Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING AN AFFORDABLE TRIP TO AUSTRALIA
Tips Insurance Alert
Damage to a rental car caused by an animal (hitting a kangaroo, for
instance) is not covered by car-rental companies’ insurance policies, nor is
driving on an unpaved road—and Australia has a lot of those.
ONE-WAY RENTALS Australia’s
distances often make one-way rentals a
necessity, for which car-rental companies
can charge a hefty penalty amounting
to hundreds of dollars. A one-way
fee usually applies to campervan renters,
too—usually around A$200 to A$220
(US$130–US$143), more for remote
Outback areas such as Broome and
Alice Springs. And there’s a 7-day rental
minimum.
CAMPERVANS Campervans (as
Aussies call motor homes) are popular
in Australia. Generally smaller
than the RVs in the United States,
they come in two-, three-, four-, or
six-berth versions, and usually have
everything you need, such as a small
refrigerator/freezer (icebox in the
smaller versions), microwave, gas
stove, cooking and cleaning utensils,
linens, and touring information
including maps and campground
guides. All have showers and toilets,
except some two-berthers. Most have
air-conditioned driver’s cabins, but
not all have air-conditioned living
quarters, a necessity in most parts of
the country November through
March. Four-wheel-drive campers are
available, but tend to be small and
some lack hot water, toilet, shower,
and air-conditioning. The minimum
driver age for campervans is
usually 21.
Australia’s biggest national campervan-rental
companies are Apollo
Motorhome Holidays (& 1800/
777 779 in Australia, or 07/3260
5466; www.apollocamper.com), Britz
Campervan Rentals (& 1800/331
454 in Australia, or 03/8379 8890;
www.britz.com), Hertz Campervans
(& 1800/335 888 in Australia, or 08/
8271 8281; www.hertzcampervans.
com.au), and Maui (& 1300/363 800
in Australia, or 03/8379 8891; www.
maui-rentals.com).
Most local officials take a dim view of
“free camping,” the practice of pulling
over by the roadside to camp for the
night. Instead, you will likely have to
stay in a campground.
For a two-berth campervan with
shower and toilet, Britz’s 2003/2004
rates were between A$114 and A$230
(US$74–US$150) per day, over a 5- to
20-day rental period. For a four-berth
with shower and toilet over the same
period, you are looking at between
A$211 and A$297 (US$137–US$193)
per day. Rates vary with the seasons.
May and June are the slowest months;
December and January are the busiest.
It’s sometimes possible to get better
rates by booking in your home country
before departure. Renting for longer
than 3 weeks knocks around A$15
(US$9.75) off the daily rate. Most
companies will demand a minimum 4-
or 5-day rental. Give the company your
itinerary before booking, because some
routes, such as the ferry across to Tasmania,
or in a 4WD campervan’s case,
the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley,
may need the company’s permission.
Apollo, Britz, and Hertz do not permit
you to drive their two-wheel-drive
campervans on unpaved roads; Maui
allows two-wheel-drive campers to
travel on unsealed access roads to recognized
campgrounds.
ON THE ROAD
GAS The price of petrol (gasoline)
will elicit a cry of dismay from Americans
and a whoop of delight from Brits.