Driving in Oz is a pretty straightforward affair because it is so similar to the UK – there a couple of quirks that one needs to be aware of but more about them later (Oh Goodie!). The thing that I found hardest to get used to was the indicators – the wipers and indicators are on the other side if you’re used to European cars. Older people will remember that when cars were made in the UK back in the Sixties, indicators were on the right, and wipers were activated by a dashboard switch and were invariably powered from a vacuum tank linked to the carburettor. This system delivered variable speed wipers in a somewhat variable fashion – as you drove uphill the wipers slowed and often stopped altogether but when you reached the brow and hurtled uncontrollably down the other side on your four inch cross ply tyres, the wipers smashed from side to side like a fiddler’s elbow – but I digress. It’s relatively easy to retrain your brain to use the right hand stalk for indicating except when you need to draw on instinctive reactions. Driving towards a junction your navigator hits the dashboard and shouts “go that way”. “Which way would ‘that’ way be” you politely enquire as the traffic converges on the junction from various angles. “Left”, no right, no left” – the junction looms and in the panic you find yourself with the wipers smashing from side to side like the afore mentioned fiddler’s elbow.
We returned the car without damage and were complimented on how clean we had kept the windscreen.
