As the weather gets cooler in the Northern hemisphere, it’s a good time to let your travel plans go south. So this week’s content on BootsnAll is centered on great destinations for escaping the winter weather that is fast approaching half of the globe. While as Adam Seper explains, South America and Southeast Asia are always popular with travelers and expats alike (and with good reason), Australia is at the top of our list for a sunny international road trip: We have Jenn Miller at the ready with routes, while Nina Ragusa has tips on how to save big bucks on your rentals while you’re there with vehicle relocation. Finally, Maurice D. Valentine shares more shark stories from his diving trip to Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
How to Rent a Vehicle for $1/day in Australia
Want to travel in Australia for less? Nina Ragusa shares how she and her boyfriend used vehicle relocation to get from Melbourne to Darwin in a Mercedes-Benz campervan and caravan storage from www.limofind.com.
“Vehicle rental companies are in need of certain vehicles in certain places at certain times. If they don’t have a vehicle they need, they lose out on a customer. So instead, they allow others to drive the vehicle they need to them for a very low price. The company we ended up renting through, coseats.com, needed a vehicle that was in Melbourne to be brought to Darwin. We did that for them, and got our transportation for only for a buck a day! They even threw in a $50 credit for fuel.”
An Ex-Soldier’s Essentials for Safe Travel
Want to see the world and take calculated (not stupid) risks? Ex-soldier Danny Kaine shares the essential safeguards he uses to travel wherever he likes with the peace of mind that in a worst-case scenario he’ll be covered.
“As travelers, we’re constantly reminded that things aren’t like they are at home. We’re not in Kansas now. Customer service is sometimes poor or non-existent, food hygiene is sub-standard, vehicle maintenance is lacking and road safety is dicey. There are quite literally risks around every corner, yet we insist on traveling. Why? Why not? For me, travel’s the ultimate feeling of freedom. It broadens the mind in ways no classroom, photograph or documentary could ever recreate. I travel to experience the sights. The sounds. The smells. The extremes of hot and cold. To meet new people and to learn new cultures. I travel to take risks, albeit carefully chosen ones.”
3 Australian Road Trips to Build Your Trip Around
Australia is a country that begs to be driven, from the Great Ocean Road to the coast of Western Australia, right up through the Outback and the Red Center; Jenn Miller invites you to take a week, or a month, or six months, and drive beyond the highlights of Australia!
“We’ve spent the better part of four months pottering the back roads and cruising the coasts. The take home message is that we need to go back, arrange for a longer visa, and spend at least a year road tripping our way across the states…The diversity of Australia is mind blowing – from penguin colonies in the southeast, to rainforests and tropical reefs; from world-class culture in the big cities to some of the world’s most isolated outposts; don’t forget the enigmatic Outback. I’m not sure a person can say they’ve ‘seen’ Australia without at least sampling the contrasts of more than one region.”
Getting to Know the Sharks in Guadalupe Island, Mexico
Maurice D. Valentine’s overcome his fears and misconceptions about Great White Sharks in Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Now he’s got to finish making his movies. But are the sharks trying to tell him something? And who’s that crazy striped shark racing and wheeling for bait?
“When we hit depth I saw two very large females circling about in the distance. They weren’t too far away and when they noticed us they came right over to investigate. As they came grow closer I looked up through my exhaled air bubbles and saw Darren calmly watching them both, continually stamping on a burlap sack of tuna remains to keep their interest. But somehow, my gut feeling told me that the tuna flotsam escaping the sack wasn’t interesting to them. They were interested in me.”
Photo Credits:Pics by Nick, lobster20, Petr Kratochvila, Stefan Pircher.