Cash or Card?

Yep and phone lines may be down etc. I always take $500 cash with me - just in case....

Mike Harding

Good common sense advice for any traveller Mike, whether going to Ayres Rock or Paris! Use a card whenever possible Benno and don't hide your cash under the passengers seat. Fill your tank at every opportunity and don't talk to strangers!

Between Brisbane and Uluru you will be hard pressed to find a place that does not have EFTPOS facilities. But carrying a couple of hundred cash wouldn't go astray.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply, we have had so many people tell us different stories about what to take etc it became confusing. Here;s another question, does anybody take things like base ball bats etc for protection, or had any run ins with crazies. I haven't seen wolf creek but I'm sure some of our friends offering advice have!!!
Cheers

We've never had a problem with the card for fuel, but we always carry cash when in remote areas just in case. We've come across fuel stations without fuel, so no access to credit card is a possibility too.
We have a secret hiding spot in the Hilux where we always put $1,000 cash before a big trip. Only had to tap into it once, but glad we had it.

We use the card as much as possible. Much easier and lets you do a reconciliation of trip expenses a bit easier on return.

Traveller's cheques went out with the Ark. (Didn't they Roachie?)

The best thing I have found out to use is a Visa Debit card. You transfer whatever amount you need for a while into the card and can then use it for both cash withdrawals and purchases up to the balance of the amount on the card. The card is also PIN protected. This of course is for overseas travel. The card can be "topped up" at Banks, or over the Internet.

Locally, I haven't found anywhere that won't take an eftpos, or credit card.
A couple of hundred dollars is enough for emergencies at those real "out of the way" places.

As for baseball bats, the problem with this form of defence is that it can be turned and used against you.
Forget Wolf Creek, Ivan Millat, or other "crazy critters" you hear about.
The chances are you will not come across any aggressive personalities out bush. You are more likely to "bump" into them in the major cities.

Just one word of caution. If you are driving out bush and someone walks out onto the road to flag you down, especially if they are dark in colour....DO NOT STOP.
This word of warning was given to us by an NT constable in a certain township that will remain anonymous.
Just keep on driving, they will move out of the way. (This is more common north of Alice Springs a few kilometres outside some townships and even this is pretty rare. They are after smokes, or booze, etc.)

definitly have a stash of cash. iw ould have been stuffed without it when my Eftpos card went awaol on the GRR. For protection a good old maglight gives a bit of piece of mind while serving a duel purpose. i have only had cause to use it once although i was camped in the Middle of Derby and a "Tired an emotional" "local" was prowling around. i flung the door of the camper open and shone it straight in there eyes suggesting most forcfully they move on

Remember too that in some remote areas they will only accept cash for fuel, not often but happens occasionally.
On your trip to Alice you will be able to pay with eftpos/credit card everywhere but we always carry enough cash to cover a couple of hundred litres of fuel and food replenishment in case of phone lines being down.

As said above a bit of cash is handy only because sometimes the phone lines go down.
Security is something most people worry about but I have found that you do exactly what you do at home and you won't have any trouble at all. IE dont leave cameras, laptops, wallets etc lying about in full view.
As for talking to the locals that is the raison d'tre you are there and usually one of the most intresting parts of the trip. Much to the disgust of my kids who reckon I will talk to any old loony or "differrent person". If you don't seek out the locals you end up talking to just your fellow travellers , who generally are quite interesting as well, but you find out that they live next door to your cousin or some other tenuous connection. If you really want to have something to say at your next dinner party push yourself out of your comfort zone a bit, which you are possibly already doing. Good luck

A baseball bat shouldn't be needed. I keep a machete handy which is actually for chopping kindling but a visitor would have to be very violent before I would even think of producing it. I have never had to even show it let alone threaten anyone with it.

The vast majority of people you are going to meet are just like you.

Oh, umm, yes I see what you mean, perhaps a baseball bat would be a good idea !

8-)

Yes. We take about $1,000 cash and use the credit card where possible. Don't let it run down too much. As soon as you do Murphy says you will need $20 more than you have. If you are staying in any National Parks take plenty small notes and gold coins.

Steve

Take the baseball bat. You can use it in place of a credit card if you have no cash.

We had no cash at Oodnadatta when their lines were down. No probs they said they put in thru manually later on when the lines were back up. All worked out fine.