Road trip from NSW to WA

Thank you for your advice Peter I will take a look at the thread.

Also I forgot to ask is there any scams or tricks or anything we should watch out for on the way? For example, is it safe to camp along the side of the road etc?

Yes, quite safe to camp along the roadside and plenty of room to get away from the traffic along the Nullarbor Breezy. You can contact me privately through my profile or blogs for all the details of distances, roadhouses, camping and climate.

Yes we want to use this as an opportunity to explore, we are taking approximately three months to do the trip :) any comments and suggestions would be really helpful.

Hi Breezy,
You will need to give a bit more info such as the type of vehicle you are driving as that will determine which roads and tracks you can safely drive. Also Im a bit confused when you say you are experienced campers but then ask if you can camp beside a road? Just how experienced are you - again that would have a bearing on whereabouts I might suggest that you explore.

Cheers,

Val

We are driving a Nissan Navara 4WD. We have a canopy at the back that we sleep in. We normally camp in National Parks or State forests that have designated campsites. We have never been on a road trip this is our first time, that's why I ask about the side of the road etc.. I have read that people do this on the Nullabour but sounds a bit dangerous to me? I hope that helps, sorry I'm new to this forum thing too.

Thanks Breezy, that helps a lot. First up there is a heap of info on this site (in blogs and forum posts) to help you as you work out where you might go. Use the search button in top RH corner and check out Great Central Road, Anne Beadell Highway, Nullarbor for starters. Have a look in Places too and use the maps there to guide you around. We have a number of blogs covering the above routes and others that may be of interest to you.

If you are going in the winter months I think I would spend a while in the Flinders Ranges, head up the Stuart Highway having a look around Coober Pedy, Chambers Pillar etc on the way, spend a couple of weeks exploring around Alice Springs, then go across the Great Central road to Laverton. From there you could either wander down to Esperance and explore the beautiful south coast from Cape Arid westwards, or head west to Geraldton through wildflower country and then explore south to Perth.

With 3 months you can explore quite a bit but it will depend on the time of year that you plan to go and whether you want to be inland or stay along the coast.

As to safe camping: we often travel alone and sleep in our Troopy and have done so for a couple of decades and I can only think of one or two nights when we felt the need to move for safety reasons. But we do try to get out of sight of the road to make camp for the night, but sometimes that is not possible. The golden rule is to be a good number of kms away from towns and settlements. We have camped beside the road while on the Nullarbor and have not had any issues.

BTW any word on this site that is underlined is clickable eg click on Places and you will go directly to that part of the site.

Cheers,

Val

Breezy, given the time you have available I would consider the Nullarboring as the last option to choose. I have done it at least seven times, which I consider six too many. Last time we left Perth for places afar we used the GCR, and in June we plan on leaving the same way.

Depending how soon you intend to start your expedition will impact on routes also.

Thanks Val and Zippo lots of useful information there. We may well miss the Nullarboring then :)

We are leaving very shortly - next month Mid-March 2015. So we are keeping our fingers crossed for the weather. Val would we still be able to venture to any of your suggestions given the time of year we are going?

Val thanks for the tip of the underlining of words.

Hi Breezy,
While we haven't travelled to those areas in March the weather info in the Places information suggests that by April the inland areas are starting to cool off - but they are average temps so there could still be hot days and even fires to be aware of. To avoid the heat you could first spend a while exploring along the Murray River, or down along the Victorian coast, Grampians NP, Eyre Peninsular, then into the Flinders by early April, reaching Alice Springs by about mid April. That should be OK, but the opinions of others who have first hand experience would be better.

Remember that if you go via the Great Central Road you will need a permit.

Overall taking 3 months to travel to your new home sounds a great idea, hope you have a very enjoyable and memorable trip.

Cheers,

Val