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-   -   East coast by car in 2 weeks ? (http://www.travelbanter.com/showthread.php?t=146239)

[email protected] November 11th, 2008 05:13 PM

East coast by car in 2 weeks ?
 
Hi,

The car's definitely my favorite means of transport. It's expensive,
but gives you the most freedom, by far.
Does anybody know whether it's any reasonable, given the distances, to
consider traveling all the way from Sydney to Cairns, along the coast,
by car in 2 weeks time ? (Cairns - Sydney by plane)
(ie. will I basically just spend all my holidays driving..? Or maybe
the landscapes are worth it, eventhough yes I'm going to spend quite a
long time on the road..?)

Thank you very much in advance.

Dick Adams[_2_] November 11th, 2008 09:45 PM

East coast by car in 2 weeks ?
 
The classic drive is from Perth to Brisabne via the Nullabor.
Cairns to Sydney this time of year will be a real sweat box.
But if you do it, stop at all the wineries and breweries
along the way.

Dick

Alan S[_1_] November 12th, 2008 01:28 AM

East coast by car in 2 weeks ?
 
On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:13:32 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

Hi,

The car's definitely my favorite means of transport. It's expensive,
but gives you the most freedom, by far.
Does anybody know whether it's any reasonable, given the distances, to
consider traveling all the way from Sydney to Cairns, along the coast,
by car in 2 weeks time ? (Cairns - Sydney by plane)
(ie. will I basically just spend all my holidays driving..? Or maybe
the landscapes are worth it, eventhough yes I'm going to spend quite a
long time on the road..?)

Thank you very much in advance.


It's certainly possible, but I'm not sure about reasonable.
That's about 2,700km or 1700 miles. Presuming you may not be
driving the first and last day that is an average of 225 km
or 140 miles daily. The roads are mainly one lane each way,
although you get more dual carriageway as you get further
south, but you will be lucky to average 80km/h or 50mph on
them. So you would spend a lot of time in the car.

I'm not saying don't do it - I enjoy driving and I did
something similar wandering in the USA and Europe. Just be
aware of the time it will take.

I would consider a mix of air (or rail) and car.

You could do this in either direction.

Use a car for a few days in the Cairns district - there is
lots to see up there, including the Daintree, Atherton etc:
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/ (I must finish that
report some day:-)

Then fly or rail (the tilt train)
http://www.railaustralia.com.au/tiltTrain.php
to Brisbane. Possibly break the long train trip somewhere
like Gladstone or Rockhampton en-route for a night. Then get
a car to wander from there to Sydney via my place:-)
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/20...ottsville.html

A relaxed week or a little more driving will let you see
places like the Gold Coast, the NSW coastal cities and
beaches, or a diversion to the New England plateau or the
Hunter Wineries or the Blue Mountains before ending in
Sydney.

Or reverse the above.

Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com
Latest: Two Indian Hotels: to Sleep, Perchance...

Peter Webb[_2_] November 13th, 2008 06:18 AM

East coast by car in 2 weeks ?
 

wrote in message
...
Hi,

The car's definitely my favorite means of transport. It's expensive,
but gives you the most freedom, by far.
Does anybody know whether it's any reasonable, given the distances, to
consider traveling all the way from Sydney to Cairns, along the coast,
by car in 2 weeks time ? (Cairns - Sydney by plane)
(ie. will I basically just spend all my holidays driving..? Or maybe
the landscapes are worth it, eventhough yes I'm going to spend quite a
long time on the road..?)

Thank you very much in advance.


Sure. Its only a few thousand kms, so you can do it in a few days.

Be warned, and with respect to any QLDers reading, by car there's not a lot
to see north of Maryborough until you get to Cairns.. The towns along the
route - Bundaberg, Gladstone, Mackay/Airlie Beach, Townsville, etc are great
places to explore offshore islands, but what you see on the mainland is
mostly marginal swampland/scrub, mangroves, sugar cane and industry -
aluminium smelters, port cities, and shops for farmers. Unless you visit the
islands, the almost 2,000 kms of driving doesn't give you much in terms of
scenery.

Sydney to about 3 hours north of Brisbane by the coast road is however a
great drive, with lots to see and do.









davidcronk[_4_] April 4th, 2009 08:16 AM

East coast by car in 2 weeks?
 

Yeah it's feasible but I don't know why you'd want to do it. By the time
you drive that far you won't see that much on the way. I'd want to go to
the islands or spend a day on the beach.


--
davidcronk
Message origin: www.TRAVEL.com


rick39 May 1st, 2009 04:15 PM

The classic drive is from Perth to Brisabne via the Nullabor.
Cairns to Sydney this time of year will be a real sweat box.
But if you do it, stop at all the wineries and breweries
along the way.

Dick


----- This sounds real fun ... and i agree car will be a lot of fun .. just take along 2-3 friends who can drive !!
So tat the driving does not become too much.

famous May 28th, 2009 07:17 AM

Car journey is very excitement. When I travel in car then I doing alot of fun. The most important thing is that you can stop anywhere on the road where you like.


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