Nuccaleena

CHRISTMAS TRAVEL

Well it’s that time of year again. I mean when we don’t plan the trip away terribly well due to all the other distractions like the cards are going out late, again. The trailer has been sitting in the yard all year and you really do need to empty the rubbish out before thinking about packing it full of camping gear, kids bikes etc. So I thought I would provide a bit of a pre-departure check list that you may find useful.

Trailers. Amazing pieces of equipment these. We ignore them all year leave them in the open to corrode the electrical connections and for the UV to make the tyres to go brittle. Then we load them up to the hilt and drag them down the highway at 100 kmh for hours on end and get really annoyed when something goes wrong.

Sadly many holiday accidents are caused by poorly loaded and poorly towed trailers. So have you checked the condition of the tyres, their pressure, the lights and connector and of course you have serviced the wheel bearings and the safety chains and shackles are present and correct. Ummm a spare tyre may be useful. Now where did you put the tarp and tie downs to cover the load?

Camping gear. You did remember to fill the gas bottle(s) from last years trip didn’t you? The small leak in the air bed and the tent have both been fixed as well of course! All the chairs, tables, sleeping gear, headlights and torches are all checked and you have packed the spare batteries. The esky or mostly these days the 12volt fridge are both in tip top condition and you have run the fridge up for a few days to make sure nothing goes wrong when you put it in the car.

Vehicle checks. The 12volt fridge is a nice lead in to making sure that your vehicle is also serviced and ready for that long distance action it has been missing out on all year. The electrical system is of course operating perfectly, many of us have second battery systems in our 4WD’s but tend to ignore that strange black box until it stops working, which is exactly at the first stop you have only to find that the beers and food are now at 30C. So get the car fully checked over, regardless of if it’s a 4WD or any other vehicle. We mentioned spare wheels for the trailer and the same need applies for the car as well. Nothing like a flat in the middle of nowhere around 9PM. You empty the total contents of the boot onto the roadside then find that the jack is in the garage and the spare is flat. For our tours we require tyres to have at least 50% tread as this reduces the chance of a puncture by a reasonable degree. Now you have the family on board a fully loaded car and possibly a trailer on the back and you have been at work all day before coming home, packing up and heading off on your holiday. So the minimal depth on the tyres means you care for who exactly?

Driving smart. Fatigue is a killer that’s a fact. So take breaks every two hours and that means at least a 15-20 minute one. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated which helps concentration and pretty much ensures that I definitely need a stop every two hours.

Drive with your headlights on low beam. That blue light on the dash, near impossible to see if you’re wearing polarising sunglasses, means you are blinding the oncoming traffic so please check them with your sunnies off. One of the most annoying things is heavily loaded vehicles coming toward you with their headlights on but the front of the car is high and the rear of the car is low due to being overloaded and as you haven’t bothered to fit something like poly air bag load levellers you are blinding the oncoming traffic.

Speed. No I don’t mean speeding I mean driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions and doing it in a relaxed manner. If you are not used to towing or driving a fully loaded vehicle then it’s very easy to make a seriously bad mistake in the blink of an eye. When the family is on board and the trailer/van is on the back then you are going to take a very very long time to stop it all safely. So travel slower, allow time to adjust your head space to the fact that the vehicle you are in is handling quite differently from yesterday. Allow a minimum of three seconds gap between you and the vehicle in front. That should be enough but take it easy, remember it’s a holiday and you want to have really great memories and photographs to show the team at work when you get back.

Sadly there are folk who will not have that memory in 2009

Who knows where you are going? It’s always nice to have an itinerary so you can be comfortable that the family/relatives staying at home know where and how to contact you if need be. After all they are the ones picking up your mail and watering the plants so if that letter arrives telling you of a lotto win then it really is important that you can start planning on spending that money before you get home.

The family! Yep they’re the ones sitting quietly, seat belts done up and waiting patiently for you to safely deliver them to a memorable holiday location, not! So plan on making sure everyone is entertained, comfortable and more importantly not a distraction to the driver. One of the things we find is folk tend to forget things like prescription medication and spare scripts so make sure you take them along as well as a spare set of keys for the car/trailer/caravan.

Now while all this sounds perhaps a touch tedious and boring I can assure you it is basic and only a fraction of the guidance we provide to clients joining us on a tour. But the same basic needs apply regardless of who you are and where you are going.

Remember rule one. It’s a holiday!

As a quick aside we are heading off to the Eyre Peninsula planning a new tour for next year. Check out the home page on our website for details. Our vehicle will be completely setup as for a two week Simpson crossing as we are not leaving anything to chance as we are on our own in some pretty remote country. But I can assure you we will be having plenty of fun along the way and getting stuck into some nice seafood whilst enjoying the scenery and meeting some new folk.

So until we meet in 2009 can I wish you all a happy and memorably festive season and safe travels,

Rob