Travel Tips @nz | Transfercar Blog

Drive the Great Southern Touring Route

Grab a free rental car from Melbourne and drive the Great Southern Touring Route. Here’s what we reckon you should do:

Melbourne to Torquay
Drive past the distinctive humps of The You Yangs, a favourite with mountain bikers and rock climbers, and you’ll know your journey has begun. Make sure to bring a lock like this bike lock. In the pretty port of Geelong, you can set the seaside mood by wandering along the 100-plus painted bollards on the city’s shorefront. Just beyond the city centre is the turnoff for the Great Ocean Road and Torquay – a famed surfing town with the world’s largest surfing museum. A short drive away you can look for point break at the iconic surf spot of Bells Beach.

Torquay to Lorne
As you steer along the dramatic south-west coastline, you’ll find it hard to believe that returned First World War soldiers carved the Great Ocean Road out of the cliff with picks, shovels and crowbars. There’s a monument to their efforts just outside Lorne Victoria’s most cherished seaside playground. Here you can hit the surf, go fishing, sunbake on the golden sand or drink coffee at one of Victoria’s first cafes.

Lorne to Port Fairy
On the drive to Apollo Bay, you’ll see rugged cliffs drop dramatically to the ocean on one side and national park on the other. Explore the ancient rainforests, heathlands, glow worm caves and spectacular waterfalls of Great Otway National Park on a bushwalk or bike ride. Visit the 150-year-old Cape Otway Lighthouse and stop for a picnic at Paradise and Shelly Beaches. As you continue round the coast, you’ll spot the craggy limestone towers of the Twelve Apostles. Soak up the stunning views and get snap happy from two easy walkways. Continue along the stretch known as Shipwreck Coast for the wild seas that sent at least 700 ships crashing on the rocks.

Port Fairy to Halls Gap

The coastal part of your affair may be over, but don’t think for a moment the romance is. Detour to see the lava tubes at Byaduk Caves in Mount Napier State Park. These sandstone ranges stay in your sights as you drive into the tourist hub of Halls Gap, surrounded by the Wonderland and Mount William ranges. Stay here in accommodation ranging from 5-star villas to basic camping grounds and explore many of the Grampians’ major attractions.

Related: The best mountain bike under 200.

Halls Gap to Melbourne

Head north towards the goldfields and stop along the way at Stawell, where Australia’s most famous foot race is held each Easter. Learn about the history of the Chinese prospectors in the nearby gold rush town of Ararat. Then have your very own Eureka moment as you head into Ballarat, the heart of Victoria’s goldfields. Explore the elegant tree-lined streets and grand public buildings, the legacy of the 1850s goldmining boom. Relive it at Sovereign Hill, a living museum where you can pan for gold alongside volunteers in period costume. Then learn about the famous uprising of the Eureka stockade at the Mining Exchange. Say your goodbyes to the road trip of a lifetime as you head back to Melbournethrough the charming towns of Trentham and Blackwood. Apparently all good things have to come to an end.

Photos and Text from Tourism Australia.

The Grand Pacific Drive: Sydney to Wollongong and Beyond…

Drive your free rental car south out of Sydney and through the Royal National Park to begin the cliff-hugging Grand Pacific Drive. Stop to swim, surf or picnic at Stanwell Tops, where you can also take in stunning coastal views from the cliff-tops. Drive over the dramatic Sea Cliff Bridge, which spans 455 metres over the ocean, and into the scenic city of Wollongong.

The drive boasts many great eateries from a casual lunch of fish n’ chips on the harbour to fine dining or beer tasting overlooking the ocean. The NSW South Coast has a reputation for fresh seafood and Harbour House Crabs options with many restaurants stocking the daily catch. The southern section of the drive features many great wineries and local produce.

Stop for a coffee in Shellharbour on Lake Illawarra or in Kiama where the famous Blowhole shoots water up to 60 metres. Continue through the lush rolling hills to Gerringong and Gerroa, which sits perched on cliffs overlooking Seven Mile Beach.

Drive alongside it to Shoalhaven Heads, a popular spot for swimming, surfing and beach fishing, or head inland for a pub lunch in the pretty historic town of Berry. Do a short, scenic drive to the antique shops, galleries and green pasturelands of Kangaroo Valley.

Or curve towards the coast and stop at Coolangatta Estate for award-winning wines. Finish your first day in Nowra, which offers pretty antique shops and cafes and find a rustic pub to sleep the night.

(Text Tourism Australia)

Things to Do in Adelaide

Adelaide is known as Australia’s most liveable city, and because of that, it is also an easy one for travelers to visit and get to know better. It doesn’t take much for a visitor to get around, especially since it is also known as the 20 minute city. In other words: It’s not an overwhelming place to travel like Sydney might be with its traffic and far-reaching suburbs and attractions.

adelaide2

When you arrive after catching a budget flight, here are some of the things to do in Adelaide: Continue reading Things to Do in Adelaide

Car relocation + one-way flight = great return trip!

Combining a free car relocation with a cheap one-way flight is the way to go if you want to save both time and money!

The good news for car relocators is that Jetstar has just announced that it’s now going to fly from Auckland to Napier, Nelson, Palmerston North and New Plymouth! The new competition between Air New Zealand and Jetstar airlines – previously restricted to the destinations of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown – will bring air fares down for a range of regional destinations, including Nelson-Wellington flights which will follow early next year.

So what does this mean to you? It means you can now easily book our relocations from the regional cities to Auckland such as for instance Napier to Auckland or Palmerston North to Auckland! Grab a cheap flight to get there and come back with a free rental!

We recommend that you check our website regularly and subscribe to our email alerts for your favourite routes and combine this with an airfare sale for a truly cheap and fast return trip.

Campers, motorhomes, high-tops… the rental jargon explained!

Australia and New Zealand have pretty much the same kinds of campers and motorhomes as anywhere else overseas. However, depending on where you intend to travel and what you need from your relocation , it’s a good idea to know what each type of vehicle looks like and what extras they come with.

Before we start, here’s a little glossary of terms or rental jargon that will help you out:

Berth: for example 2 berth. The berth quantity indicates the legal number of passengers the vehicle can sleep and also generally indicates how many seat belts are available.

High-top: A vehicle with a fixed, extended roof.

Pop-top: A vehicle with an extended roof that must be manually folded out or up.

Campervan or camper: Has sleeping and cooking facilities.

Campervan compact: Smaller campers that look like a Toyota Previa or similar.

Motorhome or RV: Has sleeping and cooking facilities as well as a shower, toilet and hot water.

Continue reading Campers, motorhomes, high-tops… the rental jargon explained!

Tasmania, Wild by Nature

Tasmania, Wild by Nature

Transfercar regularly has free campervan relocations from Sydney and Brisbane to Hobart in Tasmania, and this comes with free ferry and insurance… What are you waiting for?

Tasmania is a nature lover’s paradise. With some of the cleanest air in the world according to climate experts, it’s the perfect place to take a breather from our urban lives and get lost in raw beauty. Did you know that 45% of the island is protected by law as national and regional parks?

Tasmania is seemingly made for a driving holiday where you can visit multiple parks, stop at vineyards and farms and taste great local food. Being a compact island, it’s easy to access its many diverse environments – from alpine ranges and grasslands to beaches and rainforests. From short forest trails leading to waterfalls to multi-day walks with no one else in sight, the island also offers plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs. These are some of Tasmania’s must-dos:

Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and one of the most beautiful and popular places in Tasmania. It is surrounded by serene glacial lakes, old-growth rainforest, and unusual alpine vegetation.

The National Park is home to many great walks, including Dove Lake and the Overland Track, a magnificent six-day walk through the heart of some of the world’s finest mountain terrain.

It’s easy hiking here, with a boardwalk for much of the route, but it’s still spectacular.

Freycinet National Park

Aim to spend at least two days here, exploring and hiking the area. Situated on Tasmania’s beautiful east coast, Freycinet National Park is a long strip of land that looks out to the Tasman Sea from the eastern side and back towards the Tasmanian coastline from the west.

The park is full of natural assets, including the granite peaks of the Hazards that dominate the Peninsula, abundant birdlife and the iconic and much-photographed Wineglass Bay.

The East Coast

A road trip along the East coast is definitely worth it. The East coast is home to a lot of ridiculously beautiful beaches, and you won’t find a single person on them. Plan to spend three times as much time driving as your GPS predicts, and stop off at all of the beaches, as each one offers something special.

St Helens/ Bay of Fires

The St Helens area has some incredible beaches. Binalong Bay is the star of the show here, but if you really want to be alone, drive a few minutes along the coast and you’ll be rewarded with some gorgeous beaches.

Convinced now? See you there!