Budget 4WD Travel

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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 [...]

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 require a [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 flight to [...]

Note you don’t even need a tent to use these – they can be a very good deal if you are staying in cabin or similar accommodation. We often found as a couple that we could get a cabin for the same price as a double room in a hostel complete with our own [...]