Frequently Asked Questions

On this page you find answers to common questions about my newsletters and guide books.

Also, occasionally someone runs into a problem when downloading the free Pocket Guides or buying one of my Destination series guide books.

All common (and some not so common) problems are also covered here.

Newsletter Questions

Pocket Guide Questions

Destination Guide Questions
Questions Regarding Purchases



Newsletter Qestions



Does the newsletter subscription cost anything?

No, of course not. I would not call it free if I didn't mean it.

I explained this in detail on the sign up page. You may not have read it. Here is that section again:

What happens once you click "Subscribe":

You will receive an email that asks you to confirm your "subscription". (It's an automated email. Unfortunately I can't change the wording.)

Once you click the confirmation link in that email you will be taken to a "Thank You" page. That page tells you where to download the guide.

To be safe I will also email the download link to you, once you have confirmed your "subscription".

As mentioned above, you are signing up for a free newsletter. If I make any changes to the information on the website or in my guide books, then I will let you know. I will also let you know if anything important in the Kimberley changes that travellers need to know about. (Like for example the unexpected closure of the Imintji Roadhouse in 2014, an important fuel stop on the Gibb, or the introduction of a new permit for the Mitchell Plateau, coming into effect for the 2018 season.)

Things here change often and I don't want you to go on your trip with outdated information!

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I tried to subscribe (several times) but never got the confirmation mail.

There are several possibilities here:

1.) The confirmation mail may have ended up in your junk folder. Did you look there?

2.) You may have entered your email address with a typo. If you only tried once to sign up, and there is no confirmation mail in your inbox or junk folder, please try again.

3.) Your email service provider may be blocking the mail altogether. Please make sure that you add the domain kimberleyaustralia.com to your whitelist.
Unfortunately, since you already tried to subscribe once, your email address is already in my system, in limbo, so to say. The system will wait for two weeks for a confirmation from you before the address is dropped and you can sign up again.
Maybe you have an alternative email address you can use for now? (You can change that later.)

I am sorry that I have no convenient solution for this problem. If you only have that one email address and your service provider blocked my mail, then all you can do is wait for two weeks and try again then.

In the meantime let me know about your problem, so I can at least send you the free pocket guides manually.

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I tried to subscribe but got the message "Confirmation Failed".

The full message on that page, below the "Confirmation Failed" headline, said:

"You have already clicked on this link. No need to do it again, but we do thank you for your effort."

What I suspect happens here is that people double click on the link in the confirmation email. Many people are used to double clicking to open programs or files. (Don't double click on internet links. It is not necessary.) But it can also happen accidentally without you noticing.

The first click would have confirmed your subscription. With the second click you got the notice that you are already subscribed. It happens so fast that you can't see the first page.

So, you should be successfully subscribed and should have received a welcome email with the download links for your free guides.

If you did not get that mail (did you check your junk folder?) or if you got a different error message and wonder if you are subscribed to the updates or not, please send me a message and I can check it for you. Please include EXACTLY what you clicked when and where, and the error message you received.

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I want to change the email address the newsletter is sent to.

Every newsletter issue includes a "Change Address" link at the bottom.

It is a long link and may wrap over two lines and break. If you get an error, try to instead copy and paste the whole link, including the second line, without any space, into your browser bar.

If you still get an error, use the "Unsubscribe" link instead to remove your old address. Then simply sign up again with your new address. Sorry about the hassle.

If nothing works, get in touch and I will fix it.

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I have completed my trip and want to unsubscribe.

Every newsletter includes an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom. It's just one click to remove yourself from the list.

It is a long link and may wrap over two lines and break. If you get an error, try to instead copy and paste the whole link, including the second line, without any space, into your browser bar.

If you can't get it to work get in touch and I will remove you manually.

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Pocket Guide Questions



I can't download the free guide!

Theoretically something to do with the free download could break at my end, but to date that has not happened. Chances are that this is a problem with your computer or internet service.

Since there are so many different internet browsers, possible browser settings, operating systems, software programs etc. it is impossible for me to give a general answer here.

And I can't troubleshoot technical problems with your computer.

All I can do for now is send you to the download page directly and ask you to try again:
Kimberley Pocket Guide Download Page
Red Centre Pocket Guide Download Page

If you have more than one browser installed, try a different browser.

If it still does not work and you can't figure out the problem, then get in touch and I will send you the file manually.

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I can't open the file!

There are three possible reasons that I am aware of:

  1. The file was damaged during the download. That occasionally happens, especially if the internet connection is a bit unstable. Simply delete the file and try again:
    Kimberley Pocket Guide Download Page
    Red Centre Pocket Guide Download Page
  2. You have a very old version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or your Reader has some bug. Try to uninstall Adobe and then download and install the latest version: Download the free Acrobat Reader
  3. It could be your operating system and browser combination or settings. A couple of my readers reported having problems like this when installing a brand new Windows version. The problem resolved when they moved the file to another computer.This is extremely rare and I haven't had any reports of it lately. But if the above two fixes didn't work, try opening it on another computer.

If none of this works, then get in touch with me. I will send you the file manually and we'll see if that makes a difference.
(It shouldn't, but in my experience logic does not necessarily come into it.)

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I forgot to save the free guide / had a problem with the download / lost my copy and now I can't get to it again!

No problem. Here it is. Try again.  :-)

Kimberley Pocket Guide Download Page
Red Centre Pocket Guide Download Page

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Destination Guide Questions
Questions Regarding Purchases



Do you sell a hard copy version? Can I get your books in a book store near me?

All my guides are available in electronic form only (as an immediately downloadable plain PDF file) and only on this website.

If people desire a hard copy, they simply print the relevant parts.

Indeed, I strongly recommend that you take a printed copy with you on your trip.
A paper copy happily lives on the dash board of your car or in your backpack on a hike, it does not mind the heat, dust, humidity or rattling from the endless corrugations and the batteries never go flat!

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I don't use PayPal. Is there another way to pay for your guide(s)?

You can pay for my guides via your PayPal account or by credit card.

Credit cards will be processed by PayPal, so there is no avoiding PayPal altogether.
But you do not need a PayPal account to make a credit card purchase.

By the way, credit card payments via PayPal are totally secure. There really is no need to be concerned. The days where every online purchase was fraught with huge risks are long gone.

Just make sure that when you are asked to provide credit card details online you can see a little picture of a green lock on the left of the browser bar at the top of your screen, and that the web address in the browser bar starts with https:// (Note the "s" for "secure". Non secure web addresses start with http://).

Another safe thing to do is to close the window you are using once you have completed your purchase and downloaded the goods. Do not navigate away to another website, but do close the browser window.

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Do you have a German (French, Italian, Spanish...) version?

My guides are only available in English.

It's not that I wouldn't love to offer the books in German, but a translation would be a massive project. At this stage I see no way to fit that into my schedule.

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I can not find anything about shipping charges. What does it cost to have the books sent to xyz?

This is an e-book! (What's an e-book?)

There are no shipping charges. The download is delivered instantly and if you desire a hard copy you simply print the guide out yourself.

If you aren't familiar with e-books in PDF form, follow the above link to learn about the advantages and disadvantages.

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I am trying to buy the electronic version. Why am I being asked for my shipping address?

This was explained under the "What Happens Once You Click The Buy Button?" heading, you may not have seen it.

I do need the location information for GST/VAT purposes. There are no shipping charges, I do not ship anything, this is an electronic product only!

If you pay via credit card, PayPal may also insist that you enter a shipping address. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. I gave up on trying to understand PayPal.

The main thing is it works and you won't be charged anything for shipping.

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I am leaving soon. If I buy the guide today, when will it arrive?

This is an e-book! (What's an e-book?)

The download is delivered instantly and if you desire a hard copy you simply print the guide out yourself. No waiting time at all!

If you aren't familiar with e-books in PDF form, follow the above link to learn about the advantages and disadvantages.

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I bought your guide three weeks ago but it still hasn't arrived!

This is an e-book! (What's an e-book?)

The download is delivered instantly and if you desire a hard copy you simply print the guide out yourself. No waiting time at all!

If you aren't familiar with e-books in PDF form, follow the above link to learn about the advantages and disadvantages.

Once you are clear on what you bought, let me know if you would like to keep the e-book. If you didn't download and save the e-book when you first bought it then the download link has expired, and I will need to re-activate it for you.

If you are absolutely not interested in an e-book, then you can of course get a refund. That's not a problem at all!

Just get in touch and let me know what you want to do.

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I have a Mac. Is this some PC only file?

The file is in PDF format, the most common format for printable files. PDF was developed specifically to allow sharing of printable documents across all platforms.

No, it is not PC only. Yes, you can open it on your Mac with any software that opens PDF documents.

The most common software is the free Adobe Acrobat. You can get it here.



Can I put your ebooks on a Kindle? (Kobo, other e-reader...)

Um, yes, you can, but...

Like the vast majority of ebooks sold online, my guides are PDF files.
PDF files are supported on most e-reading devices, but especially the e-ink readers are pretty hopeless at displaying them. They won't give you much joy.

(All tablets on the other hand are fine with PDFs.)

Also, PDF files are designed to print well. And travel guides for such remote regions must be printable.
Indeed, I strongly recommend that you take a printed copy with you on your trip.
A paper copy happily lives on the dash board of your car or in your backpack on a hike, it does not mind the heat, dust, humidity or rattling from the endless corrugations and the batteries never go flat!

Spare your poor Kindle (I love mine), take a paper copy.

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How do I save this to my iPad?

To save a PDF document from the browser, tap near the top of the document in the iPad browser window and choose "Open in iBooks".

It will download and store in the iBooks app until you delete it.

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Can I put your ebooks on my mobile phone?

Um, yes, you can, but...

They might might not give you much joy. The text will be tiny, possibly too small to read.

I know some of my readers use my guides on their phones. I myself find them unusable on phones. (Then again, I am not a mobile phone person.)

Keep in mind, PDF files are designed to print well. And travel guides for such remote regions must be printable.
Indeed, I strongly recommend that you take a printed copy with you on your trip.
A paper copy happily lives on the dash board of your car or in your backpack on a hike, it does not mind the heat, dust, humidity or rattling from the endless corrugations and the batteries never go flat!

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I bought your guide but did not get the download!

This is rare but it has happened a few times.

Some people enter their email address with a typo. If your email address is wrong you will not get the email. Please, don't worry about your money! I can see if you paid and what email address you entered. I can fix it.

But please do make sure you enter the correct email when you contact me!
One reader recently entered a wrong email address in Paypal, and then a different misspelling in my contact form... There's not much I can do for you if I don't have a correct email address for you!

Occasionally people enter one of their email addresses when purchasing, or have a certain address associated with their PayPal account, but they expect to receive the guide at another email address. 
The download link will be sent to whatever email address you enter when you make your payment. So if you have several addresses and are not sure which one you used, check all of them. If you do have a PayPal account the guide will be sent to the email address associated with your PayPal account!

Emails get filtered or nuked by overzealous spam software. Please check your spam or junk folder first.

Emails are sometimes delayed. Although they should, they do not always arrive instantly. Delays of 10 to 15 minutes are common while they do a few laps in cyberspace. Delays of several hours do happen occasionally. Please wait for at least an hour before you conclude that something went wrong. (In one exceptional case the email with the download link arrived nearly 24 hours late!)

A payment can simply fail. I am not sure why. It may be that people abandon the process too early without confirming their payment one last time, it may be the internet connection drops out and resets during the process, I don't know. It's very rare but since it has happened a couple of times I dare say it will happen again at some stage.

How do you know if your payment went through? If it does you will receive a receipt from PayPal (provided you entered the right email, of course) and you will also see the charge in your credit card statement or PayPal account. So please do check your emails, including junk or spam folders, and do check your credit card statement or PayPal account.

If you can't see the charge in your PayPal account or on your credit card statement, then the payment didn't go through. (Give it a working day or two to make sure.)

Please try again. Enter all your details very carefully, and make sure you confirm and confirm again etc. Every reader who had that problem was successful on the second attempt.

If you have been charged but did not get the download, the problem was likely with the email, either a typo, or your spam filter filtered or nuked it.
(Update: After several years I had one isolated case where the communication between Paypal and the e-book delivery service failed and I had to send the file manually. So far it never happened again, 11 years and counting.)
Please get in touch and I will fix it.

I can't guarantee that all technical things will always work totally hassle free for everyone. That's just not how technology works. But the one thing I can guarantee is that your money is totally safe with me! Please do not worry about your money. I would never keep a payment that has been made by mistake.

And that's about all I can think of for now! If you have any other problems, let me know and I will sort it out asap.

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I can't access the download. It says the link expired/failed.

This was explained in the email with the download link: the link will be active for 72 hours or 8 downloads, whichever comes first. After that it expires.

Sorry about the inconvenience, but expiring links are necessary to prevent abuse.

If this was your first download attempt and it has been less than 72 hours since your purchase and you get that message, then it is because your download manager opened too many connections at once. Every connection counts as one download so this can cause the link to expire prematurely.

In any case, please get in touch and I will send you a fresh link or the file itself if needed.

Check your email regularly. When you receive the link, download the guide as soon as possible.

You only need to download it once. You save it to your computer and then you can open, view, read or print it any time and as often as you like.

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I can't download it! The download keeps timing out! It just doesn't work!

For some reason the download does indeed sometimes stop and time out on the first attempt, and then goes through smoothly on the second. I don't know why that is. Please try at least twice before you conclude that it doesn't work.

If you have persistent problems, chances are that this is a problem with your computer or internet service.

Since there are so many different internet browsers, possible browser settings, operating systems, software programs etc. it is impossible for me to give a general answer here.

And I can't troubleshoot technical problems with your computer.

All I can do is ask you to try again. Please get in touch and I will send you a fresh link.

If you have more than one browser installed, try a different browser.

If it still does not work and you can't figure out the problem, then let me know and I will send you the file(s) manually as email attachments.

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I can't open the download!

There are three possible reasons that I am aware of:

  1. The file was damaged during the download. That occasionally happens, especially if the internet connection is a bit unstable. Simply delete the file and try again.
  2. You have a very old version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or your Reader has some bug. Try to uninstall Adobe and then download and install the latest version: Download the free Acrobat Reader
  3. It could be your operating system and browser combination or settings. A couple of my readers reported having problems like this when installing a brand new Windows version. The problem resolved when they moved the file to another computer.This is extremely rare and I haven't had any reports of it lately. But if the above two fixes didn't work, try opening it on another computer.

If none of this works, then get in touch with me. I will send you the file manually and we'll see if that makes a difference.
(It shouldn't, but in my experience logic does not necessarily come into it.)

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How can I get an update for my Destination Guide?

That's easy. :-)

Just fill in the form on this page.

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How To Contact Me

Please use this form if you have a question or problem regarding my free newsletter or the guide books that could not be resolved via the frequently asked questions.

If you have encountered a problem, please provide as much detail as possible. (What exactly were you doing, what did you click on, what error message were you getting etc.) Thank you!

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.

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