What the!
I have travelled the coast road many times from Cairns to Brisbane and back, and yet whenever I get on a motorway I lose my way!
Yesterday in Brisbane I wanted to get to Inala to buiy some yummy Vietnamese coffee.....
Started off in Hawthorne and after ending up on the Gold Coast Motorway, then back on the Toowoomba Motorway, another toll, back onto Beaudesert Road and 1000 trucks, I managed to get to Highgate Hill, where I was heading after I bought the coffee.
Well, almost 100 kilometres later, no coffee, almost a fine for an illegal numberplate sign on my bike on the back of the campervan, and most importantly no coffee....I was almost in tears!
So, guess I had best buy a GPS....what do you think?
Would rather swallow razor blades than do that again!

I know how you feel. Hate the cities with all their confusing steets, motorways and tolls. You can go around in circles many times before getting on the right one. Give me the country roads anyday. My hardest part is to get to the other side of Melbourne without having a meltdown. I know I can get on the Western Ring Road when I get down there. Thought I would follow that around to the Eastern Freeway to bypass the city but my son in law tells me they don't actually connect. Have to change left right left many times in small city streets before finding the beginning of the Eastern Freeway, he says. So can't see me ever doing it.

Hey, I,m from Brisbane and still get lost! A navigator is gret, but they can be a distraction, so its best to pull over to read them , for safety reasons. I have new nokia mobile which has maps , so I don,t get lost as much.

3 years ago I was with my sister and brother in law and a few others going to a funeral over the other side of Melb. Had come from Geelong. He was using the nav. The amount of times someone would shout out, no thats the wrong way, turn back, don't listen to the damn thing etc, etc. I sat in the back and thought, We will have an accident soon if he takes any more notice of that nav. We nearly did.

Australian motorways are poorly signposted compared to USA. I have driven quite a few miles (still miles there) in USA and found generally the freeways well signposted with plenty of warning when there's a need to change lanes, also the traffic is much more cooperative and courteous when you do so. They also make extensive use of freeway and highway numbering (I've found Victoria quite good in this regard) as well as numbering all the interchanges and off ramps. this makes giving and following directions much easier.

My Tom Tom has become my best mate, but one still needs to have an idea I where you want to go as maps are not always perfect or upto date.

"Yesterday in Brisbane I wanted to get to Inala to buiy some yummy Vietnamese Coffee.." 
I hope you're joking?
"yummy Vietnamese Coffee.." could be an oxymoron.
Vietnamese Coffee is 'Robusta' which is grown in many countries, but Vietnam is the worlds largest grower. It's a large fast growing bean of very ordinary quality and used by a lot of the big players to make their instant coffee.  Yuck!!!
It doesn't command a high price on the market as quality coffee companies prefer the higher price quality beans. A good quality blended coffee for me please. Early in the day a Latte, and after lunch and the evening, black, no sugar.
Cheers, ozjohn.

-- Edited by ozjohn on Saturday 27th of November 2010 09:50:46 AM

I know an ex taxi driver from Brisbane who has said that Inala is an "avoid if at all possible" location for the cabbies. oops... Am I going off topic??

And for anyone else too jimricho, a very rough area.

I'm glad I'm out of he eastern states and those blasted toll ways. What an insult to tax-paying motorists! I now have to re-acquaint myself with Adelaide, as there have been many changes since I last lived here. No toll ways here or in WA. I also have to re-acclimatise to this fickle weather down here - shorts and short sleeves in the morning, coats and jackets in the evening. No wonder people get crook.

If you are getting what I am getting in Echuca CG, will be very different to what you are used to, has turned quite cold tonight and hasn't stopped raining for most of the day.

I have an old Navman with an updated chip. Daughter drove me to Melbourne for tests last year. nearly into city when she listened to it and turned out it was trying to send us to Bendigo - last place I had used it six months before. So I was only an hour late for the appointment. When I eventually get back to travelling it will be with a new GPS. Best advise I think is to check your maps thoroughly first and then virtually use the darned thing as a moving map. I've turned off the annoying voice. Rather cool and damp in NE Vic too.

Hi - with all the  roadworks on the motorways around Brisbane at the moment, a GPS is pretty useless - you needed to head towards Ipswich - possibly on Centenary Highway (on-toll) - get to Ipswich Rd and look for signs to Inala the Centenary Hway leads off the Ipswich rd to Northern Suburbs - I have found that looking at a map overall of Brissy helps me get my bearings - get your directions (ie N S E or W) and head in that direction.  Hope this helps - I am from Melbourne, and haven't got lost in Brissy yet - hardly ever use my GPS, and manage to get where I need to.
jules

I lived in Inala as a kid and it is one of the roughest places in Brisbane.It used to be a migrant from europe place with housing commission homes by the hundred. But now , its been taken over by asians, mostly vietnamese, with lots of ethnic gangs, and not a safe place to walkat night. Rather sad, really.

I've lived in Brisbane all my life, but as soon as I cross the river, I get lost. I recently had to drop out of town friend's son at Kelvin Grove At 9AM on a weekday. But I was prepared for the traffic at that hour.

Then from there to Indooroopilly Shoppingtown, and back to collect friend at Kelvin Grove. That's when I got lost. I don't have GPS but had my street directory. And that's when I found out my friend of 35 years is a lousy navigator!

I had done my homework before leaving home too!

Re: Inala...scary place. Always has been.

Looove Indooroopilly Shoppingtown, what a massive place.

jules47 wrote:

---

Hi - with all the  roadworks on the motorways around Brisbane at the moment, a GPS is pretty useless - you needed to head towards Ipswich - possibly on Centenary Highway (on-toll) - get to Ipswich Rd and look for signs to Inala the Centenary Hway leads off the Ipswich rd to Northern Suburbs - I have found that looking at a map overall of Brissy helps me get my bearings - get your directions (ie N S E or W) and head in that direction.  Hope this helps - I am from Melbourne, and haven't got lost in Brissy yet - hardly ever use my GPS, and manage to get where I need to.
jules

---

Electronic signs on Ipswich Motorway currently say to ingore your GPS and read the directional road signs instead.  With so much road work going on, (and I have lived on Southside of Brisbane all my life) it can be really confusing - they keep moving the exits!

 

Sorry I haven't replied to your reply....getting better at the Brisbane thing but eek!
I was going to go to Melbourne in my van for xmas but chickened out and am flying......
What kind of van do you have?
I am wanting to upsize one day to a Sprinter.....
Bye for now
Christine

Hi Ozjohn....
Well you must be a good sleeper!
I should have gone back to this site as I feel as though I have made touch with like minded people....I wasn't expecting a response....but hey!!!
Thanks
Well, I am loving the coffee which I finally got with the help of someone with a navman.....
I want one but then I was told that you have to keep getting updates....that is where they make the money.
Bye noe

Inala was like another country!
But I was thrilled (when I finally got back there) to find great vietnamese greens ...cheap too!
I don't think I want to live there though.
Plan is to buy a sprinter, buy a house back in Cairns (too expensive here....can only buy a dog box) and just travel when Cairns gets too hot!

Thanks Jules.
I think it was the initial fear.....and of course it came to pass....have to stay positive

Opted for a plane ticket to Melbourne for xmas....the whole drive idea was too scary....think I could do it now though after Brisbane.
Hope the weather clears up down there for the 21st!

Ha!!!

Ah, now I see how this works....instead of answering replies, you just use the 'quick reply'... Told you I was new...... I am going to be spending a few nights in the van between housesits either side of xmas..... Thought I might go to Thailand early in the year and have the dental work done, then head back to the north after the rain. If there ever is an 'after the rain'. Bye all, it was great to talk to you wannabenomada

I hate that freeway business in adelaide where you have the traffice closed one way and can only go a certain way during certain times, I tried to tell Vicki , my tom tom lady about it but i had to turn her off and find the coast road upto aldinga..arggg..

wannabe, we don't know who you are replying to in your indivual posts. Very confusing. Who was the Ha!! for a start and not sure who you were answering in the others. Regarding your last post I would love to pop over to Bali for a couple of weeks from Darwin if and when I ever get there. Would be cheaper from darwin thean all the way from Melbourne.