Todd, following on from your road tips, I'd thought I share some as well for the Queenslanders attending this event.
Travel Tips for Queenslanders while in ‘God’s Own Country’
Some may say that Queenslanders are of a unique breed, not cut from the same cloth of other mere mortals. With their love of half strength beer, complete lack of basic road rules and a half baked football team they call the Broncos, I’d thought that the following travel tips could come in handy to make the trip ‘down south’ a more pleasant and enjoyable experience.
When using roads.
1. Just as you cross into New South Wales you will see a white sign that states the speed limit is 100km per hour. Unlike Qld, where this sign is shot at over a carton of XXXX for target practice, to ensure your safety in our fine state, we ask that you stick to this limit. That way you will see more of gods own country at a leisurely pace and arrive in Tamworth ready for racing, calm and relaxed.
2. Most road users in NSW will display what is called ‘courtesy’. For example, when they approach a stop sign, they will stop, at a give way sign, they will give way. The blinking orange light you see on the car is called a signal, telling you their intentions to turn left or right. While this may appear strange to you at first, give it a go and you will find that you still get to your destination without causing a near death experience, calm and relaxed for racing
3. Likewise, a road user may give you a signal with their hand as they go past you. In Queensland you are accustomed to this signal to be the either the ‘bird’ or the ‘one finger salute’. In NSW, we use our whole hand in a waving motion to say ‘Hello’ or ‘Thank you’ when we let you in on merging lanes, or simply on a long lonely stretch of road to acknowledge your travels and wish you well. This makes for an enjoyable relaxing trip.
4. In NSW, we have signs that state ‘Keep left unless overtaking’ You may have these signs in Qld, but normally they are ignored, cause confusion as most Queenslanders don’t know their right from left, or used as target practice. This rule was created to help with traffic flow and allow other road user’s to safely get around you along the highway. It’s not an opportunity to race your Landcruiser while towing a caravan against the family sedan. Give it a go while driving, you will enjoy driving in the left lane
5. Finally, take a break while driving. NSW has many rest stops for you to enjoy a quick stretch of the legs. Stop in one of the many great towns along the way like Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Armidale or Uralla. People are friendly and won’t hold it against you that you have a white number plate.
Enjoy the trip so that you can enjoy the racing.
Cheers
Karl K