19 June 2019,
Hi ExplorOz Reader,
EXCITING TIMES FOR TRAVELLERS
This season has been very exciting for travellers with the 2 flood events in northern Qld earlier in the year attracting significant interest in the interior regions with places such as the Simpson Desert and Lake Eyre regions high on everyone's wish list for exploring this season.
We believe there is also a revolution happening with an increased number of young couples interested in camping and in particular to exploring places where a 4WD is needed. Some are even doing the "The Big Lap" with many taking their adventures onto Instagram, as Facebook is now for "old people" - didn't you know?
Of course, there will always be "grey nomads" and no matter your age everyone needs inspiration, maps, POIs and trip planning tools so whilst you might not be seeing these new ExplorOzers active in the Forum, we are certainly seeing a massive increase in people in the 30-45 year old bracket purchasing our app ExplorOz Traveller + EOTopo maps and interacting with our Instagram feed and using our hashtags: #exploroz #exploroztraveller #foundwithexploroz which is just great! Please keep it up!
With such a diverse range of people, there is a large demand on our
resources (Maps, Places, Treks, Tracking). To accommodate the needs of our diversifying audience we are making changes to our website to remove some legacy content and simplify terminology so look out for a site update coming soon.
But most importantly the big news is that EOTopo 2019 is here! This is a big newsletter with a lot of news, so please get yourself comfortable and take your time to read it below.
EXPLOROZ FIELD RESEARCH VEHICLE FOR SALEOur GXL 80 Series Land Cruiser is for sale. All signage has been removed and number plate changed ready for its next owner to make their mark. Fully setup for exploring with everything included for extensive remote area trips (including long range fuel and stainless water tank).
EOTOPO 2019
 EOTopo 2019 is out now! EOTopo has earned its reputation as the most popular mapset for people that love touring, camping, and exploring and is suitable for all on-road and 4x4 adventures, no matter where you go in Australia. EOTopo covers the whole of Australia in high resolution and displays natural land forms and man-made structures in topographic detail, plus it shows localities, land boundaries, roads, tracks and important POIs and labelling to assist self-drive travellers locate campsites and other important services. What's New?
There's been a massive update from our 2018 EOTopo version.
Firstly, to create the 2019 product we've conducted another full data conflation analysis, which means we've gone back to the various data sources we used to build the 2018 version and cross-referenced new changes since the 2018 data extraction and have brought all these changes into our 2019 release. The data conflation includes cross-referencing OSM data, the latest parks/forestry data, and the latest ExplorOz Places database. This data covers roads, parks, airports, national parks, state forests, water bodies, lakes, walking trails etc and either added or removed data since the last data conflation (which was Dec 2017), to 28th May 2019.
We've also modified the symbol-style across the whole map, which results in a cleaner, crisp overall look. This change has affected the depiction of state borders, the colour used of road lines for ExplorOz Trek Notes (changed from purple to dotted black/white), and land use areas have changed. Whilst only subtle, this makes an improvement on what was already a great product.
The final change (and quite significant) is that we've listened to the feedback our customers have given about the need for simplicity in the purchase options so now when you go to our shop it's much easier to know what product you need to get for your device - either buy the Raster version or the App version. If you're not sure what that means, read the descriptions in both products and you'll see it's very straight forward and is just as per the name - buy the app version if you want to use our maps in our app (ExplorOz Traveller), or buy the Raster version if you want to use these maps in your raster mapping software (eg. OziExplorer).
The rollout of the EOTopo 2019 data is as follows: - EOTopo 2019 Online - now available (free) using any web browser
- EOTopo 2019 Raster Version - map licence and downloads now available
- EOTopo 2019 App Version - map licence and download now available. Download will require V3.7 ExplorOz Traveller (was released in stores overnight 18th June).
ABOUT THE EOTOPO RASTER VERSIONUpdate Plan for Existing Customers
The EOTopo Lifetime Upgrade program allows current owners of this product to purchase new version releases at a greatly reduced price. Upgrade pricing is only $40 (or $35) for Members (a massive discount off the RRP of $99.95). To qualify for the upgrade you must have *previously purchased EOTopo (Standard or Premium) in either the 2018 or 2015 versions. To claim your discount, simply click the ADD to CART button. Once you proceed to the checkout you will enter the code EOTOPOUPGRADE into the Promo Code Field when purchasing. NOTE: Anyone that has purchased EOTopo Premium since 1st June has been auto-upgraded with an EOTopo 2019 licence, but you will still need to visit the EOTopo page to download the new map files in the 2019 folder.
ABOUT THE EOTOPO APP VERSION
Update Plan for Existing Customers
The EOTopo Lifetime Upgrade program allows
current owners of the EOTopo offline map to purchase new version releases at a
greatly reduced price. Upgrade pricing from the "ExplorOz Traveller Premium Offline Map Pack" is only $25 (no further discount). To qualify for the upgrade
you must have previously purchased the ExplorOz Traveller Premium Offline Maps (or have an EOTopo 2018 full raster licence) prior to *1st June 2019. To claim your discount, simply click
the ADD to CART button. Once you proceed to the checkout you will enter
the code EOTOPOAPPUPGRADE into the Promo Code Field when purchasing.
*NOTE: Any customer who has purchased the ExplorOz Traveller Premium Offline Map Pack (2018 version) since 1st June 2019 will automatically qualify for the 2019 version and will not need to purchase the upgrade (check your User Account for licence validation) as you have automatically been upgraded free - but you will need to delete all offline maps in order to access and download the new EOTopo 2019 app version maps (we recommend using the Clear DB Maps option located in the Advanced section).
**IMPORTANT: To enable the Data Manager in your app to provide the 2019 maps you will need to ensure you are currently running the latest version of the app (released overnight 18th June) ExplorOz Traveller V3.7
CATCH UPHere's some highlights of what's new around the user-generated content sections site in the few weeks since our last newsletter to help you catch up:
"USER TREKS" & TRACK LOGSA staggering 68 new track logs have been added since our last newsletter! This makes a total of 5980 in the system. The good news is we are about to make them sharable to app users via ExplorOz Traveller (coming in V4.0 later in the month). The other great news is that we have changed the name to TRACK LOGS (previously known as User Treks) as this has been getting confusing. The MENU at the top of the website has been changed to help you find them - just look for TRACK LOGS instead of User Treks. Track Logs will be added to the next major release of the ExplorOz Traveller (Version 4.0) coming so stay tuned! In the meantime, they are still used as per these Instructions. See all Track Logs
EXPLOROZ TRAVEL BLOGGERS 14 new BLOGS on the website have been posted by travellers in our community since our last newsletter. Blogs are spaces on ExplorOz for Members to write their stories and bring them alive with your own photos, maps, links, videos and track logs.
You can insert Track Logs, or your Active Tracking Map (EOTrackMe), Photos, & Videos - just click the button for the item you wish to insert and you'll be prompted to select from the available options. 
Access to create/publish BLOGS is a Member benefit. Blogs are pages that you create in our very easy to use system. Just begin typing in the box, click the buttons to add the links, photos, maps, or video and let the auto-page publisher in the Blog system handle all the layout. See all Blogs
List of Membership Benefits If you prefer to use Instagram however, please use our hashtags - #exploroz #foundwithexploroztraveller #exploroztraveller
FORUMIf you haven't been back to the Forum since our last newsletter, you'll have to go back 11 pages to try to catch up.
We'd also like to extend a special mention of thanks to the regular Forumites that have been using the ALERT MODERATOR button to let us know when spam has been posted - this has ensured that the spam has not been visible for long and is promptly deleted.
Due to the increase of spam that was occurring, we've had to modify the USER VALIDATION program and this also caused a few little mishaps with a few people so thanks for your patience whilst we work to combat the time wasters that perpetrate spam. As of yesterday, our efforts seem to have been rewarded and we've successfully blocked the system spam that had been a daily occurrence in recent weeks. So we think we've seen the back of that! Here's the posts you don't want to miss:-
15 amp to 10 amp, Why a Pig and not a dog?, Poverty GPS Setup, Exploring an underground nuclear fallout shelter, Screen sharing ExplorOz Traveller to your in-dash head unit, PVC pip for water on isuzu dmax, Harry Butlers Land Rover, Lake Eyre Flights, Garmin InReach vs Sat Phone, Fraser Island - what is it really like?, Fire confusion at Dalhousie, When is a snorkel not a snorkel?, Tow Bar Hitch Cargo Carrier, Mandatory community visit while travelling Sandy Blight Road?, Darwin Caravan Parks, Anne Beadell flexible permits?, Sand Flag advise, Yilgarn Water - video, What's new on doing the Canning Stock Route Differently in 2019?, National Gathering, Madigan Line, Flinders Ranges Recommendations, Forum New Thread Captcha...(this list doesn't include any posts from the current Page 1 default).
PLACESOur dynamic database of Places is continuously changing - updates are fed into the server automatically by travellers using the ExplorOz Traveller app - with travellers reviews, photos and updates to the descriptions as well as many new Public Places being added as people find new and interesting Places to share.
Just a word of warning to current app users - when creating new places, the default is Private for a reason - this gives you a chance to check the position is correct, check spelling of the name, and add your details before making it Public, and avoid you sharing your home location if you want to use in in a nav plan. You should not make any place PUBLIC unless you have made an effort to add all the necessary information to make this Place relevant to other users - correct name, correct Place Type (not the default marker), uploaded a photo and a description. If our administrators notice new Public Places being added that don't have this information - we simply delete it because its useless. The problem for you might be that you were intending to use it in your trip plan - so keep your nav plan places Private until you're made an effort to add all the supporting information that makes a Place worthwhile for the database.
See PLACES
CLASSIFIEDSThe Classifieds is the section of ExplorOz where you can post an advert to sell your car, camper, caravan, boat, accessories, spares and more! Our ads are cheap and easy to manage. Simply click the CREATE NEW AD button, select the ad type that best suits you, start creating your ad, pay the invoice and it's instantly visible on the website.
PREMIUM AD: $29.95 for 6months and 7 images. DISPLAY AD: $19.95 for 4 months and 1 image.
Member Benefits: Members pay only $10 for Premium Ads, and Display Ads are FREE.
People often ask why there is such a high turnover of sold listings on the ExplorOz Classifieds and it's simply really - ExplorOz is a highly targetted group of people - real travellers - Australia wide.
REDARC
Keep your battery fully charged with a Redarc smart battery charger. They’re so simple to use, that all you have to do is connect the charging clips to the battery, connect to a power outlet and push the ON button. When finished, you simply wind up the cables and that’s it. Not to mention, they're rated to IP65 - so these SmartChargers can be used both outdoors and in damp environments. Compatible with most common batteries, including the agm battery and lead acid batteries, the SmartCharge range is available in 4, 6, 8, and 10amp variants. They also automatically adjust to suit the battery voltage and type in any caravan, car or boat. These smart battery chargers give you peace of mind, because you know your car battery is getting the right amount of charge it needs without the risk of overcharging. Find out more here... www.redarc.com.au
HOW TO CONTACT & FOLLOW US
In the top left corner of our website you'll see the word "MENU" - click this to find your way through all the different areas of our website and to find our Contact details, which include all our links to our social media accounts, plus our email address, office phone number, and Live Chat service. You can also click any of the social media icons located at the bottom of every page of our website - they look like this.
Use Hashtags #exploroz #foundwithexploroztraveller to share your pics
WHERE TO BUY EXPLOROZ TRAVELLER |