fogmeister

Hi all, we are relocating to Perth shortly and will be driving there, has anyone done this trip, any information on places to visit on the way, places to sleep over, costs involved, tips and hints would be much appreciated.
Thanx
Paul

igual

Hi Paul,
We have done this trip twice, once 5 years ago going via melbourne to sydney and from Perth to Sydney 2 months ago.We camped as there are campsites attached to the roadhouses, it was very cheap to camp about 5 dollars a night.Good bit of advice is to get a fridge that plugs into the car and take your own supply of food, as variety of food is very limited across the nullabor. Also kangaroos are a problem, you will see lots and lots of dead ones on the road. we stopped driving at around 4.30 everyday as they are on the side of the road at about this time, and are unpredictable as which way they will jump! we saw 1 car that had hit 1 and it was a mess!
We put those roo shoos on the roof of the car, dont know if they work at all, but we didnt hit any!
I think we spent roughly 700 dollars on fuel ( we have a nissan xtrail). We met some people who did part of the journey on the train, wish we had known it was possible to put your car on the train! We did the journey in 6 days, but with constant driving! We also stayed on some quite nice campsites, went to 1 particular 1 in wa, called ( i think) Fraser sheep station, this is a working sheep station, and they have recently renovated it, also have nice rooms there, good if you want a rustic feel!
anyway hope this helps!
Fiona

HiddenPaw

Take lots of cds cos you won't pick up many radio stations en route!

Also, before you stock up on food for the journey, check if you will be going thru any 'fruit fly free zones' - if so you will need to chuck all your fruit and veg (and I think sandwiches containing veg) in a bin before entering the zone. You could end up wasting a lot of food. Not sure which route you are going from Melbourne across to Adelaide but I've been several times on the Sturt Highway (main highway between Sydney & Adelaide) and there is a FFFZ once you get into SA (from Vic).

Driving west into low afternoon sun is another hazard.

Have a great trip!

aussie73

It is one hell of a long drive, if you drove that far across Europe you would probably have to cross through 10 different countries. The best thing to do is to travel by train, with your car transported on the back of the train, unlesss you would enjoy such a long drive.

Siren & Brian

Continuous driving will take you about 40 hours... I have done it by myself in 42...

Take lots of jerry cans full of fuel as it is mighty expensive, and at the SA/WA border all food and plants will have to be thrown out.

Its one of those drives that people should experience, and some of the views of the Great Australian Bight are fantastic


Here is some of the things I saw across the Nullabor

bugger link didnt work right.... click on Nullarbor on the left then you will see

HiddenPaw

great pics Siren.
I'd love to do the Nullabor. Maybe when we go back!

Aussie 73, I guess you think people who cycle across the Nullabor are ultra-crazy then? I had an Aussie cycling mag last year with an article about a couple cycling across the Nullabor . Driving up to Darwin from Adelaide, there were lots of cyclists on the Stuart Highway - craziest was a guy on a Penny Farthing - 3000km on one of those!! :scared:

JAJ

A few years ago National Geographic did a feature on a guy who cycled the whole way around Australia, following Highway 1 for most of its path.

Jeremy

fogmeister

Thanks for the replies, guys, Siren great website there mate and igual could you tell me what Roo Shoos are?, I will start to plan my route and stopovers shortly as this is one thing that we will definately be doing.
Thanks all
Paul

Siren & Brian

U can get a couple of different types of Roo Shoos. The hard wired in ones are the best. As you are driving along it gives off a noise (bit like a dog whistle)for the Roos to hear and bugger off out of the way. My brother has one and has never seen a live roo on the road since.

igual

Hi paul,
roo shoos are 2 little things you stick on top of your car, as the car moves air blows through it, making a high pitched whistling sound which is supposed to make the kangaroos jump away from the road. They cost about 8 dollars, you can also buy electronic ones supposedly. They probably dont work, but we have done the trip twice now and havent hit a kangaroo yet!

Pollyana

Never mind cycling - how about walking? Excellent book called Feet of Clay, by Ffyona Campbell, which describes how she walked across the Nullabor.....and more.....
Amazon describes it as "The true story of a wilfully-independent young woan's walk across Australia. She endures heat that dehydrates her and burns her skin and melts the tarmac, blisters, lack of money, and other hardships in a 95-day walk across some of the toughest country in the world."

You'll never moan your feet hurt again after reading some of her descriptove passages

darkless

Slightly off topic I am afraid, but I met a couple of people on holiday last month and his Aunt is currently running around the world. 3 years she expects it to take, she is currently somewhere in Russia I believe - she is 58!!
She averages something like 35 kms per day and she does this everyday!!

www.rosiearoundtheworld.co.uk

Just though this was an amazing woman doing an amazing feat!!

Pollyana

Amazing. Also OT, but when backpacking in Tassie,I met an 80 year old Dutch woman, who was backpacking round Oz on her own, just cos she had always wanted to do it, Her backpack was nearly as tall as she was, she was walking up mountain tracks and stuff like that, and sleeping in a backpackers bunk each night. Full o admiation for people like that. I know driving across the Nullabor isn't the same, but the sense of achievement after doing something like that must be brilliant.

fogmeister

Thanx for that Igual and Siren, silly question but where do you buy Roo Shoos.
Seeing some of the amazing feats above, me and the mrs are thinkin of pushing a pea with our noses all the way to Perth

Paul

wombat42

Those roo shoos don't always work. l used to have a steel Bull Bar attached to the front of my car and it was well designed because when l hit Kangaroos the bodies went off to the side of the car and not up through the windscreen.
l also ran over an Emu once they are almost as a big a problem on some roads as Kangaroos.