Melbourne to Adelaids - 3 days

"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
We are soon to start a 6 week holiday in Australia (hence recent posts -
much appreciated!!).

We are due to land at Melbourne on Thursday 18/8/05, and plan to pick a
car
up immediate, with the goal of getting to Adelaide in time to catch the
Ghan
on Sunday 21st.

We are hoping to drive on the "great ocean road", and would really welcome
some suggestions re where to stay, what to see & more importantly, are the
distances too far????

Thanks in anticipation,



Simon Dolby




Hi
Yup i would think 6 weeks is good time to do it in. Not been on the Ghan but
been on the indian pacific


Ta





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I think my post is misleading - we have just 3 days to get from Melbourne to
Adelaide - are we pushing it???


"www.poms.co.uk" wrote in message
...

"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
We are soon to start a 6 week holiday in Australia (hence recent posts -
much appreciated!!).

We are due to land at Melbourne on Thursday 18/8/05, and plan to pick a
car
up immediate, with the goal of getting to Adelaide in time to catch the
Ghan
on Sunday 21st.

We are hoping to drive on the "great ocean road", and would really
welcome
some suggestions re where to stay, what to see & more importantly, are
the
distances too far????

Thanks in anticipation,



Simon Dolby




Hi
Yup i would think 6 weeks is good time to do it in. Not been on the Ghan
but
been on the indian pacific


Ta





Australian and NZ Forum - Upload and view your photos for free.
http://www.poms.co.uk/forum/index.php
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http://stores.ebay.co.uk/experimenta...lian-Sim-Cards
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/experimenta...tralian-Photos

"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
I think my post is misleading - we have just 3 days to get from Melbourne
to
Adelaide - are we pushing it???



Na you can do it but u will not have much time to stop any where on the way







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"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
Sorry about typo........!!!!



Na worries mate






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Hi Simon,

You could get to Adelaide along the great ocean road in three days but you
couldn't really do any side trips of interest. It depends what sort of
holiday you would like. If you could spend a longer time some suggestions
(most north of the coast):

Lake Colac/Purrambete: cycling
The grampians and Halls Gap: Great walking (try thr mt william walk). Port
Fairy is worth a stop as are the Otways and the coast along the great
south western walk.
Take the road from Hamilton through Casterton to South Australia. It will
get you to Coonawarra through mallee country: red earth country with great
wine. A little further north is Naracoorte where there are sandstone
caves on the way there is the bool lagoon- a wetland with boardwalk.
Adelaide is not worth a long stay (take a look at the northern suburbs for
some great heritage housing) but further north is the Barossa valley
(about 45 minutes drive): really good wineries-try Grant Burge, Henschke,
Rockford, Charles melton and a cider place near Burra. Much further north
(about 1000Km) are the Flinders ranges: worth a stay great walking in
Wilpena pound and north to the gammon ranges and Beltanna. The south
coast near the murray mouth in the coorong nearl Goolwa has lots of long
beaches and is a bit wild-wineries in the claire valley too. You will miss
all of this if you take the Ghan immediately. Most visitors do the sydney
cairns alice springs darwin circuit: all worth while, but south Australia,
Western australia and Victoria often get left off itineraries. There is
much to see of beauty in all these places. You might have to come
back....

cheers,

Tony

It's a one day drive - so you can daddle and sightsee a bit.

Information From:
http://www.southaustralia.com/produc...uct_id=9003551

Access: car

South Australia's central position makes it a great destination for a
short(ish) drive from the eastern states, or part of a longer tour across
the nation. Drive distances and times from major cities a

Sydney - Adelaide: 1412km (20.5 hours)
Melbourne - Adelaide: 731km (8 hours)
Brisbane - Adelaide: 2045km (33 hours)
Alice Springs - Adelaide: 1533km (17 hours)
Perth - Adelaide: 2696 (33.7 hours)


Have Fun!!


"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
I think my post is misleading - we have just 3 days to get from Melbourne
to
Adelaide - are we pushing it???


"www.poms.co.uk" wrote in message
...

"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
We are soon to start a 6 week holiday in Australia (hence recent
posts -
much appreciated!!).

We are due to land at Melbourne on Thursday 18/8/05, and plan to pick a
car
up immediate, with the goal of getting to Adelaide in time to catch the
Ghan
on Sunday 21st.

We are hoping to drive on the "great ocean road", and would really
welcome
some suggestions re where to stay, what to see & more importantly, are
the
distances too far????

Thanks in anticipation,



Simon Dolby




Hi
Yup i would think 6 weeks is good time to do it in. Not been on the Ghan
but
been on the indian pacific


Ta





Australian and NZ Forum - Upload and view your photos for free.
http://www.poms.co.uk/forum/index.php
Resister for free at
http://www.poms.co.uk/forum/register.php


http://stores.ebay.co.uk/experimenta...lian-Sim-Cards
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/experimenta...tralian-Photos

"Simon DOLBY" wrote in message
...
I think my post is misleading - we have just 3 days to get from Melbourne
to
Adelaide - are we pushing it???



Not unless you are walking 8-)

Alan S wrote in
:

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:20:02 -0000, "Simon DOLBY"
wrote:

|We are soon to start a 6 week holiday in Australia (hence recent posts
|- much appreciated!!).
|
|We are due to land at Melbourne on Thursday 18/8/05, and plan to pick
|a car up immediate, with the goal of getting to Adelaide in time to
|catch the Ghan on Sunday 21st.
|
|We are hoping to drive on the "great ocean road", and would really
|welcome some suggestions re where to stay, what to see & more
|importantly, are the distances too far????
|
|Thanks in anticipation,
|
|
|
|Simon Dolby
|
|
Hi Simon

Your problem is not just time but fatigue.

You're getting off the plane from the other side of the world, I
presume sometime after midnight on Thursday morning, and expecting to
be fit enough to immediately handle a car in an unknown city and
country to travel a demanding winding road.

It can be done, but consider this as the method. I presume you are
seeing Melbourne some other time.

On the day you pick up the car, limit your Thursday drive to the
Bellarine Peninsula area - somewhere between Geelong and Torquay
district. That's relatively short, a couple of hours on good roads
(multi-lane until Geelong, and a little after, use the Western Ring
Road to avoid e-tolls). In mid-August there should be plenty of
accommodation available - I don't think it's school holidays (check -
I could be wrong). Pick a seaside spot like Barwon Heads, Jan Juc,
Ocean Grove - anywhere in that arc on the coast at the start of the
GOR. Then spend all day relaxing, doing nothing by the beach but
getting over jet-lag. I doubt you'll want to go swimming on a
Victorian beach in August, but as you're from the UK, it may seem
warm:-) If you've seen "Sea Change" that was Barwon Heads and
district.

Drive the GOR on Friday. Aim to stay the night at Warrnambool - a big
town with plenty of accommodation to choose from. That's about a 200km
drive, but a slow one, so allow four or five hours for driving time
and similar for stops, sightseeing etc. Morning tea in Lorne, lunch in
the Otways district, late dinner in Warrnambool. If you make better
time, aim for Port Fairy. Not as big, but more picturesque and plenty
of accommodation. If it's not holiday time, bookings may not be
necessary. You'll have an AAA guide?

Presumably you want to reach Adelaide on Saturday night to be ready
for the Ghan (I don't know it's dep time). That makes Saturday the
"long drive" day, but by this time you should be over jet-lag and a
bit more familiar with Oz conditions. It's about 200km to Mt Gambier
for lunch via Heywood (bypass Portland) then another 440 to Adelaide.
The roads are mainly single lane each way, and you'll need patience to
wait to pass if you get behind a slow driver.

If you have time on that day, check out Tower Hill near Koroit, also
Port Fairy, and the crater lake at Mt Gambier. Don't stop, except for
a cuppa, in Millicent or the other coastal SA towns (time), but do
stop at some of the information boards in the Coorong, and do a quick
side trip into the National Park any entrance after Salt Creek if time
permits.

HTH


Cheers, Alan, Australia

While Alan has some great suggestions, something I would point out is
that if you plan on taking lots of photographs, you should arrive at the
scenic area at the right time. You should arrive at the first of the
sights - the 12 Apostles - just a few hours after sunrise. With the sun
to your back, lighting up the rocks, you'll have great pictures. In the
afternoon the sun would be in your face and the Apostles in the shade.
I've done both and believe me, it definitely makes a different. London
Bridge can be done later in the day, as you'll be looking back easterly,
with the sun just around 1, 2 o'clock. either overhead or slightly to
your back. In between these places is Port Campbell, a good place for
lunch, waiting for the sun to do its thing.

BTW at the 12 Apostles you'll get the opportunity to spend $50 or so for
a quick spin in a helicopter around the rocks; those who have done it
(two or three of them) told me it's a bit of a ripoff.

One more thought: long before you get to the 12 Apostles you should
spend some time in the Otways, a truly great rainforest with fine short
walks to get a sense of the majesty without spending all day in the
forest. A must stop in my opinion.

Richard

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 19:52:55 -0000, "Simon DOLBY"
wrote:

|Thanks this was really helpful.
|
|I know what you mean about fatigue, however we are having a 3 night stop
|over in Asia, therefore I don't feel we should be too jet lagged.
|
|We were considering spending our 1st night in Lorne - do you think this is
|feasible?
|
|Thanks again for the useful tips,
|
|
|Simon Dolby
|
Certainly feasible, but do allow for the slower driving conditions
once you are on the GOR. Partly because it is single lane and twisty,
partly because you'll be stopping regularly for a look at the view
(watch for the small parking bays as they come up) and partly because
those in front of you will be doing the same thing. If you really get
lucky you'll find a couple of unpassable caravanners in front of you
doing an average of 35 km/hr:-)

Just one little snippet - watch for the house on a pedestal on your
right just before the official start of the GOR (someone else can be
more specific). It also appears in one of our local ads for frozen
pizzas, but quite an eye-catching structure.

I'll see if I can find a photo on the web, but I doubt it.


Cheers, Alan, Australia

"temari" wrote in message
ink.net...
Last month we flew to Melbourne, our plane arrived about 1:00 in the
afternoon. We rented a car and drove to Apollo Bay. By the time we
got the car and got out of the airport, past all the road construction,
and the slow drivers, we finally got to Apollo Bay about 5:30. I guess
the traffic was heavy because of "rush hour"? We did not stop along
the way, and driving straight through took four and a half hours.

When the road reached the coast we were greeted with signs saying
"High accident zone next 40 kms", probably caused by the narrow
winding road and people watching the scenery instead of the traffic?
Please be careful!




There's a sign at the exit of one of the lookoffs on the G.O.R. (Apostles?
I can't remember) - it reads "drive on the left in Australia." I hate to
think of the driver for whom that hasn't become evident by the time they
reach there!!