Hints and Tips for Touring Australia in no particular order
John and I toured Australia April 2005 till June 2007 with a Landcruiser and a 23ft Roadstar off-road caravan. You can read our story on http://australiabycaravan.blogspot.com/ I’m just in the process of uploading it again and still have to add photos. (Nov 2010)
All Care Has Been Taken But I Take No Responsibility For Any information in this publication so
Please use these Hints and Tips as a starting point and do your own research from here.
My thanks to fellow travellers Smillie Henderson and Des Meiklejohn who have helped me compile this list.
Vehicle Registration
Please Note: This vehicle registration advice is for Queensland.
Each State has it’s own rules and fees.
Everyone who registers a vehicle in Queensland has to have a CRN (customer reference number).
This is the same number people are given when they gain their driver’s licence in Queensland so it’s easy for Queenslanders. People from other States have the same problem as NZer’s.
Evidence of Identity is required: this is where we had problems as we couldn’t produce enough evidence even though our wallets were full of ID cards. We had passport and Visa card but unfortunately no other cards had our names actually embossed on them. As the vehicles were in joint names we each needed a CRN …… many hours (next day) later after phone calls and faxes to and from ASB Bank in NZ we collected our landcruiser.
You also need an Australian physical Address. Any address is fine, even the local campground if they’re willing for you to use it.
Once you have this number you’re fine for the rest of your life in QLD.
Driver’s Licence You can drive on your NZ licence for twelve months in a state if you are a tourist otherwise if you live in that state then you have 3 months to get a driver’s licence for that state.
Buying and Selling
Check out this website for a copy of a sale and purchase agreement: http://www.support.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/formsdat.nsf/forms/QF3520/$file/F3520_es.pdf
Check out this website for pre-registration checklist:
http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Registration/Registering-vehicles/Registering-motor-vehicles-and-motorbikes.aspx#checklist
We were told that if staying in another State for a certain length of time (3 months from memory) that you should re-register in that State. I don’t know of anyone who did.
Luxury Tax If you are buying a new vehicle, luxury tax is a big add on cost to the vehicle price if over a certain value. If possible get extras added after purchasing, this helps keep the "new" price of the vehicle down.
In some States vehicles do not require a WOF or COF on a regular basis but must be kept roadworthy and when selling a vehicle you must provide new roadworthy, gas and electrical certificates no older than either 21 or 30 days.
Insurance: Third party insurance which is paid in registration is for third party personal accident only – no ACC like NZ. Separate cover must be taken for third party property damage and for vehicles.
If you have a good insurance record here make sure you take a letter confirming this with you for evidence of your vehicle claim history.
We used www.suncorp.com.au for the Landcruiser and for the caravan we used www.mhia.com.au. We claimed on both vehicles with no hassles. Landcruiser for broken windscreen, twice, caused by tiny stones on tarseal and a caravan awning.
RACQ etc – take AA (NZ) reference to get same level of membership ie years of membership status in automobile associations that are all state based. These bodies have publications such as tourist & caravan park listings.
Sales Tax is payable by the buyer when re-registering a vehicle. Dollar % varies in every state. If you buy a rig privately you can possibly manipulate the buying price for sales tax purposes, not possible if buying through a dealer
Be wary of paying deposits to hold vehicles as there are a few dodgy dealers and deposits and dealers can vanish, as per this recent story on caravaners forum: http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11999
Fuel pricing can vary considerably, usually one day a week say a Thursday could be 10 or 12 cents a litre cheaper than the Wed or Friday, check online for your state and what day. Be aware that fuel prices can be very high in the outback. The most we paid was $1.90 for diesel.
After travelling this vast magnificent country for 66,000km and towing our caravan for 42,000km we used 9,900 litres diesel, average cost $1.33.Total just over $13,000 AUD. Landcruiser averaged approx 10 litres/100km and while towing approx 18 litres/100km. Cheapest diesel in Brisbane $1.07 dearest Kings Canyon $1.90.
Our caravan fully loaded weighed 3220 kg plus Landcruiser approx 2,500 kg so we were a big heavy rig but easy to tow.
When grocery shopping and the discount is for over a certain amount, say $100, and you have over $200 worth of groceries, pay for the first $100 and then continue for the next $100. That way you get two discount vouchers. It all helps!
Both Coles and Woolworths and their associated companies such as BigW and Target and also other supermarkets have 4 cent discount arrangements – sometimes much higher discounts that can be useful if filling a 150 litre tank. Woolworths have a fuel card which is loaded with your spend which can give airline points.
Road rules: There is a national set of road rules but like every other aspect of Australian life there are variations from federal to state and between states.
LPG Bottles There are limited refillers of your LPG bottle – they charge on a full bottle rate – no weighing – most are on a swap basis – so you may have difficulty keeping the bottles that came with your brand new van.
Wheel Nuts Before heading outback check that you can undo the wheel nuts of your vehicles.
Trail-a-mate jack: Good for front lift but maybe it was not rated enough to do side lift on a heavy van. Advice is that a bottle jack should be also carried.
Banks: You need lots of ID for that too, probably the 100 points. Remember that when you transfer money from a NZ bank to an Australian bank it can take some time for this to be processed and the funds available, allow at least a week, 10 days to be safer. NZ banks blame Oz, Oz banks don't care. Better to be sure than sorry.
All traders take EFT-POS and ATM machines are widely available. A cash card with a bank operating nationally will reduce fees.
Communication: We used Pocketmail which worked well around Australia but nowadays ... only 5 years later .... technology has improved so much that I’m not sure if it’s still available.
Internet: We used a connection to our mobile phone which was pretty basic compared to what is available today. In New Zealand now we use Mobile Broadband for which we pay a monthly rental but you can buy prepaid broadband both in NZ and Australia now. We have a small modem which plugs into the laptop. This has a SIM card which has a number just as a mobile phone does. Internet access is available wherever cell phone coverage is available with that internet provider.
Friends just travelled from Darwin to Brisbane and Adelaide to Melbourne July - August 2010 once outside the towns and cities and said Vodafone coverage was hopeless. Maybe Telstra is a better bet.
We used www.westnet.com.au a good internet provider although prepay now is cheap and very popular if you are not a huge data user and just use a gmail address or similar.
Call Boxes: I used to buy “Say G’Day” phone cards which allowed me to call NZ from a phone box or landline for 4c per minute. The connection charge at the public phone box was only about 50c regardless of how long I talked for. If you wish to talk to more than one person tell the first person to hang up and then dial the next number while you are still connected to the “Say G’Day” line. There is only the one call box connection charge.
Sim Cards: There are many companies who now provide cell phone coverage and much cheaper than in NZ. Check out the Lebara. I’m not sure what coverage would be like in the outback. Maybe Telstra has the best coverage – check it out on one of the forums listed below.
Be aware to buy a sim card you also need to have 100 points, as above, and also an Australian address. Recently when I tried to update my Lebara Sim Card with my Visa I was unable to as it had a different address (NZ) to the Australian address I’d used when buying the Sim card, which I had to have! I had to buy a top up from a shop and they’re not always available for every type of Sim card.
Update: Telstra Next G recommended – make sure you get one with the Blue tick – outback enabled. A monthly prepaid spend of $30 appears to give better call rates.
GPS - to guide us through towns and cities. It could not be relied on in the outback areas but I’m sure they’ve improved a lot since then. Always use a map to check where the GPS is sending you.
Trees Do not park under gum trees as branches can fall any time even in calm conditions.
UHF radio - for when we’re in the outback so we can communicate with “Road Trains” or other travellers. (Some of the language of the ‘truckies’ close to the cities made ones hair curl – the outback truckies were a pleasure to talk to). There are special channels for truckies, caravanners etc and it’s important to use the appropriate one.
So easy to ask the truckies on the UHF where the cheapest fuel is in town on any given day - they will all tell you in their colourful language.
Hand held UHF radios for when backing the caravan. I stood behind the caravan looking forward and just say “caravan left, caravan right, straight back or STOP”. It worked well. It was a long way to the back of the caravan. We measured 14m in total. Even one hand held would be fine if you have a UHF radio in the tow vehicle and set it to the same channel.
TV We had the Winegard UHF wind up antenna and it was fine most of the time.
Satellite FTA Free To Air TV can be tricky, search the various forums for advice, you can buy illegal " TV Gold Cards" but they can be "switched off" at any time, also when moving from state to state there are different signals for different states, check out all the forums for further advice. System is not like here, every decoder still needs a card, optus or whatever to get even free to air digital tv. Foxtel ( monthly pay TV like sky) also has its own decoders and cards.
Update: Several regions have moved over to Digital from Analogue – all will by 2012 – so get a digital ready TV or a set top box may do the job.
Bicycles - ours fold up and fit in the back of the Landcruiser. They have full size wheels and are great for keeping fit and exploring areas. www.onyerbike.com.au. We were going to carry bikes on the back of the caravan but were advised that we wouldn’t use them as they’d be so dirty with dust etc that we’d have to overhaul them each time we wanted to use them.
Tent and Coleman air mattress - for when we want to travel real outback without the caravan.
Caravan Parks We often stayed in caravan parks when we wanted to explore with only the Landcruiser. The parks were relatively cheap and provided water at your own site so you can plug directly into the tap. Also there is sullage provided at each site that you drain directly into. At some places where TV reception was poor there were aerial cables that you could plug into your caravan. If you will be using caravans parks it pays to become members of most of them, Big4, Family Parks, Top 10 etc. to receive any discounts.
Big 4 etc offer 10% discount for first $200 of stay. GST is not payable once your stay in the one park exceeds a certain number of days.
Self Containment Very few caravans have a grey waste tank and some parks like you to drain to the nearest tree although we have heard that some authorities are hoping to stop this practice soon.
Hema Road Atlas We found this road map very good.
Bushcamping: We used Camps AustraliaWide 3. I understand No 5 is now available with No 6 in print. It is invaluable giving all the free bush camping places around Australia.
CMCA website accessed through your nzmca password and card has lots of free or cheap overnight parks listed online, dumpsites as well, although not as many as in NZ. These can be downloaded to your laptop from the cmca website.
Not wise to freedom camp near small country towns Fri and Sat nights when the hoons are out looking to be a nuisance, they don't seem to bother you if you are 30 - 40 kms out of town.
Some Shires do not allow freedom camping – so you can be asked to move on. Can be a little stressful if the nearest parks are ‘Gated’ and close around 6p.m.
For those more security minded but wanting to enjoy freedom camping the recommendation is to set yourself up alongside others or wait and see if other vanners arrive – if not make sure you don’t have far to drive to a secure place.
Outback driving: We covered our Landcruiser rear window and lights with hikers mattress when driving on dirt roads such as Birdsville or Oodnadatta Tracks as stones can flick up from the tow vehicle wheels, hit the front of the caravan and then bounce back to the tow vehicle.
If dirt roads are closed, do not travel on them as you can be prosecuted and also be made to pay for the repairs.
Tarseal In extreme heat if you come across very black tarseal ahead of you stop and check it out. The tarseal comes up through the metal. The tar clings to your tyres then picks up the metal and within a very short time the wheels can’t turn.
CMCA Very similar to NZMCA but they don’t ‘like’ caravanners! We were able to join as an associate member but weren’t able to participate in their insurance scheme. I don’t know if this has changed. We subscribed and had their informative magazine “The Wanderer” delivered to our home for several months before we left NZ but then resigned as there were no benefits for us as being on the road we didn’t have a mailing address for the magazine.
Seniors Card If you are over 60 in Qld you can get an application form for a Seniors Card (Business Card) available from most libraries, council offices, Centre Link ( same as Winz) You just need a copy of your NZ passport to send away with the application, this is free and does not expire, a number of discounts available Australia wide with this card.
A booklet of outlets recognizing the card comes out annually. Can be used at say coffee lounge chains.
National Parks: Some have concessional rates for Seniors.
Be aware that some people have had to wait on hold in a phone queue at a call cost many times the camp fee when trying to book in.
Farm Station Stays We loved these. There are several available and I’m sure a search of the internet would find some.
Gravel / dirt Roads We found the best scenery and our best times were when we got off the bitumen. The roads / tracks which were usually sand and or clay were better (when dry) than the metalled ones as some of the metal was quite rocky. Any decent rainfall will make the dirt roads impassable for several days until they dry out. Be aware that you could be charged for repairs if caught driving on roads which have been closed because of the wet.
Country and Western The Mildura Country and Western 10 days was great and worth trying to time your trip for it. We haven’t been to Tamworth ..... yet! Tamworth is in January and there is a Music Muster in Gympie which would be worth checking out.
Snakes We saw plenty but we also learnt as much as possible about them and didn’t let the thought of getting a snake bite curtail our activities. Basically, we are too big to eat and a snake would only bite if threatened so if you got in that situation we were advised to stand very still and wait, only a minute or so, for the snake to go away. Also wear clothing that the snake venom can’t penetrate either because it’s too thick or tough. If bitten the latest practice is to use a pressure bandage. If bitten, say on the hand, to bandage right up to the shoulder and to keep the joint as still as possible and below the heart to prevent the venom travelling. We were told we’d have 24 hours to get help before problems arose. You don’t need to identify the snake.
Also, we were told not to run over a snake as it could flick up under the caravan and stay there until you stopped .... and he wouldn’t be very happy!
Often people travel around Australia and never see a snake.
Flies Plenty of them and we bought hats with nets or nets to go over hats which were great. When flies are about stand facing the wind and they won’t land on your face. It was quite amazing that at some of the cattle stations we visited there were no flies but in the middle of the desert the flies would land on you when we were running between the landcruiser and the caravan.
Midges These little blighters were nasty. We encountered them at Tannum Sands on the East Coast. They are very small, they bite then pee on you and we saw some people with bites all over them and can be quite serious as they itch tremendously. http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/bitmidge.htm
Tannum Sands pharmacist said wipe exposed skin regularly with wet cloth. Migdes come off the mangroves there.
Kangaroos We tried to travel only between 9am to 3pm as hitting a kangaroo can cause a lot of damage to a vehicle ...... and also the kangaroo.
Emus are unpredictable – may reverse direction and head across road at last second.
Cattle in unfenced stations can rest on the warmth of the road at night.
Crocodiles The saltwater crocodiles are the ones to be wary off as they can run out of the water at great speed for about 60metres. We didn’t swim with the freshwater ones either .
Fruit Fly Exclusion Zones It is good to be aware of where these are as you must not carry fruit and vegetables into these zones and must dump it all in bins provided. We also had to hand in our unopened jar of honey at the Northern territory boundary into Western Aust.
Often it pays to cook, cut up, digest or dispose of prohibited items before you get to the check point.
Fruit fly inspection boundaries not often manned but random inspection possible.
Travelling Alone We mostly travelled independently as we did not wish to commit to a timetable etc. We heard of too many people who hadn’t visited somewhere, even though they wanted to, because the people they were travelling with didn’t want to. Often problems arose and the people eventually went their separate ways. We loved travelling in tandem with people if we were all going the same way and loved to meet up every so often which we did regularly.
We were never afraid and even when travelling through the deserts we’d only have to stop for lunch and another vehicle would go by within 20 minutes or so.
Road Trains We always gave road trains ‘right of way” – well wouldn’t you? When travelling on Queensland outback roads they are often just one lane tarseal and it’s important to let the truckies see that you are right off the road when meeting one.
It’s also good to let the truckie know, by radio telephone, that you know he’s coming up behind you. Talk to the truckies, especially if they are coming up behind your rig at speed, suggest you will slow down once they have pulled out or indicated they are about to pass. Nothing worse for them than you slowing down while they are still behind you, forcing them to slow down as well. It takes many kms for them to get to their top speed.
When meeting a road train on a two lane tarseal be aware of the air wave created and that the trailers on the road train can sway ... towards you. Similarly if a road train is passing you it’s important to keep your momentum going. We would slow once the road train started passing and then slowly increase speed as the road train is passing to avoid being sucked towards the truck. Obviously, the road train has plenty of clear vision ahead and has plenty of time to pass.
Many publications recommended that you keep moving when confronted by a road train as there can be soft road shoulders – but this is difficult if the object in front of you is a white road marker.
Also be careful of bull dust – holes in the unsealed road surface that have filled with dust.
Be aware that road trains that carry such loads as metal may comprise up to four wagons – the tail end one can sway 2 – 3 feet out off a straight line.
Travel Insurance an individual thing, whether to have it or not. We have an ASB Visa Gold Card and we think the cover is very good although, thankfully, we have never had to use it. It covered us for 3 months if we paid for our flights etc with the Visa. As we came home fairly often it was fine for us and we took the chance for the other months we were there. NZ only has reciprocal rights with Australia for emergency situations. For anything else we thought we could jump on a plane and fly home. At that stage we had medical insurance.
Medicare cover is available but the application for cover requires a statement and supporting evidence that you have sold up in NZ. Care needed as such a statement could have implications for NZ Super and tax residency status.
Take your medication supplies from NZ as they are expensive to buy when no subsidy is obtainable. Xray costs are very reasonable.
Some medical practices operate on accepting appointments for same day only. Also many will allow only one issue – extended appointment may be required.
Caravan Mirrors We bought Aussie Truck Mirrors which were expensive but well worth it.
NZ Superannuation This is a very grey area and everyone seems to have a different story regarding losing the payment. Some say you have to be back in NZ for a few days every 6 months, others that you have to be in NZ for 6 months out of 12. Recently, I think there has been a change allowing people to stay out of NZ for longer than 6 months. It seems to depend on your case manager.
Toll Roads Be aware of toll roads in major cities, most now do not allow you to pay a toll in cash and you need to phone the displayed number within a certain time.
You can obtain one transponder from E-Toll that will work on tolled roads, bridges and tunnels in various states.
Toll roads in Melbourne operate on a variable amount from exit to exit.
Sometimes easier to set your GPS to avoid toll roads although we found that with the saving in fuel it was worth using the toll roads.
Weather: Australia can get very cold. We travelled in the northern areas during the winter and the temperatures can drop to zero or below even in the desert areas.
Summer in the north would be wet, roads impassable, humid and unbearable. Summer in the south can be hot, dry and very scary with bushfires likely to start up anywhere. If you are told to leave an area because of a fire you must just go. You are not allowed to tow your caravan out with you.
Also southern caravan parks are extremely expensive over the xmas period. We flew home to NZ for a couple of months each Christmas.
Frig: If you’re going up north make sure you have a ‘tropical’ rated frig.
We had a Dometic 186 Litre tropical rated frig. We and others had problems with it not freezing or frig working but freezer not etc or just not working. We think the problem is that the pipes that run (almost) horizontal on the rear of the frig can become ‘blocked’ when the vehicle is parked on a slope as the gas or whatever cannot run freely and gets clogged. So if you have to park on a reasonable slope turn your frig off. If you have a problem turning the frig upside down does not help despite what some of the “repairmen” say! The Dometic 175 Litre Slimline has different technology and doesn’t have the same problem.
Casual employment: Many opportunities exist for casual employment for those having a NZ passport.
A couple of aspects need to be considered – you are liable for PAYG tax at the non-resident rate of 29 cents in the dollar. Your employer must pay 9 per cent as an employer contribution to the super fund of your choice. Apart from the issue of when you can withdraw the funds you will find that life cover is usually deducted from your super funds unless you say ‘No’ and administration fees as well. Employers will try and send the funds to their industry’s fund – you may end up with both multiple life covers and admin. fees in fast diminishing pools of money.
What do you need in your Caravan: You can check out our caravan inventory in the vehicles page of my blog. http://australiabycaravan.blogspot.com/
AUSTRALIA IS AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING COUNTRY TO TOUR
BEST TIP:
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF TOURING AUSTRALIA DON’T THINK TOO LONG.
DO IT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE WE ARE SO GLAD WE DID
Web Sites for Information: We used some of these a lot both before we went over and while we were travelling.
Check out:
USEFUL CARAVANNING LINKS
Hit Ctrl+Click to follow the link
|
TOURING OZ: Another caravanning forum with an active membership offering lots of advice and information.
|
CARAVAN & MOTORHOME: Online edition of the popular magazine with lots of interesting articles for all RVers.
|
CARAVANNING AND RVing IN AUSTRALIA: With over 50 years' caravanning experience, Lionel Mussell has lots to offer on his excellent pages.
|
BADGER'S AUSTRALIAN CARAVAN SITE REPORTS: Personal feedback from caravanners on Australian caravan parks.
|
EXPLORE-OZ: A very useful and comprehensive 4WD site which includes route planning, petrol prices, road conditions etc.
|
CARAVAN PARK PHOTOS AND REVIEWS: Hundreds of high quality photographs and information on Australian caravan parks.
|
AUSTRALIAN TOURING CARAVAN, MOTORHOME & CAMPING CLUB: Home to the Australia-wide club for all RV owners and travellers.
|
CANBERRA CARAVAN CLUB: An active club based in the nation's capital with a very comprehensive website.
|
CARAVAN AND 4WD FORUM: Australian-based forum for those who enjoy the fun and freedom of caravanning, camping and 4WDs.
|
LETS-GETAWAY.COM: Information, tips and advice on caravans, campertrailers, motorhomes, accessories and all things to do with travel.
|
CARAVAN & MOTORHOME MAGAZINE FORUM: Popular on-line forum offering RV tips, travel, camping, swap and social chat.
|
RVTRAVEL: An association of people who pay no fees and who are interested in all aspects of caravanning, motorhomes, 5th wheelers or campervans and touring.
|
| Owners' forums |
www.caravanningnews.com.au a monthly news letter well worth reading as very up to date with caravan park issues and all things caravanning.
www.standbycars.com.au, good source of $1 to $5 per day relocation rentals motorhomes and cars. Always pays to take the extra approx $18 per day insurance so windscreens are covered and nil or low excess, extra days can often be purchased for around $75 per day. Phone them as often new listings go quickly, new listings available 10.00am each morning for Maui etc. or phone Maui direct.
