Having your own vehicle really allows you to explore Australia, filling the public transport void away from the cities and allowing you to get to the national parks, the isolated beaches and the ghost towns that make the country such a special place. If your trip is a long one -three months or more - then buying a vehicle may well be the cheapest way of seeing Australia. On shorter trips you should consider renting - if not for the whole time, then at least for short periods between bus rides, thereby allowing you to explore an area in depth.

 

Most foreign licences are valid for a year in Australia. An International Driving Permit (available from national motoring organizations) may be useful if you come from a non-English-speaking country. Fuel prices start at around 66¢ per litre for "super" (standard) or unleaded, with diesel slightly cheaper: prices can double at remote roadhouses, and you can expect a ten to fifteen percent increase in Outback areas. The rules of the road are similar to those in the US and UK. Most importantly, drive on the left (as in Britain), remember that seatbelts are compulsory for all, and that the speed limit in all built-up areas is 60kph or less. Outside built-up areas, maximums are around 100kph - often 110kph on long, isolated stretches - except in the Northern Territory, where common sense and horsepower are your only limits between towns. Whatever else you do in a vehicle, avoid drinking and driving ; random breath tests are common even in rural areas, especially during the Christmas season and on Friday and Saturday nights. The Australian media are lovingly obsessed with comparing annual figures from road deaths.

Main hazards are fatigue, losing control on dirt roads, and the presence of animals on the road - a serious problem everywhere (not just in the Outback) at dawn, dusk and night-time. Beware of fifty-metre-long road trains : these colossal trucks can't stop quickly or pull off the road safely, so if there's the slightest doubt, get out of the way; only overtake a road train if you can see well ahead and are certain that your vehicle can manage it. On dirt roads be doubly cautious, or just pull over for a rest and let the road train get ahead.