Driving from Perth to Sydney with a dog

We flew a dog from Adelaide to Perth a couple years ago, trust me that dog was stressed, frightened and filthy from sitting in his own crap for hours, Never again.

Thankyou Andrew I am also looking into flying him, however he is a Staffie and there seems to be restrictions on certain dogs, with some of the companies that organise the flight and also with Qantas direct.

Ron,

Why the hell would you send somebody way down south in South Australia from Port Augusta when it's quicker and easier to go via Peterborough, Broken Hill, Cobar, Dubbo, Bathurst to Sydney ?

Chow P&J

I am with you Ron...

If it twer me, I would go the Renmark way and follow the river right through to the Hume...and if time allowed maybe even continue through to the coast and follow the Princess HWY up to Sydney. Could even go a little further south and come over the snowies to the coast...and that would be some really pretty country to see!

I once went from Wollongong to Puckapunyl down the coast road and over the snowies (about the same time - early Jan). Left just as the sun was coming up and arrived at Pucka just in time to have dinner at the Mess.

400 to 500km per day is some big driving for anyone not used to it. All along the river there are really nice towns to stop and rest.

It will be a big enough drive from Perth to S.A, without adding even more hundreds of km of dry hot desert to the trip.

Yes well we're not experience long distance travellers at all. The only reason for the trip is relocation for work and having a semi anxious, previously abused, rescue dog is troublesome so I'm not sure how he'll go on a flight or in the car for that distance.
Thank you everyone for your input, I have to weigh up all the options here....

No worries.

Are you Defence? If you are, there are some other options!

It does not matter which way you look at it...Perth to Sydney is one very big trip. Over 10 days it is 400 to 500km per day at least.

Have a talk to your vet. You can get some medication to relax your dog...he will love it...He will be telling all friends about it...I can hear him now - wow man my human is cool. she gives me some really cool bleep , get a load of this woof -

No not defence.
I have mapped out a route according to a whole load of forums I've looked at, will run it past you experienced people if this road trip goes ahead to see what you all think ;)
5 hours or so of driving per day seems rough, especially in summer.

Yes, post the route.

Um...5 hours or so? (I know some people will jump in to differ)...When planning the trip work on 65km per hour.

Without getting down to the nearest gum tree...Say 5000km trip at 65km per hour = about 77 hours. So call it 80...Over ten days = 8 hours per day if all goes well.

Night time driving on those open roads is just plain stupid...At 100kmh hitting a roo or a dingo or something bigger can kill you!...At 60kmh, it can do some serious damage. So yes, the summer heat of day, is the best option :)

If it were me...I would be planning on ten hour days. I would look at a relaxed 8am start with a plan to be having a nice cold beer by 6pm. That would allow for plenty of time to cover 500km with plenty of rest and sight seeing time...;)

Ron and Herbal
I posted the route below, let me know what you think...
Yes nice leisurely 8 -10hr days would be perfect, with lots of stops for dog and stretch and some sight seeing....

That sounds OK to me...

The only thing I would do different would be Mildura to Albury/Wodonga via the Murray Valley HWY.

There is a lot of fruit and wine growing along the Murray Valley. The riverside towns are closer together and it's just a nicer trip.

$25 per night sounds about right.

Jess, that's a good route in January. NYE in Kalgoorlie is quite good. The population of Kal is 32,000, and the pubs always provide good entertainment on NYE. Google "NYE Kalgoorlie" and see what comes up.

Go into Norseman and turn left up Mines road from the centre of town, and go right to the top of the hill to Beacon Lookout, to get spectacular views.

This following site gives you all the sights to see from Coolgardie to Pt Augusta.

Nullarbor.net

Don't forget to stop at the Head of the Bight for the great views.
There's a whale watch viewing platform further East from the Head of the Bight, but you'll be lucky to see any whales in January.

Don't travel after dark on the Eyre Hwy, the kangaroos are out in force.
Be aware of the amount of large trucks on the Hwy, they travel in loose groups generally, and you can come across a lot at some times of the day or night.

The trucks leave Perth Monday afternoons generally, after they have unloaded and loaded up again. Most truckies prefer to travel at night, so it's not unusual to have 150 trucks a night thundering past your camp.
The trucks usually leave Melbourne and Adelaide on Friday nights, so they can get to Perth by Sunday afternoon or Monday morning.
So, you'll run into big numbers of trucks heading West in the Eastern part of the Nullarbor on Friday and Saturday nights.

Be aware that Balladonia, Madura, Border Village, Nullarbor and Nundroo are the most expensive for fuel and accommodation - and Caiguna, Mundrabilla, Eucla and Penong have cheaper prices.

Be aware also, that despite the heat in January, you can get some cold nights, particularly if a cold front brushes the Bight. Thus, don't forget to take a small amount of warm clothing/bedding.

Good luck with your trip, I trust you enjoy it.

Cheers, Ron.

Wow what awesome advise and feedback! Thanks guys... now I'm really excited. I have a brand new car too, Nissan SUV only done 500km so should be nice and safe.
I'll def take into account the trucks schedule.
This trip is all dependent on whether I get this new job, but at least now I am all prepared for if I do.
Thank you so much, and I will keep you posted...
:))

We did the trip a couple of years ago in five days and we leave (Sydney) on Friday to drive to perth and we are doing it in four days my parents did it three months ago in three days. So ten days will be fine.

Oh...OK.

Sydney to Perth = about 4040km (shortest according to whereis).

If you were somehow able to drive say 16 hours per day, without stopping at all, even for fuel, that would be about 1347km per day over 3 days...which is an average of about 85 kph.

Like any average, that would mean your parents must have been hitting speeds of close to 200 kph at times.

You're lucky that your parents are not dead...or in jail for killing some other poor innocent road user...

At least you are going to do it in 4 days. That reduces your speed a fair bit...But 1000km per day for 4 days straight will do little for your fatigue...

Sounds to me like it runs in the family ;)

Sydney to Perth in 3 days? This is idiocy, unless you have two drivers.