I thought I would do an occasional series of book reviews of books, maps and other gear that is of interest to those wanting to get off-road.
Explore Australia by 4WD by Craig Lewis and Cathy Savage describes over 25,000 kilometers of remote tracks with detailed route directions and GPS readings. .It doesn’t include the [...]
Explore Australia by 4WD
Don’t Put Petrol in a Diesel
You’ve had the diesel 4WD for about 3 weeks. You pull up to a gas station for a fill and automatically start filling the tank - unfortunately with petrol rather than diesel! There are two useful tips I can offer in this situation:
do not start the vehicle, if its blocking traffic, don’t start [...]
Gear list for camping or sleeping in a car or 4WD
submit_url = ‘http://www.budget4wdtravel.com/2007/10/gear-list-for-camping-or-sleeping-in-a-car-or-4wd’;Over the years I’ve seen hundreds of suggested packing lists for backpackers or light-weight travelers but the list is a little longer if you are car or 4WD camping
Keeping Food Cool
Its not optional given Australia’s weather – you need to have some type of cooling either a fridge set up (which will probably [...]
Tips on Driving in Australia
First off – if you have just taken a long plane flight and crossed multiple time zones please do not pick up a car at the airport. You will be much better off getting public transit or an airport shuttle (shared taxi) to your hotel and getting over the jet lag.
Bring your local driver’s [...]
10 Camp Cooking Tips
If you are horrified at the thought of cooking without your pantry and full kitchen, here are some tips on easy meals in the bush.
Instant rice - the 2 minute stuff in a sachet doesn’t have to be microwaved, in fact it doesn’t even need to be cooked so pop the bag in a pot, [...]
How much would a Budget 4WD Trip cost us.
I split costs into up front set-up costs and on-going on the road costs.
Up front set-up costs
Vehicle Costs
The difference in vehicle purchase price and resale.
Stamp Duty 2-3% of the car’s purchase price
Insurance allow say $300 pa and bring evidence of your claim history.
Registration varies between states but can be up to A$700 for a 4WD [...]
How to Carry Your Money on the Road
One of the issues buying a vehicle brings up is how to transfer a reasonably large amount of cash to Australia, even if you hope to get most of that cash back at the end of the trip.
The cheapest way to large amounts of money internationally is to pay a set fee per a transaction [...]
Which cities to fly into and out of Australia from
submit_url = ‘http://www.budget4wdtravel.com/2007/10/which-cities-to-fly-into-and-out-of-australia’;The vast majority of visitors arrive and depart Sydney. This is not always the best idea, particularly if your trip won’t bring you back to Sydney. Finishing a trip in Perth only to fly back to Sydney to fly to Singapore means a 4 hour flight to Sydney to take a 8hr [...]