

In Port Fairy, thousands pour into the caravan parks, but for many it’s not a one-off visit.

It was a similar story in Warrnambool last week when at least 5000 campers made the pilgrimage to Lady Bay for their summer vacation.

All it took was one camping trip to Peterborough and the Cronin family was hooked, the lure of crayfishing bring them back every year for more than four decades.

To them, the tiny seaside town on the Great Ocean Road is Victoria’s best kept secret.

 In fact when they tell their friends back home where they camp, most have never even heard of it.

“We discovered it coming back from Adelaide, and when I saw the water for the crayfishing and diving we started coming down here every year,” Shane Cronin said.

Mr Cronin first stayed at the caravan park back in 1974, but when he saw the farm paddock just up the road that his brother was camping at, they started returning there every year.

Their sister Debra Clayton also brought her family, and then their friends started making the trek.

“We had 15 tents camped around the swamp one year,” Shane said.

“There’s something about the place.”

And now, 44 years later, three generations of the Cronin family come from across Melbourne and Bacchus Marsh each year to carry on that summer tradition.

They once tried camping elsewhere, but after a couple of summers holidaying in busy Torquay, they returned to the quiet place they first fell in love with.

For the past 15 years or so they have made a corner of the Great Ocean Road Tourist Park theirs.

And it’s also a place to catch up with their park “neighbours”, many of whom, like them, have been coming back year after year.

“It’s a unique little place,” Mr Cronin said.

“It’s the last frontier on this coastline.

“It hasn’t changed like Port Campbell, it’s a rat race. This has always maintained its character.

“There’s 13 beaches and you can have the whole beach for yourself.”

Mr Cronin recalled that one day when he returned to the boat ramp after a fishing trip, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was there surrounded by his bodyguards.

“I said: ‘I’ll swap you a crayfish for a sweep’, and he did,” Shane said.

On that same holiday he hit the golf course with the PM and his wife, Tammy.

“They were jolly good shots,” he said.

Every year the Cronins play in the Peterborough golf challenge, once winning it three times in a row.

They took home the prize again this year after a five-year drought.

Mr Cronin said he thought about buying property in Peterborough back when blocks were $10,000 each but never did.

His daughter, Cynthia Mark, who spent her summers growing up by the beach in Peterborough, now owns a property there.

Eight years ago her family ended up renting a house in Peterborough for the summer so they could bring their dogs with them.

After wandering down to the inn for their annual farewell dinner that year, they returned to the holiday house to find a For Sale sign erected in the front yard, so they bought the house.

Mrs Clayton said the extended family just loved to be beside the water, whether it’s fishing diving or swimming.

While this year has brought a good run of warm weather, there was one year in the ‘80s they had to pack up early and go home when it rained for four straight days.

“That’s the thing about Peterborough, you never know what the weather’s going to do,” Mrs Clayton said.

Port Fairy is enjoying a bustling tourist season with the visitor centre receiving about 800 inquiries per day.

Carl Thompson has been enjoying holidays at Port Fairy’s Gardens Caravan Park for the past 41 years. 

He hasn’t missed a year and his first holiday at the park was with his family when he was seven years old. 

“My dad started us off here,” he said.

“He’s upgraded to a house in town and we keep coming in the caravan.”

Mr Thompson said it was the atmosphere, beaches and picturesque town that kept drawing him back.

“It’s just a beautiful place to come and visit,” he said.

These days Carl spends his Port Fairy holiday with wife Victoria and sons, Cooper, 11, and Riley, 9. 

Their site includes a caravan, an annex and a gazebo.

Mrs Thompson said she enjoyed catching up with “the neighbours” at the caravan park each year.

“It’s like a little community,” she said.

She said the park had been a significant part of their lives in the past 20 years. 

“Most people around here, they’ve seen me pregnant with the kids,” she said. 

“They’ve seen Carl and I as boyfriend and girlfriend and then we got engaged.” 

The family, from the Melbourne-suburb of Macleod, usually set up in the first week of December and stay until the start of February. 

Unfortunately, Carl can only stay for four weeks of the holiday but his family will stay on at the caravan park.

Swimming, surfing, fishing, nippers and riding around town are among the activities the family enjoys most.

Riley said he enjoyed being around the water. 

“I like surfing and going to the beach,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Cooper enjoys fishing and attending some of the activities in the park. 

“I like the activities they put on at the Caravan Park,” he said.

Mrs Thompson said she enjoyed Port Fairy and swam most days at East Beach.

“It’s a nice place,” she said.

“We wouldn’t go anywhere else in summer.” 

Mr Thompson said his family took the caravan to other locations in Victoria but Port Fairy was their summer spot. 

“This is our main holiday down here which the boys really love the most,” he said.

Tanya Lloyd from Hampton East rolled her 1979 caravan into Southcombe Caravan Park in Port Fairy just before Christmas. 

She’s been coming to the park for the past 17 years and said it was the weather, the surf and friendly staff that kept her coming back. 

“They look after us pretty well,” she said.

“The facilities are always really clean.” 

Meanwhile, she said the caravan park’s dog-friendly policy was a bonus.

Ms Lloyd said she was happy with her powered site which has space for four cars.  

She’s thrilled there is enough room for her 40-year-old, nine-metre-long caravan and old annex. 

“A lot of parks don’t cater for big vans so we’re pretty lucky,” she said.

She said her caravan had undergone some recent renovations including repairs to its leaking roof. 

The caravan has just been joined by a couple of tents at the site with the arrival of Ms Lloyd’s 20-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter.

Away from the park, Ms Lloyd enjoys riding waves at the beach and going out for dinner in Port Fairy.

“As soon as the sun is out, I’m normally down at East Beach boogieboarding,” she said.

Like many campers and caravan enthusiasts, Ms Lloyd will have to head home for work in late January but she’s looking forward to the rest of her summer holiday.