Driving times in Australia

My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.

Thanks for any thoughts

Steve Gerdemann

Fly
the trip from Darwin to Sydny may well kill you, the roads are nothing like
American hwys and it may be several hundred kilometres between houses, let
alone towns for supplies. the roads shown on the map are just for the most
part rough tracks and every year some dumb tourist (no offence meant ya cant
be smart if you dont get the information) gets stranded and croaks somewhere
out in a rental car that didnt make it. I was an observer in helicopter
searches so oftem b4 I retired looking for missing persons. Im not some cranky
old fart, I retired last year at 39
If you are camping in the top end in Aus summer watch out for snakes crocs
floods(its the wet season) buffalo spiders etc, generally a bad idea. even
military awd and tracked vehicles get stuck then.

"Steve Gerdemann" wrote in message
om...
| My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
| budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
| to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
| would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
| to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
| reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
| from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
| significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
| have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
| because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
| should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
| areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
| some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
| plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
| Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
| Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.
|
| Thanks for any thoughts
|
| Steve Gerdemann

I think this a bit of an exaggeration, we drove from Sydney, Cairns, Mount
Isa then caught the main road down thru Alice Springs. We went out to Uluru
then back to Sydney via Adelaide and Melbourne

For the most part the roads we travelled were great condition two way tarmac
roads, loads of smaller roads were marked on the map but as we didn't have a
4x4 so we stuck to the main ones, once we were on a single track road that
used gravel either side to widen it and allow two way passing, we were well
warned before we hit this by the map and roads signs and there wasn't much
traffic so we didn't worry at all.

We stayed in National Parks and State Forests for the whole trip and
sometimes cut down on camping fees by camping by the side of the road when
we were just passing thru.

I think you could definitely do your route in 5 weeks! and I'm really
jealous that its not me, you will really enjoy it. Watch out for dead/alive
Roos/Cows they have a tendency to obstruct the road lots, also carry plenty
of water and other usual long distance travelling in a hot country
precautions, also a quick tip, if you are on a gravel road and someone is
passing you place your palm on the windscreen to stop it from shattering
(will only leave a ding) should any gravel hit it.

HTH

__________________________________________
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AlmostBob wrote in message
...
Fly
the trip from Darwin to Sydny may well kill you, the roads are nothing
like
American hwys and it may be several hundred kilometres between houses, let
alone towns for supplies. the roads shown on the map are just for the most
part rough tracks and every year some dumb tourist (no offence meant ya
cant
be smart if you dont get the information) gets stranded and croaks
somewhere
out in a rental car that didnt make it. I was an observer in helicopter
searches so oftem b4 I retired looking for missing persons. Im not some
cranky
old fart, I retired last year at 39
If you are camping in the top end in Aus summer watch out for snakes crocs
floods(its the wet season) buffalo spiders etc, generally a bad idea. even
military awd and tracked vehicles get stuck then.

"Steve Gerdemann" wrote in message
om...
| My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
| budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
| to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
| would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
| to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
| reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
| from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
| significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
| have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
| because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
| should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
| areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
| some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
| plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
| Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
| Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.
|
| Thanks for any thoughts
|
| Steve Gerdemann

"Steve Gerdemann" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.

Thanks for any thoughts

Steve Gerdemann

Its certainly possible to drive the distances you are thinking about - but -
it might not leave you the time to do much else. It will also depend on the
time of year that you intend coming - the Summer months in the North of
Australia are hot and wet and not (IMHO) very pleasant for travelling and
camping. In really heavy rains plenty of sealed roads can be closed,
unsealed roads will be impassable to anything but a 4x4 and even then local
councils will close the roads to prevent damage.

The Winter months are superb in the North but once inland get very cold at
night, and as you go further South will get colder and often wetter. West of
Sydney in the Mountains will have snow most winters.

If you rent a car in Cairns you will probably have to travel via Townsville
and Mt Isa on sealed roads to get across to Darwin. There are sealed roads
via the Atherton Tablelands but I've not travelled those for about 20 years.

Darwin to Alice is all sealed highway - but only one lane in each direction
most of the way. To keep to sealed roads you'll need to keep travelling
South and end up in Adelaide, then you have a choice to travel to Sydney via
the coast to Melbourne, via Broken Hill inland, or via Melbourne on the main
highway.

Renting a car in Cairns and dropping off in Sydney would not be a problem -
Darwin maybe a problem.

Have a good trip.

--
www.bribieisland4x4hire.com
VW Kombi Camper Buy Backs
Landcruiser Troopy - Toyota Hilux Crew Cab
Mitsubishi Pajero - Landrover V8 Swag Camper

"Summer" in northern Australia is actually "the Wet" - usually starts about late
November and lasts until early April. Sometimes includes cyclones
(hurricanes). Roads are frequently flooded and can be impassable for weeks. As
has already been pointed out "road" may be a euphemism for a dirt track
navigable only by 4 wheel drive vehicles with no mechanical assistance for
hundreds of miles.
The itinerary you plan should be undertaken between May and October (the dry
season).
Wherever you drive in Australia in summer - have an airconditioned car and take
plenty of water - both for you and the car. It is likely to be less wet further
south but sill very hot (ie you could encounter temperatures over 100 deg. F).
Sorry to sound so negative, but people do die in outback Australia each year
beause they don't understand the conditions/ haven't prepared appropriately.

Vivien

Steve Gerdemann wrote:

My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.

Thanks for any thoughts

Steve Gerdemann

There is a sealed road from Cairns to Darwin (I think its now sealed the
whole way - when I went 15 years ago there was still about 200 kms unseladed
but OK) then south to Alice and Uluru and then to Adelaide. From Adelaide
there are good roads to Melbourne (Great Ocean Road and others), or directly
to Sydney through Hay (boring) or Broken Hill (less so).

Having driven around the US a lot, the roads we are talking about in
Australia are of reasonable quality but have l-o-n-g stretches of almost
nothing. There is no real danger as long as you stick to the main road,
people will stop and help if you get into trouble (plenty of traffic).
They are not freeways but you can sit on 120 kph for most of the way. It
does require considerable concentration compared to the US, as you will be
sharing comparitively narrow roads (one lane each way) with semi-trailer
road trains weighing 50 tons and travelling very fast.The worst section will
be Cairns to Darwin; if you do this in the wet the road can be closed for a
few days with floods.

I hope you like mulga, dead kangaroos and empty spaces. This route will
certainly show you a lot of each. Cains and Darwin both have populations of
about 100,000; the next biggest towns will be less than 20,000 people - not
much in a 6,000 kms drive.

Hiring a car in Cairns and dropping it off in Sydney may be pretty
expensive. I would research the rates from smaller (=cheaper) car rental
places. Blown tyres and broken windscreens are very common.

Sydney has very nice beaches, restaurants, wineries, shopping, night life,
scenery, etc etc. Budget time at the end to see it - you will certainly feel
like all of these things after some weeks in the desert. I find driving in
the outback to be good for about 2 hours before getting bored out of my
brain. Three or four weeks is way to much nothing.




"Rice-Witzerman" wrote in message
...
"Summer" in northern Australia is actually "the Wet" - usually starts
about late
November and lasts until early April. Sometimes includes cyclones
(hurricanes). Roads are frequently flooded and can be impassable for
weeks. As
has already been pointed out "road" may be a euphemism for a dirt track
navigable only by 4 wheel drive vehicles with no mechanical assistance for
hundreds of miles.
The itinerary you plan should be undertaken between May and October (the
dry
season).
Wherever you drive in Australia in summer - have an airconditioned car and
take
plenty of water - both for you and the car. It is likely to be less wet
further
south but sill very hot (ie you could encounter temperatures over 100 deg.
F).
Sorry to sound so negative, but people do die in outback Australia each
year
beause they don't understand the conditions/ haven't prepared
appropriately.

Vivien

Steve Gerdemann wrote:

My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice? Or in more populated
areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.

Thanks for any thoughts

Steve Gerdemann

"AlmostBob" wrote in message ...
Fly
the trip from Darwin to Sydny may well kill you, the roads are nothing like
American hwys and it may be several hundred kilometres between houses, let
alone towns for supplies. the roads shown on the map are just for the most
part rough tracks and every year some dumb tourist (no offence meant ya cant
be smart if you dont get the information) gets stranded and croaks somewhere
out in a rental car that didnt make it.

I wasn't planning on getting very far off the Stuart Highway which I
believe (perhaps incorrectly) is paved (sealed). We are planning to be
in Darwin either late June or early July. It's my understanding that
this is during the dry.

Steve Gerdemann

"Steve Gerdemann" wrote in message
om...
"AlmostBob" wrote in
message ...
Fly
the trip from Darwin to Sydny may well kill you, the roads are nothing
like
American hwys and it may be several hundred kilometres between houses,
let
alone towns for supplies. the roads shown on the map are just for the
most
part rough tracks and every year some dumb tourist (no offence meant ya
cant
be smart if you dont get the information) gets stranded and croaks
somewhere
out in a rental car that didnt make it.

I wasn't planning on getting very far off the Stuart Highway which I
believe (perhaps incorrectly) is paved (sealed).

Yes it is


We are planning to be
in Darwin either late June or early July. It's my understanding that
this is during the dry.

It is and its an excellent time to visit the top end but be aware this
is mid-winter in southern Australia so think of January in California
as a guide to the climate there. Even as far north as Alice Springs
it will be pleasant enough during the day but cool possibly with frosts
at night.

You may want to consider taking traiin from Alice Springs
or even Darwin to Adelaide. First class is not cheap but its a
great experience.

www.gsr.com.au/ghan/

Keith

"Steve Gerdemann" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I are planning a trip this summer to Australia. We are
budgeting 5 weeks and plan to do some driving. At this point we plan
to get an open jaws ticket to fly into Cairn fly out of Sydney. We
would drive to Darwin, Alice, Uluru and back to Sydney. We would like
to do a significant amount of camping in the national parks. Is this a
reasonable plan? On previous trips in the US we have driven 11,000
from Oregon to Key West and back in 6 weeks. This trip appears to be
significantly fewer miles so by US standards it seems possible but I
have heard that driving in Australia may be significantly slower
because of the lack of any freeways. Is this true? How much time
should I allow to say drive from Darwin to Alice?
12 -18 hours is not uncommon.

Or in more populated
areas from Adelaide to Sydney. The alternative would be to try to find
some kind of package that would give us flights to Cairns and Darwin
plus some motels etc. This would still leave the drive from Darwin to
Sydney but I have heard that it may be difficult to rent a car in
Darwin and drop it off in Sydney.

Thanks for any thoughts

Steve Gerdemann

On 11 Nov 2003 09:03:33 -0800, (Steve Gerdemann)
asked :

... for any thoughts ...

Petrol company maps are usually reliable as to which roads are,
and which are not, sealed. On an 'ordinary' sealed road (i.e not one
of the main dual carriageway roads) reckon on an average of 40-50kmh,
including such as short refuelling stops but not longer sightseeing or
meal breaks. Thus, in a ten hour day - say 8am to 6pm - of steady
driving you could expect to cover 400-500 kms. Now decide what
sightseeing you would like to do, deduct the time for that, and you
can get some idea of how many days for any section.

Dirt roads vary so much timings are impossible to predict. A
good dirt road can be easier, and as fast, to drive as a sealed road
(no potholes, probably no traffic) but a bad dirt road, tortuous,
hilly, not recently graded, frankly something you should not tackle
with any set time in mind. Ask local advice. Or ask here if you can
be precise - between us we do seem to have been to some strange
places!


__________________________________________________ ____________
Keith Sayers, Canberra, Australia
Mail : 6 Clambe Place,
CHARNWOOD, ACT 2615 http://www.pcug.org.au/~kmsayers
--------------------------------------------------------------