Road Tripping in Australia: 5 tips you need to know!
- Michael Brady
- Dec 20, 2016
- 7 min read
Seriously look...
Ok so you've touched down...down under! Where to visit? THE BIG CITIES OF COURSE!! Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth...etc. They all have their own charms. They also all have airports and with air fares at an all time low (don't quote me on that) it's easy, affordable and convenient to book a few flights and hop from city to city.
But before you check in that luggage...consider this...
There are tonnes of incredible places between these cities and you're just gonna fly right over them?? Yeah, sounds ridiculous.
Don't worry though, there is a way you can see these places..!!
Luckily they're all connected by roads. Pretty convenient eh?
So why not hit the road Jack...or whatever your name is... and check the Aussie Road Trip off your bucket list?
But before you hit the open road and make those sweet, sweet memories, have a read through some of these Road TIPS for your Road TRIPS....OK that was rubbish but the tips are good...I promise.
1. Watch your Speed
What's the rush lead foot?? Slow down and stick to the speed limit. The police in Australia are extremely strict on this. All major highways, freeways or motorways...whatever you want to call them....have speed cameras and patrolling police vehicles ready to dish out those fines and license demerit points.
Not only could you get in trouble and put the entire road trip in jeopardy but you could also...what's it called again? Oh yeah....DIE..!!
As you can see, in this bar chart from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, road traffic deaths are a pretty big problem in Australia.
I can't say that the reason for these accidents was speeding but I can say that in, whatever caused these accidents, the DRIVER is, more often than not, the one who bids farewell to this realm.
This is not a toy you're playing with so GROW UP..!!
Sorry...I didn't mean to yell...but this is serious stuff.
Also if you drive too fast you might miss that sign for the random place that wasn't part of the plan but you impulsively take the exit for anyway..!!
They're the best places..!
So relax. You got nothing but time and open road. You'll get where your going...just make sure you get there alive and fine free..!!
2. Download WikiCamps
So there's pretty much an app for everything now. Heck, I'm typing this on an app right now. We use them for everything. So why should taking a road trip be any different? That's right...it shouldn't be. So if you're planning your Aussie road trip...this is the app for you!!
WikiCamps is going to be your best friend. Assuming you've hired a camper van that is. Otherwise you might be more interested in HostelWorld or something similar. But if you're sleeping where you drive...(NOT at the same time...that is extremely unsafe...I cannot stress that enough) ...then this app is pretty much essential!
WikiCamps scans the area you're in, or an area of your selection, and provides a list of places you might want to spend the night.
You can filter these results to include or exclude different types of accommodation. In the same fashion that Wikipedia operates, these places have been added by REAL people who have stayed in these places. Arguably, the most useful of these results are the FREE and legal places to park a camper van for the night. Some places that appear ideal for spending the night, such as beach car parks, have signs prohibiting overnight stays and rangers who regularly patrol the area to enforce this. Getting caught by one of these rangers could end in a warning or a fine. (Don't be fooled by this word...you'll feel FAR from fine when you get one of these!)
The nice thing about the app is that people often try to warn you away from the areas that they experienced hassle in. It's helpful to learn from their mistakes and save yourself the same ordeal.
The app also lists campgrounds which you'll have to pay for. This can come in handy on your third or fourth day of not showering and you decide that $15/$20 is an absolute bargain for the facilities alone. The app lists all the things you'll need to know about a camp spot such as price, type of facilities and even gives you directions to some pretty obscure and isolated spots.
We used WikiCamps every day on our road trip...and you know what? I got a feeling you will too!
Official Site: http://wikicamps.com.au/
3. Take a Deck of Cards
There's not really much to type in this section. The heading pretty much covers it.
But I feel I have to say something because I know you're probably laughing and mocking me right now...
"Hahaha...we don't play cards in this day and age! We have iPads and Virtual Reality Headsets and robot monkeys...etc"
And yes this may very well be true BUT...seriously it's easy to forget how fun a simple card game can be!!
There's actually a lot to be said for putting the technology down for a while and getting a bit old fashioned. I actually think it's a bit ironic how someone sitting on SOCIAL media sites is actually an extremely UNSOCIABLE thing to do. So get off MySpace and YourSpace and any other spaces you might frequent and have a game of SNAP for the love of God.
You want to know the best thing about a deck of cards...?? They don't run out of batteries!!
4. Prepare meals & Find a Dominos or Pizza Hut
So the road trip is finally under way. Hallelujah...!! All that planning and saving is finally paying off.
So why waste your hard earned money on things you can easily do yourself?
The biggest cost you're going to incur on your trip, after fuel for the beast of course, is food and drink. You gotta eat and, because Australia is situated 10km from the surface of the sun, you're gonna need water.
However, just because this is a necessary cost it doesn't mean there isn't a smart way to approach it.
Make your money last longer by purchasing food items that you can use for a while.
For example...
Don't buy a chicken salad sandwich for $5. Instead, buy a roast chicken, bread and some salad and have 14 sandwiches for $10..!!
Buying the individual components is gonna be so much cheaper and last you a lot longer than just lunch that day. When you pay the price for the pre-made sandwich...you're not paying the price of the ingredients...you're paying for the luxury of having someone else combine them for you. That's it..!!
Admittedly this will be slight more difficult if you don't have a fridge in your van but you can still do it. You'll just have to be slightly more careful what items you purchase.
There will, however, be times where you run out of food and you haven't had a chance to restock or maybe you've been driving all day and you've arrived somewhere late. In these times, it can be tempting to delegate the shopping to 'your future self' and order some take away. If you are going to succumb to temptation and be lazy for a night or two...find a Dominos or Pizza Hut pizza place. Assuming you're a normal human being and you're not adversed to a slice of pizza, Dominos is a great option for the lazy dinner.
By ordering from the value menu in both these places, you can pick up a pizza for under $6. That is incredible value for something that's gonna fill you up and keep the 'hanger' to a manageable level.
Almost the exact same practice applies when buying water.
Don't buy it...take it from streams, water fountains and straight out the toilet if you have to..!!
Ok no, I'm kidding..!! But don't buy small individual bottles of water. These can cost anywhere between $4 - $1000,000 from some places. Especially if the bottle is glass with a REALLY nice font. The money you spend on these will easily mount up throughout your trip to an amount that will make you shudder. Instead, buy a 10 or 12 litre container of water from a supermarket. You can buy one of these for around $8..!! This makes much more sense.
You're going to have to bite the bullet and buy your own beer though. Unless...you brew it yourself on the road yourself...yes...simple!! This deserves it's own blog post so make sure you read that one next!
Official Sites:
Dominos- https://www.dominos.com.au/menu/value-pizzas
Pizza Hut - https://www.pizzahut.com.au/promo/five-dollar-medium-range
5. Find the BIG things
You're gonna stop at a lot of beautiful places between the big cities. However, the problem with visiting beautiful place after beautiful place is that they eventually they can sometimes seem to blend together as one big beautiful place. Unless you find the things that make them unique.
Perhaps, over the years, many these beautiful little places realised this and decided they needed something to make them stand out from the rest? Because, slowly but surely, they all decided they wanted an oversized version of various things. More often than not these ended up being pieces of fruit for some reason.
You're bound to encounter a few of these during your trip, even if you don't plan on it. These might include The Big Pineapple in Woombye QLD, the Big Prawn in Ballina NSW or the very famous Big Banana in Coffs Harbour NSW.
There are many, many more of these dotted all over Australia. You can find a full list of these in the links below.
Be aware that visiting some of these bizarre structures might be a slightly anti-climactic so it's important to be realistic in your expectations of just how impressive a much larger version of something might be.
I, personally, think it's good to have a bit of an aim or a goal for the road trip. Something to give it a bit of specific purpose besides freedom and having a good time. If you feel the same then the fact that these obscure landmarks exist might help you with structuring your trip. You could even use them as the unofficial mission of the trip. They make for a good photograph if nothing else.
Full List of big Aussie things - https://www.australianexplorer.com/australian_big_icons.htm
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