Roadtrip to Perth!!!

[Paddyboy]

Hey guys!
Im planning a road trip to Perth from Melbourne and in need for some advice from people who have done it.
What are the best places to stop along the way?
Will it be too hot if I do this in January?
I would love to hear stories from others about theirs trips to!

Im thinking im either going to fly from melbourne to perth and hire a campervan and drive back. or,
Drive my car (vx stationwagon, i know its a holden, its a work car) from melbourne to perth and back.
Both options are equally as expensive. but ill save money by camping along the way.

Also if anyone is interested in coming, im happy to have a couple of people come along and share the costs and experience with me.

[Iggypoppin']

I'd love to come along, I'm a road trip fan. Unfortunatly I don't have the cash right now. However on your way through Adelaide you'd be more than welcome to spend a night at my place, beers BBQ and hot Adelaide sun if you'd like? Plus a good list of watering holes along the way hehe.

[Whoosha]

I have been over a few times now and I think unless your 4 wheel driving off the beaten track I would be flying over and do the camper van route on the way back their's plenty of spots to see along the way but usually hours apart. and apart from the bottom end of WA its the same road over and back all 3445 ks But I still think every one should do it at least once and yes January is a tad warm

[jaydee]

January will be stinkin'. Make sure your cooling system is in top condition and change all your hoses.

[Iggypoppin']

And go in autumn instead when it's just that little bit cooler..weathers still pretty nice early march! How much money do you think you'll need for this trip?

[Paddyboy]

im budgeting for $1500 for 16 days. 8000kms.

i dont mind stinking hot weather.

[xy500]

Originally Posted by Paddyboy

im budgeting for $1500 for 16 days. 8000kms.

i dont mind stinking hot weather.

geez you'll be doing well if you spend that little, that wouldn't even cover petrol for my car. Let alone food, accomodation and service items.
You will mind hot weather when you overheat on the nullabor when its 40+ deg, the dry heat will dehydrate you faster than you can drink.
If it were me i would NEVER cross the nullabor in Jan. Worst month of the year.

[jason71]

I went from Sydney to Perth in 1980 when I was 9 years old in summer in a mini!!!!

That was the family car at the time. My old man was in the army and was given 12 days to get across with all accommodation paid for.

It was a journey I will never forget.

[Paddyboy]

1500 is my share of petrol between 2 people, plus food, accomodation is cheap as coz ill be camping, and ive got a couple of grand spare to cover any mechanical issues (im travelling in a vx wagon which is in top nick, and will have a major service before im going)
so would feb be better then jan? or maybe march then.

[schmidty]

Originally Posted by Paddyboy

im budgeting for $1500 for 16 days. 8000kms.

i dont mind stinking hot weather.

I drove over in a BA XR6 ute with tandem trailer and spent that in fuel alone!

[Paddyboy]

my car gets 750km to a tank travelling at 110kmh, so 90% of the driving is that speed. 4000kms is around 6 tanks, which for me is around $80 to a tank, so ill assume that the petrol is a lot dearer in the nullabour so lets say 100 a tank, which is around $600. im not towing a trailer, thats why you paid 1500 for fuel

[1970galaxie]

I think EVERYONE has to drive the Nullabor at least once in their life.
I've done it in the middle of January when coming back from the Summernats, and it was bloody cold by the time we got to Eucla in the middle of the night, yet stinking hot when we left Adelaide!
Make sure you stop off and take about an hour at the Nullabor cliffs and stare out in amazement.

[xy500]

Originally Posted by Paddyboy

1500 is my share of petrol between 2 people, plus food, accomodation is cheap as coz ill be camping, and ive got a couple of grand spare to cover any mechanical issues (im travelling in a vx wagon which is in top nick, and will have a major service before im going)
so would feb be better then jan? or maybe march then.

sounds like you've planned well for it, you should go for it anyway i guess, you've almost as much chance of copping ridiculous heat in jan as in march - but as long as your prepared for it should be all sweet :
don't forget some good sunnies! and enjoy the rare sights to be seen!

[Iggypoppin']

Going in cooler weather just helps reduce the risk of something happening, but not too cool. Low 30's is in my eyes good weather, provided your car is kept up to code. Take bottles of water for radiator, make sure you have RAA, and get a couple of upper and lower radiator hoses as spares in case one blows. Prob won't happen but good to be prepared. Road tripping is awesome you get to meet so many different people, campfires, that whole "no particular place to go" feeling. Feel so free!

[Paddyboy]

Going in cooler weather just helps reduce the risk of something happening, but not too cool. Low 30's is in my eyes good weather, provided your car is kept up to code. Take bottles of water for radiator, make sure you have RAA, and get a couple of upper and lower radiator hoses as spares in case one blows. Prob won't happen but good to be prepared. Road tripping is awesome you get to meet so many different people, campfires, that whole "no particular place to go" feeling. Feel so free

Thats exactly why I'm going, Ive been mega stressed this year as im planning my wedding and got a promotion at work and bought a house, everything at once, i just want to go on a holiday where there is no plan, I'll do what I want to do. No rush, if it takes 8 day or if it takes 16 days, I dont care.
Good advice with the spare radiator hoses, will do that. And I might give my AC a good lookover and a re-gas, coz I'll definetly need that! haha

[Iggypoppin']

When do you need to return to work? Are you planning on "roughing it" some nights, caravan parks etc?

[Paddyboy]

I return to work on 21st of Jan
So im planning on going around the 4th of Jan so I can take my time.
Im planning on roughing it most nights.

[Iggypoppin']

Love it, nothing worse than yuppies demanding luxury when they're camping hehe.
"where's the two ply toilet tissue darling, and there's no bidet either!*moans*"

[Paddyboy]

haha, yeh.
Looks like I will be postpning it til feb or march now.

[Iggypoppin']

is that due to weather? Or just preference? Either way you will have a fantastic time.

[Van D]

Ahhh, wish I could do that. Not much to see on a Canadian road trip unfortunately.

For what it's worth, depending on what lifestyle you want whilst traveling you can do it super super cheap. Just some tips if short on cash and you didn't know or haven't done a road trip like that yet. Before I left for Canada I did a nice road trip around Tassie, and a good part of the east coast, never got out West though. Was living off peanut butter sandwiches, canned soup, taco's if we stopped at a place and they had an oven/microwave, and pasta mainly. Making a stop at a Safeway or Coles and making food along the way saves a hell of a lot compared to buying at servo's all the time. Same with drinking water/using a bigger container. Instead of buying a coke just mix some cordial etc. I'd keep cordial in one drink bottle so you didn't have sticky cups lying around in the car. Even if you're buying junk food, buy bigger lots at a supermarket and just make it last longer. I preferred to eat fruit and nuts instead anyway, less rubbish to deal with as well as you can throw what's left out the window.

It's really not that hard to save some $$'s.

[Paull]

Return flights can be bought surprisingly cheap these days but it sounds as though you are simply up for a 'holiday' as it were.

About 6 weeks ago, the wife and I drove from Perth to Maroochydore and then back again in 18 days. We were picking up a caravan from Bushtracker on the Sunshine Coast and it was a huge drive to say the least!

The vehicle was a series 76 Landcruiser wagon (4.5 turbo V8 diesel). We averaged about 13.8 litres per 100 kays fuel consumption travelling at 100 Km/Hr on the way over. Coming back towing the van, we averaged 20 litres per 100 kays fuel consumption travelling at 90 - 95 Km/Hr.

On the way over, we shared the driving and made about 900 kays per day (we were on a limited time frame). That is, places for overnighting were dictated by accomodation/distance not so much 'nice' places to stay.

Our trip over was as follows;
Left Thursday morning
Night 1 - Balladonia (excellent food at the Bar/Restaurant)
Night 2 - Ceduna
Night 3 - Broken Hill
Night 4 - Goondiwindi
Arrived at Maroochydore on Monday morning at about 10.00AM

We stayed on the Sunshine Coast for a few days (incredible place, really liked it there) and then left on a Thursday morning at about 11.00AM.

The trip back was much more sedate averaging about 350 to 450 kays per day. We would leave later in the morning, typically about 9.00AM and always stop for a morning tea brake after about 150 kays. Lunch would be in another 100 to 150 kays and then drive through to our destination. This, was much nicer and much safer due to towing the caravan. makes for a pleasant trip too.

I wont go into the QLD/NSW stopovers as such, just the SA/WA ones.

Port Augusta - Big4 caravan park @ $26 a night. PA has changed heaps since I last went through in 1991, actually not too bad now.
Ceduna - caravan park @ $25 a night. Not much to see and do here I'm afraid. We just went for a walk along the foreshore and on the small jetty

The whale watching is well worth a visit. It is about half way between Ceduna and Border Village. Not sure if there will be many whales when you go through though. There ware about 30 or so when we visited. It costs $12 per person.

As we were chasing the sun and had more time, we actually continued on to a road side camp site. It was about 60 kays short of Madura. What I recommend you do, is to buy/download the camp site/caravan park maps. It clearly shows where all of these free campsites are as well as were all of the caravan/camping grounds are. Some of the free ones have toilets and showers too (you may have to pay a small fee at the showered ones, not sure though but it isn't much). Quite primitive but certainly good enough. It was quite a long day but at this point of the holiday, we were quite keen to get home. These spost are a reasonable way off the road so are not too noisy.

The next day we set out for Coolgardie but ended up making it to Southern Cross. This was about $24 a night. Unfortunately, there is not much to be seen across the Nullabor. If you have the time, it is worthwile stopping over in Kal for a few days. The Miners hall of Fame is worth a look too.

After setting off from Southern Cross, it was a short trip to home. There are quite a few small towns along the way, each I suppose worth a quick look.

Fuel prices ranged from $1.25 for diesel in Perth up to $1.69 at Balladonia. The fuel was much cheaper in SA, NSW & QLD compared to WA.

We only travelled during the day light hours (except for the Broken Hill to Goondiwindi leg, of which Skippy was everywhere before sunrise) mainly to avoid roos etc. Much safer too.

All in all, well worth doing atleast once (I have already done it before and swore that I would never do it again but times change I suppose). Just don't rush it and enjoy your time.

One thing had changed from coming over in 1991: the truckies! Back then, I found the truckies to be very dangerous, to say the least. However this time, we only had the one incident with an idiot truckie (B double) overtaking us on a blind corner, but that was just outside of Moree NSW. Apart from that, they were excellent. No issues with other car drivers and oh, heaps of Grey Nomads too. You'll get used to overtaking them :o)

With respect to January, if you can avoid it, do so. In 1991, I came over from Adelaide to Perth in February. Definitely hot but certainly do-able. However this time, in winter, much much nicer and so much greener too.

At any rate, be safe and enjoy your trip.

[351c4]

The Nullabour can be bloody freezing in March and take as much gear as you think you will need as once you leave Ceduna everything will cost double.
Salt racing is on at Lake Gardener beginning of March, turn off at Iron Knob and you can get back on the highway at Kimba after a few days of mechanical porn.
The road from Norseman to Hyden is worth considering for a shortcut, it's gravel but well maintained and wide with a few good camping spots.
Take your time and enjoy yourself, Try not to look like a drug courier around Eucla, the coppers there have a peculiar sense of humour.

[mcnews]

if you have time turn south at Norseman and head down to Esperance for a couple of day before winding you way to Perth via Bridgetown, Augusta and Busselton.

[Paddyboy]

yeh im going to go to esperanse, albany and margaret river on the way to perth.