Tag: Australia

100 Great things to do in Melbourne for under $10

melbourneI don’t often have the time to write pretty articles, and to be honest there are so many good writers out there with fantastic information, why muddy up the mix? Here at Transfercar, we want you to have the best travel experience at the lowest price possible (hence why we have free cars and campervans to drive). So I’ve been looking for some great travel tips and found this little article published on  whitehat.com.au I think you may find useful……

The White Hat Guide to 100 Great things to do in Melbourne for under $10

Melbourne has been voted the world’s most liveable city, and there are plenty of great things to do with only loose change in your pocket.

At most of the places listed in these pages (with a few notable exceptions) you will only find locals.

You will rarely find mainstream tourists because there is no easy access for buses, or because the places involved are not promoted to tourists.

Perhaps more surprisingly, you will rarely see backpackers at these places. Our market research indicates the great majority of backpackers that visit Melbourne expose themselves to an increasingly narrow range of ‘authorised’ experiences.

Read the full article here……..

SURVIVING AUSTRALIA’S OUTBACK

redback_webI was trawling the web looking for articles I thought our Transfercar drivers would be interested in and found this little beauty. Not only does it contain invaluable advise about travelling in the outback of Australia,  it’s a really good read!

SURVIVING AUSTRALIA’S OUTBACK

About three o’clock in the morning something woke me, and I lay listening. A strange rumbling came from somewhere out in the night. “Are you awake?” Cristi whispered softly. I whispered back that I was. “There’s something outside,” she said.
The northern Australia night was stifling. Beneath our flimsy tent we had gone to sleep in the coolest possible costumes – nothing at all. Now I got to my feet and tiptoed to the entrance to the tent. Gently I pulled open the flaps an inch apart and peered out. It was pitch black, and I could see nothing. I parted the tent flaps a bit more. There, not twenty feet from the tent, was a large crocodile.


By now Cristi was up and standing next to me. We stood there, stone-like, with nothing but a thin sheet of canvas between us and a twenty-foot crocodile.


The rumbling continued. It came from the crocodile’s stomach. It was tearing up the food we had left away from the campsite. It was a lesson of the Outback that I was happy to have learned: don’t store your food near your campsite.
Slowly it worked its way through the food, ripping apart a barbecued chicken with uncomfortable ease. Then it scurried away, toward the Herbert River, silhouetted against the horizon, immense, its red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Finally it left, and as we went back to bed, I recalled a sign we had seen along the roadside earlier in the day. It warned travelers succinctly: “Beware of Crocodiles.”

Read the full story thanks to hackwriters.com.

TRAVEL AUSTRALIA – TRAVELLING TIPS

If you’re planning a trip around Australia, there are plenty of helpful tips that can make your journey safer and easier. Here is the first of a series of travel tips and articles coming your way to make your journey in one of our free Transfercars and campervans an experience worth remembering.

DISTANCESCB032666
When planning your trip, keep in mind that Australia is as big as western Europe and about the same size as the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Melbourne and Brisbane are a long day’s drive from Sydney, and driving from Sydney to Perth takes the better part of a week.

WEATHER
When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, Australia is basking in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, and vice versa. Midwinter in Australia is July and August, and the hottest months are November through March. Remember, unlike in the Northern Hemisphere, the farther south you go in Australia, the colder it gets.

Read the full article at Travel Australia

What’s the right Australian visa for me?

sample_australia_visa_600x336If you’re planning on travelling to Australia this summer, and taking our free transfercars and campervans for a drive, one of the first things you need to sort out is your visa. There are so many different types, so it’s important you find the right one for you.  The best, and safest way of gaining the correct information is visiting the Australian Department of Government and Immigration‘s website. It’s accurate and easy to use, so be smart and make use of it and have a great and hassle free trip in one of the most spectacular places in the world.

Be smart when renting or relocating vehicles

There are unfortunately a handful of…..let’s say unsavoury rental companies in New Zealand-a few more than a handful world wide obviously-that spoil it for the good ones. Mind you, there is a vast majority that handle ‘situations’ professionally (like the companies on this website), but some kinda..don’t.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, or more specific the Consumer Issues Branch, often deals with complaints about rental car companies. Particularly from travellers:

“These travellers have since returned home to their respective countries only to be greeted by a credit card bill with additional charges by rental companies for damages to the car. Damages these travellers say did not happen while they had the car in possession.” (March 2008 Newsletter Ministry of Consumer Affairs)

Cue to: It’s-your-word-against-theirs-drama.

It happens to the best of us: To my next door neighbour last year in Australia, in January this year to my brother in Belgium and, I suspect, to a whole lot more travellers world wide.

But, when renting a car you can protect yourself from any unwanted bills afterwards. And this is rather easy to do so too.

It might seem a bit over the top or even paranoid to you, but taking a couple of photos of your rented (or to be relocated, mind you)ride before and after each trip doesn’t hurt anybody. Particularly photographing any current damage(s) before driving away into the sunset. And, of course don’t forget to point out these existing damages to the rental company while you’re picking the car up. Even when the employee says: “Nah, that’s sweet” -as they usually phrase it here in New Zealand- persist and have it put on paper anyway and get a copy of it. You’re not being painful -well, maybe a little bit- but you’re just covering your ass, nothing wrong with that.

Now, when you drop your rental off at the designated point of no return, it’s best to get someone from the company to give it a final inspection and literally -yes, LITERALLY-sign it of as, again, ‘sweet as’. And while you’re at it, get a copy of that ‘sweet as’.

However, this is easier said than done as many travellers are droppping the car off outside office hours. Probably because that’s the whole concept of backpacking (or travelling in general for that matter); postponing and avoiding by all means the ‘office hour life’. But apparently early flights or late night flights have got something to do with it as well. So it would be a good idea to go with a reputable company that has staff available that’s willing to stick around for 24 hours a day for when you -emotionally-part ways with your rental set of wheels. 

Please note that most of New Zealand’s rental car companies are a member of the Rental Association of New Zealand, and you can rely on them to treat you fairly and ethically. But should a company -where ever this might be on Mother Earth- act dishonourably (a.k.a ripping your off), then there are some rights you may have which could be useful to know.

The two major credit card companies, Visa and Mastercard -with whom travellers have a hate/love relationship-have outlined terms and conditions with regards to the rental charge backs.

So read them and know what can and can’t be done: Visa and Mastercard

And, as they would say in the States:”For God sakes, take those photos of the damn car will ya”