How are you ExplorOz Reader?

We are indeed living in unprecented times as our country implements border controls and travel restrictions never seen before. We wish to re-inforce the Prime Minister's instructions to immediately cancel all your holiday plans. There are strict measures in place to ensure only "essential" movement is made across borders and many tourist locations are either closed, or have issued statements requesting that travellers do not visit. In some areas, we are expecting lock downs are imminent. We encourage everyone, of all ages, to take these travel bans very seriously.

Just a week ago, many of us were probably thinking that a bit of time out bush would be ideal however it is apparent that this thinking is no longer relevant. If you have been thinking of sneaking away for time in the bush - please be advised that this goes against directives issued by our nations leaders. This is not a time for being selfish - this is a time to work together collectively for the benefit of the Australian population and to get ourselves back to normality as soon as possible.

We understand that many of you are concerned at this time about your health, your future, your jobs, your finances, your loved ones. There is lots of uncertainly. However, getting onboard with wild speculation isn't a journey that serves you well. Instead, get clear on what you can do, instead of focussing on what you can't. Step away from speculation. Embrace the actions you can take in the present and don't make permanent decisions around a temporary circumstance. Here at ExplorOz, we continue to encourage you to work towards planning your next trip. You will be able to get back out camping eventually so keep the dream alive. In fact, use this time wisely and feel good about what's just around the corner. Make plans - it will give you hope and help you fight the fear.

HOW IS EXPLOROZ AFFECTED?

It seems like a great irony that we have the capacity to operate but may find ourselves with no customers. We'd like to assure you that all our internal business operations (I.T. Beyond Pty Ltd., & ExplorOz) are proceeding as normal and we have every intention of working right through this period. Not only is our entire operation managed through online services, each facet of our service is managed in-house using our own staff Furthermore, our office is located at our home residence and we don't employ external staff. All ExplorOz Customer Support, Accounts, Marketing, Content, IT Development, & Mapping Development is handled by David and Michelle - owners of ExplorOz so provided we don't get sick, we can continue to work through the challenges of COVID-19 including a "lock down" or requirement to be isolated.

The distribution of our apps are managed by third-parties (ie. Apple app store, Google Playstore, and Windows Store) however these services are unlikely to have interruptions that would affect your access to downloads or updates so we are confident that our service to our customers will not be impacted.

We do have a school-aged child in Year 11 who just commenced their first day of distance learning from home today. They got stuck right into it at 8.30am and teachers had the work up on Teams so it appears we can "home school" as well as "work from home" - who knew?!

THINGS YOU CAN DO

FOR INSPIRATION/GUIDANCE

• Go to the free online EOTopo map of Australia and browse the country. Notice that more detail is reveal as you increase zoom. Notice highly detailed topography, roads, tracks & trails. An overlay feature with clickable icons showing Places appears from zoom Level 10 +.
• Go to Treks to find driving directions, route files and planning notes for the nation's most iconic destinations plus some lesser known special spots.
• Go to Places and search for Places by name, or browse the map. You'll find over 90,000 listings of all natural and man-made landmarks/POIs. This is the largest and most accurate/up-to-date POI system in the industry and is completley live/dynamic which means all registered site users can contribute, and our team in the background is verifying. You can access over 8000 camps & accomodation listings (free camps & paid camps, caravan parks, & station stays), over 4000 recreation listings (including Points of Interest, Picnic Areas, Walk Tracks), nearly 3000 services (ie. roadhouses, fuel, dump points, public toilets, hospitals, water supply, bins, cafes, pubs), 32,000 infrastructure listings, and much more.
• Open the articles on our website from the LEARN & DISCOVER sections on the home page. These are completely independant and unbiased articles written by industry experts and enthusiasts. If you see a few ads, know that just by allowing them to be displayed to you, you have helped us earned a few cents from Google, which goes towards covering our monthly webhosting charges.
• If you use social media, follow our accounts @exploroz (on both Instagram and Facebook) - that means tick the LIKE or FOLLOW buttons.
• Post a New Thread if you have a question or issue you'd like to discuss with other like-minded enthusiasts. We have 75,000 registered users - so don't make assumptions about whose in our audience - some are young, some are older, some families, some singles, some retired, and some weekend warriors. And amongst those demographics people have different interests - there are hikers, kayakers, fishos, quadbikers, prospectors, hunters, 4WDrivers, caravanners, motorhomers, those with camper trailers, those without. However, 95% of all registered site users are Australians. You can ask a question about anything to do with the themes of these vehicles, and these pursuits and all that goes with it.

FOR EXPERIENCED TRAVELLERS/CONTRIBUTERS

• Mention ExplorOz and our products (ExplorOz Traveller app, ExplorOz Tracker app, EOTopo maps) on other Forums or Facebook groups that you visit - post links to our content, mention our products etc.
• Go to Treks and select one's that you've done and post a comment, review or photo.
• Go to Places and locate locations that you've visited - use the tools on the page to add your contribution (comments, photos, description, contacts)
• If you post to Social Media, include our hashtags #exploroz #exploroztraveller #foundwithexploroztraveller #theresmoretoexplore
• Do a clean out of your shed, garage, or house and post an ad in the ExplorOz Classifieds

Why not support ExplorOz by joining. Sign up for a 12 month Membership Subscription for just $49.95 to enjoy Tracking and other useful services. See Membership page here for full list of benefits.

REDARC SPONSORSHIP

Based in South Australia, Redarc has 40 years’ experience in the research, design, development and manufacture of a range of electronic voltage converters and associated products, inverters, power supplies, battery chargers, brake controllers and trailer braking products. Redarc has been a pivotel supporter of ExplorOz and our Members for many years and they provide us with products to giveaway to our Members.

The March Quarter prize periods ends 31st March 2020. Prize draws happen every 3 months. To be in with a chance, you need to either be a Lifetime Member or have paid your Membership Renewal within the current competition period.

DO YOU WANT A NAV SYSTEM THAT WORKS OFFLINE AND HAS THE BEST MAPS?

• Get the ExplorOz Traveller app - just $59.99
• Includes EOTopo online topo map of Australia - incredibly detailed, high zoom factor
• ExplorOz Places & Treks offline database included - with free updates
• Additional purchase of $49.99 required to download EOTopo offline map tiles (4.3GB)
• Total cost just $109.98 for full offline capability anywhere in Australia
• This app is fully designed, developed and supported in Australia by an Australian small business. We are passionate outdoor explorers ourselves - just like you, we just want to use stuff that works!

Get download link & more details here on the Traveller webpage

We hope you've found this newsletter informative and inspiring.