I'm taking a drive... about 2,200 kms

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 10:55 AM

Well I'm taken a little drive....about 2200 kms Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast to be exact.

Originaly supposed to be doing the drive with my wife but due to changing schedules will now meet her up there. Some people think I'm nuts, other think its dangerous but I need the kilometres for FBT and I want to do it, so its me, the car, and around 2,200 kms of blacktop through the middle of NSW on the Newell and I can't bloody wait. 11 days and counting!

:

Not sure where I will stop the first night. Depends on how I go but Dubbo may be a bit far, maybe West Wylong, Parkes or Forbes. We will see...

Our family used to do the drive every year for our Summer holiday pilgramidge to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast along with a few thousand other Mexicans. I remember things that we saw on those trips more vividly than the holidays.... things like:

"The Dish" just out of Parkes,
The Peak Hill cemetary - weird I know but some of the head stones go back to the 1800's and some make interesting reading,
Drunk indigenous people @ 9 in the morning in Moree,
Safeway Liquor Stores with 2 inch think steel doors,
B-Doubles a plenty,
Trucks with "100 kph Speed Limited" stickers cruising at 120 kph,
Road kill of all shapes and sizes,
Every utes sports either a Conargo Hotel, RM Williams, Bundaberg Rum or Winchester sticker,
Cars with bullbars and 8 foot high UHF aerials,
Cattle grazing on the side of the road...sometimes with a famer present,
Eight 50 foot high grain silos all in a row at railway sidings,
Fuel prices that trigger your swearing relfex,
Combine haversters on the back of low loaders,
Roadworks stretching for kilometres.....always so many roadworks,
Cotton and sunflower fields,
Old men sitting out the front of the Commercial Hotel in every town,
Dealers who sell Toyota / Mitsubishi / New Holland / Massey Fergerson all from the same patch of concrete....

I'm giving away how much of a city boy I am when I find this stuff interesting arn't I ?

Grum · 23-10-2007, 11:01 AM

sounds fun!

Might aswell go do a lap of Mt Panorama wile your on the way through!

IMO stay in the smaller town, you can usually rock up to the local pub and get a room and a good feed cheap and with the drought etc they really appreciate the business.

A fun game to play on a road trip is to only stay at "the royal" its usualy quite fun as most towns have a royal hotel!

||| · 23-10-2007, 11:03 AM

stop for a rest every 2 hours

vztrt · 23-10-2007, 11:05 AM

You should be able to make dubbo pretty easily mate, its actually not that far.

Why would people say its dangerous? Unless you act like a complete fool, its relatively easy.

Orbit · 23-10-2007, 11:10 AM

Have fun, It's a great and very easy drive now days.
One of my favourite highways is the newell.
Dubbo is a pretty reasonable first night, it's less then 850km and it's not a hugely taxing drive. But the adage of: if your tired...stop, applies.

wicksy · 23-10-2007, 11:25 AM

have a safe trip, avoid potholes, and watch out for speed cameras..... dubbo is a nice place to say, just dont stay in westside

pb02 · 23-10-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vztrt

Why would people say its dangerous? Unless you act like a complete fool, its relatively easy.

I agree. We used to do it as a family when we where all kids. Every September we would drive up, all 6 of us in the landcruiser. Did it for about 6 straight years and loved it. Never had any problems.

Grum · 23-10-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb02

I agree. We used to do it as a family when we where all kids. Every September we would drive up, all 6 of us in the landcruiser. Did it for about 6 straight years and loved it. Never had any problems.

You used to be able to drive past schools at 50km/h back then too...

The good old days... not sure whats changed but the world is getting screwed up

:

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wicksy

have a safe trip, avoid potholes, and watch out for speed cameras..... dubbo is a nice place to say, just dont stay in westside

Thank Wicksy...duley noted

Is there a statue dedicated to the boys from Thirsty Merc in Dubbo yet?

HOON69 · 23-10-2007, 12:13 PM

never start a trip before dark unless you've had a good nap/rest

melbourne to dubbo in a day would be easy
i drove from canberra to brisbane i left canberra at 10pm and was home by 12.30pm and that was me sleeping for 2-3 hous and stopping at the revive survive stops,i drove all but 3 hours.

normally i leave at say 5-6am and can be home for dinner,thats 1300k's roughly in 12hours with fuel and stops,but take ya time and just do everything normally and the drive will be awesome.

west wyalong great place
parkes also a great place
dubbo hmmmm abit like moree really
sunshine coast=heaven i hope you like our weather of late,hot hot and hot.

gz1 · 23-10-2007, 12:13 PM

Looove long drives. Have done Sydney-perth-sydney at least 8 times now and Sydney-townsville-sysdeny a few times. Have also done round aus once. Unfortunately with two kids the eldest at school, and a humungus mortgage it's been a while since the last drive.
Lots of fun, great way to see the country, and as you say with this ridiculous FBT you get penalized if you don't drive.
How is that for hypocrisy though, Gov wants to be seen as acting green, yet if you don't drive a minimum number of k's per year they wack a great big tax on you. Funny no one has mentioned it in the election climate now.

Dave_au · 23-10-2007, 12:26 PM

Forget about the Newell all the way up, cross east at around Singleton and start to follow the New England Highway up, then take the back road to Glouchester/Stroud and then follow thunderbolts way up through Walcha and onto one of the towns just south of Armidale (forget the name).

One of the best driver's roads in NSW, quiet and not too many trucks.

kinksta · 23-10-2007, 12:45 PM

hahaha, my girlfriend and i are actually going to drive to the gold coast, from here in adelaide! on the way back we will drive down to sydney and across from there. but we will be taking it in turns in the driving. see how the old rumble bee (my yellow XR6) likes that hahaha

Fantome · 23-10-2007, 12:47 PM

Instead of stopping in Dubbo you could go the extra 65km and stay in Gilgandra. Small town, friendly people and the motels rates are very reasonable. As Gilgandra is supposedly halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane many travellers stay overnight so there's lots of accommodation and bookings aren't necessary outside of school holidays.

mrxy8 · 23-10-2007, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

B-Doubles a plenty,
Trucks with "100 kph Speed Limited" stickers cruising at 120 kph,
Road kill of all shapes and sizes,
Every utes sports either a Conargo Hotel, RM Williams, Bundaberg Rum or Winchester sticker,
Cars with bullbars and 8 foot high UHF aerials,
Cattle grazing on the side of the road...sometimes with a famer present,
Eight 50 foot high grain silos all in a row at railway sidings,
Fuel prices that trigger your swearing relfex,
Combine haversters on the back of low loaders,
Roadworks stretching for kilometres.....always so many roadworks,
Cotton and sunflower fields,
Old men sitting out the front of the Commercial Hotel in every town,
Dealers who sell Toyota / Mitsubishi / New Holland / Massey Fergerson all from the same patch of concrete....

I'm giving away how much of a city boy I am when I find this stuff interesting arn't I ?

Ha Ha, Your funny!

Welcome to a day in the life of Bricko, that's me.
I'll give ya a wave when you cruise on through Narrabri

:

Oh, and look out for Combines driving up the middle of the main street, not on the back of a low loader.

Have a great trip and stay alert!!!!

**Peuty** · 23-10-2007, 12:52 PM

Good luck mate. Done that trip a few times, very easy. Drive safe.

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 12:53 PM

[QUOTE=mrxy8]Combines driving up the middle of the main street, not on the back of a low loader.QUOTE]

Really....hmmm I'll keep an eye out.

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 12:54 PM

I'm on the southern side of Melbourne so it will take an extra hour to get out of suburbia.

Yeah I don't know why I have had the 'dangerous' comment either. I will be stopping and resting regularly and I don't expect it to be a draining drive. There are no mountain passes and I have cruise control and a stack of my CD's to keep me entertained.

I'm thinking that staying in a pub could be a bit of fun, I've never done that before.

I forgot to mention that I have 3 days to do it in so I am in noooooo hurry

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantome

Instead of stopping in Dubbo you could go the extra 65km and stay in Gilgandra. Small town, friendly people and the motels rates are very reasonable. As Gilgandra is supposedly halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane many travellers stay overnight so there's lots of accommodation and bookings aren't necessary outside of school holidays.

Hmmmmm I'll see how I go but Gilgandra is noted. If I hit Dubbo and feel good enough for another 30 mintues drive time I'll consider it.

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Forget about the Newell all the way up, cross east at around Singleton and start to follow the New England Highway up, then take the back road to Glouchester/Stroud and then follow thunderbolts way up through Walcha and onto one of the towns just south of Armidale (forget the name).

One of the best driver's roads in NSW, quiet and not too many trucks.

Hmmmm I'll consult my map...that sounds interesting.

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Forget about the Newell all the way up, cross east at around Singleton and start to follow the New England Highway up, then take the back road to Glouchester/Stroud and then follow thunderbolts way up through Walcha and onto one of the towns just south of Armidale (forget the name).

One of the best driver's roads in NSW, quiet and not too many trucks.

So your talking about taking a right after Coonabarabran and taking the Oxley Hwy across to Tamworth and Armidale then heading North to Warwick via Tenterfield and Glen Innes on the New England Hwy?

Looks to have some bendy bits. Is that mountain country?

Outbackjack · 23-10-2007, 01:19 PM

There is something theraputic (SP?) about a long trip by yourself.... Even better on a bike. Have fun, and make sure you dont contribute to any polititicians super fund!!! One of the nice things when you are in that neck of the woods is lunching at little country pubs... mmmmm counter meals!!

:

vztrt · 23-10-2007, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantome

Instead of stopping in Dubbo you could go the extra 65km and stay in Gilgandra. Small town, friendly people and the motels rates are very reasonable. As Gilgandra is supposedly halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane many travellers stay overnight so there's lots of accommodation and bookings aren't necessary outside of school holidays.

Stayed there one night, when coming back from brisbane.
A good town to stay in and very cheap, well was back then.

Dave_au · 23-10-2007, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

So your talking about taking a right after Coonabarabran and taking the Oxley Hwy across to Tamworth and Armidale then heading North to Warwick via Tenterfield and Glen Innes on the New England Hwy?

Looks to have some bendy bits. Is that mountain country?

Going to tammy will miss Glouchester/Stroud, which are quite a few nice old towns, but yeah, it's mountain country up thunderbolts way.

I took a Magna VRX through there a few years back, certainly up there for one of the best roads in NSW in terms of a drivers road (excluding the road's surface - which used to be pretty poor in places but has improved).

Here we go, the local communities have made a website to promote:

http://www.thunderboltsway.com.au/

And from Wiki:

Thunderbolts Way is a New South Wales country road linking Gloucester to Walcha (where it crosses the Oxley Highway) and Inverell. It is named after a local bushranger, Frederick Ward alias Captain Thunderbolt, who roamed these parts in the 19th century.

It is totally sealed and passes through thickly forested mountain areas with many national parks. At a length of over 150 kilometres, it is very hilly, as it passes through the Great Dividing Range, very scenic and cuts the distance between Newcastle and Brisbane by about 70 kilometres (together with Bucketts Way from Raymond Terrace to Gloucester). It is also very popular with tourists as it offers many pristine picnic and fishing spots.

The only major settlement between Gloucester and Walcha is Barrington and Nowendoc. Carsons Lookout, between Gloucester and Nowendoc is the perfect stop off point for a break and the enjoyment of panoramic views.

For further information see http://www.thunderboltsway.com.au

Also another travel site with a few days itnery on the route:
http://travelaustralia.ninemsn.com.a...aspx?id=147496

MYVYSS · 23-10-2007, 02:33 PM

Dubbo is only about 9 hours from memory, I left at 9pm one night and did most of the early run in the dark, I was planning to stop at Goondawindi (SPelling) but made it there around 12.30 that afternoon, decided to do the last 500 km/s or so and arrived on the Gold Coast at 5pm that afternoon. Made plenty of stops and was quite refreshed that afternoon..

All depends on the driver, the car, and the climate, I never had a bad batch of weather and love a long drive... Done Brisbane to Melbourne many times non stop...on a great run I think I did it in 16.5 hours....but I may have been a little over the limit, also explains whilst I have lost my licence twice!!....

Enjoy the trip, Drive Safe and DONT push yourself beyond what you are capable of.

irlewy86 · 23-10-2007, 02:40 PM

This time of year you might run into some loctus swarms.

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 04:29 PM

Mmmmm yummy.....going to enjoy cleaning that muck off the car

mrxy8 · 23-10-2007, 04:31 PM

If your up for an awesome drive then the Thunderbolts way is just that, awesome. However, it would take quite a chunk of time and its a bit out of the way unless you come up the hume to sydney or something like that. The view at the top of the mountain there is spectacular and it brings you out at a little town called Uralla, which is where I hail from, but it is quite a long way out of the way. And besides, If you went that way, you might miss the convoy of combines along the hwy!

Ringo · 23-10-2007, 04:49 PM

Dave_au - I'm going to give this a closer look....could be more interesting drive than the Newell's straight bits.

RepSpec · 23-10-2007, 04:56 PM

hey mate first of all have a good time and stop every coupla hours

second read this post first

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=108716

i decided to do the trip with a mate aswell for the ride as we were having holidays in surfers

we made it to coonabaraban the first ntie but pushed it a bit

just take it easy, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DRIVE EARLY MORNING OR AT DUSK TRUST ME, I WILL NEVER AGAIN IN ROO COUNTRY!

but have a safe trip
good luck mate

cheers
brendan