Planning Your Trip to Australia - Australia 2004 - page 82

or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or
deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. Visa's U.S. emergency
number is & 800/847-2911 or 410/581-9994. American Express cardhold-
ers and traveler's check holders should call & 800/221-7282. MasterCard
holders should call & 800/307-7309 or 636/722-7111. In Australia, call
toll-free: American Express ( & 1800/230 100 ), MasterCard ( & 1800/120
113 ), and Visa ( & 1800/125 440 ).
If you need emergency cash over the weekend when all banks and
American Express offices are closed, you can have money wired to you via
Western Union ( & 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com). Identity
theft or fraud are potential complications of losing your wallet, especially
if you've lost your driver's license along with your cash and credit cards.
Notify the major credit-reporting bureaus immediately; placing a fraud
alert on your records may protect you against liability for criminal activ-
ity. The three major U.S. credit-reporting agencies are Equifax ( & 800/
766-0008; www.equifax.com), Experian ( & 888/397-3742; www.experian.
com), and TransUnion ( & 800/680-7289; www.transunion.com). Finally, if
you've lost all forms of photo ID, call your airline and explain the situa-
tion; they might allow you to board the plane if you have a copy of your
passport or birth certificate and a copy of the police report you've filed.
Mail A postcard costs A$1 (US65¢) to the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, or New Zealand.
Maps Newsdealers, auto clubs, and bookstores are your best sources for
maps (see “Getting Around,” earlier in this chapter).
Newspapers & Magazines The national daily newspaper is The Aus-
tralian, which publishes an expanded edition with a color magazine on
Saturdays. Most capital cities have their own daily papers, usually a
tabloid and a broadsheet. The Australian current affairs magazine, The
Bulletin with Newsweek, is published weekly, and there is an Australian
edition of Time .
Passports For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in
person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S.
State Department website at http://travel.state.gov . For general infor-
mation, call the National Passport Agency ( & 202/647-0518 ). To find your
regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website
or call the National Passport Information Center ( & 900/225-5674 ); the
fee is US55¢ per minute for automated information and US$1.50 per
minute for operator-assisted calls.
For residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel
agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3
( & 800/567-6868; www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/passport).
For residents of the United Kingdom: To pick up an application for a
standard 10-year passport (5-yr. passport for children under 16), visit your
nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the
United Kingdom Passport Service at & 0870/521 0410 or search its web-
site at www.ukpa.gov.uk.
For residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the
Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 ( & 01/671