Planning Your Trip - Caravan, Motorcycle, Holiday of Any Sort

A tour or any trip does not just happen; you need to spend some
time planning your trip. When is the best time to travel; what
will the weather be like; are you going during school holidays
time; how are you going to find your way; do you need any
permits etc? By planning your trip before you leave you will be
able to answer these questions to make sure your holiday is as
stress free as possible. Do not necessarily get bogged down in
all the finite details though; some decisions, such as where to
go next and how long to stay in one place, are sometimes best
left for the road. After all you may find a wonderful location
that suits you and decide to stay there longer than planned.

When to Travel

Your first decision will be when to travel. This will be
different for all people. Maybe you only have a week's leave or
maybe you are taking 12 months to travel. The weather, the
timing of school and public holidays and any local events in the
area you intend to visit will all influence your decision. Some
travellers also think about how they can visit family and
friends or fit special occasions into their schedule.

Weather

Australia has extremes in climate and weather. At the same time:
in one area of Australia there may be monsoonal rains and
cyclones; while a different part of Australia will have balmy
perfect weather and another part may even experience snow.

Such extremes are not uncommon, but you can start planning your
trip according to reasonably predictable weather patterns,
making some allowances for occasional variations and anomalies.

The southern States of Australia have four clearly identifiable
seasons. Summers are warm to hot, winters cool to cold. Spring
and autumn have pleasant days with cold nights. Most rain falls
in the winter months but other seasons can have the occasional
shower or even heavy downfall. Snow falls on the Australian Alps
and the Tasmanian Highlands in winter, early spring and
sometimes in late autumn.

Northern Australia has a dry and a wet season. The dry season
runs from April to November, give or take a few weeks. Little or
no rain falls and countryside turns from lush green to a dusty
brown. The wet season, with high temperatures and oppressive
humidity, lasts from December to March. Tropical storms
regularly dump large volumes of rain, and cyclones are not
uncommon.

The centre of Australia is arid or semi-arid. Rain can fall
throughout the year or not at all. From May to September daytime
temperatures are mild but can drop dramatically at night. Summer
temperatures can be extremely high.

The best time to travel through Australia's northern and central
regions is between April and November. Year-round travel is
possible in the south, with spring and autumn offering mild and
pleasant conditions. Southerners begin drifting northward in
Early May and return south around September. (Just think, travel
North in any month without an R in the spelling of it - May to
August).

Detailed weather information can be found by contacting services
offered by the Bureau of Meteorology.

School and Public Holidays

If you do not have children, it may be best to avoid travelling
during school holiday - particularly Christmas/New Year and
Easter. Most accommodation is very heavily booked at these times
plus being the peak periods, the prices are also at their
highest.

Australia's mainland States schools each have a four-term year.
While the holiday periods from State to State do not necessarily
align exactly, they do tend to overlap. The holiday periods
generally are:

• Two weeks in April usually coinciding
  with Easter
• Two weeks in late June or early July
• Two
  weeks in late September or early October
• Six weeks from mid
  December until the end of January including Christmas and New
  Year.

Tasmania has a three-term year with holidays in June, September
and from December through to the middle of February.

Long weekends are also a popular time to get away. Different
states have different public holidays, check when public
holidays fall in the different States to avoid crowds in holiday
regions, particularly areas close to the capital cities and
beach locations.

Local Events

Quite a lot of regional towns now have local cultural and
sporting events during the year. Some are minor affairs that may
be fun to stumble across. Others are large, well organised, well
advertised, crowded but can be very enjoyable. Phone visitor
information centres for event guides, and check out the internet
for local information.

By planning your trip around holidays and events you can either
avoid them or ensure you are there when they are on.

Finding Your Way

Once you have a good idea of where you are going, by planning
your trip you can like all these places together. You will need
some practical tools to do this. This may be as simple as just
getting some maps and guides. If you are travelling long
distances or for a long period of time, you may look at
installing a Global Positioning System, or GPS, good for
travelling off main roads.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

GPS, a navigation system developed by the American military, is
now widely used by professionals and recreational travellers -
you will find most taxi drivers have them installed in their
cabs and use them all the time.

A GPS receiver determines the user's position, accurate to
within 10 metres, by collecting distance and time measurements
from satellites. GPS can also be used to determine speed of
travel, altitude, and distance (in a straight line) to a
proposed destination and estimated time of arrival. Most GPS
receivers have the capacity to remember at least several routes,
thus enabling return trips to be plotted. The preloaded data may
include information or road networks and major geographical
features. GPS receivers and antennae range in price from several
hundred dollars to a couple of thousand.

A laptop computer, loaded with interactive mapping software
downloaded from a CD_ROM and connected to a GPS receiver, offers
a hi-tech visual navigational aid.

Hand-help GPS receivers usually operate on replaceable
batteries; as the battery life is very short, however, it is
necessary to carry a supply of replacement batteries. An
alternative is to purchase a power pack, which will allow the
receiver to be plugged into your vehicle's power supply.

Maps and Guides

If you are travelling in remote areas, particularly off the
beaten track, you will need more detailed maps - a selection of
these will be available at better map shops, visitor information
centres or your local motoring organisation.

If you are just travelling on the main highways or major roads,
you will get by with a good road atlas. If you are travelling
with children, get them there own road map. Then when they say
"where are we"; "how long til we get there"? they will be able
to look it up for themselves. A good road map will have
not only the major roads, but broad coverage region by region
and details maps of cities and towns. Maps can last a long time,
but it may be best to replace them ever five years or so.

Visitor information centres are a good source of local maps,
generally reproduced in free brochures or leaflets. These maps
tend to be quite detailed and useful in exploring the local area.

Specialised books and guides covering localities and holiday
activities fill the shelves of bookshops including map shops,
national park shops and specialist environmental stores. Good
all-round publications include Explore Australia and, for the
outback adventurer, Explore Australia by Four-wheel Drive.

Visitor Information Centres

Many Australian towns have a visitor information centre. They
not only have maps and guides, but the staff offer information
on local accommodation, caravan parks, businesses and tourist
attractions. They will also often have a booking service for
your accommodation or local tours/attractions available in the
region

PERMITS, PARKS AND PRIVATE LAND

There are many areas of Australia where access is prohibited,
restricted or subject to particular requirements.

Aboriginal Land

Aboriginal communities own large tracts of land in areas such as
Central Australia, the Kimberley's and Cape York. Travellers
wishing to visit areas of Aboriginal-owned land must first apply
to the relevant authority for a permit. Always ring first, as
some areas of Aboriginal land may be completely out of bounds
for tourists and permits therefore are not an option. The
permit-processing period can be quite long and by planning your
trip you should apply well before you leave home.

Visitor information centres in the area that you are heading off
to will offer advice on which lands are covered by what traffic
- permits can be purchased or obtained on the spot, although
this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Permits are not usually required for travel along the public
roads in Australia that traverse Aboriginal land, though notable
exceptions include the Great Central Road that links Yulara in
the Northern Territory with Warburton in Western Australia.
Respect should be of utmost importance when travelling through
Aboriginal lands, whether a permit is required or not.

National Parks

Australia's 500 or so national parks protect the continent's
unique flora, fauna, famous landscapes and natural icons.

Each State and Territory administers its own parks. The federal
body, Parks Australia, oversees the management of a small number
of parks, including Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta, and Booderee at
Jervis Bay.

In some States, permits are required to visit national parks.
These can be purchased in advance by contacting the central
authority, or on the day within the park. If you intend to camp
in National Parks, it is best to obtain a permit and book a site
before hand. Most National Parks only have basic camping
facilities and you should contact the relevant authority to make
sure camping is permitted and, what facilities are available and
book a site. In some parks, sites are heavily booked well in
advance, particularly during peak periods.

To make sure you know what you are getting, phone ahead and ask
the following questions:

• Are the camping grounds
  likely to be open?
• Are the sites suitable for vans?
• 
  What are the facilities like?
• Are there fire restrictions?
  
• Is there a ranger station in the area?
• Is it necessary
  to pre-book a site?

NATIONAL PARK OFFICES

Most park organisations have a location in the relevant capital
city where travellers can purchase passes and collect brochures,
maps and other information. Many of the larger and more popular
parks have information centres on site.

Private Land

There are tracts of private land, particularly in the remote
northern half of Australia, where owners allow travellers to
camp and sometimes fish. Most of these places are rural stations
located off the beaten track and are generally known about by
word-of-mouth. Always get permission to camp on private land.
The nearest visitor information centre can, in some instances,
provide you with details of the land-holder, or try local
directories or businesses. Failing that, it may be a matter of
stopping in at the homestead once you are on the road. If you do
travel through Private Land make sure you leave it as you find
it and if you have to open a gate to go through it, after you.

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About the author:
Ian Molloy is the owner of Crikey Adventure Tours. Visit his
website href="http://www.crikey-adventure-tours.com"target="blank">www.cr
ikey-adventure-tours.com for more information about this
article and other related topics. His site is full of very
helpful travel information including tips on motorcycle travel,
driving cross-country, travelling with a caravan and other
camping and travel information.