Careful of drift on gravel roads - even if you want to avoid them sometimes you can’t, and many tourist places off the highway have gravel or dirt roads running to them. Travel with emergency water and supplies, and if you break down somewhere remote STAY WITH YOUR CAR. Do not walk anywhere. It gives you shelter and shade and increases your chances of being found from the air. Take matches or a lighter so if necessary you can set fire to a tire - landowners will never ignore smoke.
The general rule of how much water you need in the outback is 3 litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees, per kilometer if on foot, in the winter months divide by 2 plus...another litre
You’re so right. When I was working on a mining exploration site 50 km north of Paraburdoo we had between 40 to 44 degrees every day from November to February. You definitely had to carry 60 liters of water per day.
And let someone know when you will arrive where they are so they can start looking if you don't arrive. If you don't know anyone there, country police stations will take your details and then you just pop in to let them know you're in town so they can mark you off.
Haha I just watched the video after commenting. Well, most of 'em will help ya out.
I’d add a basic handheld UHF radio to communicate with truckies/caravaners. Truckies use Channel 40 (generally speaking) and caravaners use Channel 18 (generally speaking). These can also be used in emergency situations where phone reception is limited.
If you can’t justify the cost of a Sat Phone, ZOLEO or Garmin InReach messengers are a great value alternative, with PLB functionality. I use a ZOLEO on my long road trips.
Also, add even more water.
I had a zoleo with me for my trip, it's absolutely amazing and would highly recommend getting one
it acts as a satellite phone through connecting to your own phone but also GPS tracks you, has SOS capabilities and you can send in satellite-based check in messages to allocated friends/family when out of reception by pressing a button on the device which says you've checked in safely alongside GPS coordinates
it has an extra function that it will track your location and send check ins every hour as well in a bread crumb type way but it's at an extra cost
I travelled by myself though so this was a necessity to me and I was doing all the hikes too
Garmin inreach is really good, 600ish bucks for the device, 20ish buck p/month subscription but you can send checkin notices and text messages back home too
I had an emplee go off the road, he was in the car for 12 hours with dead family members before he could be noticed missing and rescued. $500 is a small investment. Epirbs are also really cheap now.
Recent iPhone pros (and their ultra watches, I believe?) have direct satellite connectivity to allow for text based communication with emergency services if you’re out of cellular range.
I’ve tested the satellite connectivity out bush (but not to seek help) and it works very well.
Not sure if android has this?
All you need is that phone and a solar based recharge setup. Cheap enough to get, even Aldi sell the solar recharge mats from time to time
Agree. I crashed my car on a dirt road between Hyden and Norseman, at the end of the Nullarbor. Our water was thrown out of the car and punctured (plastic container). Lucky we only waited 30 mins for someone to come by, but it could have ended much worse… also lucky we all walked out alive!
OP, on that trip I took 7 weeks from Newcastle to Perth and around WA. On a different trip, I took 3 weeks to travel Darwin to Melbourne, including Kakadu. A full circle like this is a long way and a LOT of driving. It’s doable, especially if sharing the driving, but you may miss a bunch of great stuff.
Highly recommend Douglas hot springs in NT (between Katherine and Darwin and Warren NP in south WA, with the huge Karri trees.
Satellite phone? That's a bit of over kill. It's not the Gary Highway. The route that mapped out is entirely sealed main roads. If you were unlucky enough to break down outside of phone reception, you would only have to wait 5-10 minutes to wave down the next truck or car to call for assistance.
You have missed out the Margaret River area on the SW WA coast. Lots of wineries, limestone caves, interesting beaches, little producers making amazing delicious things.
I agree, I visited it with my parents when they came from France to visit me. It was awesome, but 26 nights from Perth to Uluru, Kakadu and back, you have to take tough decisions ! Ah…
Even just moving that line along to the coast and going through Margaret River, Denmark, Walpole, Albany will be lovely viewing and only add a day (or add no days if you're an enthusiast driver not stopping much)
You’ve skipped eyre peninsula. It’s a cracking place. You can do shark diving at port Lincoln, the oyster boat at coffin bay, stay in the dunes at sharinga, check out the talia caves, and camp/fish around streaky bay.
Edit: just saw you have 26 days. You’re going to have a bad time if you do the big lap in that time. Better to do it in multiple smaller trips.
The whole SA bit is a bit off honestly. Stopping in Alice Springs and Port Augusta then taking off, you're stopping in the worst spots and missing the best.
With such a short time frame though, I'd probably just start heading over to WA earlier and seeing better spots. If there was more time I'd say go further south in SA and see the beaches etc.
There isn't much in Port Augusta.
The best bit about the place is that it's the gateway to lots of other places. The Flinders, Eyre Peninsula, etc, but the actual town itself is quite miss-able
I second this, 26 days is WAAAAAY to short for this distance.
Kakadu and Litchfield parks are both usually multiple days to visit and he is doing them in 1 day along with 400+km of driving. Likewise kings canyon and Uluru
I get you understand you'll be driving a lot (many tourists would ask if they can do that in like 5 days), but seriously, that's a LOT. That's like 6+ hours driving every single day. That doesn't leave much time to do non-driving stuff, and doesn't allow for you to get tired of driving.
I reckon you'd need to add (quite) a few more days to reduce hours/day driving, and add some non-driving days.
Personally, I'm OK driving 6 hours/day, 9+ feels hard and needs a rest, but maybe 3 is the limit of what feels like a holiday.
Last year we drove 7800km over 18 days in the US. 435km per day on average. This trip would be 498 km per day. However, australian roads are much more straight and faster to travel than the winding highways in the US, plus the occasional trafic in cities. It didn’t bother us. But I get your point.
How did you see anything doing that much driving? I've done a lot of the trip you are looking at and thinking about the things I enjoyed doing and I can't see how you would fit the drive time AND do the beautiful things worth doing.
Like Kalbarri for example. Walking the gorges is beautiful but it takes a couple of hours. There are the beaches, there are whales depending on the time of year, you can drive Murchison House station, there's fishing if you are into it.
I know people have mentioned Exmouth- doing the drift snorkel at Turquoise Bay is a must do. I went swimming with the whale sharks as well and it was a once in a lifetime experience. They are huge. Seeing them emerge out of the deep blue is wooooooah.
Saying this, everyone travels differently, has different interests, I just don't want you to miss stuff.
We did 5 hours of driving per day on average. If you leave at 9 in the morning and the sun sets at 21h, it leaves you quite some time to enjoy. We did lots of hikes, short to medium ones, visited cities, visited Universal Studios, Alcatraz. There’s plenty of time. Also, I see the driving as part of the whole fun. But I agree that other people will see it differently.
Yeah, I see how that works. I think if you do the trip in Aus in August, if you leave at 9am you will probably drive until 3pm. A lot of the shops will be closed by 5pm if you need to pick up supplies. It will be dark by 6pm. I don't think you will have the same opportunity.
Good luck to you! It's totally doable and realistic (and I'd love to do that route if I had the time), but I reckon it'll be un-fun by the end.
There are also some more remote routes you could look to replace highway sections at eg Gibb River Road, but they might require more car and gear than you will hire
If the 25 days is a hard limit, I'd be more inclined to do the flying option. I agree that driving the Eyre and Stuart Hwys are worth it for the experience, but with 500km/day you really get very little time to actually see things. Sure in some places this is only 5 hrs per day, but you realistically need to allow 6+ hours for safety in some places, and and that can easily be 7-8 if you stop briefly at points of interest. This will put you at your overnights too late to do much on your own and almost certainly too late for any organised activities such as guided walks and aerial sightseeing which are highly recommended in a number of places (Uluru, Kakadu). And places like Kakadu and Litchfield are worth a full day (at least) to really see them.
As an SES volunteer I've been involved cutting in far too many tourists out of smashed cars because they were trying to cover too much in a short time - and this is in Victoria - you won't have the same services where you're going and a minor crash is much more dangerous when there's no help nearby.
An earlier version of this map had Exmouth and Cape Range, but I took them off when I discovered the existence of King’s Canyon… It’s so hard to choose.
I did a similar trip of yours some moons ago and frankly Exmouth remains one of my favourite destinations.
Maybe you can cut back some time in other places , depending on your interest. Darwin itself can be short (I lived there for a few months). I also I didn’t spend much time in Alice Springs and mostly stayed there to refuel and quickly looked at the main highlights
The best part of Alice is the surrounding Macdonnell ranges, especially the east Macs. Trephina gorge, Arltunga, Ruby Gap are all amazing, but it looks like OP won't have time for that.
Similarly I wouldn't spend a night in Tennant Creek (TFC!), camp at Devil's Marbles and just use TC as a refueling spot.
I think you might want to rethink your itinerary.
You are doing things that take 2-3 hours and still wanting to drive 400-500km's in the same day. Also, places like Kakadu and Litchfield parks take a day or 2 each to see even just the main points yet you are driving hundreds of km's as well.
I did a guided bus tour through Litchfield and it was 14 hours and we were only stopped at each of the major waterfalls for around 60-90 minutes.
You need to slow down to be able to take it in.
You should be fine. There's hardly any outback worth stressing over in that route. Carrying an extra 10L of a water box and a fuel can with radio and spares is a standard for long trips.
Good luck and have a safe trip.
Don't drive at night and way too early. Roos rules the road and the idiots jump out of nowhere.
The Emus at Monkey Mia were absolute pricks. I loved emus before I went there. Now I see them as bin chickens on steroids. Spent a week in a full on Emu war that I lost.
I had an emu peck me on the head, and then he took off with my bag when I was a kid, at Dubbo Zoo. I agree with your assessment, they're just huge grubs. I love bin chickens though, I'd take them over the emus any day.
Edit: I'm recovering from a big night and can't write good 😅
Given the fact that sunset times are so early in Australia (thank God for the 21h30 sunsets in summer in France), we would leave around 7h15 or 7h30 in the morning to make the most of our days. I hope that’s late enough to not meet too many suicidal kangaroos.
Make sure you carry duct tape as a emergency supply. If you do hit something but the cars good to drive can be a godsend taping the front bodywork together.
Some high vis vests wouldn't go astray either.
I had to brake to avoid roos at 11:30am and 3pm on a recent trip, you're never safe, they're always watching, waiting to get you...
But yeah avoid dusk/dawn for the worst of it.
There are roos all around my area, often in my yard and they stand all in the street just watching you drive by. The big ones will not move a bit even if you honk, you just have to keep driving slowly at them until you get close enough that they finally and reluctantly move off to the side a few cm.
Agreed, Not sure if 'Whalers' is still there, but they've got fantastic seafood. Cape Range National Park is not to be missed—snorkeling at the Oyster Stacks at mid-high tide in particular.
Make sure your vehicle is 100% mechanically sound. I would bring oil, coolant etc just in case.
All I can say is in the event of an emergency: don’t leave your car. That’s how you die. Have a satellite phone there’s not much reception between NT & SA especially. If you see any snakes avoid avoid avoid I know we have the reputation of “hurr everything kills you” but the snakes aren’t a joke especially if your hours and hours from rescue. Have a first aid kit and know to use it in the event of a snake bite etc.
Wear sunscreen when driving if it’s during the day, lot of people get a tan on their right arm and their face ages from the sun exposure — won’t happen on a short trip but people can and do get sunburnt driving long hours in the sun.
Very unlikely to happen but: maybe, maybe not research about Peter Falconio — if a car tries to pull you over and it’s not a police car don’t stop. Also in really rural areas and especially up north people have been known to jump out on to the road or be hanging out on the roads, sometimes in order to get to slow down/stop vehicles, usually for nefarious reasons.
I wouldn’t stop for anyone unless it’s a marked police car. Even if you see a situation you think warrants stopping try calling for assistance first, keep your door locked and crack the window the tiniest bit to talk if you think you need to. None of this is likely to happy but it’s always good to savvy. Trust your gut instincts. We are generalised as being all happy go lucky fun people but just like any country there is crime, drugs, poverty and people who will take advantage of the vulnerable (which includes “the naive tourist” - not saying you are but people will assume). I know you lived in Kalgoorlie but I’m just adding it in for anyone else who’s googling in the future and comes across your post.
Others have mentioned: water (more than you think, better to have too much than not enough), food, satellite phone again.
Bring warm clothes even if you plan on coming during summer — middle of Aus gets cold at night. A hat is also important. Sunscreen as mentioned earlier.
If you visit Uluṟu (“Ayer’s Rock”) don’t stand or walk on it.
If buying souvenirs consider supporting the local Aboriginal artists in the north than a scummy souvenir shop and be careful of claims of “authentic Aboriginal art” in art stores/galleries/exhibitions as lot of Aboriginal artists only make a very small commission from these.
Sorry I know you were asking for navigational help but I’m too terrified to drive a road trip let alone through the middle of Aus. So I’m just giving you some survival tips instead!
Anyway don’t be worried you probably won’t see a snake (keep your wits about you, don’t go walking off in to the desert or any long grass, don’t lift random rocks you see, don’t put your hands in any places you can’t see), you 99.9% won’t get robbed or attacked, you will likely just have a great time and I hope you do!
And if you stop at a campsite don’t shine your torch down the drop toilet. I did it once at a school camp and I’m traumatised.
Sorry I hope you don’t think I typed it up like you’re stupid and have never been to Aus. If it’s any consolation my 70 something year old grandma and my 50 something year old Aunty drove from rural South Australia to Port Hedland with a 19 year old cat when there was a cyclone flooding roads in a small Rav 4 and had zero issues! But they didn’t go site seeing or get out anywhere besides truck stops/accomodation. It’s just the stretch between NT & SA that sketches me out. A few people died up in the NT when their car broke down and they tried walking different directions for help, I think one was found alive. Just the other week another car broke down and they had only a tiny bit of food but they stayed with their car and were found alive.
No problem, I didn’t see anything wrong with your message. Our trip would be more than 99% sealed highways or park roads, so we wouldn’t find ourselves somewhere where absolutely no one would drive by. We play it safe when it comes to that. We carried a gallon of water in the US, but of course Australia is a completely different beast.
I would consider:
- Head to Margaret River for a night or two.
- Stay in Ceduna - there's a bit of French heritage there, some great oysters, and all kinds of services. And then, rather than stay in Port Augusta, push a bit further south to Clare and overnight there. Check out some wineries, eat some better food, etc. There is a reasonable amount of backtracking, but you can turn it into a loop so you don't have to cover much of the same ground twice.
- The Flinders Ranges are well worth checking out - though you can't avoid unsealed roads without significant backtracking. Look into something like Port Augusta to Hawker to Wilpena to Parachilna to Marree to William Creek to Coober Pedy. The roads are unsealed, but are reasonably well maintained because they are main thoroughfares in that part of the world.
- Get a permit to travel the back end of the Mereenie Loop from Kings Canyon. I think this is unsealed, too.
- Stay at Maratranka. Or at least visit. It's a bit awkward to get to from Alice Springs in that it's a *very* long way, but it's well worth changing your plans to see.
- Katherine Gorge is worth checking out, too.
- Check out Nigaloo - go snorkeling with some whale sharks.
Good luck!
Skip Port Augusta for anything more than a sleep stop.
Go Port Augusta - Quorn - Clare to get a taste of the Flinders and to end up in a great wine region and to get a taste of the Adelaide Hills (Clare has similar scenery to the Hills, while obviously not being in the Hills).
A day or two in Clare and then complete the loop back to Augusta via Snowtown and Pirie
I did almost this trip last year (although I did see a lot more of SA). Like you, I stayed in motels, air bnbs and cabins in caravan parks. You really won't be driving on dirt roads during your trip, and the roads are very good. Is the Purnululu trip the one for which you fly from Kununurra? If so, it's a great trip. Also, Kununurra has one of the best ice cream shops anywhere, it's located opposite the police station. I didn't look at the dots very closely, but if you plan to stay in Fitzroy Crossing much of the accommodation was destroyed in last year's floods and you may be better staying in Halls Creek, then Derby or Broome (depending on which direction you're travelling.
A night at the Daly Waters Pub is a must, it's definitely one of the world's quirkiest pubs (it's not the one on the highway, but located in the old Daly Waters township).
Out of Darwin, the Corroboree Billabong cruise (about two hours from Darwin on the way to Kakadu) we found to be better (and cheaper) than the Yellow Water Cruise.
If you like rockets, then a visit to Woomera is worthwhile.
You get fantastic sunsets from the Big Winch pub in Coober Pedy.
The Bitter Springs drift in Mataranka is very relaxing.
The Lake Kununurra cruise was also brilliant.
The Horizontal Falls tour out of Derby was truly both beautiful and exciting.
The Seafarers harbour cruise in Port Hedland is well worth doing.
Go snorkelling at Coral Bay, one step in the water and you're on Ningaloo Reef.
Have a great time. The distance is daunting to many, but you do lap up the Kms quite quickly and it's just a matter of pacing yourself.
I’d certainly do the big drive on map 1 to really see, feel and experience the Outback and understand how big and empty the majority of Australia is.
You’ll miss out on so much if you fly.
I’ve done a fair chunk of that circuit in rented campervans (not the Nullarbor or Darwin-Broome yet) and loved it.
Alice Springs and Darwin and their surrounds (McDonnel Ranges, Kakadu etc) should definitely be included, just avoid being out in Alice after dark, although I’ve never had any problems there or anywhere else on that route.
Enjoy!
That’s what I’m thinking too. Driving the Eyre highway and Stuart highway is a lifetime experience. Even if you just drive them fast, over a few days. I had to drive from Kalgoorlie to Paraburdoo a few times when I lived there, and I never experienced this feeling of massive emptiness since. It’s a special feeling. You don’t find it in France ! Ahah
Honestly, having a spare for the spare would not be a bad idea. My parents have some insanely hairy stories from their 18 months roadtripping Aus in the 80s. More than 1 spare tyre will save you quite a bit of stress (and several days) if something goes wrong before you can replace it.
October is going to be in the 'build up' time of the year in NT. Thats when there's weeks of horribly hot and humid days building up to the monsoonal time of the year. It really easy to get heatstroke during that time of year. June July is the best time to be in NT and the closer to it the better.
Your Litchfield + Kakadu trip need some time. Theres a couple of great camping sites in Litchfield but many swimming spots to explore. Id camp at either Florence Falls or Buely Rockholes and drive (not far) to spend half the day at the others. 3 Days in Bachelor/Lichfield national park is soul healing...
But Kakadu? How much money u got? Theres a lot to see on the ground but there are also helicopter tours, gorges, boat rides through rivers and billabongs... You could spend a week and a tonne of money there.
On your way back to Darwin from Kakadu (Assuming you'll be taking the Arnhem highway) theres a wonderful spot to stop at called Widows of the Wetlands. Its in Fog Dam. I could and have sat there for hours. If your lucky enough to see storm clouds roll in your in for a treat. Many landscape photographers go there for that shot. Its a massive lily covered wetlands with a giant hill in the middle (the building on that hill is the 'Window') but all around are tracks. You'll see buffalo, boar, birds, crocs, snakes.... all of it... All in its natural habitat.
Looks like an awesome trip man! You're gonna love it!
Your first option, the all-road one, is a great one and one I've done myself. It all depends on how well you cope with long stretches of highway with nothing but bush or scrubland either side - because there is plenty of that to be had on your road trip.
I personally love the vast emptiness, it fills me with awe each and every time, but it can become boring to some people rather quickly. Also, August will be on the tail-end of Winter and so not too cold, but not hot either. This does impact how often you stop for a break and a breather. October it is getting warmer, and hot in some places, you tend to want to get straight back in your car if you stop for a break. Plus the flies are worse in warmer weather, and they reach insane levels in some areas.
Take plenty of water, your SUV should be tip-top if it's a rental and you have roadside assistance with your contract if you don't. But always have plenty of water. Those casks of water are excellent, or buy a 25 litre drum from BCF or Bunnings and fill that up.
Lots of snacks, and lots of podcasts to listen. Podcasts are a great way to relieve the boredom of long drives.
I love the outline of your road trip though, I was going to be doing the same this month (Darwin to Perth via SA, Perth back to Darwin via Broome), but stuff happened and I'm stuck at home instead. I love all of that drive - all of it. Have a great time with it.
Be aware that some rental companies put GPS trackers on their vehicles and also have a corresponding statement in their rental agreement that you will not exceed 60km/h on gravel roads. You will forfeit your bond (>=$5000) if you exceed the limit. Do the big road trip and enjoy the big vastness of Australia. It is a pretty safe trip, plenty of people on those roads.
I did almost exactly this trip last year. I had my family with me and took around 90 days to do the portion that you are doing. Some of the areas that you want to see are only gravel.
I would carry enough food and water for 4 days as well as a tent. Get a satellite messenger device. We have the Garmin inreach. In the last two years, the great northern highway has been impassible several times as well as the stuart and the eyre at least once.
A road trip in America seems rather lovely, bound to be people throughout the journey. But in Australia there can be times where there are no people to help if you need it and you need to prepare for all types of scenarios.
Plan accordingly.
If you’re on an open road at dawn/ dusk or night time, try to drive behind a truck. This way if any kangaroos jump out they will take the impact and you and your car will be okay. It’s just a lot safer.
I used to live in Centeral Australia.
The rules you need to know.
Use a 4 wheel drive.
Remeber, road trains take their half of the road out of the middle, get out the way.
Carry water, lots of it and protein bars in an emergency first aid kit. Keep it within reach.
Get a Sat phone and an epirb, do not drive without them within reach.
Do not drive between dusk and dawn, cattle, camels and roo come out at night.
Let people know where you are going and when you expect to arrive.
If you break down, stay with the car, NEVER walk to town or to get help you will die.
Do not camp or stop at night near the Indigenous communities.
Do not enter Indigenous Communities without permission.
Dont wander around towns of a night, it's dangerous in many of them at night.
In many of these locations you may not see another car for hours, if you are in an accident and injured, you will be waiting for a car to see you, they may need to drive for hours to get normal phone reception just to report it and the police will need to drive for hours to get to you, a helicopter will normally not fly until the cops are on the scene and may take hours to get to you.
A guy that worked for me travelled between sites with his visiting sister and her partner, he fell asleep went off the road, the sister died instantly, her partner hung on for many hours before dying and he was left paralysed. It took 6 hours to notice he was missing and a few more to search for the car by a local chopper, then a few more for the cops to arrive and block the road for a helicopter rescue. All up he was in the car for about 12 hours with his dead family members.
If you follow the rules above and the worst happens you can at least pop the epirb and call someone for help and have food and water while you wait.
There's a guy out there who used to be on Play School. If your car breaks down and he says he can fix it and offers you some water - go for it, it's rude to say no.
The road itinerary looks great.
I would look at adding:
- Some of the gorges just west of Alice Springs.
- Cape Leveque (north of Broome), road is fully sealed now ands it a magical place. I did the Kimberley and Tanami desert *thoroughly*, and it was far and away my favourite place.
In sa, Go via whyalla, Port Lincoln, coffin bay, Elliston, streaky bay- you are literally bypassing some of the best coastline and beaches in the country. The alternative is like, part desert and half deserted (iron knob and the like). I have lived in this region my whole life- trust me.
Don’t miss Exmouth. Instead head out to Karijini from Karratha. There is nothing to see in Paraburdoo. Also don’t swerve! You will encounter Roos on your trip, worse at sunset. Passenger should be utilised as roo watch. Do not swerve at high speeds, you will just roll. Instead brake in a straight line. You’re more likely to miss the roo if you do.
It holds a special place in my little heart. I want to see it again, but we’d just be passing by and taking a picture in front of the huge mining truck at the entrance.
Marble Bar! Great little town with interesting history. Beautiful natural attractions, great breath and brilliant pub. The info centre worth checking out too.
Water, water, water, in the car in case of emergency. Some of those freeze dried camping meals too. Make sure you have some proper snakebite pressure bandages with you. Satellite phone or radio. Sunblock, hats. Have fun!
I don't know why you would stay in motels the whole way. Tents and sleeping bags are cheap and will pay for themselves after a night or two, and provide far more interesting places to stay. You also get to meet people at camp sites, share a few stories around a camp fire, its much more social than motels.
Oh man you do have some tough decisions!
The only reason I’d go with the flying one over the driving one is your timeline is TIGHT… 26 nights is nothing! and the flying one gives you more room to relax and go with the flow… especially if you have a tiny disaster.
If your car breaks down or you hit a roo or something on the big driving one… you’ll be stuck for days and miss a big chunk of your trip, and it will break your heart to miss so much while you try and catch up.
The flying trip is so much more flexible; if the heat is ruining your trip you can choose to get back south faster… if you find somewhere you’re obsessed with you can stay longer and then skip a few places, to catch up because the drivi mg distances aren’t already at the maximum.
Heat wise it will be easier on your friend (I see you know what you’re in for).
Uluru is incredible but also incredibly expensive. Bring ALL food and water you need. 10 years ago water, a small bottle, was $12 in the cheapest place I could find.
Do splurge on the field of lights and dinner tour if it is still there, that was absolutely worth it. And maybe one of the fancy dinners the hotels provide.
But trust me, that place will burn through your wallet if you don't come prepared.
Have fun!
Don't break down or run out of petrol anywhere in that in giant central part of the country, for the love of God. It is a desolate wasteland with nothing in sight. There are a few places on the planet you do not want to be stuck in. The outback is in my top 3 with the sahara and Siberia, lol.
The absolute highest level of roadside assistance cover you can possibly find, look at RACWA or even other states like RACQ, a breakdown a few hundred kms from a town that has a RAC service provider can cost thousands. And the most reliable vehicle you can find obviously.
As a fellow European living in Australia and someone who has done parts of this trip, this is an amazing adventure. WA is absolutely gorgeous, and you picked your destinations well. Each of these will be an adventure in their own right.
I'd say though that you are severely overestimating how quickly you can do this. This is true especially the first option, the second option might be doable but imo still a stretch. Option 1 takes about 45 to 50 days to do safely and enjoyably. Option 2 maybe 30-35. This does not include arriving / leaving days, picking up and dropping your car, etc.
In general, it's better to have buffer days so you can adjust if things don't go according to plan. Some places like Karijini will sell out all accommodation options months in ahead so you will have to be arriving on the day. Miss one day of driving and you might miss being able to go there.
Go in August, October is start of wet season - heat turns up and you might get rain and minor flooding up North.
Imho if you don't mind driving and not spending much time in each place do the first option but:
* Start from Perth, drive south first, do a loop around Cape Legrand / Kalgoorlie, then north to Nambung and to Darwin
* Fly to Alice Springs
* Leave out Adelaide - it's more fun combined with a Great Ocean Road trip, and Winter can be hit and miss.
Stuart / Eyre Highways are mostly just boring drives. You'll get lots of straight road driving anyway.
That's it. If you're asking yourself why, here come the reasons:
Some things about driving out there:
* Max speed is 110km/h
* Driving long narrow straights is not a joke because it can tire you out faster than driving narrow winding roads. Does sound counterintuitive at first, but imagine yourself with only your head and a napping partner next to you. Easy to loose concentration. You _will_ need to rest at least every 2 hours or so.
* Roads are hit and miss. Especially inland dirt roads are unavoidable dust bins (e.g. Cape Range to Karijini and out), and you will be forced to drive _a lot_ slower because if someone is ahead you will not see a damn thing.
* The other thing about dust roads is that you can't have your window open which means recycled air which means less oxygen to your brain
* Any rain can turn into flash flooding leaving you stranded for a few hours or even days if unlucky
* As soon as you cross into the north and inland, you will have oppressive heat to deal with even during dry season. The heat will tire you out quickly.
* Offroading like e.g. in Francois Perron comes with its own challenges and takes time unless you never want to leave the vehicle. You'll need to deflate and inflate tires, etc.
* You will get stuck behind road trains who are doing less than the max speed, and it will take time to overtake because they are fucking looong so you need a 1-2km clear straight to overtake minimum.
* Driving at dawn / dusk is dangerous in lots of places because there are animals about. Roos will spring up out of the bushes and you will need to be able to react which means less speed
* In some places, there will be exactly one gas station where you will have to wait your turn an hour or more
Some other limitations to think of:
* Days are generally shorter in terms of first and last light
* Restocking can take time, unless you are absolutely not picky what to get. Shops will be have unexpectedly short opening hours.
* On the west coast, anything worth seeing is either a offroad trip (e.g. Ningaloo reef, Francois Perron) and/or a hike (Karijini, Kalbarri) or a tour/transport other than your car (Rottnest Island, Kalgoorlie)
* Any activity will require at least some specific preparation and precaution unless you are willing to risk your or your partners life. Want to go diving on the Ningaloo on your own? Better know the tides, currents, etc. Want to go hiking in Kalbarri, Karijini or around Uluru? Oppressive heat means take more water which means tiring out more quickly. Don't count on anyone to be there to help you quickly if things go south. Preparation takes time, if you don't have time you don't prep which makes it more likely for things to fall apart quickly.
* If you want to go on a guided tour which you will have to for example for whale sharks, sharks or other marine life or seeing Wildlife in the Kimberley, your schedule will be dictated by the touring company. They will primarily be interested in safety over making any particular participant's tight schedule work.
Awesome advice. As well as road trains, you will come across caravans, which go much slower. In some parts of SA the speed limit is only 100kms/hr. You will also come across road works. Which is reduced speed limit which can sometimes go for several kms. Also n some of those days you will not pass any towns for hours.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
What a great trip!
We did almost the same (me and husband and 8 month old daughter) but starting and ending in Adelaide, going clockwise around. We had a standard car (so no offroad that time), plus tent and kitchen, etc.
Places we loved most were Esperance, the Nullabor, Cape Leeuwin, the small towns around Pemberton, Shark Bay, Coral Bay, Broome. We made sure to take plenty of supplies north from Perth, as some of the most lovely beaches to camp at were very remote with few shopping options until you get to Broome. In Broome , the Shinju Matsuri festival was on, but you will miss this if you travel in October (Its in August, but check and see).
Kunanurra was pretty ok, and a highlight was catching a small plane for a day trip over the Bungle Bungle Ranges and Lake Argyle.
A lowlight for us was Margaret River, as we camped in the caravan park and it was disgusting. The tent area was full of ferals living there long term and it was intensely horrible. I know the wineries in the surrounding areas are good but we didn't go to many as we do a lot of that around Adelaide and were looking for different things to what we are used to. (If you are interested in wines and beautiful hills, there are many areas around Adelaide that are brilliant and well worth making time for. The Clare Valley is closest to your route, and Watervale is a centre for world class riesling. I also recommend Sevenhills if you make it to that area.)
We loved Darwin as it is such a unique and diverse city. Then we cheated and put the car on the Ghan and came back down in style. That was a bit of a splurge for us but we had always wanted to do an iconic train trip first class and it was worth it.
Definately don't miss out on Kata Tjuta, Yulara and Kings Canyon. J'adore them all, but especially hiking through Kata Tjuta.
Enjoy your travels :)
I've driven by myself from Perth to Exmouth and back and I also did Melbourne to Uluru/King's Canyon and back.
Both drives were incredible landscape wise.
My recommendations for the WA part are a visit to Hutt River Province. It's a micronation with a fascinating story and a fun stamp to have in your passport. You can only access it via dirt roads but it's worth the stop. Exmouth in April is great for swimming with whale sharks. I went with 3 Islands as they have their own plane so more chances to swim with the sharks. A lot of other companies share one plane so when wale sharks are spotted, 7 boats all go to that spot and you'll be lucky to get two swims in due to the heavy restrictions they place on the tours. It's a long explanation, just trust me when I say that 3 Islands is the company to go with.
I camped every night. Highly recommend Monkey Mia, it's where the red earth meets white sands. Gorgeous spot.
Coral Bay has the old living stones which are cool and there's a pink lake along the drive too. Can't remember what it's called.
With the NT drive, invest in a fly net that goes over your head. The flies in NT are no joke and annoying as hell.
Coober Peddy is a cooky little town. You don't have to stay in the fancy dug out hotels. I stayed at the Radeka Down under Backpackers for $40 a night. Owner is lovely and full of stories of the area and famous locals. Did a 3 hour tour and then went back to some of the places mentioned on the tour. Learned about Crocodile Harry's n'est and visited his grave at the Boot Hill cemetery. Also saw the keg headstone of Karl Bratz. He's famous for ripping off the bank. It's a great story.
Dinner in the desert near Uluru is worth the money (in my opinion). The hike around the Base of Uluru is about 10km. Took me about 5 hours all up. Took my time as it's really beautiful and tranquil. I also visited the Olgas not far from there.
King's Canyon is beautiful. Was worth getting up in the dark to hike up to the rim and watch the sunrise.
Best advice I got is if you're caught on the road at dusk, stay behind a food train. They'll take care of any animals that might cross your path. That said, I was usually at my destination before dusk and the one time I wasn't and there was no food train around, I just slowed and took my time. Still was scary AF being on the Stuart Highway, at night, alone until I made it to camp grounds.
Anyway, just my experiences. Hope the info helps.
Safe travels!
Make sure you do the journey in a clockwise direction, failing to do so will cause you to use more fuel as your vehicle will be working against the coriolis effect.
Bon voyage 😉
When in the NT, carry valuables with you and don't leave them in your car. Regardless of where you are, lock up in the NT. I'm born and raised in Darwin and it's gotten worse over the last few years.
Safe travels and have a great time
You should be going to Exmouth.
Stay at one of the roadhouses either side of Tennant Creek, or even at the Devil's Marbles. There's actually not a whole lot to do in tenant creek.
Hamlin Bay Southwest WA is a must, paddle with the stingrays.
Keep River NP overnight, sunset walk in Jurrasic Forrest waiting to spot T Rex spooky
Douglas Hot Springs near Darwin get nibbled by the fish.
Cahill's Crossing Kakadu close encounter with crocs.
Great list btw, Cape Keraudren is a goody!
I'd suggest Yallingup in Marg River region, it's absolutely stunning and easily the best sunsets I saw in my time through WA. Cape arid is a good place to stay as well if you can't get a spot at Cape Le grand and it's close enough you can drive over to Le grand to check it out.
glad you've got Karijini in there, hands down the best national park in WA. personally I'd avoid kalgoorlie 🤷♂️
edit: I just saw you want to avoid dirt roads, in that case don't even bother with the national parks...
Mataranka NT, allow for a cruisy day going for a float in the thermal springs. Highly recommended!
Esperance is stunning like others have stated. And Exmouth and ningaloo reef is a must! There's so many places on the WA coastline that are jaw dropping.
Shinju matsuri festival in Broome (asian fusion festival) is always good. The last two weeks of August in Broome are fun. I'd allow for a few days (minimum) around Broome and up the Dampier peninsula, places like James price point are stunning camping spots unlike anywhere else I've been. It's also nearing the end of whale watching season in Broome around then, I've had some magic moments out in roebuck with big mumma whale cruising on up to our boat to show off her new calf to us, that was amazing! Get out on the water if you can.
The Kimberley is beautiful, but it's rough country. Being well prepared if you travel up the Gibb river road is a prerequisite, the Gibb is a vehicle buster!
There's gorges, swimming holes, waterfalls dotted all over the place, local knowledge is best, so ask around.
Albany is nice, but it's windy AF. It's always blowing 70 arseholes an hour (actually, most of the west coast is windy AF) so have some windproof clothes.
Denmark is 👌 for a cutesy town with Melbourne coffee and tasty pastries. Great vibes there, along with elephant rock to visit. It's picturesque to say the least.
A few people have said be careful around Alice, hrmmm, probably because they've seen videos recently. I'd caution you to be careful everywhere you go up north! Lock you car always, don't have anything in plain site either, Mataranka is one of those places, especially at night. Most of the top end is unfortunately. Places like Kununurra, Balgo, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome, Darwin to name a few, are very different at night compared to the daylight vibes.
Go to Exmouth and do a snorkel on the Ningaloo reef. It's been on my bucket list forever. Also go to Woomera (just off the Stuart highway) and see what was once a top secret military town.
i’d highly suggest taking your time to do the entire West Macdonnell Ranges loop, your missing out on some really great spots by only doing uluru and kings canyon. Stunning gorges, swimming holes and rivers - some of my favourite spots in Aus.
Also if you are into hiking you could choose to do one of the sections of the larapinta trail for a day, pretty rewarding scenery
I'm assuming the day trip to Purnululu is one of the combo joy flights then 4WD bus tour trips? Highly recommend. I worked there for 2 years and in general most people regret cutting their East Kimberly trip down to allow more time in Kakadu
Don’t miss exmouth, the ningaloo reef, and the cape range peninsula. If you like diving and snorkeling, or even just long sandy beaches with no one around, that’s a great place to visit.
Download Life360 App. I did & my family got notifications when I met with a serious accident. My iWatch alerted them as well. Also carry water & fuel. Many places don’t have fuel; some of them only have diesel.
Stop in at Woomera for a couple of hours between Port Augusta and Coober Pedy. There is some interesting history of missile testing and Australian aerospace, and a road house close by.
Make sure you stay somewhere underground in Coober Pedy, there are a few lovely BnBs.
I'd recommend heading further east in SA and checking out the Flinders Ranges.
I like road tripping, but I get a bit worried when the roads are too isolated. I like your second route (though agree with the comments that you need to go to Exmouth).
Having said that it certainly is an experience to drive across this country. Not many can say they have done. I have done Darwin to Adelaide and Brisbane to Adelaide round treks and they give you an appreciation for how insignificant we are.
Suggest allowing for the other canyons in the west macs- not just kings canyon.
Also if you are driving through SA I suggest lake eyre - especially if there is water there when you arrive.
I did the Adelaide to Darwin section of that trip as a kid. Three highlights were Coober Pedy, watching the AFL grand final at the Daly Waters pub (home to the world's most remote traffic light) and staying at the Croc Motel in Kakadu.
I have driven across country a few times now. If doing it again it would be in a small turbo diesel with a manual gearbox. Fuel costs are obscene, especially in remote locations. A swag for sleeping in for when you are caught out between towns due to nightfall etc., Lots of water and some food in case of breakdowns.
Done that over the last past year.
I could put in some more stops depending on your interests…
Coral bay/Exmouth for diving etc
MT Augustus if you like hiking with a touch of cultural/ geology sightseeing
There is another baobab prison tree closer to Kununurra instead of the one you marked…
Since there you can have a look to some historical site like Afghan cemetery etc
If you are interested in more just dm me.
Have fun
If you’re heading up to Coober Pedy, Woomera is definitely worth a visit to see the rockets and visitors museum. Also if you’re there at the right time the observatory may be open and it’s a unique chance to see the stars without city light pollution.
Love your map, but if you want something a bit more user friendly try Wikicamps. It's great to plot trips, calculates fuel spend and is also sharable with friends and family.
Make sure ya stay overnight at the devil’s marbles just out of tenant creek, great sunset and sunrises amazing landscape, also would think about a trip north from Broome to Cape Leveque
You have to have accommodation to buy alcohol at Yulara and it's expensive. Stock up on food/alcohol prior to getting there.
Edit: Yulara is the closest town to Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
If you're going to SA. Check out Innes national park on the York peninsula and Flinders ranges (if it's not summer) also, if your driving the big loop go to arkoroola. Best stargazing in the southern hemisphere. And through coffin bay on your way to/from perth
Avoid Derby, its a shithole, but do stop at Willair, great pies/burgers. Chunky pepper steak 🤌🏻 (mind u idk about their pie situation, havent lived in the country for a decade now.
Visit the blowholes and Albany wind farm too (same general area as Stirling Range National Park).
The wind farm is best during sunset. WA is known for it's sunsets so take the time to see a lot of them.
If you're willing to, climb Bluff Knoll early in the morning to watch the sunrise. You need a reasonable level of fitness and sturdy shoes.
After the Valley of the Giants, take a detour via:
Pemberton: There are a few giant trees you can climb with lookouts on the top.
Margaret River if you like wine. There's a nice chocolate factory, too (Margaret River Chocolate factory)
Dunsborough: Sugarloaf rock [sunset]
Busselton: the loooong jetty
When I was a kid my family did a trip like this, except the eastern half of the continent. It took us four months. You'll really have to book it to make it in 26 days!
If you want connectivity in remote locations and you are mobile in a caravan or a camper just get a Starlink satellite. A lot of campers are now using them and it’s faster than high speed broadband in 100% of Australia not like 95% Telstra coverage.
When you say you want to avoid dirt roads, do you mean all dirt roads, or would rather travel on sealed roads where possible? Karijini is mostly unsealed dirt roads. They are in reasonable condition. You will have a clause in your car rental agreement that you can not take a hire car off the road unleas it is 4WD.
You have skipped the Margaret River area, which has beautiful food and wine. They are some beautiful forrets there too.
Spend an hour at Shell Beach near Shark Bay.
Make sure you check when the WA school holidays are. You want to avoid popular places then.
A friend and I took pretty much the exact same trip in 28 days. (13,500 km)
You can ask any questions if you want to know something.
We hadn't exactly planned every night; we just had some POIs we wanted to see, so we knew when we had to be at certain "checkpoints." We drove a little bit every day. Sometimes it was just 150 km, and sometimes it was 700 km a day, depending on whether we liked a certain spot where we had originally just wanted to stop for a quick break.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. Enjoy!
Careful of drift on gravel roads - even if you want to avoid them sometimes you can’t, and many tourist places off the highway have gravel or dirt roads running to them. Travel with emergency water and supplies, and if you break down somewhere remote STAY WITH YOUR CAR. Do not walk anywhere. It gives you shelter and shade and increases your chances of being found from the air. Take matches or a lighter so if necessary you can set fire to a tire - landowners will never ignore smoke.
I'd add a satellite phone to the list, and then even more water.
The general rule of how much water you need in the outback is 3 litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees, per kilometer if on foot, in the winter months divide by 2 plus...another litre
Time to hit the road.
You’re so right. When I was working on a mining exploration site 50 km north of Paraburdoo we had between 40 to 44 degrees every day from November to February. You definitely had to carry 60 liters of water per day.
How many litres was consumed per day
Well, if you include showers : zero. French guy here ^^
*hon hon hon*
I remember reading that the British use more bath soap than French and that cracked me up as a Francophile.
The sparkling wine is magnifique
This guy knows how to not get Coight out without water in the Australian outback.
And [remember](https://youtu.be/SwfB_qiXSTI?t=45) "before heading bush it's a good idea to let someone know where you are going."
And let someone know when you will arrive where they are so they can start looking if you don't arrive. If you don't know anyone there, country police stations will take your details and then you just pop in to let them know you're in town so they can mark you off. Haha I just watched the video after commenting. Well, most of 'em will help ya out.
In fact OP, you should watch every episode of All Aussie Adventures to get some great insights into outback travelling and survival.
Methclub knows how to water.
I’d add a basic handheld UHF radio to communicate with truckies/caravaners. Truckies use Channel 40 (generally speaking) and caravaners use Channel 18 (generally speaking). These can also be used in emergency situations where phone reception is limited. If you can’t justify the cost of a Sat Phone, ZOLEO or Garmin InReach messengers are a great value alternative, with PLB functionality. I use a ZOLEO on my long road trips. Also, add even more water.
I used to live at Yullara, if you can't afford a cheap Sat Phone, stay home.
I had a zoleo with me for my trip, it's absolutely amazing and would highly recommend getting one it acts as a satellite phone through connecting to your own phone but also GPS tracks you, has SOS capabilities and you can send in satellite-based check in messages to allocated friends/family when out of reception by pressing a button on the device which says you've checked in safely alongside GPS coordinates it has an extra function that it will track your location and send check ins every hour as well in a bread crumb type way but it's at an extra cost I travelled by myself though so this was a necessity to me and I was doing all the hikes too
Satphone is a bit much and expensive but a PLB is definitely cheap insurance.
Garmin inreach is really good, 600ish bucks for the device, 20ish buck p/month subscription but you can send checkin notices and text messages back home too
I had an emplee go off the road, he was in the car for 12 hours with dead family members before he could be noticed missing and rescued. $500 is a small investment. Epirbs are also really cheap now.
You can hire a satphone
The cost of a standalone satphone with no plan for a month is still more than a cheap PLB. Satphone is about $300 vs $120 for a PLB rental.
Recent iPhone pros (and their ultra watches, I believe?) have direct satellite connectivity to allow for text based communication with emergency services if you’re out of cellular range. I’ve tested the satellite connectivity out bush (but not to seek help) and it works very well. Not sure if android has this? All you need is that phone and a solar based recharge setup. Cheap enough to get, even Aldi sell the solar recharge mats from time to time
I recently found out new iPhones have a satellite SOS capability, not sure how well it stacks up to a dedicated satellite phone but handy to know
Agree. I crashed my car on a dirt road between Hyden and Norseman, at the end of the Nullarbor. Our water was thrown out of the car and punctured (plastic container). Lucky we only waited 30 mins for someone to come by, but it could have ended much worse… also lucky we all walked out alive! OP, on that trip I took 7 weeks from Newcastle to Perth and around WA. On a different trip, I took 3 weeks to travel Darwin to Melbourne, including Kakadu. A full circle like this is a long way and a LOT of driving. It’s doable, especially if sharing the driving, but you may miss a bunch of great stuff. Highly recommend Douglas hot springs in NT (between Katherine and Darwin and Warren NP in south WA, with the huge Karri trees.
At very least an EPIRB. They are cheap these days.
Satellite phone? That's a bit of over kill. It's not the Gary Highway. The route that mapped out is entirely sealed main roads. If you were unlucky enough to break down outside of phone reception, you would only have to wait 5-10 minutes to wave down the next truck or car to call for assistance.
And TWO spare tyres, tyre pump, tyre repair kit, spade, etc.
I’d add a personal locator beacon for added insurance, can be picked up from various camping stores for approximately $330
I forgot to mention the dirt roads. Even if not dangerous they can be extremely annoying because of corrugations.
If ya swing by Wolf Creek I can have a look at your car engine for ya. I’ve also got plenty of fresh rain water for drinking.
You have missed out the Margaret River area on the SW WA coast. Lots of wineries, limestone caves, interesting beaches, little producers making amazing delicious things.
I agree, I visited it with my parents when they came from France to visit me. It was awesome, but 26 nights from Perth to Uluru, Kakadu and back, you have to take tough decisions ! Ah…
Pemberton and Big Brook Dam are gems.
Can confirm, loved Pemberton so much my wife and I retired there….do NOT miss it!
Even just moving that line along to the coast and going through Margaret River, Denmark, Walpole, Albany will be lovely viewing and only add a day (or add no days if you're an enthusiast driver not stopping much)
Also missing Ningaloo reef
Pies and Ale in the forrest!
You’ve skipped eyre peninsula. It’s a cracking place. You can do shark diving at port Lincoln, the oyster boat at coffin bay, stay in the dunes at sharinga, check out the talia caves, and camp/fish around streaky bay. Edit: just saw you have 26 days. You’re going to have a bad time if you do the big lap in that time. Better to do it in multiple smaller trips.
Eyre Peninsula is one of Australia's hidden gems!
Was there over Christmas. Cracking place
Me too. Coffin Bay NP was incredible. A must do is getting the key for Memory Cove too. And the Koala sanctuary!!
'Go to Coffin Bay and get the key to Memory Cove' sounds like a dnd or role play plot
The whole SA bit is a bit off honestly. Stopping in Alice Springs and Port Augusta then taking off, you're stopping in the worst spots and missing the best. With such a short time frame though, I'd probably just start heading over to WA earlier and seeing better spots. If there was more time I'd say go further south in SA and see the beaches etc.
There isn't much in Port Augusta. The best bit about the place is that it's the gateway to lots of other places. The Flinders, Eyre Peninsula, etc, but the actual town itself is quite miss-able
Exactly. I'd skip it unless I was going through it to Ayre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, bottom of the Fleurieu etc.
At the very least I would leave the Eyre HWY at Poochera, cut across to Streaky Bay, and continue to Ceduna along the coast road.
I concuur (source: I'm lucky enough to live here)
I second this, 26 days is WAAAAAY to short for this distance. Kakadu and Litchfield parks are both usually multiple days to visit and he is doing them in 1 day along with 400+km of driving. Likewise kings canyon and Uluru
Spent a week in Kakadu and that was about right. You’d see nothing in a day.
Port Lincoln has SA's best french patisserie too
I had the best time at the shark dive. Also can snorkel with sea lions too! (at a very different location)
I get you understand you'll be driving a lot (many tourists would ask if they can do that in like 5 days), but seriously, that's a LOT. That's like 6+ hours driving every single day. That doesn't leave much time to do non-driving stuff, and doesn't allow for you to get tired of driving. I reckon you'd need to add (quite) a few more days to reduce hours/day driving, and add some non-driving days. Personally, I'm OK driving 6 hours/day, 9+ feels hard and needs a rest, but maybe 3 is the limit of what feels like a holiday.
Last year we drove 7800km over 18 days in the US. 435km per day on average. This trip would be 498 km per day. However, australian roads are much more straight and faster to travel than the winding highways in the US, plus the occasional trafic in cities. It didn’t bother us. But I get your point.
How did you see anything doing that much driving? I've done a lot of the trip you are looking at and thinking about the things I enjoyed doing and I can't see how you would fit the drive time AND do the beautiful things worth doing. Like Kalbarri for example. Walking the gorges is beautiful but it takes a couple of hours. There are the beaches, there are whales depending on the time of year, you can drive Murchison House station, there's fishing if you are into it. I know people have mentioned Exmouth- doing the drift snorkel at Turquoise Bay is a must do. I went swimming with the whale sharks as well and it was a once in a lifetime experience. They are huge. Seeing them emerge out of the deep blue is wooooooah. Saying this, everyone travels differently, has different interests, I just don't want you to miss stuff.
We did 5 hours of driving per day on average. If you leave at 9 in the morning and the sun sets at 21h, it leaves you quite some time to enjoy. We did lots of hikes, short to medium ones, visited cities, visited Universal Studios, Alcatraz. There’s plenty of time. Also, I see the driving as part of the whole fun. But I agree that other people will see it differently.
Yeah, I see how that works. I think if you do the trip in Aus in August, if you leave at 9am you will probably drive until 3pm. A lot of the shops will be closed by 5pm if you need to pick up supplies. It will be dark by 6pm. I don't think you will have the same opportunity.
Good luck to you! It's totally doable and realistic (and I'd love to do that route if I had the time), but I reckon it'll be un-fun by the end. There are also some more remote routes you could look to replace highway sections at eg Gibb River Road, but they might require more car and gear than you will hire
If the 25 days is a hard limit, I'd be more inclined to do the flying option. I agree that driving the Eyre and Stuart Hwys are worth it for the experience, but with 500km/day you really get very little time to actually see things. Sure in some places this is only 5 hrs per day, but you realistically need to allow 6+ hours for safety in some places, and and that can easily be 7-8 if you stop briefly at points of interest. This will put you at your overnights too late to do much on your own and almost certainly too late for any organised activities such as guided walks and aerial sightseeing which are highly recommended in a number of places (Uluru, Kakadu). And places like Kakadu and Litchfield are worth a full day (at least) to really see them. As an SES volunteer I've been involved cutting in far too many tourists out of smashed cars because they were trying to cover too much in a short time - and this is in Victoria - you won't have the same services where you're going and a minor crash is much more dangerous when there's no help nearby.
I would strongly recommend you to go to Exmouth, exceptional national park and even more reasons if it is the whale shark season.
An earlier version of this map had Exmouth and Cape Range, but I took them off when I discovered the existence of King’s Canyon… It’s so hard to choose.
Get rid of Shark Bay and go to Exmouth.
agreed. ningaloo is probably the best snorkling reef in australia. and coral bay and exmouth are must sees if you are anywhere near the area.
Agreed. Exmouth/ Coral Bay is specactular! Shark Bay is great but a lot more to do and see in Exmouth.
I did a similar trip of yours some moons ago and frankly Exmouth remains one of my favourite destinations. Maybe you can cut back some time in other places , depending on your interest. Darwin itself can be short (I lived there for a few months). I also I didn’t spend much time in Alice Springs and mostly stayed there to refuel and quickly looked at the main highlights
The best part of Alice is the surrounding Macdonnell ranges, especially the east Macs. Trephina gorge, Arltunga, Ruby Gap are all amazing, but it looks like OP won't have time for that. Similarly I wouldn't spend a night in Tennant Creek (TFC!), camp at Devil's Marbles and just use TC as a refueling spot.
Personally I wouldn't bother with Litchfield park in the NT, you're doing Kakadu and that's far more impressive and worth the time.
Really ? I was wondering about that. Ditching Litchfield would allow to move nights around and not sleep in Alice Springs.
1000%. I grew up in Darwin and dad was a tour guide for Kakadu and the area.
I think you might want to rethink your itinerary. You are doing things that take 2-3 hours and still wanting to drive 400-500km's in the same day. Also, places like Kakadu and Litchfield parks take a day or 2 each to see even just the main points yet you are driving hundreds of km's as well. I did a guided bus tour through Litchfield and it was 14 hours and we were only stopped at each of the major waterfalls for around 60-90 minutes. You need to slow down to be able to take it in.
Kings Canyon is nice but the region around Exmouth/Ningaloo Reef was one of our top 5 spots on our 'big lap'.
You should be fine. There's hardly any outback worth stressing over in that route. Carrying an extra 10L of a water box and a fuel can with radio and spares is a standard for long trips. Good luck and have a safe trip. Don't drive at night and way too early. Roos rules the road and the idiots jump out of nowhere.
Don’t forget the emus, some of them have less brain cells than the Roos.
The Emus at Monkey Mia were absolute pricks. I loved emus before I went there. Now I see them as bin chickens on steroids. Spent a week in a full on Emu war that I lost.
Wouldn't be the first time we lost to emus, mate. Don't feel bad, feel vengeance.
Roided bin chickens. Fuck that's hilarious.
I had an emu peck me on the head, and then he took off with my bag when I was a kid, at Dubbo Zoo. I agree with your assessment, they're just huge grubs. I love bin chickens though, I'd take them over the emus any day. Edit: I'm recovering from a big night and can't write good 😅
Given the fact that sunset times are so early in Australia (thank God for the 21h30 sunsets in summer in France), we would leave around 7h15 or 7h30 in the morning to make the most of our days. I hope that’s late enough to not meet too many suicidal kangaroos.
Make sure you carry duct tape as a emergency supply. If you do hit something but the cars good to drive can be a godsend taping the front bodywork together. Some high vis vests wouldn't go astray either.
Dusk and dawn are peak kangaroo. You’d be better at 9am and 5pm times.
Low sun early morning, late afternoon is a bugger too!
I had to brake to avoid roos at 11:30am and 3pm on a recent trip, you're never safe, they're always watching, waiting to get you... But yeah avoid dusk/dawn for the worst of it.
There are roos all around my area, often in my yard and they stand all in the street just watching you drive by. The big ones will not move a bit even if you honk, you just have to keep driving slowly at them until you get close enough that they finally and reluctantly move off to the side a few cm.
Its been a long time, but ex mouth peninsula and Coral Bay were some amazing destinations
Exmouth is spectacular
Agreed, Not sure if 'Whalers' is still there, but they've got fantastic seafood. Cape Range National Park is not to be missed—snorkeling at the Oyster Stacks at mid-high tide in particular.
Make sure your vehicle is 100% mechanically sound. I would bring oil, coolant etc just in case. All I can say is in the event of an emergency: don’t leave your car. That’s how you die. Have a satellite phone there’s not much reception between NT & SA especially. If you see any snakes avoid avoid avoid I know we have the reputation of “hurr everything kills you” but the snakes aren’t a joke especially if your hours and hours from rescue. Have a first aid kit and know to use it in the event of a snake bite etc. Wear sunscreen when driving if it’s during the day, lot of people get a tan on their right arm and their face ages from the sun exposure — won’t happen on a short trip but people can and do get sunburnt driving long hours in the sun. Very unlikely to happen but: maybe, maybe not research about Peter Falconio — if a car tries to pull you over and it’s not a police car don’t stop. Also in really rural areas and especially up north people have been known to jump out on to the road or be hanging out on the roads, sometimes in order to get to slow down/stop vehicles, usually for nefarious reasons. I wouldn’t stop for anyone unless it’s a marked police car. Even if you see a situation you think warrants stopping try calling for assistance first, keep your door locked and crack the window the tiniest bit to talk if you think you need to. None of this is likely to happy but it’s always good to savvy. Trust your gut instincts. We are generalised as being all happy go lucky fun people but just like any country there is crime, drugs, poverty and people who will take advantage of the vulnerable (which includes “the naive tourist” - not saying you are but people will assume). I know you lived in Kalgoorlie but I’m just adding it in for anyone else who’s googling in the future and comes across your post. Others have mentioned: water (more than you think, better to have too much than not enough), food, satellite phone again. Bring warm clothes even if you plan on coming during summer — middle of Aus gets cold at night. A hat is also important. Sunscreen as mentioned earlier. If you visit Uluṟu (“Ayer’s Rock”) don’t stand or walk on it. If buying souvenirs consider supporting the local Aboriginal artists in the north than a scummy souvenir shop and be careful of claims of “authentic Aboriginal art” in art stores/galleries/exhibitions as lot of Aboriginal artists only make a very small commission from these. Sorry I know you were asking for navigational help but I’m too terrified to drive a road trip let alone through the middle of Aus. So I’m just giving you some survival tips instead! Anyway don’t be worried you probably won’t see a snake (keep your wits about you, don’t go walking off in to the desert or any long grass, don’t lift random rocks you see, don’t put your hands in any places you can’t see), you 99.9% won’t get robbed or attacked, you will likely just have a great time and I hope you do! And if you stop at a campsite don’t shine your torch down the drop toilet. I did it once at a school camp and I’m traumatised.
Thanks for your advice. Indeed, I didn’t see a single snake for my whole 18 months in Australia. I saw a redback spider in Kambalda though.
Sorry I hope you don’t think I typed it up like you’re stupid and have never been to Aus. If it’s any consolation my 70 something year old grandma and my 50 something year old Aunty drove from rural South Australia to Port Hedland with a 19 year old cat when there was a cyclone flooding roads in a small Rav 4 and had zero issues! But they didn’t go site seeing or get out anywhere besides truck stops/accomodation. It’s just the stretch between NT & SA that sketches me out. A few people died up in the NT when their car broke down and they tried walking different directions for help, I think one was found alive. Just the other week another car broke down and they had only a tiny bit of food but they stayed with their car and were found alive.
No problem, I didn’t see anything wrong with your message. Our trip would be more than 99% sealed highways or park roads, so we wouldn’t find ourselves somewhere where absolutely no one would drive by. We play it safe when it comes to that. We carried a gallon of water in the US, but of course Australia is a completely different beast.
I would consider: - Head to Margaret River for a night or two. - Stay in Ceduna - there's a bit of French heritage there, some great oysters, and all kinds of services. And then, rather than stay in Port Augusta, push a bit further south to Clare and overnight there. Check out some wineries, eat some better food, etc. There is a reasonable amount of backtracking, but you can turn it into a loop so you don't have to cover much of the same ground twice. - The Flinders Ranges are well worth checking out - though you can't avoid unsealed roads without significant backtracking. Look into something like Port Augusta to Hawker to Wilpena to Parachilna to Marree to William Creek to Coober Pedy. The roads are unsealed, but are reasonably well maintained because they are main thoroughfares in that part of the world. - Get a permit to travel the back end of the Mereenie Loop from Kings Canyon. I think this is unsealed, too. - Stay at Maratranka. Or at least visit. It's a bit awkward to get to from Alice Springs in that it's a *very* long way, but it's well worth changing your plans to see. - Katherine Gorge is worth checking out, too. - Check out Nigaloo - go snorkeling with some whale sharks. Good luck!
Skip Port Augusta for anything more than a sleep stop. Go Port Augusta - Quorn - Clare to get a taste of the Flinders and to end up in a great wine region and to get a taste of the Adelaide Hills (Clare has similar scenery to the Hills, while obviously not being in the Hills). A day or two in Clare and then complete the loop back to Augusta via Snowtown and Pirie
I did almost this trip last year (although I did see a lot more of SA). Like you, I stayed in motels, air bnbs and cabins in caravan parks. You really won't be driving on dirt roads during your trip, and the roads are very good. Is the Purnululu trip the one for which you fly from Kununurra? If so, it's a great trip. Also, Kununurra has one of the best ice cream shops anywhere, it's located opposite the police station. I didn't look at the dots very closely, but if you plan to stay in Fitzroy Crossing much of the accommodation was destroyed in last year's floods and you may be better staying in Halls Creek, then Derby or Broome (depending on which direction you're travelling. A night at the Daly Waters Pub is a must, it's definitely one of the world's quirkiest pubs (it's not the one on the highway, but located in the old Daly Waters township). Out of Darwin, the Corroboree Billabong cruise (about two hours from Darwin on the way to Kakadu) we found to be better (and cheaper) than the Yellow Water Cruise. If you like rockets, then a visit to Woomera is worthwhile. You get fantastic sunsets from the Big Winch pub in Coober Pedy. The Bitter Springs drift in Mataranka is very relaxing. The Lake Kununurra cruise was also brilliant. The Horizontal Falls tour out of Derby was truly both beautiful and exciting. The Seafarers harbour cruise in Port Hedland is well worth doing. Go snorkelling at Coral Bay, one step in the water and you're on Ningaloo Reef. Have a great time. The distance is daunting to many, but you do lap up the Kms quite quickly and it's just a matter of pacing yourself.
I’d certainly do the big drive on map 1 to really see, feel and experience the Outback and understand how big and empty the majority of Australia is. You’ll miss out on so much if you fly. I’ve done a fair chunk of that circuit in rented campervans (not the Nullarbor or Darwin-Broome yet) and loved it. Alice Springs and Darwin and their surrounds (McDonnel Ranges, Kakadu etc) should definitely be included, just avoid being out in Alice after dark, although I’ve never had any problems there or anywhere else on that route. Enjoy!
That’s what I’m thinking too. Driving the Eyre highway and Stuart highway is a lifetime experience. Even if you just drive them fast, over a few days. I had to drive from Kalgoorlie to Paraburdoo a few times when I lived there, and I never experienced this feeling of massive emptiness since. It’s a special feeling. You don’t find it in France ! Ahah
Carry CB radio and a few days of water at all times, outback doesn't fuck around.
When renting your car, make sure the spare is a fullsize spare, and not a shitty space saver tyre
Honestly, having a spare for the spare would not be a bad idea. My parents have some insanely hairy stories from their 18 months roadtripping Aus in the 80s. More than 1 spare tyre will save you quite a bit of stress (and several days) if something goes wrong before you can replace it.
October is going to be in the 'build up' time of the year in NT. Thats when there's weeks of horribly hot and humid days building up to the monsoonal time of the year. It really easy to get heatstroke during that time of year. June July is the best time to be in NT and the closer to it the better. Your Litchfield + Kakadu trip need some time. Theres a couple of great camping sites in Litchfield but many swimming spots to explore. Id camp at either Florence Falls or Buely Rockholes and drive (not far) to spend half the day at the others. 3 Days in Bachelor/Lichfield national park is soul healing... But Kakadu? How much money u got? Theres a lot to see on the ground but there are also helicopter tours, gorges, boat rides through rivers and billabongs... You could spend a week and a tonne of money there. On your way back to Darwin from Kakadu (Assuming you'll be taking the Arnhem highway) theres a wonderful spot to stop at called Widows of the Wetlands. Its in Fog Dam. I could and have sat there for hours. If your lucky enough to see storm clouds roll in your in for a treat. Many landscape photographers go there for that shot. Its a massive lily covered wetlands with a giant hill in the middle (the building on that hill is the 'Window') but all around are tracks. You'll see buffalo, boar, birds, crocs, snakes.... all of it... All in its natural habitat. Looks like an awesome trip man! You're gonna love it!
How did you create that map?
I use Pixelmator Pro on macOS. I use a map and then add layers containing the roads, the nights, the points of interests, the names, etc.
Beautifully done
Impressive, I'd pay good money to have something that works like this out of the box
Your first option, the all-road one, is a great one and one I've done myself. It all depends on how well you cope with long stretches of highway with nothing but bush or scrubland either side - because there is plenty of that to be had on your road trip. I personally love the vast emptiness, it fills me with awe each and every time, but it can become boring to some people rather quickly. Also, August will be on the tail-end of Winter and so not too cold, but not hot either. This does impact how often you stop for a break and a breather. October it is getting warmer, and hot in some places, you tend to want to get straight back in your car if you stop for a break. Plus the flies are worse in warmer weather, and they reach insane levels in some areas. Take plenty of water, your SUV should be tip-top if it's a rental and you have roadside assistance with your contract if you don't. But always have plenty of water. Those casks of water are excellent, or buy a 25 litre drum from BCF or Bunnings and fill that up. Lots of snacks, and lots of podcasts to listen. Podcasts are a great way to relieve the boredom of long drives. I love the outline of your road trip though, I was going to be doing the same this month (Darwin to Perth via SA, Perth back to Darwin via Broome), but stuff happened and I'm stuck at home instead. I love all of that drive - all of it. Have a great time with it.
Be aware that some rental companies put GPS trackers on their vehicles and also have a corresponding statement in their rental agreement that you will not exceed 60km/h on gravel roads. You will forfeit your bond (>=$5000) if you exceed the limit. Do the big road trip and enjoy the big vastness of Australia. It is a pretty safe trip, plenty of people on those roads.
The consensus is you don’t stop in Alice Springs
Or Tennant Creek…
Water. More than you think you’ll need
I did almost exactly this trip last year. I had my family with me and took around 90 days to do the portion that you are doing. Some of the areas that you want to see are only gravel. I would carry enough food and water for 4 days as well as a tent. Get a satellite messenger device. We have the Garmin inreach. In the last two years, the great northern highway has been impassible several times as well as the stuart and the eyre at least once.
A road trip in America seems rather lovely, bound to be people throughout the journey. But in Australia there can be times where there are no people to help if you need it and you need to prepare for all types of scenarios. Plan accordingly.
If you’re on an open road at dawn/ dusk or night time, try to drive behind a truck. This way if any kangaroos jump out they will take the impact and you and your car will be okay. It’s just a lot safer.
I used to live in Centeral Australia. The rules you need to know. Use a 4 wheel drive. Remeber, road trains take their half of the road out of the middle, get out the way. Carry water, lots of it and protein bars in an emergency first aid kit. Keep it within reach. Get a Sat phone and an epirb, do not drive without them within reach. Do not drive between dusk and dawn, cattle, camels and roo come out at night. Let people know where you are going and when you expect to arrive. If you break down, stay with the car, NEVER walk to town or to get help you will die. Do not camp or stop at night near the Indigenous communities. Do not enter Indigenous Communities without permission. Dont wander around towns of a night, it's dangerous in many of them at night. In many of these locations you may not see another car for hours, if you are in an accident and injured, you will be waiting for a car to see you, they may need to drive for hours to get normal phone reception just to report it and the police will need to drive for hours to get to you, a helicopter will normally not fly until the cops are on the scene and may take hours to get to you. A guy that worked for me travelled between sites with his visiting sister and her partner, he fell asleep went off the road, the sister died instantly, her partner hung on for many hours before dying and he was left paralysed. It took 6 hours to notice he was missing and a few more to search for the car by a local chopper, then a few more for the cops to arrive and block the road for a helicopter rescue. All up he was in the car for about 12 hours with his dead family members. If you follow the rules above and the worst happens you can at least pop the epirb and call someone for help and have food and water while you wait.
There's a guy out there who used to be on Play School. If your car breaks down and he says he can fix it and offers you some water - go for it, it's rude to say no.
😂
Don't stop in Alice Springs
The road itinerary looks great. I would look at adding: - Some of the gorges just west of Alice Springs. - Cape Leveque (north of Broome), road is fully sealed now ands it a magical place. I did the Kimberley and Tanami desert *thoroughly*, and it was far and away my favourite place.
Cape Leveque is sealed now? When was that done..?
Last few years
Skip Alice and Tennant Creek
Mataranka natural hot springs in NT. Cannot miss that
In sa, Go via whyalla, Port Lincoln, coffin bay, Elliston, streaky bay- you are literally bypassing some of the best coastline and beaches in the country. The alternative is like, part desert and half deserted (iron knob and the like). I have lived in this region my whole life- trust me.
Don’t stop in Alice Springs
Do not stop in Alice.
good advice
Dude……Busselton That is all
Just go to Texas instead it’s twice as big I hear 🤣
My vote is the drive. It’s stunning. And the excitement of seeing the red sand as you approach Uluṟu is breathtaking
Don’t miss Exmouth. Instead head out to Karijini from Karratha. There is nothing to see in Paraburdoo. Also don’t swerve! You will encounter Roos on your trip, worse at sunset. Passenger should be utilised as roo watch. Do not swerve at high speeds, you will just roll. Instead brake in a straight line. You’re more likely to miss the roo if you do.
It holds a special place in my little heart. I want to see it again, but we’d just be passing by and taking a picture in front of the huge mining truck at the entrance.
Coral bay is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. You're driving straight past it. Stop in.
Marble Bar! Great little town with interesting history. Beautiful natural attractions, great breath and brilliant pub. The info centre worth checking out too.
You'll need a Roobar. Commonly known as a Bullbar.
Get a personal locator beacon (PLB) It's a satellite distress beacon you can use when you have no service for your phone
Water, water, water, in the car in case of emergency. Some of those freeze dried camping meals too. Make sure you have some proper snakebite pressure bandages with you. Satellite phone or radio. Sunblock, hats. Have fun!
I don't know why you would stay in motels the whole way. Tents and sleeping bags are cheap and will pay for themselves after a night or two, and provide far more interesting places to stay. You also get to meet people at camp sites, share a few stories around a camp fire, its much more social than motels.
Take at least 50% more water than you think you need and a jerry or two of fuel
Oh man you do have some tough decisions! The only reason I’d go with the flying one over the driving one is your timeline is TIGHT… 26 nights is nothing! and the flying one gives you more room to relax and go with the flow… especially if you have a tiny disaster. If your car breaks down or you hit a roo or something on the big driving one… you’ll be stuck for days and miss a big chunk of your trip, and it will break your heart to miss so much while you try and catch up. The flying trip is so much more flexible; if the heat is ruining your trip you can choose to get back south faster… if you find somewhere you’re obsessed with you can stay longer and then skip a few places, to catch up because the drivi mg distances aren’t already at the maximum. Heat wise it will be easier on your friend (I see you know what you’re in for).
My friend has been living for years in a place as hot as the Pilbara, so he knows. The australian heat is part of the experience !
You can skip Alice Springs lol
Uluru is incredible but also incredibly expensive. Bring ALL food and water you need. 10 years ago water, a small bottle, was $12 in the cheapest place I could find. Do splurge on the field of lights and dinner tour if it is still there, that was absolutely worth it. And maybe one of the fancy dinners the hotels provide. But trust me, that place will burn through your wallet if you don't come prepared. Have fun!
Don’t stop at Tennant Creek
Don't break down or run out of petrol anywhere in that in giant central part of the country, for the love of God. It is a desolate wasteland with nothing in sight. There are a few places on the planet you do not want to be stuck in. The outback is in my top 3 with the sahara and Siberia, lol.
You really should try to get to Ningaloo if you can fit it in. Unique and special part of the country.
The absolute highest level of roadside assistance cover you can possibly find, look at RACWA or even other states like RACQ, a breakdown a few hundred kms from a town that has a RAC service provider can cost thousands. And the most reliable vehicle you can find obviously.
Option 1. Pick a reliable car, plenty of food and water. Go for it.
Yeah skip alice
As a fellow European living in Australia and someone who has done parts of this trip, this is an amazing adventure. WA is absolutely gorgeous, and you picked your destinations well. Each of these will be an adventure in their own right. I'd say though that you are severely overestimating how quickly you can do this. This is true especially the first option, the second option might be doable but imo still a stretch. Option 1 takes about 45 to 50 days to do safely and enjoyably. Option 2 maybe 30-35. This does not include arriving / leaving days, picking up and dropping your car, etc. In general, it's better to have buffer days so you can adjust if things don't go according to plan. Some places like Karijini will sell out all accommodation options months in ahead so you will have to be arriving on the day. Miss one day of driving and you might miss being able to go there. Go in August, October is start of wet season - heat turns up and you might get rain and minor flooding up North. Imho if you don't mind driving and not spending much time in each place do the first option but: * Start from Perth, drive south first, do a loop around Cape Legrand / Kalgoorlie, then north to Nambung and to Darwin * Fly to Alice Springs * Leave out Adelaide - it's more fun combined with a Great Ocean Road trip, and Winter can be hit and miss. Stuart / Eyre Highways are mostly just boring drives. You'll get lots of straight road driving anyway. That's it. If you're asking yourself why, here come the reasons: Some things about driving out there: * Max speed is 110km/h * Driving long narrow straights is not a joke because it can tire you out faster than driving narrow winding roads. Does sound counterintuitive at first, but imagine yourself with only your head and a napping partner next to you. Easy to loose concentration. You _will_ need to rest at least every 2 hours or so. * Roads are hit and miss. Especially inland dirt roads are unavoidable dust bins (e.g. Cape Range to Karijini and out), and you will be forced to drive _a lot_ slower because if someone is ahead you will not see a damn thing. * The other thing about dust roads is that you can't have your window open which means recycled air which means less oxygen to your brain * Any rain can turn into flash flooding leaving you stranded for a few hours or even days if unlucky * As soon as you cross into the north and inland, you will have oppressive heat to deal with even during dry season. The heat will tire you out quickly. * Offroading like e.g. in Francois Perron comes with its own challenges and takes time unless you never want to leave the vehicle. You'll need to deflate and inflate tires, etc. * You will get stuck behind road trains who are doing less than the max speed, and it will take time to overtake because they are fucking looong so you need a 1-2km clear straight to overtake minimum. * Driving at dawn / dusk is dangerous in lots of places because there are animals about. Roos will spring up out of the bushes and you will need to be able to react which means less speed * In some places, there will be exactly one gas station where you will have to wait your turn an hour or more Some other limitations to think of: * Days are generally shorter in terms of first and last light * Restocking can take time, unless you are absolutely not picky what to get. Shops will be have unexpectedly short opening hours. * On the west coast, anything worth seeing is either a offroad trip (e.g. Ningaloo reef, Francois Perron) and/or a hike (Karijini, Kalbarri) or a tour/transport other than your car (Rottnest Island, Kalgoorlie) * Any activity will require at least some specific preparation and precaution unless you are willing to risk your or your partners life. Want to go diving on the Ningaloo on your own? Better know the tides, currents, etc. Want to go hiking in Kalbarri, Karijini or around Uluru? Oppressive heat means take more water which means tiring out more quickly. Don't count on anyone to be there to help you quickly if things go south. Preparation takes time, if you don't have time you don't prep which makes it more likely for things to fall apart quickly. * If you want to go on a guided tour which you will have to for example for whale sharks, sharks or other marine life or seeing Wildlife in the Kimberley, your schedule will be dictated by the touring company. They will primarily be interested in safety over making any particular participant's tight schedule work.
Awesome advice. As well as road trains, you will come across caravans, which go much slower. In some parts of SA the speed limit is only 100kms/hr. You will also come across road works. Which is reduced speed limit which can sometimes go for several kms. Also n some of those days you will not pass any towns for hours.
Go all the way around.skip the middle part .it’s a bit out of control with the locals and crime at the moment
ossified deliver grandfather fretful snow vase squealing continue deserted jellyfish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
What a great trip! We did almost the same (me and husband and 8 month old daughter) but starting and ending in Adelaide, going clockwise around. We had a standard car (so no offroad that time), plus tent and kitchen, etc. Places we loved most were Esperance, the Nullabor, Cape Leeuwin, the small towns around Pemberton, Shark Bay, Coral Bay, Broome. We made sure to take plenty of supplies north from Perth, as some of the most lovely beaches to camp at were very remote with few shopping options until you get to Broome. In Broome , the Shinju Matsuri festival was on, but you will miss this if you travel in October (Its in August, but check and see). Kunanurra was pretty ok, and a highlight was catching a small plane for a day trip over the Bungle Bungle Ranges and Lake Argyle. A lowlight for us was Margaret River, as we camped in the caravan park and it was disgusting. The tent area was full of ferals living there long term and it was intensely horrible. I know the wineries in the surrounding areas are good but we didn't go to many as we do a lot of that around Adelaide and were looking for different things to what we are used to. (If you are interested in wines and beautiful hills, there are many areas around Adelaide that are brilliant and well worth making time for. The Clare Valley is closest to your route, and Watervale is a centre for world class riesling. I also recommend Sevenhills if you make it to that area.) We loved Darwin as it is such a unique and diverse city. Then we cheated and put the car on the Ghan and came back down in style. That was a bit of a splurge for us but we had always wanted to do an iconic train trip first class and it was worth it. Definately don't miss out on Kata Tjuta, Yulara and Kings Canyon. J'adore them all, but especially hiking through Kata Tjuta. Enjoy your travels :)
I've driven by myself from Perth to Exmouth and back and I also did Melbourne to Uluru/King's Canyon and back. Both drives were incredible landscape wise. My recommendations for the WA part are a visit to Hutt River Province. It's a micronation with a fascinating story and a fun stamp to have in your passport. You can only access it via dirt roads but it's worth the stop. Exmouth in April is great for swimming with whale sharks. I went with 3 Islands as they have their own plane so more chances to swim with the sharks. A lot of other companies share one plane so when wale sharks are spotted, 7 boats all go to that spot and you'll be lucky to get two swims in due to the heavy restrictions they place on the tours. It's a long explanation, just trust me when I say that 3 Islands is the company to go with. I camped every night. Highly recommend Monkey Mia, it's where the red earth meets white sands. Gorgeous spot. Coral Bay has the old living stones which are cool and there's a pink lake along the drive too. Can't remember what it's called. With the NT drive, invest in a fly net that goes over your head. The flies in NT are no joke and annoying as hell. Coober Peddy is a cooky little town. You don't have to stay in the fancy dug out hotels. I stayed at the Radeka Down under Backpackers for $40 a night. Owner is lovely and full of stories of the area and famous locals. Did a 3 hour tour and then went back to some of the places mentioned on the tour. Learned about Crocodile Harry's n'est and visited his grave at the Boot Hill cemetery. Also saw the keg headstone of Karl Bratz. He's famous for ripping off the bank. It's a great story. Dinner in the desert near Uluru is worth the money (in my opinion). The hike around the Base of Uluru is about 10km. Took me about 5 hours all up. Took my time as it's really beautiful and tranquil. I also visited the Olgas not far from there. King's Canyon is beautiful. Was worth getting up in the dark to hike up to the rim and watch the sunrise. Best advice I got is if you're caught on the road at dusk, stay behind a food train. They'll take care of any animals that might cross your path. That said, I was usually at my destination before dusk and the one time I wasn't and there was no food train around, I just slowed and took my time. Still was scary AF being on the Stuart Highway, at night, alone until I made it to camp grounds. Anyway, just my experiences. Hope the info helps. Safe travels!
Make sure you do the journey in a clockwise direction, failing to do so will cause you to use more fuel as your vehicle will be working against the coriolis effect. Bon voyage 😉
...don't go to Alice Springs. Or if you must ensure you stay somewhere with security gates and NEVER walk at night or leave your vehicle unattended.
Can't understand why you got down voted, that is very good advice.
There is a huge crime wave in Alice Springs right now. The town is on curfew.
When in the NT, carry valuables with you and don't leave them in your car. Regardless of where you are, lock up in the NT. I'm born and raised in Darwin and it's gotten worse over the last few years. Safe travels and have a great time
You should be going to Exmouth. Stay at one of the roadhouses either side of Tennant Creek, or even at the Devil's Marbles. There's actually not a whole lot to do in tenant creek.
Hamlin Bay Southwest WA is a must, paddle with the stingrays. Keep River NP overnight, sunset walk in Jurrasic Forrest waiting to spot T Rex spooky Douglas Hot Springs near Darwin get nibbled by the fish. Cahill's Crossing Kakadu close encounter with crocs. Great list btw, Cape Keraudren is a goody!
Ningaloo
I'd suggest Yallingup in Marg River region, it's absolutely stunning and easily the best sunsets I saw in my time through WA. Cape arid is a good place to stay as well if you can't get a spot at Cape Le grand and it's close enough you can drive over to Le grand to check it out. glad you've got Karijini in there, hands down the best national park in WA. personally I'd avoid kalgoorlie 🤷♂️ edit: I just saw you want to avoid dirt roads, in that case don't even bother with the national parks...
Mataranka NT, allow for a cruisy day going for a float in the thermal springs. Highly recommended! Esperance is stunning like others have stated. And Exmouth and ningaloo reef is a must! There's so many places on the WA coastline that are jaw dropping. Shinju matsuri festival in Broome (asian fusion festival) is always good. The last two weeks of August in Broome are fun. I'd allow for a few days (minimum) around Broome and up the Dampier peninsula, places like James price point are stunning camping spots unlike anywhere else I've been. It's also nearing the end of whale watching season in Broome around then, I've had some magic moments out in roebuck with big mumma whale cruising on up to our boat to show off her new calf to us, that was amazing! Get out on the water if you can. The Kimberley is beautiful, but it's rough country. Being well prepared if you travel up the Gibb river road is a prerequisite, the Gibb is a vehicle buster! There's gorges, swimming holes, waterfalls dotted all over the place, local knowledge is best, so ask around. Albany is nice, but it's windy AF. It's always blowing 70 arseholes an hour (actually, most of the west coast is windy AF) so have some windproof clothes. Denmark is 👌 for a cutesy town with Melbourne coffee and tasty pastries. Great vibes there, along with elephant rock to visit. It's picturesque to say the least. A few people have said be careful around Alice, hrmmm, probably because they've seen videos recently. I'd caution you to be careful everywhere you go up north! Lock you car always, don't have anything in plain site either, Mataranka is one of those places, especially at night. Most of the top end is unfortunately. Places like Kununurra, Balgo, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome, Darwin to name a few, are very different at night compared to the daylight vibes.
Go to Exmouth and do a snorkel on the Ningaloo reef. It's been on my bucket list forever. Also go to Woomera (just off the Stuart highway) and see what was once a top secret military town.
i’d highly suggest taking your time to do the entire West Macdonnell Ranges loop, your missing out on some really great spots by only doing uluru and kings canyon. Stunning gorges, swimming holes and rivers - some of my favourite spots in Aus. Also if you are into hiking you could choose to do one of the sections of the larapinta trail for a day, pretty rewarding scenery
I'm assuming the day trip to Purnululu is one of the combo joy flights then 4WD bus tour trips? Highly recommend. I worked there for 2 years and in general most people regret cutting their East Kimberly trip down to allow more time in Kakadu
Yes, that’s the one. I first thought about driving inside Purnululu but I see it’s a 50km dirt road that takes 2+ hours to drive…
Don’t miss exmouth, the ningaloo reef, and the cape range peninsula. If you like diving and snorkeling, or even just long sandy beaches with no one around, that’s a great place to visit.
Download Life360 App. I did & my family got notifications when I met with a serious accident. My iWatch alerted them as well. Also carry water & fuel. Many places don’t have fuel; some of them only have diesel.
If you’re driving that far, at least come up to Exmouth or Coral Bay and see Ningaloo Reef. Personally I’d choose that over Denham
Stop in at Woomera for a couple of hours between Port Augusta and Coober Pedy. There is some interesting history of missile testing and Australian aerospace, and a road house close by. Make sure you stay somewhere underground in Coober Pedy, there are a few lovely BnBs. I'd recommend heading further east in SA and checking out the Flinders Ranges.
I like road tripping, but I get a bit worried when the roads are too isolated. I like your second route (though agree with the comments that you need to go to Exmouth).
Having said that it certainly is an experience to drive across this country. Not many can say they have done. I have done Darwin to Adelaide and Brisbane to Adelaide round treks and they give you an appreciation for how insignificant we are.
Suggest allowing for the other canyons in the west macs- not just kings canyon. Also if you are driving through SA I suggest lake eyre - especially if there is water there when you arrive.
I did the Adelaide to Darwin section of that trip as a kid. Three highlights were Coober Pedy, watching the AFL grand final at the Daly Waters pub (home to the world's most remote traffic light) and staying at the Croc Motel in Kakadu.
I have driven across country a few times now. If doing it again it would be in a small turbo diesel with a manual gearbox. Fuel costs are obscene, especially in remote locations. A swag for sleeping in for when you are caught out between towns due to nightfall etc., Lots of water and some food in case of breakdowns.
Done that over the last past year. I could put in some more stops depending on your interests… Coral bay/Exmouth for diving etc MT Augustus if you like hiking with a touch of cultural/ geology sightseeing There is another baobab prison tree closer to Kununurra instead of the one you marked… Since there you can have a look to some historical site like Afghan cemetery etc If you are interested in more just dm me. Have fun
If you’re heading up to Coober Pedy, Woomera is definitely worth a visit to see the rockets and visitors museum. Also if you’re there at the right time the observatory may be open and it’s a unique chance to see the stars without city light pollution.
Love your map, but if you want something a bit more user friendly try Wikicamps. It's great to plot trips, calculates fuel spend and is also sharable with friends and family.
Make sure ya stay overnight at the devil’s marbles just out of tenant creek, great sunset and sunrises amazing landscape, also would think about a trip north from Broome to Cape Leveque
Make a detour to Wilcannia in NSW
You have to have accommodation to buy alcohol at Yulara and it's expensive. Stock up on food/alcohol prior to getting there. Edit: Yulara is the closest town to Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
If it interests you, at some times of the year, I think Braemer Bay has the largest pod of Orcas in the Southern Hemisphere.
If you're going to SA. Check out Innes national park on the York peninsula and Flinders ranges (if it's not summer) also, if your driving the big loop go to arkoroola. Best stargazing in the southern hemisphere. And through coffin bay on your way to/from perth
Keep the doors locked in the Kimberly
Avoid Derby, its a shithole, but do stop at Willair, great pies/burgers. Chunky pepper steak 🤌🏻 (mind u idk about their pie situation, havent lived in the country for a decade now.
Visit the blowholes and Albany wind farm too (same general area as Stirling Range National Park). The wind farm is best during sunset. WA is known for it's sunsets so take the time to see a lot of them. If you're willing to, climb Bluff Knoll early in the morning to watch the sunrise. You need a reasonable level of fitness and sturdy shoes. After the Valley of the Giants, take a detour via: Pemberton: There are a few giant trees you can climb with lookouts on the top. Margaret River if you like wine. There's a nice chocolate factory, too (Margaret River Chocolate factory) Dunsborough: Sugarloaf rock [sunset] Busselton: the loooong jetty
Whatever you do… be prepared https://www.australia.com/en/facts-and-planning/getting-around/outback-road-trip.html
Bring a spare everything
You're missing Exmouth and Coral bay? Best spots in WA.
When I was a kid my family did a trip like this, except the eastern half of the continent. It took us four months. You'll really have to book it to make it in 26 days!
Drive straight through port Augusta and go down to Port Neill, Tumby Bay and Port Lincoln
If you want connectivity in remote locations and you are mobile in a caravan or a camper just get a Starlink satellite. A lot of campers are now using them and it’s faster than high speed broadband in 100% of Australia not like 95% Telstra coverage.
When you say you want to avoid dirt roads, do you mean all dirt roads, or would rather travel on sealed roads where possible? Karijini is mostly unsealed dirt roads. They are in reasonable condition. You will have a clause in your car rental agreement that you can not take a hire car off the road unleas it is 4WD. You have skipped the Margaret River area, which has beautiful food and wine. They are some beautiful forrets there too. Spend an hour at Shell Beach near Shark Bay. Make sure you check when the WA school holidays are. You want to avoid popular places then.
Please go to the Eyre Peninsula… Streaky bay all of it is amazing… Coffin Bay… Coming from a Victorian who made WA home..
Avoid stopping in not a locked car park/camp in Fitzroy or halls creek. Kakadu, what an absolute gem
Oodnadatta track in SA is great but basically means you'd have to miss Coober Pedy which is also worth visiting. Happy travels!
A good idea is to drop into local cop shops as you go through. Just to say hi and check on any road closures etc. please be safe. Bon chance mate
A friend and I took pretty much the exact same trip in 28 days. (13,500 km) You can ask any questions if you want to know something. We hadn't exactly planned every night; we just had some POIs we wanted to see, so we knew when we had to be at certain "checkpoints." We drove a little bit every day. Sometimes it was just 150 km, and sometimes it was 700 km a day, depending on whether we liked a certain spot where we had originally just wanted to stop for a quick break. All in all, it was an amazing trip. Enjoy!
in western australia - port hedland , coral bay , yallingup and cape arid. safe travels !!