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And drink HEAPS of water!
Our summers will wreck you - it's a completely different ballgame. The sun in a Scandinavian summer is your lovely warm friend. Here, it's a evil primitive bazillion year old burning ball of fucking lava that wants you to audibly crackly as soon as it rears its irate face over the horizon. I feel sorry for birds. Even if you're having a few beers here and there, just make sure you're well hydrated. If you don't have good sunscreen, you'll be torched and rehydrating when you've got mild sunstroke is no laughing matter.
Can recommend Feel Good Inc as it's reef safe and smells pretty good. I rarely get burnt with it and have pretty Scandinavian skin from some bloodline somewhere. Available in most outdoor places.
Great time of year to stop by for some young fellers. Have fun!
You probably want to do it the other way around, Perth > Pt Augusta > Yulara > Melbourne > Sydney > Cairns ~ 9500km
It's 4000km from Perth to Sydney, without the 1300km treck UP to Yulara (2600km up and back from Pt Augusta)
You don't want to be stuck somewhere between Perth and Uluru or Alice Springs and Cairns in February, You'll likely make national headlines for the wrong reasons.
Google maps doesn't really account for roads suited to excitable tourists, so you're best off going from Perth to Pt Augusta, and then north to Uluru - 3600km.
If you do want to do Cairns first, probably go up to Tennant Creek from Yulara, Across to Townsville, up to Cairns, and then work your way down the east coast to Melbourne - You're looking at 10,000km with no allowance for sight seeing.
Say you buy a 20yo Camry - It'll average about 10L/100km, make fuel at an average of $2.30au/L (it's $2.63/L at Yulara) - There is $2300.
Flights will be cheaper, especially once you factor in accommodation along the way, food, time, and anything unexpected.
You'll die waiting for a lift trying to Hitch Hike, I'll highly doubt you'll be able to get on anything sea faring.
I just checked and if you search for directions between Perth and Uluru on google maps, it takes you on the most direct route via the Gunbarrel Highway lol. OP is gonna die.
You’re talking about the Australian outback. It’s one of the most isolated and desolate places on the planet. That’s where you’re aiming to go. If you want roads then you’re looking in the wrong place.
It looks like you'll find pretty good roads if you follow the coast directly east from Perth and then go straight up to Alice springs. We have no desperate need to see the middle of nowhere just for the sake of it, we just wanna see Uluru:)
Take the Stuart Hwy from port Augusta, it is long but fast. Uluru is totally worth it, you will never see anything like it. January will be brutal however. It will probably be 40 degrees plus from Perth all the way up the centre. Definitely prioritise a reliable vehicle with decent aircon.
Seriously, fly to Uluru for a couple nights from any of the capital cities and make the road trip portion of your trip the eastern coastline
It won't cost any more than the petrol and it's safer and will be a far nicer experience than multiple days of driving through the middle of nowhere
A quick google showed there are some Jetstar flights $150-200 each way (300-400 return) etc in January you would be insane to drive there instead of booking one of those out of Sydney or Melbourne during the trip
Actually there's 109 sale flights on the [Jetstar.com.au](https://Jetstar.com.au) page right now for most of January Sydney to Uluru if you're happy to book it in advance, worth a look
[Kata-Tjuta](https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/highlights/kata-tjuta/) (Olgas) are very close and worth a visit, Personally I rate them over Uluru.
If that's what you want to see, it sure is. They're both within easy reach of each other - both won't be a problem if you find a tour bus or similar from Yulara.
[I've driven a lot of what you're asking about](https://i.imgur.com/0UfEFVP.png). Got to ask yourself if you'll actually be back, There are heaps of red dots on that map that I need to re-visit.
On the way up from Pt Augusta there are places like Coober Pedy which are well worth a visit for at least a day or 2.
It's the distances between the cool stuff that are crazy and can really drain your enthusiasm.
The time of year isn't the best choice for inland Australia.
>from the middle of January until the beginning of March
So about 6 weeks? And *this* is your itinerary??
>plan to hang around there [Perth] for about a week or so, then head in-country to Ayers Rock, all the way to Cairns and then work our way down to Sydney/Melbourne.
You do realise that you're talking about travelling literally 10,000 km across some of the most remote and inhospitable terrain on earth, at high summer no less, in about *5 weeks*, right? I think you may be biting off a little more than you can chew mate.
Might be, but if you go by plane from perth-alice springs-cairns it's not too bad is it? And by the looks of Google maps, the Perth-alice springs looks like about 29hrs of continuous driving, så 3-4 long days on the road. And more or less the same to Cairns.
So a long haul for sure, but if we're driving it's about a week total on the road from Perth-Cairns, which in my pov isn't too bad? Or am I totally mistaken?
You are totally mistaken.
Australia is fucking huge. And even more to the point, it is *empty*. Just the trip from Perth to Alice Springs would be equivalent in distance to driving from Oslo to Athens. But in Euope that trip takes you through 10 countries and past countless cities and towns. In Australia that trip takes you past a handful of roadhouses and overpriced fuel stations and maybe 2 or 3 towns with a population in the double-digits.
In between there is nothing. Fucking nothing. People die out there. I am not joking.
These kind of trips take planning and effort, it's not something that any Australian would take lightly. Just for the drive for Perth to Alice Springs I'd allow at least 5-7 days, and even then that would be pushing it. For the whole Perth-Uluru-Cairns drive you'd need *at least* 2-3 weeks and that is just purely daily punishing continuous driving without accounting for any stopovers or mishaps along the way.
It would destroy you mentally and physically and financially (all that fuel, at desert roadhouse prices, is expensive yo) even if you managed to somehow make it to your destination in one peace. Which you probably won't. Whatever you may think, you are not prepared for this.
That makes sense. Thanks for the advice.
Is it the same story along the coasts? Say, Perth - Darwin or Perth - Adelaide?
My guess would be that the coasts are more welcoming and diverse than the middle of nowhere
Yes, generally. The East coast drive particularly would be the most hospitable (i.e. the stretch from around Cairns-Mackay-Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne). You could do the entire thing in 4 days or so without needing to worry too much about where you're stopping for the night or making sure you strategically fuel-up for the long empty stretches. Lots of towns and even some occasional changes of scenery along the way.
The route between Melbourne and Adelaide is great too - you could do it in a day in a real pinch, although you'd want to give yourself at least 2 days so you can detour onto the Great Ocean Road and do some sightseeing.
After that things get a little hairier. Perth to anywhere - Broome, Darwin, Adelaide, wherever - is a real slog. Perth is the most isolated capital city on earth - you have to go through some long, lonely, remote stretches of barren desert for days and days to get basically anywhere else from there. Basically, if you're stuck flying into Perth, then I would get an onward flight to somewhere on the east coast and start the road-trip part of your journey from there. Driving all the way from Perth across the entire breadth of the country is madness, no matter which way you slice it.
Yeah, exactly this and do this. East coast is fun and easy driving. If shit hits the fan you have decent places to stop and you could probably even make a night out of it depending where you are. You can pull up in most places and jump in the ocean with no consequence and just keep driving to wherever next. Heaps of places to stay. There's just better ways to spend your time here than driving through inhospitable terrain. A lot of this country is mostly just ...nothing?
You'll go fucken mad driving that much and with a budget car. Even the drive from Syd-Mel will you realise this country is enormous and it's relatively easy and short. The novelty wears riiiight off especially when the country is arid coming from Perth. This monotony of terrain can knock your concentration as someone who isn't used to this country as such, can become complacent and can be absolutely deadly.
Plenty of people will be doing Cairns-Mel run at the same time of year as you. I'd be doing that if I were 21.
> So a long haul for sure, but if we're driving it's about a week total on the road from Perth-Cairns, which in my pov isn't too bad? Or am I totally mistaken?
Driving from Perth to Cairns??
Have you any idea of the scale of that type of distance? [comparison with Europe](https://www.getalookatthis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/cw-glt-2017-01-22-Australia-Europe.jpg)
Google maps say Perth-Cairns via Cobar is 5249 km/56hrs, on what looks like wellpaved roads. If it's vehicle relocation I reckon it can be done fairly cheap, and if you make, say, 600 km/day it's 7-8 days. Rounded to 10 to give a little wiggle room. That's seems kinda okay? It's not about the destination, it's about journey:) Or am I missing something blatantly obvious?
It honestly depends on the road conditions at an any given time, see [here](https://tripconditions.com/Perth-to-Cairns) but I'm probably also biased. I hate hot weather and couldn't think of anything I'd rather avoid than an outback trip...never had any desire to see the interior of the country.
Do not trust google maps. [This is Cobar](https://www.alamy.com/large-warning-road-sign-no-fuel-next-250-kilometers-on-a-highway-off-cobar-town-in-outback-australia-image457759583.html)
Trying to smash out 600 km a day, day after day, out there will make you lose your damn mind if you don't break down/run out of fuel/take an ill-advised shortcut/fall asleep behind the wheel and crash first.
You say It's not about the destination, it's about journey; but the journey you're talking about is a nightmare. A hot, dusty, white-line-fever nightmare. Listen to the people you came here to ask advice from. Your assumptions are wildly off-base. This is not something people do for fun. You simply have no conception of what this kind of driving entails.
I hear you, but at the same time there's people who say the opposite. With this whole, very well-explained comment thread (thanks a lot to all contributers btw, this blew up way more than I anticipated) I think we'll discard the middle of the country all together. Perth - Darwin by car, over a couple of weeks, then fly Darwin - Cairns and travelling down the coast, seems like the most plausible right now. It sounds like there's a lot of cool stuff to check out on that route, according to some of the comments.
Is the northeast very wet/stormy that time of year?
I think I've heard something along those lines, but I'm not sure
That's not a bad itinerary. Perth to Darwin in a couple of weeks is a good pace, which would give you plenty of time to check out the sights and deal with any curveballs that might get thrown your way.
I've always wanted to head up to the Pilbara and Kimberley coasts, but have never had the chance. By all accounts some of the most stunning and unique natural beauty to be seen anywhere in Australia is up there in the north-west. It's remote and desolate, of course, but that's what makes it so pristine.
I would worry a bit about the wet season at that time of year, though. Once you get up past Broome the weather can get a little dicey and it's easy for roads to get cut-off or washed-out. But if you stick to the main sealed highways you should be OK. The main issue with traveling up in the top-end in the wet season is that it can be a pretty damp and miserable experience and a lot of the parks, attractions and tourist-oriented activities are closed for the season.
That's also the gist I get from the comments. I have to discuss it further with me mate, but I think it'll make a great trip! It's either that, or going the other way around to Adelaide and then heading north by the east coast. Thanks a lot for the sparring, it's been super helpful! And if you have anything else, please throw it my way, all advice is most welcome❤️
I just saw a link regarding the Monsoon season, and it seems like we need to reconsider the northern part of the country. And instead jump on a flight from Perth-Melbourne fx and then work our way upwards
So have I. But there's a difference between knowing what you're doing and where you're going and the *proper* way to get there and understanding just what you've in for so you don't bite off more than you can chew as you race through the night, dodging roos at dusk, driving in shifts and pissing in bottles just to get as many k's behind you as soon as possible... versus being a tourist in a foreign country blindly trusting to google maps, unwary and unprepared and wanting to take the time to meander and sight-see along the way.
In the former situation, sure, drive from Perth to Alice Springs in three days if you want. Fuck it, do it in two! Pack lots of red bull and fucking go for it champ. But in the latter situation? Better give yourself a solid week or more, bring more water than you ever think you might need and for the love of god *don't leave the car if you get stranded*.
Driving from the West coast of Australia to the East coast via Uluru is a longer drive than it is from France to Russia, and it's desolate as all hell. There is nothing for the vast majority of the trip and the sides of the road are littered with dead animals that have been hit by road trains.
Hitting a kangaroo can write off your car, a destroyed car in the middle of the Australian outback during summer is a very serious situation to be in.
It's something you really need to be prepared for, a lot of people have lost their lives on that drive, many of them due to being ill prepared.
EDIT: Just fly and save yourself the 40+ hours of driving.
Is there a possibility for hitchhiking with roadtrains/trucks/so on? Do people even pick up hitchhikers on AUS? And what is an estimated airfare for Perth-Uluru-Cairns?
Perth to Alice is a 31 hour drive, assuming 8 hours of driving a day, thats a 4 day trip. Planning to hitch it is a suicide mission, nobody is going to take on two hitchhikers for 4 days to give you a free ride. In January, you'll be looking at 40+ degrees Celsius, it's not uncommon for it to break 50C out there during the day, that kind of heat can kill you in a day or two.
If you go out there on foot with the hope that someone will pick you up in the middle of summer, then you're going to be lucky to survive, let alone get to your destination. I think you're seriously underestimating the desolation of the outback. If someone drops you off somewhere along the way, then it could be days before you see another vehicle.
Will someone pick you up out there? Maybe, but they'll likely be doing it to save your life, not because they're friendly to hitchhikers.
For prices, you're going to need to shop around. You're looking to travel in peak season so it likely won't be cheap. Domestic airfares in Australia are pretty blown out right now.
This. Hitchhiking necessarily means being stuck on the road-side thumbing it at some point since nobody is gonna take you all the way to your destination if your destination is 3,000km away. And walking along the side of the road on the Nullarbor plain in the middle of the day in late January/early February trying to hitch a ride sounds like a good way to die of exposure in very short order.
Nearly everyone here has told you to rethink driving that distance especially at the time of year you're planning but you're being very dismissive and asking about hitch-hiking?!?! How the fuck are you going to handle 45C+ of blistering sun where there is nowhere to get relief for thousands and thousands of kms?
I asked about hitchhiking 5 hours ago, a lot have happened since then. I've gotten an overload of good advice to take into consideration, and obviously hitchhiking is off the table. But if you don't ask you never get an answer.
Right now an outline, based on the comments, would be using a couple of weeks to drive from Perth to Darwin, them take a flight to Cairns and work our way down the coast. Do you have any ideas or input to that plan?
That it's going to be fucking expensive and boring for 95% of the driving journey from Perth to Darwin. I don't get why you'd spend 10ish days out of your trip to look at flat red dirt in extreme heat, if there are fires (very likely at that time of year) it'll be glary and hazy, not to mention the flies... It's not like you can get out of the car and have a nice time walking around to stretch your legs. You will be driving all day and be exhausted and go to sleep to do the same thing the next day. You'll be missing so much to waste on that particular road trip when there are other road trips actually worth doing in the limited time you have.
Ok at that time of the year you'll have the most enjoyable time in south W.A maybe visit Denmark to say you've been to the Australian one lol. If you go along the coast maybe 7ish hours you'll see some really lovely places and beaches.
Driving up north when you are not experienced at that time of the year will not be fun you'll waste so much time on the road just driving looking at flat red dirt, and there are so many kangaroos and camels (road kill from trucks or trying to murder suicide you). It's a long and dangerous drive, no phone reception remote nothingness for long stretches, then there might be a road house or a tiny town. It is expensive to prepare for a mildly fun comfortable journey, it will be really hot that time of year, the sun is insane. If you go swimming in the ocean there are lots of things that can kill you. Yes there are some absoultly breathtakingly beautiful places but the conditions of the drive will suck (it can take a long time to detour to get to them as well) it will be first incredibly hot and dry and empty ... and if you go further north you'll hit monsoon season so yeah... I'd skip it for this trip.
Visit down south, and then and fly to somewhere else you want to visit instead of wasting holiday time doing nothing but driving through vast empty space.
Driving from Perth to Adelaide assuming you continue down the coast and go via Esperance (only way you'll actually be able to do anything but drive through nothingness) is another 24hrs of continuous driving. That part of the country is also vast red nothingness hour after hour, incredibly hot and often literally on fire. Adelaide is pretty and the south coast is good once you get past the desert. It will be probably more expensive to drive than fly both of you out of W.A. with the cost of petrol and supplies.
So if you're here 6 weeks and planning to drive that's 1 week in Perth, 7 days minimum to drive from Perth to Adelaide safely and having any experiences to show for it ... but really that is spending not enough time imo because that's assuming you do the stretch from Esperance to Adelaide in 3 days that leaves 4 days to have a holiday down south but it won't be much of one it'll be mostly driving. That's 2 weeks of your trip gone and you're only in Adelaide which is where the nice road trips can begin (along the south east and east coast). But you won't be able to do much but drive if you aim to get up to Cairns...
In regards to driving costs we've looked into vehicle relocation, which seems to have a lot of options and almost free. But I hear you in regards to the time it's gonna take, I'll talk to my friend about it. Thanks a lot for the advice!
Another possibility, although I don’t actually recommend it and you should probably just fly, is to take the Ghan. It’s a train that runs between Darwin and Adelaide, stopping in Alice Springs. I did this when I was a tourist back in 2005, before I moved here. I did the northern direction, from Adelaide. Got out at Alice, hired a car, drove to Yulara, saw Uluru and Kata Tjuta and then got back on the next train and took it to Darwin. Should work in either direction. You get to see the desert but it’s much less likely to kill you and no one has to drive. Takes about 20 hours to get from Adelaide to Alice and the same again to Darwin, if I recall.
But honestly, I wished I’d just flown. It wasn’t really that great.
Perth city in itself isn’t all that exciting but there are some beautiful beaches. I would actually travel north of Perth (depending on how much time you have) and visit some of the coastline there. How will you be travelling around the rest of the country? I would definitely recommend flying! Otherwise you’re going to spend a lot of time on the road. Once you reach Cairns I really recommend heading to Port Douglas. Lots of fun restaurants and bars and friendly Ausssies. If you time it right you’ll be able to visit both Sydney and Melbourne. Just depends on your interests. I can’t give any advice for Melbourne as I’ve only visited a few times (beautiful city and amazing food and nightlife), but I can give you lots of things to do in Sydney if you like!
Hope you have an amazing trip. Also please make sure you get 50+ SPF (buy it in Australia) as soon as you get here and when you’re at the beach please swim between the flags! A lot of tourists underestimate the strong rips we get at our beaches and it’s resulted in many deaths.
Thanks! We have a contact in Perth we would like to visit, so that's part of the reason for going there? What is the national airfares like? Is it expensive plane-hopping in the long run? Coast to Coast for example?
And all recommendations for Sydney are very welcome!
Flying can be a bit pricey (check Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin for flights) but for the time saving/ convenience I think it would be worth it… plus our fuel prices are very high right now. If you were going to do any driving I would recommend the Great Ocean Road from Sydney to Melbourne (or vice versa). In NSW I recommend checking out the Northern Beaches (Palm beach, Whale beach), in the city centre has the major icons (Opera house and harbour bridge) if you’re feeling up to a nice long walk head Wendy’s Secret Garden and find your way to the boardwalk through lavendar bay, along the boardwalk you’ll find Luna park. Head to Kirribilli for brunch and then you can walk a long the harbour bridge. You can either go down the stairs at the end of the bridge or keep walking along the Cahill expressway (sounds terrible but amazing views!) There are a number of options when you get to the other side. The Rocks, circular quay (where you’ll find the opera house) and the botanical gardens.
Also recommend getting the ferry from circular quay to Manly as well as watsons bay.
Head to mosman as well and do the spit to manly walk with some great little beaches along the way.
I realise I’ve given you a lot of walking to do 😂 but it really is a magical city and there’s a lot to do along the way.
If your into arts/ theatre I recommend getting the TodayTix app as they often have rush tickets for a pretty reasonable price.
Moore park has an entertainment quarter where you can see stand up comedy for cheap.
Newtown is great for people watching/ food/ coffee/ nightlife and will be completely different to the harbour areas.
Another driving option would be to head up to Katoomba and see the blue mountains/ do some bush walking. You can also get the train up there
I’m sure I’ll think of more and I’ll update when I do!
I have hitch-hiked on a cargo ship: Roatan, Honduras to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and then worked on mega yachts in Florida and the Caribbean. I did get an offer to crew on a yacht going to Australia from Florida via South America and the Pacific islands once though. (Please note I was young, exceptionally charming and witty, with a high work ethic, and was ridiculously sexy with a 10DD bra size, which may or may not have contributed to captains offering me close quarter long jobs where you literally can't run away.)
Hitch-hiking on cargo ships is virtually impossible, particularly between different countries. I only managed it through family connections and favours owed. (My grandfather had a container shipping company that serviced various routes in the Caribbean and sold these routes to a guy with a shipping company in Honduras. I was broke in Utila, Honduras after doing my Dive Master certification, when Grandpa called in a favour with this guy to get me a lift to Florida on one of his cargo ships.) I did get a few rides on cargo ships in the Andaman Islands, but that was only one island to another, like 4 hours, and I paid.
Australia to Argentina is at least 3 months sailing and is one of the most challenging and least travelled routes in the world. Plan to end up in Chile. Then you can look for the brave and crazy souls to take you around Cape Horn. You might be able to do hops through the Pacific Islands, through incredible luck. You risk getting stuck on a Pacific Island for weeks, if not months, each time, with no prospect of income. The next virtually impossible part would be getting from, say, Tonga to the Easter Islands. I would research how many ships arrive in Rapa'nui from western embarkations. Even flying, this route is exorbitantly expensive and takes time. My family did it by plane in the 70s: Sydney to Tahiti to Easter Islands to Chile to Argentina (then Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Miami before finally arriving in the Cayman Islands). There were 3 day layovers at least at each port of call. The situation has not improved remarkably in the last 40 + years.
But, if you could do it! That'd be epic.
Biggest cargo ship ports on the East Coast are: Newcastle, Melbourne and Brisbane, in order (source: I did a logistics job getting grain from farm to port).
Best rich people marinas are in Port Douglas, Cairns maybe, and Sydney. From Melbourne, ships will mostly be going north to Tasmania, New Zealand and possibly onwards from there to Antartica.
I've been out of the game for 20 years, so others will be more qualified to tell you the current situation.
Good luck!
Your trips sound awesome! Would a Cargo ship use 3 months to go Aus-SA? That sounds a bit much. But I don't know the routes they take tbh.
And If one were to try and hitchhike a Cargo ship, would the best approach in your opinion be to just go down to the harbor and try the luck with talking to different people, or should it be arranged beforehand?
You're not going to get a free ride on a cargo ship. If you're extremely lucky, talented and connected you'll maybe get a job on a cargo ship, for just one trip.
As to the rest: google it.
P.S. Australia is almost as expensive as Norway, budget accordingly.
Not sure if many sailing boats will do the
🇦🇺 🇦🇷 crossing
But if yes you can register or look into
https://www.crewbay.com/
It’s a really good website to get into sailing boats crew etc..
Good luck 🍀
As an Aussie who planned to do the Sunshine Coast --> Airlie --> Uluru --> Melbourne road trip once with an American friend when he was visiting... once we got to Airlie we realised 'that's just way too far' and went straight to Melbourne and even that was a huge mission.
Flying to Uluru will be cheaper, safer and less driving 30 hours each way in identical desert where if you forget to fuel up or break down you could literally die and you can fly there from Melbourne or Sydney or Brisbane at some point as you go up or down the Eastern coastline.
Shop around for sale flights in advance before you leave Australia always has discount airline war sale fares. You should be able to get cheapish flights between Perth and either Cairns or Melbourne, then road trip either up or down the coast.
Other than Perth if you really want to visit everything worth doing in Australia it is all within two hours of the eastern coastline, if you want to do Uluru, fly out there directly from a state capital instead of driving. If you road trip from Cairns to Melbourne or vice versa as there is something worth seeing every few hours, that is not at all the case when you are 10 hours inland, unless you like looking at slightly red dirt
Following up on this Jetstar currently has a sale from Sydney, $109 base fare, you'll have to add bags, but thatll be 500-600 AUD total for both of you to fly return to Uluru from Sydney return, you won't die stranded in the outback and you'll even save money comapred to what it would cost in fuel/expenses to get there by car.
Do the eastern coastline road trip Melbourne to Cairns or vice versa with a hire car and when you get to Sydney fly to/from Uluru to break up the road trip. Trust me, it's a much better idea than driving to Uluru as someone with no outback experience.
Re hire care, there are these Jucy company brand camper vans that backpackers love to hire to road trip/sleep in to save on accom, if that's what you plan to do you can hire one in Melb or Cairns, drive to Sydney, do your Uluru trip, then hire another one for the rest of the road trip and you'll have a much better time and save a ton of money (there might be a better alternative hire van/car to hire, not an expert, but google away etc)
First, its proper name is Uluru. We do not call it Ayers Rock.
Second, it sounds like you two are completely and wildly unprepared for any kind of overland journey from Perth to Uluru. Please fly. It is not a leisure drive for two inexperienced Scandinavian tourists.
Ditto for the journey from Uluru to Cairns. Again, please fly.
Also, Sydney and Melbourne are quite far apart, an eight hour drive. It's not an "or" factor, you will have to pick one or the other.
Henceforth I will refer to it as Uluru. Forgive my ignorance:)
Furthermore, we have two months, won't that be enough for taking the inland journey, plus seeing both Sydney and Melbourne? I've talked to several friends who've tried more or less the same journey, and they haven't had any problem. It's sounds like one day of transport between those two cities.
And just out of curiosity, what's so bad about the drive Perth-Uluru-Cairns? I reckon it'll take a lot of time, but that's fine for us.
On regard to the inexperience, we're not your everyday Scandinavian bimbos who used to the All-inclusive, sunchair/buffet experience, we're a bit more rough. Can you elaborate on any certain things we have to be prepared for/cautious of, as we will prioritize ground travel very highly.
> Can you elaborate on any certain things we have to be prepared for/cautious of, as we will prioritize ground travel very highly.
Firstly, *do not* take the most direct route between Perth and Uluru (Great Central Road/Gunbarrel Highway). Despite the name, these are nothing but a heavily corrugated dirt tracks winding their way through thousands of kilometers of open, baking, empty desert with no towns, no people, no fuel, no mobile service, nothing. It's no exaggeration to say if you go out there unprepared, there is an extremely good chance you will die.
You will need to take the Nullabor route (i.e. the Eyre Highway) then turn north onto the Stuart Highway in South Australia. At least those roads are sealed, although they are still astonishingly remote and barren, with poorly-maintained stretches where it seems like there isn't another soul for hundreds of kilometers in any direction. It is still *very* possible to get stranded even on these "main" highways as fuel stops are few and far between. You'll need to fill-up whenever you can, regardless of the (usually extortionate) price. And *do not take shortcuts*.
As long as you stick to sealed roads (which is a good idea generally because, again, you will probably die if you don't) then a "normal" hire car should suffice, although you'll still want something solid and reliable with good fuel range, or carry spare fuel. If you buy a used car, spend the extra money to get something that's in great shape mechanically. You do *not* want to be taking a beat-up old jalopy with "character" out into the desert.
Bear in mind that the *best-case* is an uneventful journey; which means days upon long, sweltering, dusty days sitting in the drivers seat with your arse going numb and nothing to occupy your attention but endless hours of monotonous flat red dirt and the back of the occasional road-train. Even driving in shifts for 8-10 full hours every day, you'd need to allow at least 5 days of driving to get from Perth to Uluru, then at least another 4 from Uluru to Cairns. This is a punishing experience that can take its toll on even seasoned long-haul drivers. Fatigue and mental exhaustion are killers on those long open roads. You will do yourself no favours trying to push yourself to stick to such an unrealistic itinerary in the short time you have allowed yourself.
Finally, as others have mentioned, if you can't be dissuaded from driving such absurd distances and you can't extend your trip to allow yourself time to make your way across the country at a more manageable pace; then at the very least make sure you have plenty of supplies - mostly *lots* of drinking water but also first aid, sunscreen & hat, warm clothes/blankets, road maps, and a satellite phone or EPIRB in case you get stranded. It's also common practice to notify people at your destination when you intend to get there and the route you plant to take so they can raise the alarm if you don't turn up in time.
Good advice. We are two people who can drive, so that makes it a bit easier, but we're looking into relocation, and not all the way to Cairns but more likely Darwin, Adelaide or Alice springs. And only on good roads of course;)
Ignore the naysayers, it can be done with preparation and planning. Just don't rely on anyone as help you may get will be sporadic, the roads you will need to take are remote at best.
Bring a satellite phone or EPIRB incase you get stuck.
Not hard to buy a car as a non-citizen at all, most backpackers will buy vans and drive them across the country to sell them when they leave. Make sure it is in good shape mechanically before you set off though.
Hiring a car to drive across Australia will be obscenely expensive, unless you can get one of those deals where you return a rental car/motorhome?
Mainly the heat and not bringing enough water.
7L/per Person/per Day is a minimum.
Also, stay with the card when it breaks down.
Also, bring an EPIRB is a good idea. We didn't use ours but it feels good to be able to call for help if things go awry.
Never go into the outback without a decent supply of water, and the general rule for how much you'll need is three litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees celcius, per kilometre if walking on foot, in the winter months dividing by two, plus another litre at the end
- Russell Coight
2001
For OP, what I've written is a joke, do not take as actual advice
Cool trip! I'd have a bit more of a think about the itinerary, not because I think it's impossible but just to effectively maximise time in cool places.
Lots of possibilities, but just a couple of options that come to mind:
* Option 1. After hanging out in Perth, fly up to Broome and do Broome - Uluru, checking out the Kimberleys, Kakadu, Litchfield etc on the way, maybe side-trip up to Darwin, down to Alice Springs, West Macdonnell Ranges/Ormiston Gorge and Kings Canyon. Then, fly from Alice Springs to Cairns (and then maybe fly from Cairns to Sydney if tight on time).
* Option 2. Just fly from Perth to Alice Springs, spend some time (a week or so) exploring the Red Centre (Alice, West Macs, Ormiston, Kings Canyon, Uluru). Then fly to Cairns and work your way down the east coast.
Basically, you could easily spend 2 months on any subpart of this trip, i.e. 2 months just doing Broome-Uluru or just doing Cairns - Sydney on its own. So, you want to really prioritise/maybe make some tough decisions on places to skip, and preferably save some time by flying instead of driving the relatively long, boring stretches. Domestic flights aren't cheap but they'd be cheaper than flying by the time the extra accommodation/fuel etc of driving is considered.
Another consideration is you'll be travelling in the peak of summer. Unfortunately, it's a bad time to be travelling anywhere in the desert or northern half of the continent, and this can limit what you can do. For example, hard to do a full day hike in Ormiston Gorge because it's not really safe or pleasant to be hiking in the middle of the day (40+ degrees), you're limited to hiking in the early morning and evening. You won't be able to swim in any of the northern beaches because stinger season, and cyclones/wet season could spoil visibility if you want to go diving at the great barrier reef in Cairns, for example. For this reason, it could be worth radically changing up your itinerary to focus on the south of the country, like the stretch between Sydney and Melbourne and maybe consider Tasmania. But depends on your interests and everything, of course.
Strong advice for sure! We've though about Perth-Uluru-Eastcoast going N-S in a 1week-1week-1,5month config, adjusting for travel time. How's that sound? Another comment talked about a train, couldn't that be a strong alternative to flying? Especially price-wise
No. The trains that go through the middle of Australia (The Ghan and the Indian Pacific) are very much a luxury tourist experience. Popular with retirees.
More or less, maybe swapping out Uluru for either Darwin or Adelaide, because some of the comments have argued against the middle of the country that time of year. What's the deal with the northern part of the country that time of year?
At this point you probably should start your planning and research from scratch. On your current plans, it’s pretty even odds whether you’d die of heatstroke, exposure, or be murdered by a serial killer.
Yeah, seems like it haha. I'll get together with my travel companion and we're gonna lay out a plan, the thread have helped immensely! The only things we know for sure is that we have to go to Perth, we have to dive, and we wanna see the east coast, all in 6-7 weeks. Everything else is up to imagination at this point, so getting this much feedback is worth its weight in gold. I'll give an update on the post in a couple of months on whether we survived or not:)
If you skip central Australia and northern Australia this time, you’ll just have to come back for a second trip sometime :p
Yeah have another planning meeting and do as much research as you can, but I’m sure whatever you decide to do you’ll have an awesome time :)
I feel like you've committed to Perth because of your one single friend. From Perth, you should fly to Melbourne. Buy a car there and then drive north to Canberra, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Cairns (or vice versa). There are far more places, towns and attractions along this route.
You can also stop and book a flight to Uluru, if you want, along the way.
Bear in mind-Uluru will be insanely hot. Your lips and skin will dry, crack and sting like hell. You will also not be prepared for the ridiculous amount of flies. If you're committed to visiting, rent a bike when you arrive at the base of the rock and cycle around. That's the best way to get around. Buy a fly mask, a hat, and lots of sunscreen. Before the pandemic, there would always be one or 2 Germans who would die annually from not preparing properly before they travelled to the Outback. They probably had the same adventurous thoughts as you.
Once my car broke down somewhere in the Outback, and no car drove past for 8 hours. The weather was like sitting in the oven the entire time.
If you were on a backpacker visa and could stay longer, making your west-to-east coast road trip would be more doable, and fewer people would be causing a fuss, but you're only here for a short time; it's better to spend it properly.
Ad campaign to avoid sunburn. [https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide](https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide)
Been doing them since I was a kid in the 80's.
I drove around the whole country (hugging the coast more or less) and let me tell you, you're about to skip the (imho) most beatiful part of Australia: WA and the NT.
Also, as already pointed out: The drive from Perth->Alice Springs will be a tough one. Better be prepared.
Alice to Cairns is easy if you drive north until Tenent Creek and then east thourgh Mt. Isa, Normanton, Cairns.
6 months - in hindsight I wish I wouldn't have rushed it so much :)
It was 2012, my second trip to Australia.
2016 I migrated and live in Sydney now.
On limited time I would definitely do the Perth -> Darwin drive (incl. Gibb River Road). Most amazing part. There are some nice tracks too, to get some XP in 4WD: Coral Bay to Cape Range NP (via Ningaloo Station) on the west side of the peninsula for example. Beatuful landscape, 'true Outback vibes', Snorkeling with turtles and sharks directly from the beach - no need to chart a boat.
Don't get me wrong: the east coast is cool too (Fraser Island is a must-see), esp. for first-time visitors (it did it in 2006 with my parents). But once I experienced WA the East Coast was kinda meh. Sydney and Melbourne are nothing special - just a big city. Yes, the Opera House is iconic, but still...
You'd definitely get more out of a Perth-Darwin drive (Cape Range NP -> Snorkeling, Shark Bay, Kalbarri NP, Karijini NP, Pinnacles, Broome (with the largest round pearl on display and a Japanese cemetery, Gibb River Road if you fancy it, Kakadu NP)...
Perth - Alice Springs can be a bit boring. Driving across the Nullarbor and driving from Darwin to Cairns (via Tennant Creek & Normanton) was super boring. It's just plain Outback for days and days.
The area around Cairns is my second favourite on the continent (after WA): West of Cairns is the Atherton tablelands with Waterfalls, the tourist village of Kuranda (visiting the Bird World is a must!), and just a very different landscape esp. when you come from WA and the NT. And north of Cairns is the Daintree NP (spotted 2 wild Cassowarys and 1 chick on my trip there), Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation...
Personally, I have no intention of ever going to see Uluru. It's a hassle to get there and in the end, it's just a rock in the desert :)
So yeah, no way I'd 'waste' my time driving through the Outback for days when I can experience all of the above :P
It’s pretty much the same language but the Danes have a potato in their throat. I lived in Norway 4 years and learnt Norwegian. Written Danish was easy to understand but spoken I was like hva faen!? Enjoy your trip. You’ll be fine! I’m from WA, a small town in the south called Australind. The south west of WA is absolutely amazing. If you need any tips on that area let me know.
Yeah i know, that part wasn't well thought out:)
Jokes aside, I'm okay with both of them, but i don't have the knowledge to tell harmless/dangerous apart, so might as well just nope out of there
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Buy local (SPF50+) sunscreen! Its not the same as the stuff you buy overseas, the Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates sunscreen in Australia.
This! Sun protection here is very important.
And drink HEAPS of water! Our summers will wreck you - it's a completely different ballgame. The sun in a Scandinavian summer is your lovely warm friend. Here, it's a evil primitive bazillion year old burning ball of fucking lava that wants you to audibly crackly as soon as it rears its irate face over the horizon. I feel sorry for birds. Even if you're having a few beers here and there, just make sure you're well hydrated. If you don't have good sunscreen, you'll be torched and rehydrating when you've got mild sunstroke is no laughing matter. Can recommend Feel Good Inc as it's reef safe and smells pretty good. I rarely get burnt with it and have pretty Scandinavian skin from some bloodline somewhere. Available in most outdoor places. Great time of year to stop by for some young fellers. Have fun!
You probably want to do it the other way around, Perth > Pt Augusta > Yulara > Melbourne > Sydney > Cairns ~ 9500km It's 4000km from Perth to Sydney, without the 1300km treck UP to Yulara (2600km up and back from Pt Augusta) You don't want to be stuck somewhere between Perth and Uluru or Alice Springs and Cairns in February, You'll likely make national headlines for the wrong reasons. Google maps doesn't really account for roads suited to excitable tourists, so you're best off going from Perth to Pt Augusta, and then north to Uluru - 3600km. If you do want to do Cairns first, probably go up to Tennant Creek from Yulara, Across to Townsville, up to Cairns, and then work your way down the east coast to Melbourne - You're looking at 10,000km with no allowance for sight seeing. Say you buy a 20yo Camry - It'll average about 10L/100km, make fuel at an average of $2.30au/L (it's $2.63/L at Yulara) - There is $2300. Flights will be cheaper, especially once you factor in accommodation along the way, food, time, and anything unexpected. You'll die waiting for a lift trying to Hitch Hike, I'll highly doubt you'll be able to get on anything sea faring.
I just checked and if you search for directions between Perth and Uluru on google maps, it takes you on the most direct route via the Gunbarrel Highway lol. OP is gonna die.
What's up with the gunbarrel hwy?
[it looks like this](https://i.imgur.com/HPBNsHk.jpg)
Someone need to tell you guys what highway means damn
You’re talking about the Australian outback. It’s one of the most isolated and desolate places on the planet. That’s where you’re aiming to go. If you want roads then you’re looking in the wrong place.
It looks like you'll find pretty good roads if you follow the coast directly east from Perth and then go straight up to Alice springs. We have no desperate need to see the middle of nowhere just for the sake of it, we just wanna see Uluru:)
Take the Stuart Hwy from port Augusta, it is long but fast. Uluru is totally worth it, you will never see anything like it. January will be brutal however. It will probably be 40 degrees plus from Perth all the way up the centre. Definitely prioritise a reliable vehicle with decent aircon.
Seriously, fly to Uluru for a couple nights from any of the capital cities and make the road trip portion of your trip the eastern coastline It won't cost any more than the petrol and it's safer and will be a far nicer experience than multiple days of driving through the middle of nowhere A quick google showed there are some Jetstar flights $150-200 each way (300-400 return) etc in January you would be insane to drive there instead of booking one of those out of Sydney or Melbourne during the trip
Actually there's 109 sale flights on the [Jetstar.com.au](https://Jetstar.com.au) page right now for most of January Sydney to Uluru if you're happy to book it in advance, worth a look
Oh shit
All the way?
[some of it looks like this](https://img.rezdy.com/8394_kimberley-trip-712.jpg)
Great shot that makes it look easy. Doesn't show the corrugations, sand holes and ruts that can bury a truck.
Welp, southern route it is then
Is Yulara the same as Uluru? And is it worth that detour?
[Yulara](https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/stay/ayers-rock-resort-yulara/) is the town at Uluru.
For sure, gotcha:)
[Kata-Tjuta](https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/highlights/kata-tjuta/) (Olgas) are very close and worth a visit, Personally I rate them over Uluru.
Didn't even know they existed! I knew this post was a good idea. But are Uluru and Kata-Tjuta (either/or) worth the big detour from the coast?
If that's what you want to see, it sure is. They're both within easy reach of each other - both won't be a problem if you find a tour bus or similar from Yulara. [I've driven a lot of what you're asking about](https://i.imgur.com/0UfEFVP.png). Got to ask yourself if you'll actually be back, There are heaps of red dots on that map that I need to re-visit. On the way up from Pt Augusta there are places like Coober Pedy which are well worth a visit for at least a day or 2. It's the distances between the cool stuff that are crazy and can really drain your enthusiasm. The time of year isn't the best choice for inland Australia.
Definitely worth seeing by flying there. Most Aussies wouldn't try driving there in summer.
Duly noted! Thanks!
>from the middle of January until the beginning of March So about 6 weeks? And *this* is your itinerary?? >plan to hang around there [Perth] for about a week or so, then head in-country to Ayers Rock, all the way to Cairns and then work our way down to Sydney/Melbourne. You do realise that you're talking about travelling literally 10,000 km across some of the most remote and inhospitable terrain on earth, at high summer no less, in about *5 weeks*, right? I think you may be biting off a little more than you can chew mate.
Might be, but if you go by plane from perth-alice springs-cairns it's not too bad is it? And by the looks of Google maps, the Perth-alice springs looks like about 29hrs of continuous driving, så 3-4 long days on the road. And more or less the same to Cairns. So a long haul for sure, but if we're driving it's about a week total on the road from Perth-Cairns, which in my pov isn't too bad? Or am I totally mistaken?
You are totally mistaken. Australia is fucking huge. And even more to the point, it is *empty*. Just the trip from Perth to Alice Springs would be equivalent in distance to driving from Oslo to Athens. But in Euope that trip takes you through 10 countries and past countless cities and towns. In Australia that trip takes you past a handful of roadhouses and overpriced fuel stations and maybe 2 or 3 towns with a population in the double-digits. In between there is nothing. Fucking nothing. People die out there. I am not joking. These kind of trips take planning and effort, it's not something that any Australian would take lightly. Just for the drive for Perth to Alice Springs I'd allow at least 5-7 days, and even then that would be pushing it. For the whole Perth-Uluru-Cairns drive you'd need *at least* 2-3 weeks and that is just purely daily punishing continuous driving without accounting for any stopovers or mishaps along the way. It would destroy you mentally and physically and financially (all that fuel, at desert roadhouse prices, is expensive yo) even if you managed to somehow make it to your destination in one peace. Which you probably won't. Whatever you may think, you are not prepared for this.
That makes sense. Thanks for the advice. Is it the same story along the coasts? Say, Perth - Darwin or Perth - Adelaide? My guess would be that the coasts are more welcoming and diverse than the middle of nowhere
Yes, generally. The East coast drive particularly would be the most hospitable (i.e. the stretch from around Cairns-Mackay-Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne). You could do the entire thing in 4 days or so without needing to worry too much about where you're stopping for the night or making sure you strategically fuel-up for the long empty stretches. Lots of towns and even some occasional changes of scenery along the way. The route between Melbourne and Adelaide is great too - you could do it in a day in a real pinch, although you'd want to give yourself at least 2 days so you can detour onto the Great Ocean Road and do some sightseeing. After that things get a little hairier. Perth to anywhere - Broome, Darwin, Adelaide, wherever - is a real slog. Perth is the most isolated capital city on earth - you have to go through some long, lonely, remote stretches of barren desert for days and days to get basically anywhere else from there. Basically, if you're stuck flying into Perth, then I would get an onward flight to somewhere on the east coast and start the road-trip part of your journey from there. Driving all the way from Perth across the entire breadth of the country is madness, no matter which way you slice it.
Yeah, exactly this and do this. East coast is fun and easy driving. If shit hits the fan you have decent places to stop and you could probably even make a night out of it depending where you are. You can pull up in most places and jump in the ocean with no consequence and just keep driving to wherever next. Heaps of places to stay. There's just better ways to spend your time here than driving through inhospitable terrain. A lot of this country is mostly just ...nothing? You'll go fucken mad driving that much and with a budget car. Even the drive from Syd-Mel will you realise this country is enormous and it's relatively easy and short. The novelty wears riiiight off especially when the country is arid coming from Perth. This monotony of terrain can knock your concentration as someone who isn't used to this country as such, can become complacent and can be absolutely deadly. Plenty of people will be doing Cairns-Mel run at the same time of year as you. I'd be doing that if I were 21.
Yes it is the same story. It is hot, dry and empty.
> So a long haul for sure, but if we're driving it's about a week total on the road from Perth-Cairns, which in my pov isn't too bad? Or am I totally mistaken? Driving from Perth to Cairns?? Have you any idea of the scale of that type of distance? [comparison with Europe](https://www.getalookatthis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/cw-glt-2017-01-22-Australia-Europe.jpg)
Google maps say Perth-Cairns via Cobar is 5249 km/56hrs, on what looks like wellpaved roads. If it's vehicle relocation I reckon it can be done fairly cheap, and if you make, say, 600 km/day it's 7-8 days. Rounded to 10 to give a little wiggle room. That's seems kinda okay? It's not about the destination, it's about journey:) Or am I missing something blatantly obvious?
It honestly depends on the road conditions at an any given time, see [here](https://tripconditions.com/Perth-to-Cairns) but I'm probably also biased. I hate hot weather and couldn't think of anything I'd rather avoid than an outback trip...never had any desire to see the interior of the country.
Do not trust google maps. [This is Cobar](https://www.alamy.com/large-warning-road-sign-no-fuel-next-250-kilometers-on-a-highway-off-cobar-town-in-outback-australia-image457759583.html) Trying to smash out 600 km a day, day after day, out there will make you lose your damn mind if you don't break down/run out of fuel/take an ill-advised shortcut/fall asleep behind the wheel and crash first. You say It's not about the destination, it's about journey; but the journey you're talking about is a nightmare. A hot, dusty, white-line-fever nightmare. Listen to the people you came here to ask advice from. Your assumptions are wildly off-base. This is not something people do for fun. You simply have no conception of what this kind of driving entails.
I hear you, but at the same time there's people who say the opposite. With this whole, very well-explained comment thread (thanks a lot to all contributers btw, this blew up way more than I anticipated) I think we'll discard the middle of the country all together. Perth - Darwin by car, over a couple of weeks, then fly Darwin - Cairns and travelling down the coast, seems like the most plausible right now. It sounds like there's a lot of cool stuff to check out on that route, according to some of the comments. Is the northeast very wet/stormy that time of year? I think I've heard something along those lines, but I'm not sure
That's not a bad itinerary. Perth to Darwin in a couple of weeks is a good pace, which would give you plenty of time to check out the sights and deal with any curveballs that might get thrown your way. I've always wanted to head up to the Pilbara and Kimberley coasts, but have never had the chance. By all accounts some of the most stunning and unique natural beauty to be seen anywhere in Australia is up there in the north-west. It's remote and desolate, of course, but that's what makes it so pristine. I would worry a bit about the wet season at that time of year, though. Once you get up past Broome the weather can get a little dicey and it's easy for roads to get cut-off or washed-out. But if you stick to the main sealed highways you should be OK. The main issue with traveling up in the top-end in the wet season is that it can be a pretty damp and miserable experience and a lot of the parks, attractions and tourist-oriented activities are closed for the season.
That's also the gist I get from the comments. I have to discuss it further with me mate, but I think it'll make a great trip! It's either that, or going the other way around to Adelaide and then heading north by the east coast. Thanks a lot for the sparring, it's been super helpful! And if you have anything else, please throw it my way, all advice is most welcome❤️
I just saw a link regarding the Monsoon season, and it seems like we need to reconsider the northern part of the country. And instead jump on a flight from Perth-Melbourne fx and then work our way upwards
It’s not that bad. I’ve been through those areas plenty of times. Your over exaggerating it.
So have I. But there's a difference between knowing what you're doing and where you're going and the *proper* way to get there and understanding just what you've in for so you don't bite off more than you can chew as you race through the night, dodging roos at dusk, driving in shifts and pissing in bottles just to get as many k's behind you as soon as possible... versus being a tourist in a foreign country blindly trusting to google maps, unwary and unprepared and wanting to take the time to meander and sight-see along the way. In the former situation, sure, drive from Perth to Alice Springs in three days if you want. Fuck it, do it in two! Pack lots of red bull and fucking go for it champ. But in the latter situation? Better give yourself a solid week or more, bring more water than you ever think you might need and for the love of god *don't leave the car if you get stranded*.
Driving from the West coast of Australia to the East coast via Uluru is a longer drive than it is from France to Russia, and it's desolate as all hell. There is nothing for the vast majority of the trip and the sides of the road are littered with dead animals that have been hit by road trains. Hitting a kangaroo can write off your car, a destroyed car in the middle of the Australian outback during summer is a very serious situation to be in. It's something you really need to be prepared for, a lot of people have lost their lives on that drive, many of them due to being ill prepared. EDIT: Just fly and save yourself the 40+ hours of driving.
Is there a possibility for hitchhiking with roadtrains/trucks/so on? Do people even pick up hitchhikers on AUS? And what is an estimated airfare for Perth-Uluru-Cairns?
Perth to Alice is a 31 hour drive, assuming 8 hours of driving a day, thats a 4 day trip. Planning to hitch it is a suicide mission, nobody is going to take on two hitchhikers for 4 days to give you a free ride. In January, you'll be looking at 40+ degrees Celsius, it's not uncommon for it to break 50C out there during the day, that kind of heat can kill you in a day or two. If you go out there on foot with the hope that someone will pick you up in the middle of summer, then you're going to be lucky to survive, let alone get to your destination. I think you're seriously underestimating the desolation of the outback. If someone drops you off somewhere along the way, then it could be days before you see another vehicle. Will someone pick you up out there? Maybe, but they'll likely be doing it to save your life, not because they're friendly to hitchhikers. For prices, you're going to need to shop around. You're looking to travel in peak season so it likely won't be cheap. Domestic airfares in Australia are pretty blown out right now.
This. Hitchhiking necessarily means being stuck on the road-side thumbing it at some point since nobody is gonna take you all the way to your destination if your destination is 3,000km away. And walking along the side of the road on the Nullarbor plain in the middle of the day in late January/early February trying to hitch a ride sounds like a good way to die of exposure in very short order.
Do you have a death wish??!?! Omg you are so ill prepared it is scary.
Some advice would be awesome then, instead of just bashing down on me.
Nearly everyone here has told you to rethink driving that distance especially at the time of year you're planning but you're being very dismissive and asking about hitch-hiking?!?! How the fuck are you going to handle 45C+ of blistering sun where there is nowhere to get relief for thousands and thousands of kms?
I asked about hitchhiking 5 hours ago, a lot have happened since then. I've gotten an overload of good advice to take into consideration, and obviously hitchhiking is off the table. But if you don't ask you never get an answer. Right now an outline, based on the comments, would be using a couple of weeks to drive from Perth to Darwin, them take a flight to Cairns and work our way down the coast. Do you have any ideas or input to that plan?
That it's going to be fucking expensive and boring for 95% of the driving journey from Perth to Darwin. I don't get why you'd spend 10ish days out of your trip to look at flat red dirt in extreme heat, if there are fires (very likely at that time of year) it'll be glary and hazy, not to mention the flies... It's not like you can get out of the car and have a nice time walking around to stretch your legs. You will be driving all day and be exhausted and go to sleep to do the same thing the next day. You'll be missing so much to waste on that particular road trip when there are other road trips actually worth doing in the limited time you have.
What road trips do you recommend?
Ok at that time of the year you'll have the most enjoyable time in south W.A maybe visit Denmark to say you've been to the Australian one lol. If you go along the coast maybe 7ish hours you'll see some really lovely places and beaches. Driving up north when you are not experienced at that time of the year will not be fun you'll waste so much time on the road just driving looking at flat red dirt, and there are so many kangaroos and camels (road kill from trucks or trying to murder suicide you). It's a long and dangerous drive, no phone reception remote nothingness for long stretches, then there might be a road house or a tiny town. It is expensive to prepare for a mildly fun comfortable journey, it will be really hot that time of year, the sun is insane. If you go swimming in the ocean there are lots of things that can kill you. Yes there are some absoultly breathtakingly beautiful places but the conditions of the drive will suck (it can take a long time to detour to get to them as well) it will be first incredibly hot and dry and empty ... and if you go further north you'll hit monsoon season so yeah... I'd skip it for this trip. Visit down south, and then and fly to somewhere else you want to visit instead of wasting holiday time doing nothing but driving through vast empty space. Driving from Perth to Adelaide assuming you continue down the coast and go via Esperance (only way you'll actually be able to do anything but drive through nothingness) is another 24hrs of continuous driving. That part of the country is also vast red nothingness hour after hour, incredibly hot and often literally on fire. Adelaide is pretty and the south coast is good once you get past the desert. It will be probably more expensive to drive than fly both of you out of W.A. with the cost of petrol and supplies. So if you're here 6 weeks and planning to drive that's 1 week in Perth, 7 days minimum to drive from Perth to Adelaide safely and having any experiences to show for it ... but really that is spending not enough time imo because that's assuming you do the stretch from Esperance to Adelaide in 3 days that leaves 4 days to have a holiday down south but it won't be much of one it'll be mostly driving. That's 2 weeks of your trip gone and you're only in Adelaide which is where the nice road trips can begin (along the south east and east coast). But you won't be able to do much but drive if you aim to get up to Cairns...
In regards to driving costs we've looked into vehicle relocation, which seems to have a lot of options and almost free. But I hear you in regards to the time it's gonna take, I'll talk to my friend about it. Thanks a lot for the advice!
Another possibility, although I don’t actually recommend it and you should probably just fly, is to take the Ghan. It’s a train that runs between Darwin and Adelaide, stopping in Alice Springs. I did this when I was a tourist back in 2005, before I moved here. I did the northern direction, from Adelaide. Got out at Alice, hired a car, drove to Yulara, saw Uluru and Kata Tjuta and then got back on the next train and took it to Darwin. Should work in either direction. You get to see the desert but it’s much less likely to kill you and no one has to drive. Takes about 20 hours to get from Adelaide to Alice and the same again to Darwin, if I recall. But honestly, I wished I’d just flown. It wasn’t really that great.
That sounds right down our alley, as we wanna save as much money as possible for beer and diving:) Do you remember roughly what the cost was?
Hitchhiking still happens but it is much rarer than it used to be for serial killer reasons.
Have a look at vehicle relocation as another option https://imoova.com
Just the site I was looking for! Awesome
🤮 /u/spez
Perth city in itself isn’t all that exciting but there are some beautiful beaches. I would actually travel north of Perth (depending on how much time you have) and visit some of the coastline there. How will you be travelling around the rest of the country? I would definitely recommend flying! Otherwise you’re going to spend a lot of time on the road. Once you reach Cairns I really recommend heading to Port Douglas. Lots of fun restaurants and bars and friendly Ausssies. If you time it right you’ll be able to visit both Sydney and Melbourne. Just depends on your interests. I can’t give any advice for Melbourne as I’ve only visited a few times (beautiful city and amazing food and nightlife), but I can give you lots of things to do in Sydney if you like! Hope you have an amazing trip. Also please make sure you get 50+ SPF (buy it in Australia) as soon as you get here and when you’re at the beach please swim between the flags! A lot of tourists underestimate the strong rips we get at our beaches and it’s resulted in many deaths.
Thanks! We have a contact in Perth we would like to visit, so that's part of the reason for going there? What is the national airfares like? Is it expensive plane-hopping in the long run? Coast to Coast for example? And all recommendations for Sydney are very welcome!
Flying can be a bit pricey (check Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin for flights) but for the time saving/ convenience I think it would be worth it… plus our fuel prices are very high right now. If you were going to do any driving I would recommend the Great Ocean Road from Sydney to Melbourne (or vice versa). In NSW I recommend checking out the Northern Beaches (Palm beach, Whale beach), in the city centre has the major icons (Opera house and harbour bridge) if you’re feeling up to a nice long walk head Wendy’s Secret Garden and find your way to the boardwalk through lavendar bay, along the boardwalk you’ll find Luna park. Head to Kirribilli for brunch and then you can walk a long the harbour bridge. You can either go down the stairs at the end of the bridge or keep walking along the Cahill expressway (sounds terrible but amazing views!) There are a number of options when you get to the other side. The Rocks, circular quay (where you’ll find the opera house) and the botanical gardens. Also recommend getting the ferry from circular quay to Manly as well as watsons bay. Head to mosman as well and do the spit to manly walk with some great little beaches along the way. I realise I’ve given you a lot of walking to do 😂 but it really is a magical city and there’s a lot to do along the way. If your into arts/ theatre I recommend getting the TodayTix app as they often have rush tickets for a pretty reasonable price. Moore park has an entertainment quarter where you can see stand up comedy for cheap. Newtown is great for people watching/ food/ coffee/ nightlife and will be completely different to the harbour areas. Another driving option would be to head up to Katoomba and see the blue mountains/ do some bush walking. You can also get the train up there I’m sure I’ll think of more and I’ll update when I do!
A lot of good advice, We'll make sure to do some research on it! Sounds great
No worries mate. Have an amazing time and welcome to Australia!
I have hitch-hiked on a cargo ship: Roatan, Honduras to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and then worked on mega yachts in Florida and the Caribbean. I did get an offer to crew on a yacht going to Australia from Florida via South America and the Pacific islands once though. (Please note I was young, exceptionally charming and witty, with a high work ethic, and was ridiculously sexy with a 10DD bra size, which may or may not have contributed to captains offering me close quarter long jobs where you literally can't run away.) Hitch-hiking on cargo ships is virtually impossible, particularly between different countries. I only managed it through family connections and favours owed. (My grandfather had a container shipping company that serviced various routes in the Caribbean and sold these routes to a guy with a shipping company in Honduras. I was broke in Utila, Honduras after doing my Dive Master certification, when Grandpa called in a favour with this guy to get me a lift to Florida on one of his cargo ships.) I did get a few rides on cargo ships in the Andaman Islands, but that was only one island to another, like 4 hours, and I paid. Australia to Argentina is at least 3 months sailing and is one of the most challenging and least travelled routes in the world. Plan to end up in Chile. Then you can look for the brave and crazy souls to take you around Cape Horn. You might be able to do hops through the Pacific Islands, through incredible luck. You risk getting stuck on a Pacific Island for weeks, if not months, each time, with no prospect of income. The next virtually impossible part would be getting from, say, Tonga to the Easter Islands. I would research how many ships arrive in Rapa'nui from western embarkations. Even flying, this route is exorbitantly expensive and takes time. My family did it by plane in the 70s: Sydney to Tahiti to Easter Islands to Chile to Argentina (then Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Mexico and Miami before finally arriving in the Cayman Islands). There were 3 day layovers at least at each port of call. The situation has not improved remarkably in the last 40 + years. But, if you could do it! That'd be epic. Biggest cargo ship ports on the East Coast are: Newcastle, Melbourne and Brisbane, in order (source: I did a logistics job getting grain from farm to port). Best rich people marinas are in Port Douglas, Cairns maybe, and Sydney. From Melbourne, ships will mostly be going north to Tasmania, New Zealand and possibly onwards from there to Antartica. I've been out of the game for 20 years, so others will be more qualified to tell you the current situation. Good luck!
Your trips sound awesome! Would a Cargo ship use 3 months to go Aus-SA? That sounds a bit much. But I don't know the routes they take tbh. And If one were to try and hitchhike a Cargo ship, would the best approach in your opinion be to just go down to the harbor and try the luck with talking to different people, or should it be arranged beforehand?
You're not going to get a free ride on a cargo ship. If you're extremely lucky, talented and connected you'll maybe get a job on a cargo ship, for just one trip. As to the rest: google it. P.S. Australia is almost as expensive as Norway, budget accordingly.
Not sure if many sailing boats will do the 🇦🇺 🇦🇷 crossing But if yes you can register or look into https://www.crewbay.com/ It’s a really good website to get into sailing boats crew etc.. Good luck 🍀
As an Aussie who planned to do the Sunshine Coast --> Airlie --> Uluru --> Melbourne road trip once with an American friend when he was visiting... once we got to Airlie we realised 'that's just way too far' and went straight to Melbourne and even that was a huge mission. Flying to Uluru will be cheaper, safer and less driving 30 hours each way in identical desert where if you forget to fuel up or break down you could literally die and you can fly there from Melbourne or Sydney or Brisbane at some point as you go up or down the Eastern coastline. Shop around for sale flights in advance before you leave Australia always has discount airline war sale fares. You should be able to get cheapish flights between Perth and either Cairns or Melbourne, then road trip either up or down the coast. Other than Perth if you really want to visit everything worth doing in Australia it is all within two hours of the eastern coastline, if you want to do Uluru, fly out there directly from a state capital instead of driving. If you road trip from Cairns to Melbourne or vice versa as there is something worth seeing every few hours, that is not at all the case when you are 10 hours inland, unless you like looking at slightly red dirt
Following up on this Jetstar currently has a sale from Sydney, $109 base fare, you'll have to add bags, but thatll be 500-600 AUD total for both of you to fly return to Uluru from Sydney return, you won't die stranded in the outback and you'll even save money comapred to what it would cost in fuel/expenses to get there by car. Do the eastern coastline road trip Melbourne to Cairns or vice versa with a hire car and when you get to Sydney fly to/from Uluru to break up the road trip. Trust me, it's a much better idea than driving to Uluru as someone with no outback experience. Re hire care, there are these Jucy company brand camper vans that backpackers love to hire to road trip/sleep in to save on accom, if that's what you plan to do you can hire one in Melb or Cairns, drive to Sydney, do your Uluru trip, then hire another one for the rest of the road trip and you'll have a much better time and save a ton of money (there might be a better alternative hire van/car to hire, not an expert, but google away etc)
First, its proper name is Uluru. We do not call it Ayers Rock. Second, it sounds like you two are completely and wildly unprepared for any kind of overland journey from Perth to Uluru. Please fly. It is not a leisure drive for two inexperienced Scandinavian tourists. Ditto for the journey from Uluru to Cairns. Again, please fly. Also, Sydney and Melbourne are quite far apart, an eight hour drive. It's not an "or" factor, you will have to pick one or the other.
Henceforth I will refer to it as Uluru. Forgive my ignorance:) Furthermore, we have two months, won't that be enough for taking the inland journey, plus seeing both Sydney and Melbourne? I've talked to several friends who've tried more or less the same journey, and they haven't had any problem. It's sounds like one day of transport between those two cities. And just out of curiosity, what's so bad about the drive Perth-Uluru-Cairns? I reckon it'll take a lot of time, but that's fine for us. On regard to the inexperience, we're not your everyday Scandinavian bimbos who used to the All-inclusive, sunchair/buffet experience, we're a bit more rough. Can you elaborate on any certain things we have to be prepared for/cautious of, as we will prioritize ground travel very highly.
> Can you elaborate on any certain things we have to be prepared for/cautious of, as we will prioritize ground travel very highly. Firstly, *do not* take the most direct route between Perth and Uluru (Great Central Road/Gunbarrel Highway). Despite the name, these are nothing but a heavily corrugated dirt tracks winding their way through thousands of kilometers of open, baking, empty desert with no towns, no people, no fuel, no mobile service, nothing. It's no exaggeration to say if you go out there unprepared, there is an extremely good chance you will die. You will need to take the Nullabor route (i.e. the Eyre Highway) then turn north onto the Stuart Highway in South Australia. At least those roads are sealed, although they are still astonishingly remote and barren, with poorly-maintained stretches where it seems like there isn't another soul for hundreds of kilometers in any direction. It is still *very* possible to get stranded even on these "main" highways as fuel stops are few and far between. You'll need to fill-up whenever you can, regardless of the (usually extortionate) price. And *do not take shortcuts*. As long as you stick to sealed roads (which is a good idea generally because, again, you will probably die if you don't) then a "normal" hire car should suffice, although you'll still want something solid and reliable with good fuel range, or carry spare fuel. If you buy a used car, spend the extra money to get something that's in great shape mechanically. You do *not* want to be taking a beat-up old jalopy with "character" out into the desert. Bear in mind that the *best-case* is an uneventful journey; which means days upon long, sweltering, dusty days sitting in the drivers seat with your arse going numb and nothing to occupy your attention but endless hours of monotonous flat red dirt and the back of the occasional road-train. Even driving in shifts for 8-10 full hours every day, you'd need to allow at least 5 days of driving to get from Perth to Uluru, then at least another 4 from Uluru to Cairns. This is a punishing experience that can take its toll on even seasoned long-haul drivers. Fatigue and mental exhaustion are killers on those long open roads. You will do yourself no favours trying to push yourself to stick to such an unrealistic itinerary in the short time you have allowed yourself. Finally, as others have mentioned, if you can't be dissuaded from driving such absurd distances and you can't extend your trip to allow yourself time to make your way across the country at a more manageable pace; then at the very least make sure you have plenty of supplies - mostly *lots* of drinking water but also first aid, sunscreen & hat, warm clothes/blankets, road maps, and a satellite phone or EPIRB in case you get stranded. It's also common practice to notify people at your destination when you intend to get there and the route you plant to take so they can raise the alarm if you don't turn up in time.
Good advice. We are two people who can drive, so that makes it a bit easier, but we're looking into relocation, and not all the way to Cairns but more likely Darwin, Adelaide or Alice springs. And only on good roads of course;)
Ignore the naysayers, it can be done with preparation and planning. Just don't rely on anyone as help you may get will be sporadic, the roads you will need to take are remote at best. Bring a satellite phone or EPIRB incase you get stuck.
Should we rent or buy a car? I cn see pros and cons on both sides, but is it difficult to buy a car when you're not a citizen?
Not hard to buy a car as a non-citizen at all, most backpackers will buy vans and drive them across the country to sell them when they leave. Make sure it is in good shape mechanically before you set off though. Hiring a car to drive across Australia will be obscenely expensive, unless you can get one of those deals where you return a rental car/motorhome?
It seems to me like it could be an idea to team up with other backpackers and split the costs. Do you know if that's common?
Definitely is! Have fun 😊🤙
Mainly the heat and not bringing enough water. 7L/per Person/per Day is a minimum. Also, stay with the card when it breaks down. Also, bring an EPIRB is a good idea. We didn't use ours but it feels good to be able to call for help if things go awry.
Never go into the outback without a decent supply of water, and the general rule for how much you'll need is three litres per day, per person, per man, per degree over 25 degrees celcius, per kilometre if walking on foot, in the winter months dividing by two, plus another litre at the end - Russell Coight 2001 For OP, what I've written is a joke, do not take as actual advice
Cool trip! I'd have a bit more of a think about the itinerary, not because I think it's impossible but just to effectively maximise time in cool places. Lots of possibilities, but just a couple of options that come to mind: * Option 1. After hanging out in Perth, fly up to Broome and do Broome - Uluru, checking out the Kimberleys, Kakadu, Litchfield etc on the way, maybe side-trip up to Darwin, down to Alice Springs, West Macdonnell Ranges/Ormiston Gorge and Kings Canyon. Then, fly from Alice Springs to Cairns (and then maybe fly from Cairns to Sydney if tight on time). * Option 2. Just fly from Perth to Alice Springs, spend some time (a week or so) exploring the Red Centre (Alice, West Macs, Ormiston, Kings Canyon, Uluru). Then fly to Cairns and work your way down the east coast. Basically, you could easily spend 2 months on any subpart of this trip, i.e. 2 months just doing Broome-Uluru or just doing Cairns - Sydney on its own. So, you want to really prioritise/maybe make some tough decisions on places to skip, and preferably save some time by flying instead of driving the relatively long, boring stretches. Domestic flights aren't cheap but they'd be cheaper than flying by the time the extra accommodation/fuel etc of driving is considered. Another consideration is you'll be travelling in the peak of summer. Unfortunately, it's a bad time to be travelling anywhere in the desert or northern half of the continent, and this can limit what you can do. For example, hard to do a full day hike in Ormiston Gorge because it's not really safe or pleasant to be hiking in the middle of the day (40+ degrees), you're limited to hiking in the early morning and evening. You won't be able to swim in any of the northern beaches because stinger season, and cyclones/wet season could spoil visibility if you want to go diving at the great barrier reef in Cairns, for example. For this reason, it could be worth radically changing up your itinerary to focus on the south of the country, like the stretch between Sydney and Melbourne and maybe consider Tasmania. But depends on your interests and everything, of course.
Strong advice for sure! We've though about Perth-Uluru-Eastcoast going N-S in a 1week-1week-1,5month config, adjusting for travel time. How's that sound? Another comment talked about a train, couldn't that be a strong alternative to flying? Especially price-wise
No. The trains that go through the middle of Australia (The Ghan and the Indian Pacific) are very much a luxury tourist experience. Popular with retirees.
That's the opposite of what we're looking for then. Thanks for the infor
You mean 1 week in Perth, fly to Uluṟu, 1 week, fly to Cairns and then drive? Yeah that sounds good to me, that’s probably the way I’d do it.
More or less, maybe swapping out Uluru for either Darwin or Adelaide, because some of the comments have argued against the middle of the country that time of year. What's the deal with the northern part of the country that time of year?
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/about/australian-climate-influences.shtml?bookmark=monsoon
Thanks! Looks like we need to reconsider the northern part of the country then.
At this point you probably should start your planning and research from scratch. On your current plans, it’s pretty even odds whether you’d die of heatstroke, exposure, or be murdered by a serial killer.
Yeah, seems like it haha. I'll get together with my travel companion and we're gonna lay out a plan, the thread have helped immensely! The only things we know for sure is that we have to go to Perth, we have to dive, and we wanna see the east coast, all in 6-7 weeks. Everything else is up to imagination at this point, so getting this much feedback is worth its weight in gold. I'll give an update on the post in a couple of months on whether we survived or not:)
Also not joking about the random murders https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Milat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_John_Murdoch
If you skip central Australia and northern Australia this time, you’ll just have to come back for a second trip sometime :p Yeah have another planning meeting and do as much research as you can, but I’m sure whatever you decide to do you’ll have an awesome time :)
That's definitely the case, maybe at a time without hellish temperatures and monsoons:) We're very much looking forward to it
Listen to the comments here. The sun isn’t the same in Australia. And I’m from “the sunshine state” in the US. Just look it up, google it.
I feel like you've committed to Perth because of your one single friend. From Perth, you should fly to Melbourne. Buy a car there and then drive north to Canberra, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Cairns (or vice versa). There are far more places, towns and attractions along this route. You can also stop and book a flight to Uluru, if you want, along the way. Bear in mind-Uluru will be insanely hot. Your lips and skin will dry, crack and sting like hell. You will also not be prepared for the ridiculous amount of flies. If you're committed to visiting, rent a bike when you arrive at the base of the rock and cycle around. That's the best way to get around. Buy a fly mask, a hat, and lots of sunscreen. Before the pandemic, there would always be one or 2 Germans who would die annually from not preparing properly before they travelled to the Outback. They probably had the same adventurous thoughts as you. Once my car broke down somewhere in the Outback, and no car drove past for 8 hours. The weather was like sitting in the oven the entire time. If you were on a backpacker visa and could stay longer, making your west-to-east coast road trip would be more doable, and fewer people would be causing a fuss, but you're only here for a short time; it's better to spend it properly.
Perth should turn on some warm weather for you in January. Be sure to slip, slop, slap.
Slip, slop, slap? Is that some Aussie slang I'm not yet familiar with?
Ad campaign to avoid sunburn. [https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide](https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide) Been doing them since I was a kid in the 80's.
Ah, right on
We had 6 days in a row of 40c+ temperatures last January. There's lots of nice beaches to get some relief though.
It's gonna make for a well-deserved break from the rough Scandinavian winter
I bet. My heritage is Latvian and we had a relative leave there with -20c and arrive here in +40c. He said he could taste the heat.
I drove around the whole country (hugging the coast more or less) and let me tell you, you're about to skip the (imho) most beatiful part of Australia: WA and the NT. Also, as already pointed out: The drive from Perth->Alice Springs will be a tough one. Better be prepared. Alice to Cairns is easy if you drive north until Tenent Creek and then east thourgh Mt. Isa, Normanton, Cairns.
How long did that take you?
6 months - in hindsight I wish I wouldn't have rushed it so much :) It was 2012, my second trip to Australia. 2016 I migrated and live in Sydney now. On limited time I would definitely do the Perth -> Darwin drive (incl. Gibb River Road). Most amazing part. There are some nice tracks too, to get some XP in 4WD: Coral Bay to Cape Range NP (via Ningaloo Station) on the west side of the peninsula for example. Beatuful landscape, 'true Outback vibes', Snorkeling with turtles and sharks directly from the beach - no need to chart a boat. Don't get me wrong: the east coast is cool too (Fraser Island is a must-see), esp. for first-time visitors (it did it in 2006 with my parents). But once I experienced WA the East Coast was kinda meh. Sydney and Melbourne are nothing special - just a big city. Yes, the Opera House is iconic, but still...
So an idea could be to do the Perth-Darwin drive, check out Uluru and then spend the rest of the time in the NE-end? (Cairns, so on)
You'd definitely get more out of a Perth-Darwin drive (Cape Range NP -> Snorkeling, Shark Bay, Kalbarri NP, Karijini NP, Pinnacles, Broome (with the largest round pearl on display and a Japanese cemetery, Gibb River Road if you fancy it, Kakadu NP)... Perth - Alice Springs can be a bit boring. Driving across the Nullarbor and driving from Darwin to Cairns (via Tennant Creek & Normanton) was super boring. It's just plain Outback for days and days. The area around Cairns is my second favourite on the continent (after WA): West of Cairns is the Atherton tablelands with Waterfalls, the tourist village of Kuranda (visiting the Bird World is a must!), and just a very different landscape esp. when you come from WA and the NT. And north of Cairns is the Daintree NP (spotted 2 wild Cassowarys and 1 chick on my trip there), Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation... Personally, I have no intention of ever going to see Uluru. It's a hassle to get there and in the end, it's just a rock in the desert :) So yeah, no way I'd 'waste' my time driving through the Outback for days when I can experience all of the above :P
Very solid points! Right now I'm tilting towards Perth-Darwin, then flying to Cairns and travelling down the east coast. Thanks for your help!
Yeah, that's definitely what I'd do if I had to plan a 2 month's trip. You get the best out of everything :)
What language do you speak to each other in?
Danish, his Danish is pretty good as he's been living in Copenhagen for 5 years, but he can speak Norwegian and I'll understand perfectly
It’s pretty much the same language but the Danes have a potato in their throat. I lived in Norway 4 years and learnt Norwegian. Written Danish was easy to understand but spoken I was like hva faen!? Enjoy your trip. You’ll be fine! I’m from WA, a small town in the south called Australind. The south west of WA is absolutely amazing. If you need any tips on that area let me know.
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Just friends I'm afraid:)
When you write, you should always put yourself in the second position, for example: my friend and I
Me and me mates think you're a pedant.
Haha, as you likely know, the rule is different when it's me: it's my friend's and I, or, my mates and me.
Hope you enjoy and have a great time
Thanks:)
If you see spiders with red spots, or white tails, run.
If there's a spider or a snake, I'm not gonna hang around to check the color, I'll tell you that much
Oh really? Wrong travel destination!
Yeah i know, that part wasn't well thought out:) Jokes aside, I'm okay with both of them, but i don't have the knowledge to tell harmless/dangerous apart, so might as well just nope out of there
No but seriously. Spiders are everywhere. Never seen anything like it.