Essential Info for Non-Aussies (Or Aussies Who Haven’t Left the City for a While)

Essential information for non-Aussies (and Aussies who haven’t left the city much!)

Safety in the outback

The phrase “everything can kill you in Australia” is probably more accurately put “Lots CAN kill you in Australia, but nothing really WANTS to”. The most likely dangers to human life on a trip around Australia are heat, isolation, and not taking enough water.

I’ll outline the keys safety concepts we adhered to here, and anything we wish we’d known. 

Some basic survival principles first: 

– Australia is LARGE. I mean it’s GIANT. We often drove for 7 hours straight each day for 5 days straight before reaching our next destination. As well as being large, Australia is EMPTY. Especially in the outback, there are no people. I cannot stress this enough. While there will usually be some sort of town or settlement within 300 kms, a “settlement” can mean a petrol station in the middle of nowhere with one house next to it. If your car breaks down, you will want to have a clear idea of where you are, a way to contact someone, and enough water to last you until someone comes to your aid.

• You must know where you’re going before you start out for the day. Allow more time to get there than you think you will need, know what petrol stations are along the way. You are unlikely to have phone reception for a vast majority of the time. Google maps is not enough. Download offline maps (from here) and have a topographical maps app. Know what campsite you are heading to that night, and get there well before dark. 

Do not drive at dawn or dusk. I repeat, and I can’t stress enough, this is a common Aussie “unspoken rule” for a reason. There is a lot of wildlife on the roads at these times, and in the outback, that wildlife is BIG (sometimes camels, often cows, water buffalo, goats, and pigs). Kangaroos can and will startle and jump in front of your car at some stage during the trip.

Let someone know if you’re heading into off grid territory, and when you estimate you’ll be back.

Choose Telstra for the best outback phone service. This is a service trusted by true blue Aussies, stationmasters, and truck drivers. 

– Take a satellite messaging device OR an eperb device. We used a Garmin InReach messenger that allows you to send texts, send an SOS signal, and send exact coordinate checkins to your family and friends across the world. They have a monthly subscription so you can pay for the device and then only pay for the subscription for the months you’re travelling. Eperb allow you to send an SOS with your GPS coordinates to emergency services, but you can’t message anyone. We chose the Garmin because we wanted to be able to chat with someone if we needed to (if car breaks down we could message a car-savvy mate to ask for advice, etc). We luckily did not need to use the device at all, but We felt safer for having it.

Carry more water than you think you will need. We carried 60L of water with us at all times when going remote into National Parks or doing long driving stretches. We didn’t often use all of that, but you’d be surprised how much you go through between doing dishes, the occasional shower/wash, and drinking. There is sometimes drinking water available at campsites, but don’t count on it. ALWAYS bring enough water to last you at least 1 day more than you think you’ll need (for drinking water only, that is 5L per person per day minimum) If you’re on the east coast, you will very likely be fine with 10L or 20L because there are towns everywhere, but if you’re heading inland, into northern Australia, or to the west coast, don’t count on anyone to provide you with water. 

• Tip: Buy a tap key at Bunnings. This will allow you to use taps at parks and remote sites that don’t have a handle. It really was an essential item for us. 

Petrol is generally available along the coasts and even remotely in a lot of places. There was only one time when we NEEDED to carry extra petrol, and that was driving to Karijini in Western Australia. The rest of the time it was just a nice convenience to be able to save $20 here and there by stocking up at cheaper petrol places. Some outback and rural petrol station can charge .50 to $1 more per litre, so it helps to have jerry cans with you, and for peace of mind. 

– You’ll want to take a good snakebit kit and learn how to use it (it’s really simple, you can learn here: ) We got our from St John’s Ambulance website. In fact they have a great fully kitted first aid kit for $100.

Other essentials for a first aid kit when going bush include:

– antiseptic cream or ointment. 

– denatured alcohol or peroxide to clean wounds

– bandages/bandaids

On the topic of snakes: We saw a lot of snakes on our trip. We were very fortunate to see them, because many people don’t ever see a snake, and they are beautiful and fascinating animals.. We happened to hike a lot and go to very remote spots. When we saw snakes, they were usually doing their best to head AWAY from us, and they were not interested in us at all. This is a general rule with snakes in Australia – they are not naturally aggressive, and as soon as they hear you coming they will try to flee. However, you should wear long pants when hiking, and you should look where you are going. Do not put your hand under rocks or into bushes. When exiting the van at night, wear shoes and carry a headtorch. Snakes can be active at night. 

The wet season in Northern Australia is a real thing, and you should be aware of it when planning your trip. Roads can and do get completely washed out, and rains can start before November. The humidity in Darwin and QLD is intense in October, so be aware. You may get trapped in towns or even get washed out if you risk driving through in wet season. I highly recommend being out of the North by November. 

Crocodile season is wet season, but they can migrate surprising distances and be active outside of this season. Don’t take risks once you get past Exmouth, or on the East coast, central QLD. Don’t swim in remote rivers or beaches in Northern Australia at any time of year. It might look lovely but it just isn’t worth it.