Driving in oz

Wow! The traffic moves fast on the motorways. The highways are good and the big rigs come up behind you like the proverbial ‘Bat out of Hell’. I watch for them and pull over where I can if it’s two lanes only and left blink to let them know to pass. If I am not able, there is usually a passing lane every couple of kilometers. The Pacific Highway in New South Wales is being duplicated because it is now unable to cope with the density of traffic. In the north we drove through areas that had been cleared of gum trees in preparation for the additional lanes, then we passed by the areas that were being bulldozed level to form the rough road, then it was the surface crew making it more in the form of a road, followed by the road rollers, the bridging crews and people shifting power lines, etc. Lastly it was the huge concrete paving machine and the road markers before we shifted over onto the new road. That whole thing stretched out over about 100km and it was moving north all the way, so in about five years or so, they’ll have an up to date roading network. Of course, when they finish the new road in an area, they have to go back and bring the old lanes up to scratch by re-concreting them, so it is a huge operation costing billions. The old two lane roads are generally 80 km per hour although the better bits are rated 90 or even 100 km/hr. The new stuff is all 110 km – too fast for me chugging along at 90 km tops. The van bounces around and rolls a bit above that.

When you pull back out of a passing lane, they have a series of arrows saying to move right. The cars behind hold back in order to let you in to the main lane. It’s not a challenge like you get on Christchurch roads.

In the small towns, the cars angle park with their back in so the can drive out forward. So you have to wait while they manouvre into the park but the advantage is they can see the traffic when they are pulling out.

Diesel has ranged from $1.62 in Queensland to $1.79 down here in NSW. Some smaller stations sell it for less. That includes excise tax so you can’t compare directly with new Zealand. Coles Supermarkets giving 4 cents off per litre through Shell outlets have come under flack recently for price gouging. Coles/Shell are always first to put the price up and they seem to operate a weekly price cycle to make the most of people buying petrol after the weekend. It’s like milk being dearer on Mondays and Tuesdays say the government and there is no good reason for it. Petrol is cheaper than diesel.

You have to remember to stop dead at pedestrian crossings here. It’s something Aussies ate really strict about. You just have to look as though you are intending to cross and the cars on both sides will stop for you. None of this looking the person in the eye to see if they are going to step out before you charge through. Haven’t seen many cops on the road at all but I don’t want hassles. I was told by the Road Transport office in Queensland that I didn’t need to obtain a Queensland Drivers License because I was an itinerant visitor, but the lady wasn’t sure how it worked in other States. With a car license, they just give you a State license in place of your New Zealand one, without any test anyway. That was when they stung me for $860 stamp duty for the change of ownership with the Campervan.