G'day mate! Welcome to Australia - the Land Down Under, the Great Southland.
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Melbourne city - mid left is Flinders Street Train Station; steepled building is St Paul's Cathedral
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
So, you've decided to visit Australia and now you've got a ton of questions. For instance, what's the best way to explore and experience this wonderfully diverse and vast island continent? If you intend to stay in the CBD (central business district) of the capital cities, you might find that public transport might be quite sufficient. But, if you want to get out of the city centre to see the sights a little further out, coach tours might be your go.
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Flinders Street Train Station
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
However, if you want to really explore and take things at a slower pace, there's nothing quite like hopping into a car and feeling the breeze in your hair.
So, if you intend to do a bit of driving in Australia, I've written this post just for you.
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Open country road
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
I've also included other helpful information including travelling by air, weather apps, credit cards, mobile phone SIM cards, navigation tools and accommodation in this post.
Driving in Australia - in the city
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Driving in the city with trams
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
Here are some things you need to know if you plan to drive.
1. We drive on the left hand side of the road in Australia.
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Drive on the left
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
If you are accustomed to driving on the opposite side of the road, this
video (Giving way at intersections) will give you a helpful visual for what to do at intersections.
2. You need to give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings. (Australians are on the whole very law abiding citizens and are accustomed to use pedestrian crossings. This is for the safety of all concerned - pedestrians as well as drivers. Jay walking - crossing roads wherever one likes - is highly discouraged in Australia.)
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Use the pedestrian crossing
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
3. If you are turning into a lane in which a pedestrian is about to cross the road, you have to
give way to the pedestrian. However, this is not the case at
roundabouts.
4. There are trams that operate in Melbourne city. This has given rise to what we call a Hook Turn which operates in the CBD. Here's a video produced by the VicRoads to explain how to navigate it:
Performing a Hook Turn.
Bike riders also observe the
Hook Turn rules.
Melbourne is the only city with its peculiar hook turn rule. IF you wish to avoid a hook turn altogether, you can always chuck a left in the next street and follow that with two more left turns to land you where you would originally want to have made that right hook turn.
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Stop behind trams
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
5. There are also certain things to be aware of when you are driving with trams.
Driving with Trams, another video produced by VicRoads explains the important things you need to know.
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Trams on Bourke Street Mall
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
6. We also have particular road rules regarding driving with buses which might be different to your city of origin. Here's a useful video that VicRoads has produced called
Driving with Buses.
7. Australians are considerate of cyclists who share the road. Here are two helpful videos about it. This is the
first video. This is the
second one.
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Cars, bicycles and motorbikes in the city
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
8. What about merging onto the freeway and you encounter a ramp signal? Here's a helpful
video.
9. We also have rules about merging safely. Here's a useful video to
watch.
10. U-turns. Do you know what our rules are? Here's a
video on just that.
11. Roundabouts. Do you know who goes first? Here are two
helpful videos. The second one is by the
RACV.
Thankfully, there are no four-way stop signs unlike in certain parts of the US. So a stop sign is simply that. You stop and give way to the main road that you are approaching.
12. Side roads that are not marked with speed limits are assumed to be 50 km/hr in metro Victoria. I believe WA has also followed suit in that rule.
13. Roads in Victoria with designated school zones require traffic to drop to a maximum speed of 40 km/hr in the morning and usually from 2.30 pm to 4 pm in the afternoon which is considered peak school pick up time. These zones are clearly marked and signed.
14. It is illegal to do a U-turn across a solid white line in the centre of the road in Victoria. You can cross it to turn into a street however, but not do a U-turn.
15. You cannot cross or overtake on a double white line. You may only overtake on highways/freeways where you see a broken white line on your side of the road - and only if there is no oncoming traffic and it is clear.
16. If you are parking your car on a road, make sure that you are not too close to a solid white line in the middle of the road. You need to allow a clearance of at least 3 m from your car to allow garbage trucks, trams, buses and emergency vehicles especially to pass safely and easily.
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Melbourne tram on Swanston Street
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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17. You might not be aware when driving in Melbourne city centre that Swanston Street and Bourke Street Mall are no-go zones for private cars. DO NOT under any circumstances drive here. Only authorised vehicles are allowed here.
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Swanston Street - trams and bicycles only
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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18. Be sure to use your indicators. And give plenty of warning that you are about to change lanes. Sudden lane changes that cause drivers to brake abruptly would have cost you dearly in our driving exams because it is not considerate nor safe driving behaviour.
19. Remember also that the left lane is the slow lane on multi-lane highways if you are going lower than the speed limit. Where the driving speed is 70 km/hr or above, it is expected that you will be driving no more than 10 km/hr below that. And definitely NOT above the posted speed limit. Victoria has a zero tolerance policy. And that's why I find the cruise control so indispensable when driving.
20. Last but not least. Wear your seatbelt and don't touch your phone. If you do, it can be a very costly act. And of course, if you intend to drink any alcoholic beverages, just be aware that we do conduct random breath testing.
If you want to watch some of those videos produced by VicRoads in Mandarin, Arabic, Dari and Vietnamese. You can find these on the VicRoads channel on YouTube.
Granted, those links are Victoria centric. However, I believe these will provide a good launch pad for your research to stay safe while driving in Australia.
Driving in Australia - in the country
Road classification
In Australia, motorways and freeways mean pretty much the same thing. They are restricted access multi-lanes roads with higher speed limits (from 80 km/hr upwards to 130 km/hr). The most common speeds on freeways are 100 or 110 km/hour. Motorways and Freeways do not have roundabouts or traffic lights. Fences and barriers are often provided to prevent animals from entering them.
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Australian speed limit sign
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Highways are another major public road and is the next grade down from freeways/motorways in Australia. These do not have fences to prevent stock from entering them. Speed on these can vary from 70 km/hr upward. These can be multi-lanes.
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Well graded roads
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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If you are curious about the numbering system of our highways, Wikipedia is a good source of
information.
It also offers a good explanation of the grades of roads you are likely to encounter in the country:
"In the alphanumeric systems, a letter denoting the route's construction standard and function is prefixed to the route number, creating an alphanumeric route designation. One of four letters may be used:
- "M" routes are primary traffic routes, called motorways in some states. These are typically dual carriageway, freeway-standard highways, but may also be used for rural roads that are nearly at freeway-standard, or at least are dual carriageways.
- "A" routes are other primary highways, including urban arterials and interstate or interregional single carriageways.
- "B" routes are less significant routes, either as an alternative to an "A" or "M" route, or linking smaller population centres to larger regional centres, but without being a major through-route in the region.These are the major road links in areas without "A" routes.
- "C" routes link smaller settlements and towns to the rest of the major road network.They are used for roads without the significance of an "M", "A", or "B" route, but where numbering would assist navigation."
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Eucalypt lined roads - watch out for kangaroos at dawn and dusk
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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I personally find that if we have time on our side and we are not in a hurry, I enjoy taking the C grade routes as it feels more intimate - the farm fences are sometimes just a stone's throw away from the edge of the road and you are so close to the homes that you can almost see the prints on the curtain.
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Close enough to see the curtains?
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Wildlife
Most tourists who visit Australia want to encounter and experience our famed marsupials. It is one thing to meet them in a zoo or spot them in the distance but no driver ever wants to have a close encounter with them. Dawn and dusk are the two times when you are most likely to encounter them as they forage near the edge of roads. Take extra special care driving during those times. Drop to a slower speed if possible.
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Gorgeous tree lined country roads
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Taking the scenic route
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Straight and windy (as in full of twists and turns)
Australia is quite flat, but it would appear that our popular tourist spots are often found in mountainous hilly zones or windy coastal roads. So do allow yourself time to cover the distance safely. Remember, we drive on the left hand side of the road. Pay attention to the suggested speed limits (coloured deep yellow) especially at bends - they have been put there for a reason. It is not unusual to see some that suggest you drop your speed to even 25 km/hr in order to navigate hair-pin bends.
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Do observe the road signs and drive safely
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Travelling by air
At a glance, using thetruesize.com for comparison, Australia's landmass is bigger than the combined landmass of the countries from UK through to Ukraine and from Sweden down to Spain and Greece.
Australia's landmass is also comparable to that of the USA's 48 contiguous states.
So if you are planning to cover both the east and west coast of Australia, you would most probably be taking a domestic plane at one stage or another. The main airlines in Australia are Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and TigerAir. The latter two are the budget airlines. Virgin is often slightly less expensive than Qantas. From personal experience, the budget airlines are less reliable than the first two.
The budget airlines also do not include meals in their fare but offer refreshments which you can purchase. Be sure to check if your fare includes check-in baggage (and whether it is one or two pieces) when you book your flight on any airline. The included luggage varies between airlines and is not assumed to be included. Some airlines are also very strict about your carry-on luggage size and weight - don't assume that you will not be checked. This applies especially to budget airlines.
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Airport
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
The domestic and international terminals in the major cities here are not right next to each other except for Melbourne. You might have to get on a shuttle bus to get from an international terminal to a domestic one. So if you are transferring from an international flight to a domestic one, do allow sufficient time to clear immigration, collect your bags, get on a shuttle bus and recheck your baggage and get yourself to the appropriate departure gate for your next flight. A shuttle bus trip can take 10 to 15 minutes if all goes smoothly - I've found that traffic on the tarmac can add quite a few minutes to the travel time. So plan accordingly. I once found that a two hour transit time was just barely sufficient for my flight transfer from international to domestic - if the domestic flight had not been delayed I would surely have missed my flight.
If you are taking a budget airline, be prepared to walk on the tarmac in which you will be exposed to the elements - so dress appropriately. It helps to also check the weather forecast ahead of time.
Weather forecast
I've found the AccuWeather app to be quite accurate most of the time - it does have an hourly forecast. But you do need to get the right suburb to get more accurate weather. Melbourne as a city is very widespread.
For weather at the airport in Melbourne, enter 'Tullamarine' as the location.
Sydney airport is located in Mascot.
Perth airport is in Redcliff.
Brisbane airport is in Brisbane Airport.
There are shuttle buses that operate from the major airports to the city.
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Cyclists enjoying another beautiful day in Melbourne city
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
Credit cards
The three most common credit cards used in Australia are Visa, Mastercard and Amex. Most retailers do not apply a surcharge for the first two cards. Some stores have a minimum purchase before you can use a credit card to pay for your purchases. You can find this information at the retail counters.
The airports have free WiFi as do major shopping centres.
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Driving through another Australian town
Photo copyright Maria Ngo
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Mobile phones and SIM cards
It is quite easy to get prepaid SIM cards in Australia - even the major supermarkets (Coles, Woolworth and also Aldi) are getting in on the act. But if you prefer to pick one up from a mobile phone retailer, the major suppliers are Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. Stores can be found in the CBD. If you are planning to use it in the cities, any of these will be fine. But if you plan to go into the country, Telstra offers the best coverage.
Navigation
There are a number of mobile phone navigation apps that I've tried in my travel around Australia. I've found
Google Maps to be very reliable and quite accurate in the city and major country towns. I would suggest downloading an offline version however because of spotty mobile coverage in the hills.
Here is another mobile phone app that offers offline usage - it is quite good most of the time but if you want the shortcuts and quickest route in the city, I've found Google Maps to be my preferred option because of its search capabilities as well. It doesn't hurt to have alternate apps in case one fails for whatever reason.
You can also pick up dedicated satellite navigation devices like Tom Tom etc from stores like KMart quite easily. You can usually pick one up for around AUD100 to AUD 150. If you plan to do a bit of driving around the country, I would recommend investing in one of the above - but if you are sticking to the major cities and nearby towns, it might not be necessary.
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Drive left and watch for heavy vehicles also
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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Accommodation
For accommodation, apart from hotels and motels, a popular Australian website called Stayz is worth checking out. And of course, AirBnB which needs no explanations.
See ya later mate
I hope this post has been helpful in pointing you in the right direction as you research your trip to Australia. Stay posted for future articles on this beautiful country of mine. I can't wait to share more of it with you in future posts.
Thanks for stopping by. Do visit soon. Better yet, click the subscribe button.
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Scenic stop on the Great Ocean Road
Photo copyright Maria Ngo |
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#Australia #travel #vacation #car #driving #scenic
