Giant Loop round Australia
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Paradise Point. Gold Coast.
Posts: 218
Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
#2
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Shikes what an adventure.
The major major issue you will have, as I see it, will be gaining passes to places like , The Kimberleys.
Also the wet season, in far NQLD will and can prevent you from getting thru.
Friends of ours went, via Uluru, over to WA then headed North to the Kimberleys.
He went thru 6 tyres, and countless breakdowns, in a 2005 cruiser !
If you go the journey, it may be advisable to go with a secondary vehicle.
In goodi, cpl of years back, we were having a evening barby, out in the bush.. and a fella come thru the trees, asking for help...
we followed him, he had traversed a dry creek, and got his caravan, pitched on the crown of the creekbed, and so the wheels were floating off the ground.
He had his wife and 2 very small children, a landcruiser ute, and a poptop ( 4x4 van )
Be thrilling, but bloody perilous !!! on ya TOD !
Ste
The major major issue you will have, as I see it, will be gaining passes to places like , The Kimberleys.
Also the wet season, in far NQLD will and can prevent you from getting thru.
Friends of ours went, via Uluru, over to WA then headed North to the Kimberleys.
He went thru 6 tyres, and countless breakdowns, in a 2005 cruiser !
If you go the journey, it may be advisable to go with a secondary vehicle.
In goodi, cpl of years back, we were having a evening barby, out in the bush.. and a fella come thru the trees, asking for help...
we followed him, he had traversed a dry creek, and got his caravan, pitched on the crown of the creekbed, and so the wheels were floating off the ground.
He had his wife and 2 very small children, a landcruiser ute, and a poptop ( 4x4 van )
Be thrilling, but bloody perilous !!! on ya TOD !
Ste
#3
*
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,073
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
#4
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
#5
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
Nambour to Cairns;
over to Darwin;
down through Kathrine (and Kathrine Gorge) to Alice Springs;
back to Darwin;
across to Broome;
down to Perth;
across the Nullabor Plain to Adelaide;
then to Melbourne;
then Sydney;
and finally back to Nambour.
You'd need at least 6 months to see more, as most of the real interesting things are off the beaten track.
Some suggestion on what to see:
Ballarat Goldfields/Eureka Stockade
Historic sites in Melbourne: Old Melbourne Gaol for example
Great Ocean Road
Katherine Gorge
Tassie
Great Barrier Reef
Agnes Waters/Town of 1770 (near Bundy as well)
Mystery Craters near Bundaberg Qld
Atherton Tablelands FNQ
Generally the best places are not on the regular tourist routes but off the beaten track. Ask the locals and then decide if you want to go and see them.
Last edited by The Bloke; Feb 9th 2008 at 11:09 pm.
#6
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
I doubt we will ever do it but the missus and I talk about selling the house when we retire, buying a Winnebago and strapping a small 4x4 on the back. Then we will become "grey nomads" and circle Australia every 12 months. We have no intention of going off-road in the "bus" but the fourby will get us into national parks etc.
#7
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
I doubt we will ever do it but the missus and I talk about selling the house when we retire, buying a Winnebago and strapping a small 4x4 on the back. Then we will become "grey nomads" and circle Australia every 12 months. We have no intention of going off-road in the "bus" but the fourby will get us into national parks etc.
#8
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Paradise Point. Gold Coast.
Posts: 218
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Thanks all for the suggestions and warnings, makes great reading.
I just started a thread for a good detailed road atlas as well, and in the first instance needed assurance that it could actually be done.
Without the road info to hand, can someone say whether it can be done using "good" roads??
I'm not really that adventurous, and the idea of serious outback type stuff is off the adgenda.
Has Australia got a "proper" black top loop. I would imagine Perth to Cairns round the south and up the east would be fine, but after that and back to Perth along the North in a 4x4 and caravan ?????
I assumed anti clockwise, but given it starts in May, and the heat /cold/ rain situation at that time of year would, I be better thinking clockwise from Perth ??
Alan.
I just started a thread for a good detailed road atlas as well, and in the first instance needed assurance that it could actually be done.
Without the road info to hand, can someone say whether it can be done using "good" roads??
I'm not really that adventurous, and the idea of serious outback type stuff is off the adgenda.
Has Australia got a "proper" black top loop. I would imagine Perth to Cairns round the south and up the east would be fine, but after that and back to Perth along the North in a 4x4 and caravan ?????
I assumed anti clockwise, but given it starts in May, and the heat /cold/ rain situation at that time of year would, I be better thinking clockwise from Perth ??
Alan.
#9
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Paradise Point. Gold Coast.
Posts: 218
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Is he an unlucky sort !!
Alan.
#11
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
I am sure you can do it all on good quality sealed roads. My company uses road trains and low loaders to get stuff from Perth to Karratha so that bit I know. I am also 99.99% certain you can get across the top to Darwin and Cairns from there.
The bit to watch for is cyclone season - Jan to March. For that reason as well as the heat you would probably want to arrange your trip to be in the south mid-summer.
The bit to watch for is cyclone season - Jan to March. For that reason as well as the heat you would probably want to arrange your trip to be in the south mid-summer.
#12
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Yes, you can definitely go right round on normal tarmac roads. Buses (Greyhound and others) and normal cars do it so it's not that bad.
That's not to say that you'd see much from the highway - you definitely need to leave the highway for the interesting bits and those roads are most likely to be dirt (the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley is a must-see up that way and that's dirt).
Also, plan your trip carefully so you're not up north during the wet.
That's not to say that you'd see much from the highway - you definitely need to leave the highway for the interesting bits and those roads are most likely to be dirt (the Gibb River Road in the Kimberley is a must-see up that way and that's dirt).
Also, plan your trip carefully so you're not up north during the wet.
#13
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
#14
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Kwinana
Posts: 105
Re: Giant Loop round Australia
Hi,
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
I'm over in late May, and thinking of taking 6 mounths out and doing the Giant loop coastal drive right round Australia, before deciding where to finally settle. (as suggested by"The Loneley Planet Guide")
I've just started a thread for a good road atlas recommendation, but not sure whether the roads are all passable on my current favorite mode, being 4X4 and caravan combination.
Anyone done it, or can share good info ??
All appreciated.
Alan.
Remember that you are not allowed to venture more than 200m of road ways without a permit in certain areas.
If you are going remote, make sure you inform authorities in the next major town of your eta so they can look for you if you are in difficulties. Don't forget to 'check in' when you arrive!
Stay with your vehicle if you break down.
Some Aboriginal communities are no go zones.
Make sure you are aware of fueling zones as some Aboriginal communities don't allow petrol to be stored at their communities.
Most important of all! Squash as many cane toads as you can!