Road Trip Australia

One of the things that we can look forward to once everything settles back down to normal after covid is being able to fully appreciate Australia and its diversity.  Instead of grabbing that best flight deal for an overseas trip, I reckon we could pick up the road map and get out and see Australia by road a bit more. Support the locals, you know…

The following are some of the best road trips in Australia; so take a look and be inspired:

1) Round the Perimeter

Doing the whole lap of Australia around the coastline would have to be the ultimate Australian road trip.  The road trip follows around 15,000 km of our great Highway One, and it links seven of the major cities.  You’ll get to explore and taste the menu that Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Broome, Perth, Esperance, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart all have to offer.

If you can nab a 4WD for this road trip, then you’ll be able to take your time and head down some of the fun tracks that shoot off to the side.  Around Australia will include everything from big city lights to sleepy coastal towns, lush green rainforest to dusty and dry red Outback.

One thing that you might like to factor in is that when you travel the northern part of Australia (Broome to Cairns) it’s best to do it in the April to September window to make the most of the good weather.  During the wet season roads can be closed.

2) Torquay to Allansford, Victoria

One of the country’s most famous road trips stretches along the southern coast on Victoria.  Travelling from Torquay to Allansford winds 243 km along some of Australia’s most stunning coastline.  You’ll also head through rainforest, along sunburnt cliffs, by shipwrecks, and, you’ll also see the famous Twelve Apostles – but there is only eight of them now!

3) The Gibb River Road, Western Australia

If you want to tackle some 4WDing, then the Munja Track, in Kimberley is a super exciting adventure.  The route was constructed in the 1960s to transport stock, and this 660 km road cuts right through from Derby to Wyndham.  You’ll get to see magnificent and remote wilderness, some of our most ancient gorges, beautiful, thundering waterfalls, some sacred Aboriginal sites and so much more.  Take a look at Bell Gorge, where you’ll find a multi-tiered waterfall cascading down layered sandstone into several pools.  And, you can even swim!

4) Cairns to Cape York, Queensland

You’ll need a decent 4WD for this 1000 km drive that begins at Cairns and ends at Cape York.  This is the road that gets you through to the Barrier Reef.  There is loads of red dirt and the river crossings will have crocodiles.  The lush rainforest is amazing, and there are 2 World Heritage areas (The Reef and the Daintree).

5) Perth to Ningaloo, Western Australia

Here is the road that has loads of beautiful secluded beaches and crystal clear water.  It’s close to 1200 km in length and starts at Perth and ends at Exmouth.  Western Australian beaches also have some stunning Coral Coastlines.

Love the sea? Then this is a trip for you.  Western Australia is where the Indian Ocean meets the rugged Outback.  You’ll get to see the Pinnacles Desert and the World Heritage Shark Bay.  How about swimming with dolphins, manta rays and whale sharks?  There is also the breath-taking  gorges of the Kalbarri National Park – wow!

If you book this trip in the June to September window, then you’ll also be wowed with the colourful wildflowers that carpet the barren landscape.

6) The Great Alpine Road, Victoria

This route starts in Wangaratta and winds its way around 500 km through Victorian High Country to Metung in Gippsland Lakes area.  On the way you’ll be travelling over Australia’s highest accessible sealed road, which takes in mountain ranges, deep valleys, wine regions and the sparkling waterways of the Gippsland Lakes region. This is a lovely scenic road that has some nice quaint historic towns along the way.

Victoria’s highest alpine village, Mt Hotham, is nice to visit year-round, with excellent downhill skiing and cross-country trails.  You can also book in for a horse ride, and fish during the warmer months.

7) The Savannah Way

The Savannah Way is around 3700 km in length and it offers loads of adventure.  It takes you from Queensland all the way to Western Australia.

Encompassing 15 national parks and five World Heritage along the way, this is the ultimate east to west road trip. Tropical rainforest, vast grassy plains, remote cattle stations, waterfalls, gorges, turquoise waters and ancient rock art; it’s all there.  Boodjamulla National Park is one of Queensland’s awesome sights and experiences.

It’s advisable to carry a radio for when mobile reception isn’t the best, as you are in some faily remote country at times in the Outback.

8) The Nullarbor, South Australia

This is Australia’s straightest road trip: the Nullarbor Plain.  It’s not hard to find, running 1256 km between the goldfields of WA and the Eyre Peninsula in SA.

It is a legendary flat plain that meets with the towering sea cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. It’s home to prolific wildlife, and you’ll be able to see emus, kangaroos, dingoes and camels along the way.  It also boasts the world’s longest golf course!

9) The Pacific Coast, New South Wales & Queensland

If you haven’t done this trip, then it has to be on your to-do list.  The Legendary Pacific Coast follows around 900 km from Sydney to Brisbane through the Central Coast, Port Stephens, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Ballina and Byron Bay.  This is coastal Australia at its best, with it being home to a host of surfing beaches, charming seaside towns, pretty landscapes and national parks.

Take your time and venture off the main highway to find rich pickings of fun activities, boutiques and food.

10) The Grand Pacific Drive, New South Wales

This one’s a photographer’s joy; The Grand Pacific Drive is a 140 km scenic coastal drive taking you through rainforests, over the iconic Sea Cliff Bridge and through the coastal cities and townships of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and the Shoalhaven.  This also has some of New South Wale’s most beautiful cliff faces.

Get yourself ready!

What Can A Motorist Do During Lockdown?

Although the restrictions aren’t in place all across the country, the state of Victoria is having to cope with lockdown. We sympathise, we really do. It’s not easy and we wish you all the best.

The lockdown rules mean that you’ve only got four reasons for being in a vehicle on the roads: “to shop for food and essential goods or services; to provide care, for compassionate reasons or to seek medical treatment; to exercise or for outdoor recreation; for work or study, if you can’t do it from home” – and that’s a direct quote from the website. You are also advised to “not travel further than you need to”. This means that you probably won’t have much luck convincing the Powers That Be that driving counts as “outdoor recreation”. Of course, if you’re an essential worker, you can keep on working and driving to work (actually, that’s one of the four reasons). Enjoy the clear roads and drive safely, even if you’re exhausted.

So what can a keen motorist do during lockdown to keep that part of their psyche satisfied? The most obvious answer is to spend time during lockdown playing motor racing games on whatever device you fancy. This is all very well and there are some great ones out there that help you fulfil your racing driver or speed freak fantasies. However, one has to remember that (a) don’t get too used to driving that way, as you can’t walk away from a car that crashes by flipping end over end in real life and (b) there is only so long that you ought to spend hogging the X-box or PC console.

There are other things that are (mostly) more productive to keep you occupied. Here are a few suggestions that you can try:

• Take the time to deep clean the car you own. You know that you need to keep it clean and to get all those stray chips out from under the seat. Now’s your chance. Give your car a bit of TLC and really see it gleaming. While you’re at it, do all those little maintenance jobs on your car that you’ve always meant to get around to.
• If you don’t know how to do basic maintenance jobs on your car, this is your chance to learn how. If there isn’t anybody at home with you who knows how to do all those little jobs like checking and topping up the oil, rotating the tyres, or whatever needs to be done, then the internet has a lot of useful videos. Watch a few to get an idea of what’s needed, then have a go. If you do know how to do these maintenance jobs and you have kids at home, teach them how to do the basic things. Even if you don’t have anything that needs doing right now, show them how to change a tyre. It’s a life skill that everybody needs to use at some point, in contrast to quadratic equations, which only get used by a few people (including motor engineers).
• Spend time browsing and learning about all the great new models and makes out there. Who knows, when all this is over, you might decide it’s time to get a new set of wheels. Our car reviews may be a great place to start.
• Order a model car online and make it up.
• Read a good e-book or listen to an audiobook on any motoring-related topic.
• Play with the toy cars with the kids – and teach them about road rules while you’re at it. Sound effects are encouraged.
• Use those motoring magazines you’ve got stashed away as inspiration and try your hand at drawing.

Could Motorists Receive a Refund for Car Registration and Insurance Costs?

As the impact of the Coronavirus continues to play havoc on our day to day lives, roads are still largely empty compared with normal traffic levels. It’s hardly unsurprising, however.

On the one hand, we’ve been told to stay home unless going out for one of few “essential” reasons, and on the other hand, in the parts of the country where restrictions are starting to be lifted, that doesn’t mean jobs will come back any time soon. Given these changes, our cars are seeing much less usage than they normally might.

But what does that mean for some of the significant costs we bear each year as part of having our car on the road? For starters, we’re paying registration to have our vehicle authorised and approved for roadworthiness, yet we are discouraged (or even fined!) from taking our wheels out. Similarly, insurance is for the most part designed to mitigate any risk associated with an accident, but we should feel pretty comfortable there won’t be any collisions when our cars are parked up in the garage.

Should drivers be eligible for a refund?

If you ask thousands of Australian motorists, apparently, the resounding answer is ‘yes’.

In recent days, one online price comparison company has started a petition making the point as to why shouldn’t Australians be eligible to receive a refund on a portion of their unused car registration and insurance costs?

Quite predictably, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. After all, times are tough at the moment and we could all do with a little extra money in our pockets.

But is it likely that government and insurers would budge?

According to some, the principle of ‘fairness’ goes some way to underpin the request for a partial refund. And sure, if either state governments or insurers are feeling charitable, the prospect certainly can’t be ruled out.

However, we also have to put into perspective broader efforts being made by all levels of government. From health care costs, to support for businesses, jobs and the significant ‘benefits’ payments being distributed to support people who receive subsidies and/or find themselves impacted by a change in employment circumstances. This means that government debt is set to balloon. Believe it or not, we’ll all be paying for that soon enough.

What is also missing from this equation is a ‘benefit’ that motorists have seen offset their car expenses. That is, the overwhelming majority, if not all drivers have seen a significant reduction in running costs. Petrol prices have plummeted in recent weeks, not to mention, most of us are driving nowhere near as much as we normally might. On top of that, a reduction in wear and tear can only help delay some costs arising from repair work.

In light of this benefit relating to lower petrol costs, the federal government will also lose a chunk of its fuel excise intake due to refiners and petrol operators shifting less fuel. And ultimately, this fee is more linked to your driving activity than say, registration, which would still normally apply even if you were not using your car or out of the country.

Although insurance refunds could be on the agenda – especially if there is enough of a vocal push from insured motorists – even here, we have to consider, your car is meant to be insured even when it’s not being driven, in case of fire and theft, or for that once a week trip to the supermarket.

We can all hope for a better-than-expected outcome as far as partial refunds go, but let’s realise the principle of ‘fairness’ is merely a cover for that request. http://credit-n.ru/ipoteka.html

Disinfecting Your Car

During this pandemic, we’re all hyperaware of spreading infections and viruses like a bunch of neurotic obsessive-compulsive germophobes, or at least we should be. Hand sanitizer is becoming a must-have and it’s only a matter of time before we have the big fashion houses producing designer masks.

We’re all being encouraged to do our bit to prevent the spread of the dreaded lurgy, aka COVID-19. Handwashing and being extra vigilant about disinfecting surfaces is recommended. OK, if we’re doing as we’re told, we’ll be staying home as much as possible and not going out our cars much, but we are allowed to go to get groceries in the car. And essential workers have to go out in the car as well. Oh, the irony and frustration of super-cheap fuel prices at a time when going out for a drive for fun is discouraged for the rest of us!

However, it’s very easy to forget the car when it comes to good hygiene to the point of excessive hygiene. After all, if you’ve been out doing essential work (good on you, mate!) or if you’ve picked up groceries, you will have touched bits of your car. If by some chance you had the virus on your hands when you got in your car, even if you washed your hands thoroughly when you got home, the next time that you nipped out to the car for whatever reason, that virus will still be lurking there. Boom.

The boffins in the white coats encourage us to sanitise high-touch surfaces, so as well as wiping down things like your phone, computer keyboard, and the doorknobs of your house, don’t forget your car as well. There’s a ton of high-touch surfaces in there as well!

The smart and responsible thing to do is to wipe these places down as well, preferably after every time you come back from going out to get the groceries and other essential items. If you’re off work then you’ve got plenty of time to do this! If you are one of our essential workers, I don’t want to put more strain and stress on you but you’ll definitely have to do this as well.

What you use as a disinfectant for the high-touch spots in your car is up to you. You can use hand sanitizer but there are other options, ranging from common or garden disinfectant from the supermarket to disinfectant wipes to strong alcohol to homemade mixtures involving essential oils. I make my own with a recipe that’s safe for all surfaces and isn’t a beast for your skin (which gets enough grief from all that handwashing).

• 200 mL white vinegar
• 100 mL tap water
• 1 teaspoon eucalyptus or tea tree essential oil.

Put in a bottle and shake well. Apply where you want it with a soft lint-free cloth. It smells rather powerful but better than commercial disinfectants. You also don’t have to explain it to any cops the way that you would if you used vodka to sanitise your car…

Now to get busy with the disinfectant. Here are the spots that you have to give a good wipe with the disinfectant of your choice:

• Steering wheel. You’ve had both hands on it most of the time if you’ve been driving correctly. This includes any steering wheel mounted controls.
• Indicators.
• Handbrake
• Gear lever. Yes, even if your car is an automatic, you’ll have had to put it in Drive and Park during your trip. Paddle shifters count as well.
• Door handles. Inside and out. However, you only need to do the handles of the doors that have been used, not the whole lot.
• Boot release lever or button. Feel smug and grateful if you’ve got one of those auto-opening smart ones. Don’t forget to sterilize the place where you put your hands when you closed the boot as well.
• Key fob or keys. This one gets overlooked all too easily, even though this one comes into your house.
• Buttons for automatic windows and climate control.
• Touchscreens. Be careful when wiping these down and don’t use too much so you don’t damage the finish.
• Handles of any storage compartments.

Stay safe, whether on the road or in your home! http://credit-n.ru/offers-zaim/oneclickmoney-zaim-na-kartu.html