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Edition 419: 4th February 2016 Hi ExplorOz Reader, Is 2016 shaping up to be a big year for you? If you're got a trip planned don't leave it too late to get organised. Use the months ahead to do your research of the area you intend to visit. And by research, we don't just mean pick the roads you're going to travel and how far you can drive each day, but think about what are you actually going to SEE & DO along the way?
Don't fall into the trap of cramming too many miles into your itinerary to reach the destination. The Journey is the Destination - Quote by Dan Eldon. THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION
For some tips on how you can MAKE THE JOURNEY YOUR DESTINATION we encourage you to look at enriching your understanding of the history and ecology of where you are going. We recommend that you use the following sections of the ExplorOz website to find this information - go to Trek Notes, Wildflowers & Places as a great place to start.Trek Notes - all the facts you need about preparing to go along a track is listed including permit requirements, best time to travel, vehicle suitability, and a suggested route through the area with supporting driving notes. A section on What to See, Where to Stay provides you with a list of Places, so click these to go into separate pages containing more detail for each one. Includes photos and reviews by other ExplorOzers who have been there.
Wildflowers - you can browse different regions and photos of native flowering plants. These pages contain the common names, scientific names and tips to help you identify them. If you're a newcomer to the world of Australian wildflowers, we suggest you start by browsing the blogs in the Blooming News section.
Places - you can browse the map in Places to find interesting places to stop and explore. Take time to zoom into the areas you plan to travel and look for icons that pop up to find out more about these identified locations. Each Place icon is pinned to the map in the precise position. You can view the lat/long coordinates simply by hovering your mouse over the icon, or you can click once to open the pop up or click again on the link to Open Place for a full page containing the position coordinates in 3 different datums, plus a description, map (defaults to EOTopo with excellent zooming capability, but can also be switched to show Google Satellite, or Google Streets), plus a live segment from the BOM from the nearest climatic station, as well as travellers photos and reviews that have been shared by ExplorOzers that have been there.
Shop - we stock a range of Pioneer Stories that are well worth looking at. Certainly, you can't possibly drive any of the Len Beadell Roads without having read (or listened to) his books.
2016 EXPLOROZ CALENDARS
 LAST CHANCE - ONLY 22 LEFT
If you thought you missed out on getting an ExplorOz Calendar, luck is on your side. We've still got a few copies left so we've dropped the price down to just $15 per copy, or if you want to save even further grab the pack of 5 for only $70. Available Here.
This is a 13 month calendar from January 2016 - January 2017 so it is still current for the next 12 months. One month is featured per page with a full colour A4 sized image of the Australia outback shared by some of the best photographers in the ExplorOz community.
We'd especially like to acknowledge and thank the contributing photographers:- Barry O'Malley, Mick Olsen, Sandy Jacka, Allan McCall, Stephen Langman, Joe Abrams, Kerry Wynn, Paul Horton. Most of these photographers have teased us with their beautiful travel blogs, but this is your opportunity to have their photos on your wall so don't miss out.
AMPFIBIAN SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER
For a limited time, receive $10 off ($20 off for members) and a free Carry Bag (valued at $15) when you purchase an Ampfibian 15A - 10A Adaptor RV02 Max from the ExplorOz Online Shop. The Ampfibian connects 15A devices to a standard household power point safely and legally and is a must-have device for caravanners, DIY'ers and tradesmen. Weatherproof rating to IP55 for outdoor use. OFFER VALID TO 5/2/16.
PRODUCT ACCESSORY RUNOUT
Many of you will already own a SPOT Connect, ToyLok Tool Box, Versa Lite, or Go-Pro but do you have all these accessories to go with them? Some items only $10! Grab a bargain before stock runs out.
EXPLORE THESE CITIES ON YOUR BIKE
Getting out for a Sunday drive has changed to the Sunday "Ride". These Where to Ride guides provide excellent maps and information to allow you to follow a safe bike route of any distance. Suits cyclists of any level with routes graded by difficulty and distance. Must have for locals and tourers alike.
BIG RED BASH 2016Business Member - Birdsville Big Red Bash
The iconic outback music festival, the Birdsville Big Red Bash, will return to the Big Red from 4-6th July 2016. Aussie music legends Jimmy Barnes and Paul Kelly will headline the festival, playing alongside other incredible artists including The Angels and Troy Cassar-Daly. Staged at the famous Big Red sand dune on the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert 35km outside of Birdsville in Queensland, the Bash promises an experience of a lifetime for anyone seeking a unique Australian outback adventure. Buy tickets now at the event website.
 Did you know that the Places section of ExplorOz goes hand-in-hand with EOTopo maps? We take great pride in our ongoing data collection throughout the massive audience contributions that continue to build the Places database. All Places you find in our online system are included within the EOTopo map data
such as topography features (geography, infrastructure, population) but
also reserves, and services are included. Every river crossing, rail head, walk trail, national park, campsite, mine, water tower, outback junctions/intersections, survey marker, sign, station homestead, ruin, place name, town, city, suburb, aboriginal community and more. In addition, we load extra symbols on the map to highlight the following POIs that we feel ExplorOzers want to see easily: - All Places tagged with the primary/secondary Point of Interest attribute (over 3000 Australia wide). These are specific places where there's something interesting to see or do. These are indicated on EOTopo maps with the camera symbol. This symbol is placed on the precise position (GPS accuracy).
- All Camp & Accommodation sites (over 5600 Australia wide). These can include free camps, commercial & government campgrounds, caravan parks, station-stays, roadhouses and so on. These are indicated on EOTopo maps with the applicable symbol. NOTE: there are 2 types of camp symbols. The symbol for a camp is a tent icon. A "Red" tent symbol means a fee is payable at this camp. A "Green" tent symbol means this is a free camp.
The online Places section of ExplorOz contains over 85,000 POIs and grows daily with photos, descriptions, reviews and more from our audience. We thank all our regular site users who make the effort to contribute to this important data sharing resource.
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