DRIVING IN AUSTRALIA
 

PLANNING TO RENT A CAR IN CAIRNS AND DRIVE TO PT. DOUGLAS. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR FIRST TIME DRIVERS TO DRIVE ON LEFT AND IN PARTICULAR I HAVE HEARD ABOUT "ROUNDABOUTS"<BR>DO THEY PRESENT ANY PARTICULAR DIFFICULTIES FOR NEW DRIVERS. ANY COMMENTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

I don't think that there is a single roundabout (Yanks call them 'traffic circles' between Cairns and Port Douglas. It will not be too tough to learn to drive on the left side, particularly as you are not going to encounter much traffic north of the Daintree River.

I beg to differ, but there are quite a few large roundabouts b/w Cairns and Port Douglas. You just have to remember to keep to the left all the way through, giving way to anyone coming from your right. There shouldn't be that much traffic but if you feel unsure, better to take the bus. When you say 'first time driver' do you mean you have never driven before? <BR>If you do hire a car, ensure you get an automatic so you don't have to worry about finding the gearstick and watching the road. There were some heavy trucks on that stretch of road when we drove it last year, so keep your eyes on the road, not on the beautiful coastline!<BR>Kay

If you take care and drive slowly until you get the hang of it, you should be all right. We have driven overseas (on the right side of the road) and remind each other every time we get back onto the road, that we are driving on the 'right side'. So far, so good.<BR>There are quite a few roundabouts between Cairns and Port Douglas, but they are large, plenty of room to manoevre and well sign-posted. Just remember to give way to the traffic on the right hand side. The traffic is not heavy and a hire car will give you the opportunity to stop and look whenever you can. Incidentally a nice place to visit en route is Palm Cove - nice beach, pretty village atmosphere and some good places to eat.<BR>If you are there in cane-cutting time (about July to October), remember to watch out for cane trains crossing the road.

We took our first drive on the road between Cairns and Palm cove. It was pretty scary, buy my husband was an active navigator..kept saying things like 'clear on the right", "keep to the left" etc . Though I would have killed him at home for doing this, it was very helpful there. the roundabouts (and there are quite a few between Cairns and PD) are actually quite nice. You don't have to come to a stop and worry about cross traffic. it is just a gently merge, and you get the hang of them quickly. The worst part of driving that road is is you do it at dusk or after dark. it is a dark country road, and there is no divider from oncoming traffic. We stayed too late in Port Douglas one night and were very nervous driving home. do get an automatic shift. Can you imagine the confusion using your left hand to shift?

We drove a shift car in Australia and New Zealand....but my wife and I are both used to driving a stick.<BR><BR>In the beginnnig I drove, and my wife shifted from the passenger side ...whenever I annonced "shift".<BR><BR>After getting used to shifting with your left hand,,,shifting was no prob.

Hi Howard,<BR><BR>The best advice I ever got about driving on the 'other' side of the road was....when you are driving and look outside your drivers side window you should be looking toward the middle of the road, or the roundabout. Simple yes, but effective...well, in my case yes.<BR><BR>By the way I am Australian so for me it was getting used to what you guys see as normal.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR>David