FollowupID: 645090 Submitted:
Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009 at 20:19
dazza62 posted:
Interesting information and comments that all have some merit.
On our trip we were travelling alone in a well maintained vehicle. Whilst we had the knowledge and experience to get out of most situations it is always reassuring to have some form of back up just in case it all went pear shaped.
We were equipped with UHF,
Sat Phone and
EPIRB. as mentioned the
Sat Phone was hired. Would pay to check the rates for yourself as you would be surprised how cheap it was for the time we were away.
Like a previous comment, we went Outback to get away from the phone, so it was purely for an emergency and to check text messages. (The kids and pets were after all home alone!!!)
As we had been off the beaten track we reported in on two occasions and the costs were as follows:- 5 and a half minute call cost $17-03 and a 4 minute call cost $12-42. Keep in mind that this was from my own sim card inserted in the phone on the Telstra Next G network. We did not get charged to receive text messages.
I am told that should you choose to receive a call you will also pay for it at a similar rate, however that was not the purpose for us carrying the phone so no calls were ever going to be received.
It would be unwise to rely on an
EPIRB as your only emergency source as an
EPIRB should only be activated when someone is in "grave or imminent danger". I don't believe that a broken down car would be considered "grave and imminent danger" whereas a
Sat Phone could be used to obtain help before that situation arose.
In our case we considered the cost was a very small price to pay to ensure our safety in an emergency and maintain our independance in a remote part of
Australia.
