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Sydney - Perth

Submitted: Friday, Feb 07, 2003 at 22:18

Peter

I wish to travel from Sydney to Perth driving my 80 series Landcruiser(the usual 'let's visit the relations' decision by the 'other half. I'd prefer to go up the coast fishing.)
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I am asking for information from those who have made the trip as to how long did it take you? Where did you stay? anything I should be made aware of. How far is it? I've heard different distances from different people.
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I'm trying to work out if it would be cheaper to drive or fly (Qantas will hit me for around $2,000 return for the family).
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I'd prefer to drive over and see what there is to see, on the way there and back.
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Thanks,
Haldo
ThreadID: 3270 Replies: 7
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AnswerID: 12690   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 08, 2003 at 04:24

Paul van Bellen replied:

Drive it...it's worth the experiance.....you'll have no problems in your car...as long as theres no problem with it! Its 4000km from Sydney to Perth give or take a couple of hundred kays.....
Reply 1 of 7
AnswerID: 12704   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 08, 2003 at 18:01

Bruce Henderson replied:

i would drive across regardless which is cheaper so much to see on the way across, take your time and enjoy the trip we did from hay in nsw to perth in 3 days 2 drivers long hour at the wheel didnt see much at all , i would alow at least a week if not longerif you havent been across before even then i dont think you will see all there is to see
Regards Bruce
Reply 2 of 7
AnswerID: 12712   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 08, 2003 at 20:28

robw replied:

G'day Haldo,
Driving can be a lot of fun if you take the time to stop off at some of the fantastic lookouts over the great australian bight on the way.
Also worth a stop if you like fishing (or surfing)is Cactus Beach near penong.
Also consider the fact that if you fly youve still got to hire a car at the other end...
Happy Trails!

rob
Reply 3 of 7
FollowupID: 7418   Submitted: Saturday, Feb 08, 2003 at 20:58

Peter posted:

Thanks to all, so far.
Unfortunately I am restricted time-wise due to the school holidays.
Not far from retiring so I'll arrange the drive AND FISH to suit myself, without any time constraints.
Once again, many thanks to everyone for your help.
Please keep the replies coming.
Pete
FollowUp 1 of 1
AnswerID: 12723   Submitted: Sunday, Feb 09, 2003 at 00:45

rickwagupatrol replied:

gday haldo. if i read your last reply correctly, you would prefer to get over to perth fairly quickly????
based on that assumption, my suggestion is follow the trucks.
pick one doing a reasonable speed, call the driver up, and ask if you can sit on his back door. 99.9% will say not a problem. stay back about 200 metres from the rear of the truck. the driver will call you if there os anything on the road you need to know about, and chatting will eat up the miles. drop out whenever you need to, but let the driver know-other wise he'll wonder where you got to.
truckies know that road like the back of their hand, you'll quickly learn of the best place to stop for the night, and the best place to get a feed.

rick
Reply 4 of 7
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AnswerID: 12763   Submitted: Sunday, Feb 09, 2003 at 20:35

Member - Bob replied:

Haldo
It will be cheaper to fly than to drive, given that it takes about 40 hours of actual stick time just to get there versus 5 hours by plane (so you don't miss so much work). Also work out how much fuel will cost you to drive 8000kms, and how much that distance will depreciate your truck. Add the cost of a service as well. Having said that, if you can afford the time and the expense, then it is one of those 'must do' trips. The cliffs along the Bight will blow you away.
Reply 5 of 7
FollowupID: 7438   Submitted: Sunday, Feb 09, 2003 at 21:40

Peter posted:

Once the kids are off our hands we'll be able to do things without being restricted by school holidays.
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Thanks for your help.
I didn't consider the depreciation side of things.
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What a shame we don't have school holidays similar to the Americans. I think they have 2 or 3 months in a block. But then imagine trying to get 3 months away from the job. At least we would fit more things into that time.
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 7529   Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 at 14:59

Coops posted:

any americans I know struggle to get more than 2 weeks off at a time and given that they virtually ALL take 2 weeks off at Xmas for their "holiday" season, then there's not much time left for holidays is there?
Given your short time span available I would fly if I were you Peter but I don't have the expense of children so am not much of a guide really.
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 12870   Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 at 09:04

Member - Bob replied:

Haldo, if you do the trip I remembered an excellent place to stay just before you reach the head of the Bight (near Yalata I think). Turn left at the dog fence and drive all the way until the fence reaches some low cliffs. To the West are some beautiful beaches (on which we slept). It is about a 40 km drive along the western side of the fence but well worth it as there aren't many good places to camp after that until the cliffs finish several hundred k's further on. Don't get bogged on the beach :-)
Reply 6 of 7
AnswerID: 12897   Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 at 14:16

Member - Melissa replied:

Gidday Haldo,

I live in Mandurah, near Perth. Most of the families in Vic. Driving across is great if you can spend the time. However, if time is short, you can't beat flying. Unless you have the time to spend to stop off at some of the wonderful places mentioned it is a rather long, tedious trip taking 3-4 days solid driving from Sydney. That's a week of your holiday gone by the time you drive over and back with spending any time with the rellies (maybe a good thing? LOL). We're a family of 3 though our son still flies for free sitting on our laps. It is actually quite a bit cheaper for us to fly than drive.

:o) Melissa
Reply 7 of 7