Gosford-Mackay
Submitted: Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 at 21:27
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Steve
Burdened by limited time-schedule (aren't we all, eh?) I'm planning a couple of weeks winter hols in the Whitsundays. Driving more or less with blinkers on, is the coastal route quickest or inland via
Moree,
Goondiwindi,
Miles etc?? I've looked at Travelmate which puts the inland route ahead by a couple of hours/200kms but wonder if road conditions might favour the coastal route.
Reply By: Willem - Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 at 21:33
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 at 21:33
If you are that pressed for time wouldn't it be safer to fly?
Cheers,
Willem1958 Patrol Pretty flash eh?
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Reply By: Steve - Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 at 21:51
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004 at 21:51
I suppose anyone with a "Flash" '58 Patrol would be a complete stranger to time constraints.
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Reply By: JimB - Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 07:40
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 07:40
G'day Steve,
I reckon the quickest way is up Pacific Hwy to Tweed - bypass
Gold Coast - Logan motorway to
Ipswich - Esk - Yarroman -
Monto - Biloela -
Rockhampton - Bruce Hwy to Mackay. Be about 20 -22 hours driving, 1700k's. Not much traffic at all going up the back road to Rocky and all good bitumen.
JimB
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Reply By: MrBitchi - Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 09:29
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 09:29
Steve,
Am a fan of the inland route (
New England) . Have used it almost exclusively for the last 15 years between
Brisbane and
Sydney. Over Xmas, did a trip to Tassie and on the way back sropped at a friends place in
Newcastle and was talked in to giving the Pacific a go as it "has been improved imensely".
Well, im afraid it hasn't been improved that much, a few more passing lanes and a couple more four lane divided sections than last time (some ten years ago) Still get stuck for
miles behind slow traffic and it's not safe to pass. Also crawling with Mr Plod.
The Newell highway (via
Moree, Goondawindi etc) is going a long way out of your way.
IMHO the
New England (
Newcastle,
Singleton, Tamwoth, Glenn Innes, Warick, Bris) is a far safer and easier drive. It's 30Ks longer than the Pacific to
Brisbane but I reckon about an hour quicker and far less stress.
From Brissy, just follow the Pacific up the coast to Mackay. If times short it's the best way.
Enjoy the Whitsundays you lucky b..........
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Reply By: Rick Blaine - Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 21:38
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004 at 21:38
I'm heading that way from
Canberra. I'll be taking the very inland route tho & returning via the coast.
Canberra,
Moree, Mungindi,
St George,
Roma,
Emerald Clermont, Mackay. If you look at a map it is quite a direct run. Will take me 4 days..
Canberra - Mackay. Good road, little traffic but I'll wait and see. Just a word of warning about Travelmate tho... the times & distances are not consistant, Smart Trip does have a few glitches & I wonder if it ever gets updated to take into consideration such factors as road improvements.
Enjoy your trip might see you there..... Im told Mackay is not the nicest spot and I'll be doing a little research maybe much better a few km out of town.
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Follow Up By: Dennis (Brisbane) - Friday, Feb 06, 2004 at 16:24
Friday, Feb 06, 2004 at 16:24
Mackay itself has very few attractions .... but it is a terrific place to base yourself.
Eungella mountain range is an hour to the north west, the gateway to the Whitsundays (Proserpine/
Airlie Beach) is just over an hour north, the coalfields (Moranbah,
Nebo, Dysart) are a couple of hours inland, Sarina/
Hay Point is 30 min south,
beach fishing, driving, camping is an hour south. Brampton Island is a short boat ride east.
Go to
http://www.expedia.com and find the map section, look up world topo maps and do a search for Mackay. It gives you a faily good set of overall maps to have a look at.
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Reply By: Steve - Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 12:32
Sunday, Feb 08, 2004 at 12:32
Thanks for the
feedback guys. still, nobody's tried the Travelmate recommended Goondiwindi/
Miles route. If you put a ruler from Gosford to Mackay or
Rockhampton, you'll see it's probably the closest to a straight line, (the
New England with all it's towns/50km speed limits etc coming pretty close) so it's down to the best run. They reckon 16 hrs to
Rockhampton, but then again, they say 5hrs 50 mins to Coffs from here when you can easily do it in 5 whilst not breaking the speed limit.
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