Maps
In Australia, book and travel shops stock national, regional and city maps of varying sizes and quality by the likes of UBD and Gregory’s (both
hardiegrant.com.au), HEMA (
hemamaps.com.au), Westprint (westprint.com.au) and state-produced AusMap. HEMA produce regional and themed maps; cities, states, national parks, fishing, hiking, 4WD and wine are some of the many themes covered. State motoring organizations have regularly updated touring guides, with regional maps and listings.
Money
Australia’s currency is the Australian dollar, or “buck”, written as $ or AUD and divided into 100 cents. The waterproof notes come in $100, $50, $20, $10 and $5 denominations, along with $2, $1, 50¢, 20¢, 10¢ and 5¢ coins. Irregular bills such as $1.98 are rounded up or down to the closest five cents. To check the latest exchange rate, visit wxe.com. At the time of writing, $1 was worth £0.55/US$.72/€0.63/ZAR9.63.
While small towns may not have a local bank, there will be a local agency that handles bank business – usually at the general store, post office or roadhouse – though not necessarily a 24-hour ATM. Credit and debit cards are universally accepted, but have some cash on you for small purchases before leaving bigger towns, especially at weekends. The major four banks are Westpac (westpac.com.au), ANZ (Wanz.com), CommBank (commbank.com.au) and NAB (national.com.au). Banks are generally open Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 4pm, Friday 9.30am to 5pm. Saturday-morning openings are limited to cities. In rural areas, banks may close at lunch or on certain days of the week. Banks are closed on national holidays.
All post offices act as CommBank or NAB agents, which means there’s a fair chance of withdrawing money even in the smallest Outback settlement. However, be aware that quantities are limited by a lack of ready cash.
If you’re spending some time in Australia, and plan to work or move around, open a bank account. To do this you’ll need to take along every piece of ID documentation you own – a passport may not be enough – but it’s otherwise a fairly straightforward process. Of the big four, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are probably the most widespread options, and their cards give you access to anywhere that offers EFTPOS facilities (Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale). Though not as prevalent as it was, this is still available in many Outback service stations and supermarkets and acts like a debit card to pay for goods as well as to withdraw cash. As ever, shop around before you open an account to check charges on accounts or cards.
Discount cards soon pay for themselves in savings. If you’re a full-time student, it’s worth applying for an International Student ID Card (ISIC; isic.org), which entitles the bearer to prove they’re a student, so receive discounts on transport, museums, theatres and other attractions. The card cost varies per location: UK £12; US$25; Can$20; NZ$30; and $30 in Australia itself. Non-students aged 26 or younger qualify for the similarly priced International Youth Travel Card; there are also cards available for teachers. For all cards, visit the ISIC website to source points of sale such as branches of STA, or order online.
Opening hours and public holidays
Shops and services are generally open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm, though places in small towns can close at lunchtime on Saturday. In cities and larger towns, shops may stay open late on Thursday or Friday evening – usually until 9pm – and shopping malls and department stores in major cities are often open on Sunday. Banks have generally shorter hours, but may be open on Saturday mornings.
In remote country areas, roadhouses provide all the essential services for the traveller and, on the major highways, are generally open 24 hours a day. Visitor centres – even ones well off the beaten track – are often open every day from 9am to 5pm or at least through the week plus weekend mornings; urban visitor centres are more likely to conform to normal shopping hours.
Tourist attractions such as museums or galleries are usually open daily, though in rural communities hours become erratic. Almost without exception, all are closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day, but most are open during school and other public holidays. Specific opening hours are given throughout the Guide.
National holidays are New Year’s Day, Australia Day (Jan 26), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day (April 25), Queen’s Birthday (second Mon in June; Sept/Oct in WA), Christmas Day and Boxing Day (except SA). Note that when a public holiday falls on a weekend, Australians take the following Monday off. State holidays are listed in the capital-city accounts of each state or territory. School holidays can transform a visit: beaches become bucket-and-spade war zones, national park campsites fill to overflowing. Dates vary by year and state, but generally things get busy from mid-December to the end of January or beginning of February (Jan is the worst, as many people stay home until after Christmas), for two weeks around Easter, for a fortnight in late June to early July, and over two weeks in late September to early October. January and Easter are the busiest periods, and accommodation is booked accordingly.
Phones
Public telephones take coins or phone cards, which are sold through newsagents and other stores. Many bars, shops and restaurants have orange or blue payphones; watch out for these as they cost more than a regular call-box. No payphone accepts incoming calls. Local calls are untimed, and on a public phone are good value at a flat rate of 50¢. Many businesses and services operate freephone numbers, prefixed t 1800, while others have six-digit numbers beginning 13 or 1300 charged at a local-call rate – all can only be dialled from within Australia. Numbers starting 1900 are premium-rate private information services.
Phone cards offer a cheap way to call cross-country or abroad. A head-spinning variety of brands is available – most post offices and some newsagents sell them – but all require a minimum of 50¢ to call a local centre, after which you key in your scratch number and telephone number. Rates are incredible, from as low as 5¢ a minute.
Most international visitors now arrive with a mobile phone. You can buy a SIM card for your handset for as little as $2. Telstra has the widest coverage: it claims its Next 3G service covers 99 per cent of Australia. Vodafone is a long way behind on cross-coverage but may work out cheaper solely for urban use. Optus and Three are the other major networks. Each has a coverage map/checker on its website – worth a look since reception drops off in remote areas. One solution for guaranteed reception (albeit at higher call charges) is a satellite phone. Little bigger than a conventional mobile, these can be rented from rentasatphone.com.au from around Aus$18 a day for up to a fortnight’s rental, or Aus$8 a day for up to three months, and can run both standard and satellite SIM cards.
To call Australia from home, dial the relevant international access code + 61 + area code, omitting the initial zero. The international access code for the UK, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa 00; for the US and Canada 011.