Free Rental Cars!

               

What is Transfercar? 

Transfercar is a website that enables rental car companies to reduce costs, while offering a way for travellers to travel for free. Here you can search for free rental cars and campervans  from the majority of Australian rental car companies. In return you will be helping the rental companies reduce their freight costs and reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

How can the rental cars be free?

Rental car companies are spending large amounts of money on relocating cars between their branches, in order to position their fleet for new hires. They can either use expensive trucks or trains or they can let you drive it for free. The rental operators win, you win. 

Who can become a relocation driver?

We are constantly looking for more relocation drivers. Families, students, backpackers, event-goers, seniors or other travellers are all welcome. All that is required is that you are over 18 and have a full driving license valid in Australia. Register as a driver now!

Benjamin Knapinski Photo Gallery - WA's magical landscapes captured

Today I'm working in an amazing store surrounded by jawdroppingly beautiful photos of Western Australian landscapes. It's certainly stimulating my inner travel bug!

Red Cliffs, Cape Leveque

My very talented friend, Ben Knapinski, has over 16 years professional photography experience and is the largest producer of photographic pictorial books on Western Australia.

The BJK Gallery is located in my hometown of Margaret River. An exhibition of prints on gloss, canvas and acrylic in a range of sizes, it is a must visit if you are ever in the area. Ben's work can also be viewed and purchased online at www.bjk.com.au. They will deliver worldwide.

Margaret River Mouth

BJK Photo Gallery - shop 4, 14 Fearn Avenue, Margaret River, WA
Tel: 1300 855 165

Regans Pool, Karajini NP

Twenty-six top reasons to holiday in Australia

Ben Groundwater 

Published: January 26, 2014 - 7:45AM

In honour of our national day, I've pinpointed 26 persuasive reasons to choose a home grown holiday next time.
The temptation is there. With budget flights and a booming dollar it has been easy to take your holidays overseas, to head to another country and leave your own behind. But on this Australia Day, with our dollar just a little less rosy, we're here to celebrate the unique and inspiring travel experiences that make our country so great. Sure, they may not be quite as cost-effective as those offered by our near neighbours but these are things you can only do in our wide, brown land. From the bars to the bush, the coral to the cricket, these are the experiences you should have at home before you set your sights overseas. Why would you want to be anywhere else?

1. DIVE THE HERON BOMMIE

Before you bother with Thailand, or you start thinking about the Caribbean, you have to scuba-dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

One of the best places to do that is Heron Island, at the reef's southern end, and one of the best sites at Heron is "The Bommie", a series of coral outcrops that attracts all manner of marine life. This cleaning station - where fish and rays come to be groomed by smaller fish - is a favourite stop-off point for manta rays, eagle rays, reef sharks, wobbegongs, turtles ... and scuba-divers. destinationqueensland.com

2. TAKE A WINE-TASTING TOUR OF MARGARET RIVER

If you can tear yourself away from the beaches you'll find the Margaret River region's real drawcard: wine. From the huge and professionally run, such as Leeuwin Estate winery, to boutique cellar doors such as that at Cape Grace - where the vineyard dog seems to get as much attention as the award-winning cabernet sauvignon - this is a day that's best spent not being the designated driver. Hire someone else for that and get ready to taste. westernaustralia.com

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3. STAY ON A WORKING SHEEP STATION

Culture comes in many forms, from paintings on a wall to a boot connecting with a footy, but one key element of Australian society is rarely appreciated by city slickers: the humble farm. What better way to grasp the enormity of this wide brown land, and the life lived by those who earn their keep from it, than to stay on a working sheep station? Check out Bullo River Station in the Northern Territory, an $800-a-night luxury experience. bulloriver.com; travelnet.com

4. SLEEP BY THE SEA AT WATEGOS BEACH

Close enough to Byron Bay to possess its hippy charm, but secluded enough to avoid the crowds that flock to it, Wategos Beach in NSW is the perfect place to rent an apartment and while away a week doing very little. You could get up early to surf the gentle break, or you could sleep in and enjoy a late brunch. You could lie on the beach, or hike up to the lighthouse. Or, given the standard of accommodation available, you could not bother leaving your house at all. visitnsw.com

5. EXPLORE KAKADU BY 4WD

If there's any natural attraction in Australia that can stand proud among the world's greats, it's Kakadu. People pay small fortunes to safari in Africa, or to schlep through the Amazon jungle, when one of the true wonders is in our backyard. You need to see this by four-wheel-drive, to get down and dirty with the crocs, to camp under the stars and experience the immensity of this amazing park. That's an adventure to rival them all. travelnt.com

6. TREK THE LARAPINTA TRAIL

Up there with Tasmania's Overland Track as this country's "must-do" walk for outdoor enthusiasts, the Larapinta Trail is a classic adventure. Spanning 223 kilometres of the West MacConnell Ranges in central Australia, the trail is designed to be tackled over 12 relatively gentle days, beginning at the old Alice Springs Telegraph Station and ending at Mount Sonder. The landscape is rugged and beautiful, and the isolation absolute - not an experience you'll readily forget. travelnt.com

7. PLAY A ROUND OF GOLF AT BONVILLE

Golf enthusiasts travel far and wide for the chance to lose balls and get angry with their putters in exotic locations, but some of the world's finest courses are here in Oz. Bonville, near Coffs Harbour, is in Australia's top 50, and provides a great balance of affordability, ease of access, and a ridiculously nice, if challenging, layout. With plenty of other courses in the region, it's worth spending a week here. And bringing a lot of balls. bonvillegolf.com.au; visitnsw.com

Preventing Caravan and Camping Crime

Caravan and Camping Holidays are enjoyed by thousands every year and for most the experience is happy and trouble-free. But a holiday can be upset by thieves who target items that people leave unattended while they relax.

Common items stolen from caravan parks include: 

• clothing from clothes lines or washing machines
• food and alcohol from eskies
• bicycles, surfboards, wetsuits, fishing rods and other sporting equipment
• mobile phones
• laptop computers
• wallets and handbags
• generators
• tools
• bbqs and gas bottles

Protect your property!

1) Check security features on your caravan

• ID number on the chassis
• Vehicle Id Number (VIN)
• a good quality hitch lock
• consider fitting a safe for your valuables

2) Ensure items of value have identification marks engraved on them

3) keep and inventory of all ID and serial numbers of things like microwaves, fridges etc

4) Get to know your caravan park neighbours and keep an eye on each other's property

5) Avoid leaving tempting items lying about

6) Lock bikes to your van or a tree etc

7) Secure items left in boats

8) chain and padlock gas bottles, fridges, bbqs, washing machines etc

9)Take your washing in at night and while away from the park/campsite

10) Report suspicious activities to the park manager

11) Lock your caravan whenever you leave it

12)Leave a light on when you go out at night

13) Advise the park manager and trusted neighbours if you are away for a few days or more

and have a great holiday!

Holiday on wheels

Since the first childhood trips with my parents cramped up in the back of our trusty ford with a mind of its own, no air conditioning and a radiator inclined towards overheating, I have been deeply in love with the road. For me it always had a whiff of mystery and the promise of an adventure. I thoroughly explored its mysteries during high school and college, taking every chance to go on the road and it usually delivered on the unspoken promises in one way or another. So I decided to try convincing my wife with all of those romantic, misty-eyed ramblings that the time had come for us to take a family road trip. Brian is 6, Alisha is 8, they are old enough and I estimated the time had come for us to bond on that level, too.

Laura was interested, but not as nearly impressed with my idea as I was. We decided on going to Sydney for a couple of days. We planned it as a sort of a city road trip, so to speak. It was convenient as the flight from Adelaide takes only about hour and a half and it was up to me to organize the whole thing, so I have set upon consuming the summed up internet wisdom on planning such a family holiday in order not to overlook anything. Here is the result.

The City

For an Ozzie, Sydney has great cultural value as the site of the first colony in Australia. We have rented a ford estate in accordance with tradition, armed with GPS we backed up with printed maps and adequate mobile apps and embarked on a mission of seeing everything that can be seen in a couple of days. While we wanted to stay in tune with the road-adventurer mood, you simply have to be prepared for every eventuality with kids on board. That is the only way to prevent them from getting anxious. Of course, keeping them interested at all times goes without saying, so our first destination was the famous Taronga Zoo. When going on a long drive, it is a good idea to give the kids something to talk about before setting off, and the zoo, with its splendor of colors and impressions was the perfect starting point.

Image credit: dailytelegraph.com.au

The Sites

Since Sydney is quite large, we had to plan the stops, as it would be ridiculous just to improvise with the kids on board. Sydney observatory in The Rocks was perfect for our next destination, offering a calmer environment and a tour to a completely different world than the zoo, which was very enjoyable after the sensory overload with the animals. Breathtaking views across Sydney Harbor were just a bonus.

The Rocks also proved as a wonderful backdrop for an evening drive to Zia Pina pizzeria in an old part of town. We were all thrilled to see the beds, exhausted and

happy, as a true traveler should be.

The second day also began with a kid-friendly destination in the form of the Luna Park on Milsons Point. This was a no-brainer, too - the kids were more than willing to see and try everything there was to try and we were more than happy to oblige them.

Like the first day, we took a slow drive to a place with a more discreet atmosphere, this time in the form of Australian Museum. The “m” word usually doesn’t sit well with kids, but they were so tired after the Luna Park and lunch we could’ve taken them to the library and they wouldn’t mind, and our mentioning the dinosaurs didn’t hurt, either.

Image credit: weheartsydney.com

We decided to improvise for the rest of the day, driving around and enjoying an occasional pit-stop here and there for everybody’s convenience. At that point we wanted to relax, but also to keep moving rather than to just sit somewhere and rest. Our first family road-trip-like vacation proved to be a great success, which encouraged Laura and me to plan a more daring one for the next holiday with strong support from the kids, who want to take part in the planning. We could be in for more of an adventure than we intended.

Author: Bob Gorman