Elaine & Nigel

Hi all

We were hoping to move mid march but its not going to happen now so we're taking a 3 wk holiday in march to validate. Flying into Brisbane hiring a campervan, plan to drive to Cairns and have a look round is it possible to do in 14 days (spending a wk in brissy b4 getting van)

Any advice would be great

Thanks
Elaine

Shaun&Dee

I shipped a VW Kombi to the UK. We finised our trip in Cairns and needed to ship it from Brisbane. We drove 10 hours per 'stint' and it took us 5 days. We were going 80km hour or so. Beware that if you are driving at night you will feel very tired after you days activities and sightseeing and will get grumpy! You could always get up early and do some driving then more at night. Why not just spend some time in 2 or 3 places while validating (go by coach?) and enjoy it. Thats what I did in Cairns for 2 weeks whilst validating, I made it a holiday. I think a coach direct from Brisbane to Cairns takes 30 hours or so. I got a cheaper flight flying to Cairns than to Brisbane from the UK.
Shaun

tripawaymars

I am planning o purchasing a VW Type 4 campervan which is mint and has a good 2.5 litre engine and pick it up at Brissie airport and drive up to Cairns over 5 days..which is where I am emigrating to. i will stop on the ay..have friends in Hervey Bay, mackay and Townsville. it has a good engine so hope to be doing 1oo kmh all the way..starting at 5 a.m in morning and finishing at 5 p.m and getting good nights slepp in between. i see it as an adventure and part of my big move..on my own too..how brave am I??? Will have spare petrol cans in there and lots of water etc and breakdown cover!!
Liz

youngy73

its 1700kms and 2 days solid driving. around 22 hrs in the car (not including stops)and has to be one of the most boring drives i have ever done if you are going point a to point b. cane paddock then more cane paddocks. ooh, some mangoe orchards then you guessed it more cane paddocks. i made better time driving to bamaga than i did driving to brissy.

Pollyana

Make sure you keep a close high on the weather. March is still cyclone/flood season and the roads up there are often cut off with little notice.

tripawaymars

Oh god, stop being so cheery!! I have driven Mackay to Cairns..that was boring..but I want the vehicle and it is the cheapest way to do it..I intend stopping over in Noosa for a day or so as I really want to visit there and I have freinds in Mackay and Townsville so will be able to catch up with them too....I knwo the Mackay to Cairns bit is boring but I don't care. I can do 8 hours at a time no problem..am used to driving long distances and give me those types of roads over British motorways anyday!! besides, Jetstar want to charge me a fortune for excess baggage from brisbane to Cairns flight..gits.
I am not going point A to B, at least i will stopping and catching up with freinds....Where on earth is bamaga?!!! 22 hours is quicker than I thought it would be . I am allowing 5 days so will be fine. Just have to find safe places to pull over for kips and a nice campsite in Noosa or hervey bay.
Have you got over being famous yet Youngy?
Liz

DrWho

Tip of Cape York... Australia's most Northerly point... Bit of a rite of passage for many 4x4 owners to do the Cape...

We drove Brissy to Cairns 18 months ago... 2.5 days and as youngy73 says, excruciatingly tedious...

tripawaymars

Thanx. I have 5 days so will make a party on the way at freinds..not so tedious!!

youngy73

make sure you have the ipod fully loaded as the radio station coverage is very poor. you will only get the abc or jjj all the way up the coast. be aware that breakdown coverage often stops and starts about 20 kms out of town. i think they will still come and get you if you are further out but it costs extra.

tripawaymars

Cheeky buggers!!!! Thanx Youngy. I will bear at in mind..............

rebnatoli

Not sure what all the others are on about - we spent 2 weeks driving from Brissy to Cairns in March 4 years ago - had a fantastic time - great stop offs - did Australia Zoo, Noosa, Townsville, Eungella (saw wild platypus) Airlie Beach (took a day trip to Whitsundays), Mission Beach, Hervey Bay, drove inland to Sapphire & the gem fields (yes lots of cane fields but interesting in their own way!) amongst others and had 4 nights in Cairns (great quicksilver trip to reef) - a really amazing time lots of beautiful coastline - and not a cloud in sight the whole time (this year so far though weather has been up to all sorts) only place we thought a bit dull was Rockhampton - but we arrived at 4pm and the city centre was deserted so may have been better earlier in the day.

Shaun&Dee

I did excatly the same in my 1976 T2 Kombi from Cairns to Brisbane to ship my van to the UK. I travelled at 100km per hour (no more!) and it took me 5 days of driving for 10-12 hours or so per day. I quite enjoyed it actually.
Shaun

tripawaymars

decided that the camper was going for too much money!! Hard to find the right one isn't it?
I have been told that I may get a better deal in Cairns as people usually have their last stop there and then need to sell on to fly home..don't want a heap though.
I am going to just buy a motorbike initially and then take my time to find the right camper..I will be paying too much fr one with an A1 interior..I can do that myself over time. I just need to find one with great bodywork and sound mechanics..and a pop top roof.
Have seen a bike in mackay so may be riding that from mackay to Cairns which will be good...must remember waterproofs!
Liz

borolad

when we did this trip we found that we couldnt fit in all the sight seeing in in two weeks, what with wanting to look at places like noosa and townsvill ,1770 not counting looking in land.
and watch out for roos they can do a lot of damadge on the road
take as long as you can.

suesk

Hi

We leave heathrow on 22 march and intend driving Brisbane to Townsville over the course of 6 days with 2 children 7 & 15 stopping in Brisbane Bundaberg & Mackay for 2 nites each. Does this sound possible or do you think we will need more stops? OH has to get back to Brisbane for flight home 3 weeks later how easy is it to book internal flights?

Thanx

Suexx