Thank you for the warning about the Excess Reduction. My sister and I have decided to spring for the additional insurance (peace of mind), which will reduce the deposit we have to leave. Since we are going to pick up a caravan in Darwin and return it in Sydney there are a variety of pitfalls on the deposit, depending on whether we pay in cash, traveler's checks, or on a credit card. So, just to make sure I don't run out of credit card, I plan to prepay VISA about what I think I'll spend on the caravan just before I fly from the US. I booked it today for a 21 day period in December/January. I've been told this is the major holiday break for all the schools, but it's also my sister's break from graduate school - so we really don't have much choice. We've both lived in hot humid places, so we shouldn't grow too much mold on us in Darwin before we dry out in Alice Springs. Perhaps you can tell me whether the roofs of the RV type rather than the 'stretch' van vehicles have a metal roof. I'm a ham radio operator and will get a reciprocal license to operate while I'm there. If the roof is steel I can take a mag-mount antenna. If not, then I need to build a roll-up J-Pole to hang from a window or tree. Thanks for the info.

Mary E. Meyer