15

take the Ghan rather than fly absolutely

16

I found this site/reviews quite useful when deciding my options about currency:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money

17

In twitter, you can apply a filter that just removes all the posters, and topics you find pointless. Any chance of LP coming up with one for certain posters? Daycat, has it ever, just once, occurred to you to check a single fact before you post? Has it ever occurred to you to think for just a few seconds and do one meaningful post, rather than 6 correcting your self?

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth.

• You are right not to bring Travellers' Cheques. They are increasingly hard to cash and pointless
• The easiest, safest and usually cheapest way is to simply withdraw cash from an ATM, as you need it. BUT make sure it is from an ATM at an Australian bank which has an arrangement with your bank. In this case, the fees are reduced or waived . EG, I'm with Westpac in Australia, if in the UK I use Barclays, or in the USA Bank of America, this costs me nothing apart from the foreign exchange fee.
• But, it 's always a good idea to have some cash before you land just in case you cannot find an ATM or have problems with your card, so the $500 is a very good idea.
• It's also smarter to withdraw maybe once or twice a week rather than every day, to cut down on fees.
• It's also a good idea to tell your bank you are going overseas, and for how long, so they don't stop your card when they see foreign transactions appearing (which they may think are evidence of fraud).

The Ghan is VERY expensive, so only do this as a splurge. Also, Alice Springs is over 400 klms and around 5 hours drive from Uluru. Alice is well worth a visit in its own right, as a base to see the West Macdonnells (Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm) but if you only wish to see Uluru, you can fly, or coach direct to the Rock, and not have to drive 200 klms north of the turn off, and then come all the way back down the highway.

18

hey, im travelling to Oz next year and have got a Caxton FX card. Google them :)

x

19

thank you all thats really helpful, i'll definatly be taking my barclays card in that case then and look into the caxton , okay thanks for the info on the ghan too when we get to alice springs we're going with a company called the Rock Tour to see Uluru/Kings canyon but thanks everyone :) xx