Oz - daily costs?

[davidmc]

Hopefully some of you Aussie folks can help me out.

I am planning a trip from Europe to Sydney beginning Early 2005 and ending in Sydney April/May 2006. I expect to travel through Australia for about 2 months after shipping the bike to Darwin from SE Asia.

My question is this. What kind of minimum daily budget should I plan for, primarily accomodation, food, petrol and ? I plan on camping when I can and I have some friends to stay with in Sydney and Melbourne. My plans include travelling on a very low budget, I am budgeting $15/day or so in Asia which should give a good idea of what my standards are. I know Australia is cheaper than Europe but more expensive than Asia.

What is a bare minimum daily budget in Australian $$$? And how much for typical bare bones accomodation?

Thanks for all the help, I would like to stay in Oz as long as I can!!!

[the_grubb]

Hi Davidmc,

All in AU$

Cheap room $10 - $20
Big Mac $5.95 (only for food comparison costs)
Fuel from $0.80 to $1.20 per litre depending where you are.
Slab of VB $30 (24 cans of )

You should be able to camp everywhere except the capital cities. Would show you around a bit but I'm in the UK at present.

Email me if you have any questions. What's your route plans?

[davidmc]

Thanks for the info. I am hoping no more than about AU$50/day, sounds like I am in the ballpark.

Not sure of the route yet, but most likely Darwin down the west coast to Perth than across to the east coast and then who knows? Primarily tarmac riding, but a bit of dirt would be good also, although I will most likely be riding solo.

Most people have told me that Western Australia is the highlight of the country, would be interested in other opinions. 2 months total traveling, hopefully longer if the budget holds out.

I know I will be arriving in Darwin during a bad time of year weatherwise, so this may influence my route also...

[rroberts]

I would agree that Western Australia is the highlight, the Kimberlies, Broome, Coral Bay, Denham / Monkey Mia, Kalbarbi, Cerventes (the Pinnicles) are awesome places. Havn't been below Perth, but I hear that's great as well.

Just on the budget issue, most of the places your liely to visit will have caravan parks for camping. Approx cost would be about $10 per night, and they'll have toilet and shower facilites. As far as cheap rooms, when your in the outback forget about it. Your in the middle of no where, they know it, and they charge accordingly. I once paid $85 for a shed at a place called Timber Creek. Or I could have gone another 350K's to Katherine if I didn't like the price. I found the heat gets to you after a while, so I paid it just to get air con. In the bigger towns, best bet is to get accom in Pubs if you want a room. Still by yourself your still likely to pay around $30 per night. There maybe rooms cheaper, but how much work are you going to do looking for them after a days ride in 35 degrees.

One tip, don't miss Ayres Rock and The Olgas no matter what. IMHO they are without doubt the best thing to see in Australia. Words don't adequately describe that first full view of Ayres Rock, right up close and personal.

Enjoy

[Mel D]

Hiya
I can give you more detail on costs in OZ.

Food - if you buy food in supermarkets and make up your own meals then you will save, but even so, there is a lot of cheap food in the major cities. Anywhere near a university will offer a plethora of Asian foods - typical $6 for a filling meal or hearty Asian soup. Bread - $2 per loaf. good steaks - $8 per kilo. Any fresh food market will offer cheaper prices at closing time. Also look for charity sausage sizzles - greta bargains on snags.

Accom - tent site in city caravan park - up to $10, cheaper outside cities. Dorm bed $20 p/n. Cheap hotel $50-60 p/n. ALso look around university noticeboards for rooms for rent.

Fuel - varies during the week - cheaper to buy it Tues-Thurs than on weekends.

Free camping - there are restrictions on just putting your tent any place - but many such places are not patrolled so it's a moot point.

If you want more specific detail email me - I live in Melbourne.

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http://www.on2anotheradventure.com

[Mel D]

Sorry - forgot advice on places not to miss, in no particular order.

1) Great Ocean Road, Victoria
2) Gibb River Rd and the Kimberleys (not in the wet season)
3) far east corner of Victoria - Croajingalong Nat Park
4) Queensland Coast north of Mackay up to Cape York
5) Most of the Northern Territory, particularly in the north
6) Darwin
7) Tasmania


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http://www.on2anotheradventure.com

[pslootmans]

Hi,
Just came back after 8 months riding around NZ,OZ and Tasmania.Did 38.000 km, of wich 26.000 km in Australia.You definitly need to go to Tassie,incredibly beautiful. I started in Sydney, went up to Cairns/Cooktown.The road from Cairns to Cooktown,off-road is worthwile doing. During the wet season probably not possible because the few creeks you have to ride through probably to high.
Then from Cairns to Alice Springs, via Normanton. You must keep in mind that as soon as you leave the coast, the only thing you see is red sand and bushes and in between a road house. Normally camping on these roadhouses are cheap (between 5 and 10 AU$).Then Alice Springs, from Alice to Darwin, via the West Coast to Perth. Especially the Exmouth and national park, you can camp on the beach in the national park which is fantastic. Nothing is there, only a toilet. So you need to provide your own water, for everything!!But the beaches and the sea are one of the most beautiful ones you can see in Oz.Take snorkling gear with you because the snorkling is much better then in the Great Barrier Reef. You can swim from the beach to the reef. For the Great Barrier Reef you need to have a boat trip for 3 hours. So definitly don't miss this. From Perth I rode along the coast to the Nullarbour, which is an experience on itself. With off course a stop at the 'Twelf Apostles',Aidelaide then in Melbourne the ferry to Tasmania and this is definitly fantastic. Especially the road from National Park to the biggest dam in OZ.
Then from Melbourne back to Sydney which resulted in 26.000 km, 5 tyres (the road in OZ eat tyres, espcially on the Nullarbour!).
Hope you have a great trip but the distances over there can be very long and boring, especially when you travel on your own as I did.

[overlandr]

Petrol is currently around AUD0.95 per litre In Sydney if that helps

[Frank Warner]

Petrol costs range from city to country. Those in the cities and towns vary more rapidly than those in the country. Most expensive in the remote areas - upto $2.65 per litre on the last trip (they had avgas at less than that). The best control you have is your travelling speed to reduce the fuel consumption..

Travelling in the outback .. camping out of towns is usually possible and free. You will find showers at roadhouses (largeish petrol stations) are around the $3-5 mark. I usually free camp for a while then camp in a comercial camp ground - shower 'n shop 'n wash cloths etc. In cities .. well pubs are your best bet. Bit pricey though.

[Bozo]

It will be pointless doing a budget for 2005-6 because the prices will probably rise quite a bit by then. The Financial guru's are predicting a price rise spiral over the next 12 to 18 months. The big spend will be fuel. It can be up to $1.50 per liter in some outback stops and they have you by the short and curlies... no competition.
Camping grounds are the best but if you can find a travelling companion or 2 then the local pub in any town has rooms for about 25 to 30 dollars and sometimes breakfast is included. There is always 2 or 3 pubs in most Australian towns...pick the most down at heel looking one for the cheapest. It will be clean but maybe not quiet because the seasonal workers ( fruit pickers) also use it and they can be a noisy hard drinking lot who get up at dawn. You can try the backpackers lodges if you are on the main tourist route. This is not the most agreeable type of riding though.. the back roads are better.