Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

HI , yes we drove from Melbourne to Perth with 3 kids in tow(14mths old,6 and 8 ) we had a roof box and put my daughters cot in their so we had something for her to sleep in when we got to perth. We had 2 suitcases and bits of thing, the car was full. We were in Melbourne for 3 months so we decided to ship all our stuff over. It took us 4.5 days to arrive in perth(mandurah) and we stopped quite a few times on the way. It was a brilliant drive and we also went through a red locusts storm, a yellow swarm of something and we only needed the green one then we'd look like a traffic light. We stopped at Ceduna which i think was the start of the nullabor, that was lovely and we stayed at Eucla which is on the wa/sa border that was ok as well, then we went onto stop at esperance which was fantastic. Its true about the light and it takes ages for them to actually pass you. its weird. We couldn't wait to see a car pass us and we got excited when we did see one and we gave the nullabor wave.
Its a chance in a lifetime to do this and you'll probally never consider doing it again. I would do it again but it was a little bit boring for the kids but we did have pit stops along the way.
Good luck if you do it.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Also, make sure your car is ready for the trip.
I drove a 6 cylinder 4.1 lt ford falcon panel van with roo bars , it was a beast of a car but it had ongoing mechanical problems. I remember driving through the Barossa valley and the carburettor started playing up. I stopped at a wreckers yard to buy one for back up ,just in case. Slowly but surely the carb got worse, the car was spluttering and jerking, losing power. I'm not a mechanic but I used to tinker with cars in my youth unlike nowadays where you need to connect the car to a computer or some other such device.
So ,I changed over the carburettors and the "new' one didn't work either.
So, then I had to dismantle both carbs and make a one good one out of the two.
It is reassuring that quite a few drivers pulled over to make sure I was OK.
Indeed, I stopped on a couple of occasions to help out others.
One was in Northern WA where their hose pipe from the radiator had split and the car had overheated. So I made a temporary repair with some duck tape. We were only 100 kms from Fitzroy Crossing so they probably got there OK. But, when I got back in my car, as they were driving off ,waving goodbye, I started my car and heard the dreaded 'click sound'. All my travel companions in the car with me ,let out an audible gasp, but it was simply a jammed starter motor which was easy to rectify.
Also, if your driving at night watch out for roos. They like to sit on the warm tarmac which has absorbed the days heat and then they get dazzled by headlights and don't know which way to jump, and end up jumping in circles on the road. We hit the tail of one somewhere between Townsville and Cairns while my mate Neil was driving. If you hit one at speed, even with roo bars, it can be very nasty, if not fatal. Also, cows and bulls. Hit one of these at speed and you're a certain goner.
You'll also come across the stench of roadkill, eagles and vultures the size of a small child and road trains that will stop for nothing. If you see one coming up behind in your rear view mirror then either speed up or get out of his way at the safest, earliest opportunity.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Thank you very much for all your replies. You do all make it sound fairly exciting, except the part about running into roos,:( , Id cry for hours.. . I think OH would too if they wrecked the car;)
We wouldnt all be able to go, it would definately just be him, as my son gets car sick if hes in the car for maore than an hour, so that journey would be out of the question really , also the car would be packed with as much stuff as poss.
Has definately given him food for thought though, so Thank you :thumbsup:

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

We've driven pretty much everywhere in Oz and camped in some desolate and beautiful places. Any more than 300km a day though and it just gets exhausting and dangerous imo. If you drive after dusk (around 6pm) you WILL hit wildlife - there's no avoiding it. You probably need a satellite phone as well as there is unlikely to be a phone network. The best bet is for your partner to pick up a backpacker to share the driving ?

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Is it safe to go with a hitchhiker ? I have never picked one up myself, in case I end up with a psycho, which knowing my luck would be a dead cert:lol:.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Stick a notice in the backpacker places in Sydney and he'll probably get a call. We've picked up backpackers by the roadside quite often. They normally fall straight to sleep once I administer the chloroform!

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

That was looking so promising , till I got to Chloroform:eek::rofl:.
I likey, its when its his turn to sleep that I would worry. Like I said before , I saw Wolf Creek, I know what can happen out there, where noone can hear you scream:lol:
Will make sure hes got a nice life insurance before I let him leave here:sneaky:

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

300km a day is a couple of hours driving. That would be one small leg before you have a break. More than that is not dangerous. If you're driving by yourself or with small children, I'd limit it to 600-700km a day.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

I mean 300 miles. Sorry - struggling to go metric

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Haha, I thought you were travelling by pushbike or something.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

How many days is he planning to take? because there's lots to see if you take time out to deviate off the straight line.

Don't bother with Adelaide (unless you particularly want/need to) but head from Broken Hill through Yunta and Peterborough, Orroroo, to Port Augusta. Then take time out to drive round the Eyre Peninsula - Whyalla (visit the WWII corvette parked just off the main road), Port Lincoln (there is a fantastic cabinetmaker there who made one of the tables at Parliament House in Canberra - well worth a visit), Coffin Bay, Elliston, Streaky Bay and up to Ceduna. From Ceduna there aren't too many options until you reach Norseman, at which point you decide whether to take the direct route via Kalgoolie or go down to Esperance and amble back along the coast - Albany, Margaret River, Busselton, Bunbury.

can't you just ship the kid's over to stay with friends and go with him?

What sort of car will he have? Because if he can drive happily on dirt roads there are plenty of ways of leaving the Eyre Highway and seeing the better bits across there.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

I reckon after a day your son would be over travel sickness anf never have a problem again :D

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

:) You could be right, but on the other hand.....:unsure:. Not sure the idea of listening to him barf for hours on end really appeals.lol

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

Hi

Drove from Corindi Beach, near Coffs Harbour, mid north coast NSW to Perth - 4,000km - just over three weeks ago. We did the journey over 8 days.

Great way to see Australia, even though the driving can be a bit tedious at times. The landscape is spectacular but very flat.

Myself, my husband and our 8-year-old son made the trip. We made sure we didn't drive at night and did 5-6 hours driving a day.

To relieve the boredom on one of the days our son suggested we play a game - spot the roadkill !!!. By the end of the day I was on 25, son on 35 and hubby on 24.

Had overnights stops in Tamworth, Cobar, (outback copper mining town with 5 pubs in one street and strange people) Broken Hill, Adelaide (2 nights in Glenelg), Ceduna, SA, and Balladonia in the Nullabor before arriving in Perth.

Hubby booked the motels we stayed in online before left Corindi Beach which is a big help, especially as Balladonia and Ceduna were booked up.

Spent 10 days with friends in Stirling, 8km from the city, before we moved into a rental in Baldivis, about 45km south of Perth.

My husband was highly amused I got stopped for speeding in a VERY sleepy little place called Nevertire, (population 103) somewhere near Gunnedah, NSW. I was doing 118kph in a 110kph zone.

The police officer breathalysed me but didn't book me and warned me to watch my speed. I don't think he was expecting to see an Indian woman with a Yorkshire accent at the wheel !!!!!!!!!!

When he asked if we were going far my OH piped up: Yes, Perth". The officer was intrigued and asked it was for a holiday or lifestyle change.

Always wanted to see the outback. Broken Hill is a fascinating place. Can see why it attracts so many artists. Went to the Pro Hart gallery and now a big fan of this artist. If I was a millionaire I would buy his works !!!

Also went to nearby Silverton where the Mad Max, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and A Town Like Alice films were shot and had a drink in the famous Silverton Hotel pub there.

Other highlights include seeing female whales and calves at the Great Australian Bight, SA. It was bloody freezing though.

And we drove through the beautiful Clare Valley to Taylors Winery as my husband is a huge fan of Taylors wines.

I wanted to go to Kalgoorlie as it was only 30km off the highway but hubby was in a rush to reach Perth so will have to do that another time.

I would highly recommend driving across - perhaps not in summer though.

Re: Sydney to Perth drive?
 

[QUOTE=kips;9660590]My husband was highly amused I got stopped for speeding in a VERY sleepy little place called Nevertire, (population 103) somewhere near Gunnedah, NSW. I was doing 118kph in a 110kph zone.

[QUOTE]
I have the dubious honour of having been done for speeding in Montana, a US state where there was (then, not sure about now) no speed limit on the interstates.