johan roadkill
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- Johan Roadkill Deadmeat
First of all... Do not panic!
(yes I viciously stole that line)
This will be a guide how to backpack Australia and also some of my own stories and encounters! I will devise the guide in to segments from start to finish hope you all enjoy!
1. Don't panic.
So you have decided to travel and work in Australia?good for you! But first there are many preparations too be made, many of which can look veeeery scary to a young unexperienced backpacker.
What do you need?
• an Australian bank account
• a work and travel visa
• an Australian cell phone number
• money!!!
• insurance!
• maybe an international drivers license
• a camera
• and well shit ton of stuff you don't really wanna think about.
How will I do all of this by myself!?
Travel companies.
There are tons of non profitable travel companies specifically designed for young travellers and their service is cheap compared to the world of pain you will be in if you lack experience.!
Many travel companies will basically become your Australian mom.
They will:
•Fix all your visa forms
•set up an account for you, all you do is go to the bank show ID and sign and that's it.
• some even have phone numbers for you the moment you get there. More on phones later.
• keep track of your tax file No's and all those stuff you will have forgotten about after a case of goon.
• set up travel insurance for you.
• the one I had even set up 4 days free accommodation for me which is super appreciated after 2 days of flight.
!
Not only will they help you with all the necessary stuff but they will help you find employment, book your bus,cab, plane tickets and find you available accommodation and you can call them about anything you are wondering about.
This may all seen too good to be true! Which is sometimes is... There will be times of course not to their fault when there are no free rooms, no jobs and if your standing there with 30$ left expecting them to find you work with 1 days notice you are an idiot.
Arrival
So you have just arrived, jet lagged and excited! If you landed in Sydney then here are some do's and don't's.
• Sydney here I come and I'm rich!
Having arrived with a substantial
Cash pile you feel like the riches man alive... You are not.
In Sydney living dirt cheap will still cost you about 1-2k$ each month.
Go out partying or visit the strip club at king across and you will quickly find out that 1000$ can be spent in one evening (specially at kings cross if your a dumbass)
I'm not saying you shouldn't party, by all means do but keep track of your spendings.
•Tip from the coach
You wanna party cheap!!!?? Me too !!!
By now you have probably heard about the backpacker elixir of life... Goon.
Goon is box wine and comes in all colours and flavours and usually cost 10-14$ per 4-5L. Holy shit! That's cheap!
Yes but it comes with a price... The lovely ingredient list will tell you it contains traces of: fish,egg,nuts and milk, which explains the absolutely horrifying taste and smell... Your a backpacker so don't fear 2 weeks and you will have gotten used to it... Kidding it still taste shit but your broke so you don't care.
In Sydney however you can actually find a very drinkable box for 10$ at the red bottle shop... Never buy red goon it is a gamble you do not wanna loose.
•Vowed never to drink fishguts?!
So your not ready to take on the challenge of goon, no problem.
In Sydney there is a hostel called "Nomads Westend" I won't lie... The facilities are pretty shit but it's cheap... There is even a room so cleverly named "the church" which houses over 20 backpackers in one room! ... We sure are a sore smelly bunch and some won't even blink as they steal your belongings. So when it comes to stuff as: phones, money, iPods etc you are supposed to be fouking Frodo and keep that shit safe.
Either way if you can stand the lower standard they usually have every night a joint bar round and similar events where you get 1 drink free (two if you give em the puppy eyes) and the chance to win more + a free ticket to the infamous Sydney party bus(I won a ticket by drawing spongebob stepping on a dog while wearing a sombrero equipped with laser swords fighting a ninja).
They also give you free pasta and rice down stairs.
Just and FYI it's 12 stories and last I check only one elevator was working, prepare for long waits if you don't like stairs.
Then again you may want to enjoy yourself like a regular person for atleast one week but where will you go?
My personal favourites specially if your traveling in big groups like nomads is:
Crazy canario
Worldbar
And scubar
Sidebar is okey if you don't mind having the music so loud you can't talk to anyone... Picking up girls will have to be done by Neanderthal like sign languages or by jumping up stage singing with the band.
Tip from the coach: bar tips!
•kissing the bartender will at some bara earn you a free "shot"(you can't buy proper shots here
)
• crazy canario has a 10$ drink called "the bucket" ... Well it's a bucket!
Enough of the partying already I wanna travel!!
Yes my favourite part the traveling!
Phone carriers and Internet.
•Global Gossip
GG is popular amongst backpackers, it lets you call anyone with GG for free and it's the same rate for international calls and texts as national, however the reception is shit poor and for what you pay it's super expensive.!
•Telstra
Telstra has the best reception but will cost you shitloads
•Yes Optus
Optus is IMO defo the best bang for your buck, really good reception, decent pricing and good deals
•smartphones
Will save your life! Internet,FB, skype, booking tickets,checking the map and all those things that makes your experience 100times easier.
For 40$ Optus will give you: 3G data and unlimited calls and texts within Australia, Skype can be used to compromise for the lack of international calls and text(30$ will give you 500mg data and limited calls and texts but you can make international calls and texts)!
I strongly recommend having one.
•surfcamp.
As you arrive in Sydney you can go to a surf camp for a few days of sitting at the beach, drinking beer and learning to surf! ... It is a fun experience but it's costly, you can in reality learn it all for 10 times less then what they will charge in Sydney but more on surfing later.
•bondi
You will want to visit the notorious bondi beach but your over all impression will probable be: I thought it be bigger? Well it's not the seize that matters it's a beautiful place well worth visiting but there are actually much better places in Sydney. Also try your new surf skills there and you will get run over hard by people who's never seen a board in their life.
•Manly
Manly is like taking a vacation from the hectic but very beautiful city, you can take a ferry there for unless my memory tricks me about 6$.
It's less people and stunningly beautiful the beach is even more breath taking with small cafés along the beach. On manly you can surf, kayak and snorkel( even see sharks but reef sharks are the actual gay sharks of the sea not the dolphin so np) also on the end of manly is a small beach called Shelley beach which is thé place to spend in the sun.
Well although there are maaany more good places in Sydney you can easily find them yourself so enough about the big city you should have gotten settled in by now.
I won't go in to that much more attractions and points of interest since it's best told by the backpackers you meet along the way.
What to priorities and what not.
•Car
It may not seem that important at first more like a "fun thing" but a car is a great help later on and it is best to invest in one sooner rather then later. Alot more on cars later.
•employment
If you arrive in the autumn or towards winter I advise you to get your foot in fast cuz when the farm jobs even dry up you can spend over a month looking for any type of employment or more... It's better to build cash first and travel later (I did not and sleeping at McDonalds for a night ain't fun)
Weather is all remember that!
Tip from the coach: surfing!!
Now although I did enjoy surf camp it is much better to go to a small town called yamba located S of Brisbane.
It's the home of billabong and a handful of the absolute top surfers of the world. It is very small and homy. Then go to the YHA run by the henwood family which are a super great bunch! There you can rent a board for 10$ a full day and on selected days Shane will teach you for free how to surf like a pro.. And he knows. All of yamba is also surrounded by many beaches 4-5 of which are well within walking distance !the closest ones will take you 8-12 minutes. Do not miss Shane's 3 hour 10$ tour it is something you will tell every single backpacker you meet there on after and those who's visited yamba will already know the feeling!
supplies.
•food
Best and cheapest place for food and a little bit of everything is definitely Coles. Anything Coles branded is guaranteed to be really cheap but maybe not the best of things, still of you know your way around the kitchen you can make it work for you. If you want to save as much money as possible you can spend as little as 10-20$ per week!
•clothes and random cheap stuff
If you need new earphones, bulk candy, bowls, containers etc and odd things then go to the the Reject shop!! You can even find slutty nurse dresses and all kinds of stuff you never knew you wanted before and it's cheap... Earphones will probably suck though.
Clothes, shoes etc then Target is your target... It is possible to find really nice looking stuff for only 5-10$ instead of 45-95 in other stores. FYI I bet you brought your sweetest looking attire for the ladies but in 2 months, half will be: stolen, missing or ruined cuz you couldn't wash it dry them for a month.
Living
•YHA is quality assures they will always have a pool, tv room, good kitchen etc but sometimes cost alot more. Sydney central YHA will drain you like a money vampire.
•Nomads branch Is for the adventurer always giving you discounts on activities and will keep you going! In cairns the whole hostel went footballing on a nearby grass field and everyone who joined got 2 beers... We celebrated this with a pool volleyball contest and more beer. Nomads Serpent in cairns also has free snake shows a kick ass! Pool and if you buy a drink you also get a free meal (usually something vegetarian and simple)!
Farm work.
•Bananas
Bananas will give you on average more money but they will work you to your limit and there is a chance to loose your hand
•mangos!
Will give you mango rash.. General opinion is to avoid mangos
•limes,pomelloes,lemons
They are okey but the bushes are riddled with thorns so you will look like you've snuggled with Edward scissorhand after.
•ground lvl fruit
Will kill your back unless you don't mind crawling
Getting from A-B
•bus!
You can find a bus leading to most places and it's possible to buy a monthly pass from cairns - Melbourne for around 400-500$(you can only go one way so if you miss something you are screwed.
•Car!!
It's a lot to do and think about but it is absolute freedome!
•Rego(registration)!
Your Rego is slightly different in all states and comes with a basic insurance that covers injuries you cause on other people but not property. You can not have a car regged in another state then that you live in however you being homeless this is easily bypassed by googling some random hostel in some random town and write that as your "home". your post adress can be what ever you like however. Regging a car is most expensive in NSW (new south Wales) but will potentially give you more buyers and for a better price when you sell it.
•third party property insurance.
This is what will save you should you wreck a very expensive car. Many companies will not give you money back should you not stay the full duration if you are not an oz citizen but there is a company that specialise in selling/renting and buying cars from backpackers and they also provide an insurance lasting as little as 3 months and even then should you only stay 2 you get money back. The company is called "Travellers Autobarn" and they have an office in most big cities.(Brisbane,Melbourne,cairns are the ones I remember for sure)
3 months will cost you around 270$ but you are ensured for up to 5 million$! Don't be fooled since if you google the company or call them their site nor their voicemail offers no info what so ever that they actually do insurgence but just give them a ring and ask.
•the car.
It's a backpackers market and you'll find often (specially in Sydney) that the cars are priced at 2-3 times their value. Should you have time car auctions can give you a great deal and a reasonable price however finding a backpacker who is leaving the country is your best bet. Take notice a good offer may only be available for 2 hours!
•What to look for
Even though your car might mechanically be very good don't be fooled by a smooth seller any dent, scratch or bump will drag the price down when you sell it.
A well sought after car without hardly any scratches and going on 300kkm will in reality be worth 1-1.5k and it is possible to score an almost mint condition car for that price if you keep your eyes open. Most people will probably want 2k + though.
When you inspect your possible purchase put it in N and rev the engine a bit, there should be no weird noises coming from the engine and if blue smoke comes out of the exhaust it might be leaking oil. Should the exhaust be very "watery" or if it's very oily on the inside(check this carefully it can be hot) then it might even be a cracked head, this means the engine is completely FKed.
Also check the oil lid for white flakes or foam this could also mean this engine has seen its last days.
Pinch the "hoses" for weak spots if you find any and planing to drive to Alice springs for example get them changed.
Also check that the tires are good, but don't let it scare you from a good deal, used tires can be found cheap.
As a backpacker a radio with Aux, good speakers and an AC is high on the list too!
•What to ask
Why are you selling the car?
Have you had any trouble?
Has anything been repaired?
And always check that the name on the papers matches his/hers ID
•body type
Sedan/station wagons.
Usually offers much trunk space and is not too hard on the petrol(my ford falcon, a backpacker favourite happens to have a straight 6 4l engine and still it's not so bad)
There are other cars that that uses less but their trunk space are usually limited.
•Camper van
The backpacker dream, tons of space, not really the best when it comes to bad roads and steep hills though. Petrol about the same as a station wagon.
•4x4
Takes you anywhere, lots of space but also uses tons of fuel and cost alot of money... IMO sedan or station wagon is your best bang for your buck.
Where to look?
Www.gumtree.com will show anything from cars to surfboards in your vicinity and this is most likely where you will see the "urgent sale" signs from backpackers leaving.
Other good places is to check on billboards in the hostels you are guaranteed to find a few offers of cars for sale no matter where you are almost.
And finally road safety
Now no offence but Australians can't drive..!
The other day a cop pulled up beside me stuck his head out while driving and yelled at me for driving 80 in an 80 zone, it was apparently too slow.. !He then went away in around 100kms and every car around followed him... Talk about doing his job
•Switching lanes
Of you plan your trip then you may only need to switch lanes 3 times even in the cities but Australians act like every car is a slalom pin and zigg zagg from lane to lane to earn minutes which creates a situation where everyone around is in potential danger... And don't act cocky and say you can handle it cuz fact is you can't. You will soon notice a pattern with Australian cars... Almost everyone has a bump from fender benders.
•red lights.
In Australia being 100 meters away from a green light switching to yellow means "speed up" if you wanna live don't expect green to be fully clear always check that other cars slow down and not speed up.
•Physics.
If your driving 90km/h you travel about 30m each second... So staying 10 meters behind someone going 100 means before you even have time to react if the guy infront breaks (reaction time is about 1sec) means you will be occupying the same frontseat as the guy infront of you... Seriously Australia F*uck of with being up my ass and learn to drive
•Safety measurements
Driving in the dark can be dangerous and it's best to stay and sleep if you feel sleepy. But stopping by the roadside in the dark isn't exactly safe so it's always good to put a safety triangle 200 meters behind your car... Sadly it's not a requirement to have one here down under and you can't even buy them at petrol stations... If you ask for one the likely answer is" why do you want one?" !last one I asked didn't even know what you did with them... So I'll say it again: 50-200 meters behind! Your car not right by it. Is the traction bad by the time someone spots you, should you have it next to your car yet again they will occupy the same front seat.
•stay safe and stay alive.
Wish I could say its that easy but it's the retards around you who puts you in danger. Good example is the mountain track between cairns and atherton .. There is atleast 10 tombstones within 20 minutes driving
I have seen better drivers in Africa!
Now should I think of anything else I'll include it, or if you think there is something I've missed or should include then do tell!!
Hope you'll all enjoy backpacking down under and thanks Australia for having me a little bit longer still
(yes I viciously stole that line)
This will be a guide how to backpack Australia and also some of my own stories and encounters! I will devise the guide in to segments from start to finish hope you all enjoy!
1. Don't panic.
So you have decided to travel and work in Australia?good for you! But first there are many preparations too be made, many of which can look veeeery scary to a young unexperienced backpacker.
What do you need?
• an Australian bank account
• a work and travel visa
• an Australian cell phone number
• money!!!
• insurance!
• maybe an international drivers license
• a camera
• and well shit ton of stuff you don't really wanna think about.
How will I do all of this by myself!?
Travel companies.
There are tons of non profitable travel companies specifically designed for young travellers and their service is cheap compared to the world of pain you will be in if you lack experience.!
Many travel companies will basically become your Australian mom.
They will:
•Fix all your visa forms
•set up an account for you, all you do is go to the bank show ID and sign and that's it.
• some even have phone numbers for you the moment you get there. More on phones later.
• keep track of your tax file No's and all those stuff you will have forgotten about after a case of goon.
• set up travel insurance for you.
• the one I had even set up 4 days free accommodation for me which is super appreciated after 2 days of flight.
!
Not only will they help you with all the necessary stuff but they will help you find employment, book your bus,cab, plane tickets and find you available accommodation and you can call them about anything you are wondering about.
This may all seen too good to be true! Which is sometimes is... There will be times of course not to their fault when there are no free rooms, no jobs and if your standing there with 30$ left expecting them to find you work with 1 days notice you are an idiot.
Arrival
So you have just arrived, jet lagged and excited! If you landed in Sydney then here are some do's and don't's.
• Sydney here I come and I'm rich!
Having arrived with a substantial
Cash pile you feel like the riches man alive... You are not.
In Sydney living dirt cheap will still cost you about 1-2k$ each month.
Go out partying or visit the strip club at king across and you will quickly find out that 1000$ can be spent in one evening (specially at kings cross if your a dumbass)
I'm not saying you shouldn't party, by all means do but keep track of your spendings.
•Tip from the coach
You wanna party cheap!!!?? Me too !!!
By now you have probably heard about the backpacker elixir of life... Goon.
Goon is box wine and comes in all colours and flavours and usually cost 10-14$ per 4-5L. Holy shit! That's cheap!
Yes but it comes with a price... The lovely ingredient list will tell you it contains traces of: fish,egg,nuts and milk, which explains the absolutely horrifying taste and smell... Your a backpacker so don't fear 2 weeks and you will have gotten used to it... Kidding it still taste shit but your broke so you don't care.
In Sydney however you can actually find a very drinkable box for 10$ at the red bottle shop... Never buy red goon it is a gamble you do not wanna loose.
•Vowed never to drink fishguts?!
So your not ready to take on the challenge of goon, no problem.
In Sydney there is a hostel called "Nomads Westend" I won't lie... The facilities are pretty shit but it's cheap... There is even a room so cleverly named "the church" which houses over 20 backpackers in one room! ... We sure are a sore smelly bunch and some won't even blink as they steal your belongings. So when it comes to stuff as: phones, money, iPods etc you are supposed to be fouking Frodo and keep that shit safe.
Either way if you can stand the lower standard they usually have every night a joint bar round and similar events where you get 1 drink free (two if you give em the puppy eyes) and the chance to win more + a free ticket to the infamous Sydney party bus(I won a ticket by drawing spongebob stepping on a dog while wearing a sombrero equipped with laser swords fighting a ninja).
They also give you free pasta and rice down stairs.
Just and FYI it's 12 stories and last I check only one elevator was working, prepare for long waits if you don't like stairs.
Then again you may want to enjoy yourself like a regular person for atleast one week but where will you go?
My personal favourites specially if your traveling in big groups like nomads is:
Crazy canario
Worldbar
And scubar
Sidebar is okey if you don't mind having the music so loud you can't talk to anyone... Picking up girls will have to be done by Neanderthal like sign languages or by jumping up stage singing with the band.
Tip from the coach: bar tips!
•kissing the bartender will at some bara earn you a free "shot"(you can't buy proper shots here
)• crazy canario has a 10$ drink called "the bucket" ... Well it's a bucket!
Enough of the partying already I wanna travel!!
Yes my favourite part the traveling!
Phone carriers and Internet.
•Global Gossip
GG is popular amongst backpackers, it lets you call anyone with GG for free and it's the same rate for international calls and texts as national, however the reception is shit poor and for what you pay it's super expensive.!
•Telstra
Telstra has the best reception but will cost you shitloads
•Yes Optus
Optus is IMO defo the best bang for your buck, really good reception, decent pricing and good deals
•smartphones
Will save your life! Internet,FB, skype, booking tickets,checking the map and all those things that makes your experience 100times easier.
For 40$ Optus will give you: 3G data and unlimited calls and texts within Australia, Skype can be used to compromise for the lack of international calls and text(30$ will give you 500mg data and limited calls and texts but you can make international calls and texts)!
I strongly recommend having one.
•surfcamp.
As you arrive in Sydney you can go to a surf camp for a few days of sitting at the beach, drinking beer and learning to surf! ... It is a fun experience but it's costly, you can in reality learn it all for 10 times less then what they will charge in Sydney but more on surfing later.
•bondi
You will want to visit the notorious bondi beach but your over all impression will probable be: I thought it be bigger? Well it's not the seize that matters it's a beautiful place well worth visiting but there are actually much better places in Sydney. Also try your new surf skills there and you will get run over hard by people who's never seen a board in their life.
•Manly
Manly is like taking a vacation from the hectic but very beautiful city, you can take a ferry there for unless my memory tricks me about 6$.
It's less people and stunningly beautiful the beach is even more breath taking with small cafés along the beach. On manly you can surf, kayak and snorkel( even see sharks but reef sharks are the actual gay sharks of the sea not the dolphin so np) also on the end of manly is a small beach called Shelley beach which is thé place to spend in the sun.
Well although there are maaany more good places in Sydney you can easily find them yourself so enough about the big city you should have gotten settled in by now.
I won't go in to that much more attractions and points of interest since it's best told by the backpackers you meet along the way.
What to priorities and what not.
•Car
It may not seem that important at first more like a "fun thing" but a car is a great help later on and it is best to invest in one sooner rather then later. Alot more on cars later.
•employment
If you arrive in the autumn or towards winter I advise you to get your foot in fast cuz when the farm jobs even dry up you can spend over a month looking for any type of employment or more... It's better to build cash first and travel later (I did not and sleeping at McDonalds for a night ain't fun)
Weather is all remember that!
Tip from the coach: surfing!!
Now although I did enjoy surf camp it is much better to go to a small town called yamba located S of Brisbane.
It's the home of billabong and a handful of the absolute top surfers of the world. It is very small and homy. Then go to the YHA run by the henwood family which are a super great bunch! There you can rent a board for 10$ a full day and on selected days Shane will teach you for free how to surf like a pro.. And he knows. All of yamba is also surrounded by many beaches 4-5 of which are well within walking distance !the closest ones will take you 8-12 minutes. Do not miss Shane's 3 hour 10$ tour it is something you will tell every single backpacker you meet there on after and those who's visited yamba will already know the feeling!
supplies.
•food
Best and cheapest place for food and a little bit of everything is definitely Coles. Anything Coles branded is guaranteed to be really cheap but maybe not the best of things, still of you know your way around the kitchen you can make it work for you. If you want to save as much money as possible you can spend as little as 10-20$ per week!
•clothes and random cheap stuff
If you need new earphones, bulk candy, bowls, containers etc and odd things then go to the the Reject shop!! You can even find slutty nurse dresses and all kinds of stuff you never knew you wanted before and it's cheap... Earphones will probably suck though.
Clothes, shoes etc then Target is your target... It is possible to find really nice looking stuff for only 5-10$ instead of 45-95 in other stores. FYI I bet you brought your sweetest looking attire for the ladies but in 2 months, half will be: stolen, missing or ruined cuz you couldn't wash it dry them for a month.
Living
•YHA is quality assures they will always have a pool, tv room, good kitchen etc but sometimes cost alot more. Sydney central YHA will drain you like a money vampire.
•Nomads branch Is for the adventurer always giving you discounts on activities and will keep you going! In cairns the whole hostel went footballing on a nearby grass field and everyone who joined got 2 beers... We celebrated this with a pool volleyball contest and more beer. Nomads Serpent in cairns also has free snake shows a kick ass! Pool and if you buy a drink you also get a free meal (usually something vegetarian and simple)!
Farm work.
•Bananas
Bananas will give you on average more money but they will work you to your limit and there is a chance to loose your hand
•mangos!
Will give you mango rash.. General opinion is to avoid mangos
•limes,pomelloes,lemons
They are okey but the bushes are riddled with thorns so you will look like you've snuggled with Edward scissorhand after.
•ground lvl fruit
Will kill your back unless you don't mind crawling
Getting from A-B
•bus!
You can find a bus leading to most places and it's possible to buy a monthly pass from cairns - Melbourne for around 400-500$(you can only go one way so if you miss something you are screwed.
•Car!!
It's a lot to do and think about but it is absolute freedome!
•Rego(registration)!
Your Rego is slightly different in all states and comes with a basic insurance that covers injuries you cause on other people but not property. You can not have a car regged in another state then that you live in however you being homeless this is easily bypassed by googling some random hostel in some random town and write that as your "home". your post adress can be what ever you like however. Regging a car is most expensive in NSW (new south Wales) but will potentially give you more buyers and for a better price when you sell it.
•third party property insurance.
This is what will save you should you wreck a very expensive car. Many companies will not give you money back should you not stay the full duration if you are not an oz citizen but there is a company that specialise in selling/renting and buying cars from backpackers and they also provide an insurance lasting as little as 3 months and even then should you only stay 2 you get money back. The company is called "Travellers Autobarn" and they have an office in most big cities.(Brisbane,Melbourne,cairns are the ones I remember for sure)
3 months will cost you around 270$ but you are ensured for up to 5 million$! Don't be fooled since if you google the company or call them their site nor their voicemail offers no info what so ever that they actually do insurgence but just give them a ring and ask.
•the car.
It's a backpackers market and you'll find often (specially in Sydney) that the cars are priced at 2-3 times their value. Should you have time car auctions can give you a great deal and a reasonable price however finding a backpacker who is leaving the country is your best bet. Take notice a good offer may only be available for 2 hours!
•What to look for
Even though your car might mechanically be very good don't be fooled by a smooth seller any dent, scratch or bump will drag the price down when you sell it.
A well sought after car without hardly any scratches and going on 300kkm will in reality be worth 1-1.5k and it is possible to score an almost mint condition car for that price if you keep your eyes open. Most people will probably want 2k + though.
When you inspect your possible purchase put it in N and rev the engine a bit, there should be no weird noises coming from the engine and if blue smoke comes out of the exhaust it might be leaking oil. Should the exhaust be very "watery" or if it's very oily on the inside(check this carefully it can be hot) then it might even be a cracked head, this means the engine is completely FKed.
Also check the oil lid for white flakes or foam this could also mean this engine has seen its last days.
Pinch the "hoses" for weak spots if you find any and planing to drive to Alice springs for example get them changed.
Also check that the tires are good, but don't let it scare you from a good deal, used tires can be found cheap.
As a backpacker a radio with Aux, good speakers and an AC is high on the list too!
•What to ask
Why are you selling the car?
Have you had any trouble?
Has anything been repaired?
And always check that the name on the papers matches his/hers ID
•body type
Sedan/station wagons.
Usually offers much trunk space and is not too hard on the petrol(my ford falcon, a backpacker favourite happens to have a straight 6 4l engine and still it's not so bad)
There are other cars that that uses less but their trunk space are usually limited.
•Camper van
The backpacker dream, tons of space, not really the best when it comes to bad roads and steep hills though. Petrol about the same as a station wagon.
•4x4
Takes you anywhere, lots of space but also uses tons of fuel and cost alot of money... IMO sedan or station wagon is your best bang for your buck.
Where to look?
Www.gumtree.com will show anything from cars to surfboards in your vicinity and this is most likely where you will see the "urgent sale" signs from backpackers leaving.
Other good places is to check on billboards in the hostels you are guaranteed to find a few offers of cars for sale no matter where you are almost.
And finally road safety
Now no offence but Australians can't drive..!
The other day a cop pulled up beside me stuck his head out while driving and yelled at me for driving 80 in an 80 zone, it was apparently too slow.. !He then went away in around 100kms and every car around followed him... Talk about doing his job
•Switching lanes
Of you plan your trip then you may only need to switch lanes 3 times even in the cities but Australians act like every car is a slalom pin and zigg zagg from lane to lane to earn minutes which creates a situation where everyone around is in potential danger... And don't act cocky and say you can handle it cuz fact is you can't. You will soon notice a pattern with Australian cars... Almost everyone has a bump from fender benders.
•red lights.
In Australia being 100 meters away from a green light switching to yellow means "speed up" if you wanna live don't expect green to be fully clear always check that other cars slow down and not speed up.
•Physics.
If your driving 90km/h you travel about 30m each second... So staying 10 meters behind someone going 100 means before you even have time to react if the guy infront breaks (reaction time is about 1sec) means you will be occupying the same frontseat as the guy infront of you... Seriously Australia F*uck of with being up my ass and learn to drive
•Safety measurements
Driving in the dark can be dangerous and it's best to stay and sleep if you feel sleepy. But stopping by the roadside in the dark isn't exactly safe so it's always good to put a safety triangle 200 meters behind your car... Sadly it's not a requirement to have one here down under and you can't even buy them at petrol stations... If you ask for one the likely answer is" why do you want one?" !last one I asked didn't even know what you did with them... So I'll say it again: 50-200 meters behind! Your car not right by it. Is the traction bad by the time someone spots you, should you have it next to your car yet again they will occupy the same front seat.
•stay safe and stay alive.
Wish I could say its that easy but it's the retards around you who puts you in danger. Good example is the mountain track between cairns and atherton .. There is atleast 10 tombstones within 20 minutes driving
I have seen better drivers in Africa!
Now should I think of anything else I'll include it, or if you think there is something I've missed or should include then do tell!!
Hope you'll all enjoy backpacking down under and thanks Australia for having me a little bit longer still
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