If you’re planning an Australian road trip anytime soon, and you want to enjoy all of the good things about Australia (Ayer’s Rock, the people, the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House) without any of the drawbacks of a poorly planned trip, here are some tips for Australian road trip success:
Hire a Quality Car
Most importantly of all, is getting the right car. There’s nothing wrong with cheap car rental places, and in fact,m using them will ensure you have more money left for the important stuff, but you should alway thoroughly check over your rental car before accepting it, and ensure that it’s appropriate for the kind of journey you’re doing. If you try to drive a family saloon over rough terrain, for example, it’s not going to be long before you get yourself into trouble!
Going the Distance
Australia is a huge country, and although popular journeys like Darwin to Cairns or Sydney to Melbourne don’t look so far on the map, they span distances of 4000 KM and 877 KM respectively. This means that, if you want to actually make it to your final destination, and you want to take in plenty of attractions along the way, you need to give yourself weeks, rather than days to do it! Thankfully, the fuel in Australia is pretty cheap, so you don’t need to worry about that side of things!
Forget Your Need for Speed
Another thing you should know is that it’s pretty difficult to travel at the kind of speeds you might be used to here in Australia. That’s because there are few highways to be found, with around 80 percent of all roads on the East Coast having only one lane. Take this into account when planning your journey if you don’t want to be disappointed.
Watch the Wildlife
If you don’t want your Australian road trip to become a downer, you need to be mindful of the fact that there’s a lot of wildlife on the roads in Australia, and many of them, like kangaroos, will run out on the road, especially at night. You need to be prepared for this so that you can take fast action to get out of the way. You should also not be tempted to get out of your car to admire the koalas or look at the wombats -to do so would be dangerous, and there are plenty of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries where you can watch the wildlife in relative safety.
Seasons in the Sun
A lot of people seem to have this misconception that Australia is always sunny and warm, but it really isn’t! If you don’t want your trip to be ruined by inclement weather, it’s a good idea to book between April and October, when it’s more likely to be clement.
Armed with these top tips, your Australian road trip is sure to be a big success. Have fun!
