Trip planning
Submitted: Tuesday, Jul 28, 2015 at 20:22
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Greg M15
Hi all
My wife and I are starting to plan our first long trip 10weeks time away we are planning to travel from
home (Yarrawonga Vic) up to central Aust via Cooper Pedy,
Alice springs,
kings Canyon,
the rock to
Darwin and possibly back via the west cost
We have a BT-50 2012 diesel 3.2lt auto 2012 22ft Supreme Spirit LX van with
toilet an shower we planing in each week 4days
free camping and 3in caravan parks
The question is we have 2periods to leave in 1st is from
11of April and back hm br 24th of June or
Leave 11th of July back
home by 16th of Sept
can you advise which would be the best traveling time for weather and crowds
Hoping to get your help and opionions
Cheers
Greg & Leonie
Reply By: Athol W1 - Tuesday, Jul 28, 2015 at 21:08
Tuesday, Jul 28, 2015 at 21:08
Greg & Leonie
If you want to avoid the crowds then I would suggest the earlier dates, it is generally accepted that June, July, August is the peak period for tourism in the northern parts of Australia, and if you use your later proposed dates you may find that some of the attractions on the west coast have already closed down before you get there.
As for the weather there should not be much difference, however that is always subject to change. It has been very wet this year through the centre and cyclones have been known to occur as late as May, August can see the 'Build Up' in
Darwin and can be very uncomfortable for Southerners.
Be careful that you do not bite off too much for your allotted time frame. It is possible to do the run from
Norseman to
Ceduna in a good day's driving and see nothing, or you can take 5 days and enjoy what is there (and there is plenty to see if you go looking).
Enjoy your travels (and planning)
Regards
Athol
AnswerID:
557481
Reply By: Sigmund - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 08:07
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 08:07
Google 'school holidays australia' for dates to avoid.
AnswerID:
557489
Reply By: Member - John and Lynne - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 09:55
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 09:55
Depending on the Wet areas like
Kakadu often do not open until mid May so keep an eye on weather up North. It is always a good idea to have
Plan B or even C when travelling North. It is hard to avoid crowds anytime between April and September but school holidays will be worst for popular
places like Uluru - think school camps too!
To cover half the continent in a ten week trip, especially your first trip, seems a bit ambitious. Remember you will find towing harder work than just driving a car, especially among the road trains and you need to factor in time for setting up and stopping early enough to miss the wildlife. What seems achievable while you look at a map at
home can feel very different when driving through the heat.
Don't become obsessed with covering distance and planning a detailed itinerary. Remember the aim is to enjoy the trip and actually see
places so you want to go again. There are always future trips to
places you don't reach this time. Relax and slow down a bit. Lynne
AnswerID:
557495
Reply By: Kumunara (NT) - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 10:31
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 10:31
Greg & Leonie
Hope you have an enjoyable trip. As to time to do it and avoid crowds - you won't do that. I live in
Katherine and in June and July it is full of tourist.
It is starting to thin out a bit now as the weather is getting warmer.
I would suggest leaving on 11 April. Providing it is not a late wet most
places should be open in the top end early May. The bulk of the tourist seem to arrive in June.
Tjilpi
AnswerID:
557497
Reply By: Member - WBS - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 10:32
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 10:32
We did a similar trip, (
Melbourne to
Darwin then down the west coast). We took 92 days from start to end, including a 9 day stay in
Perth, so I think 10 weeks is doable.
Unlike others, we(me) planned the trip in detail and it has been by far the most memorable trip we've experienced.
In very general terms, we did the following:
Coober Pedy including
the Breakaways , Uluru &
Kata Tjuta,
Kings Canyon including the rim walk, West MacDonald Ranges including all gorges,
Hermannsburg,
Palm Valley, Goss'
Bluff, a few days in
Alice Springs visiting points of interest,
Mataranka,
Katherine including
Katherine Gorge,
Kakadu based at Cooinda,
Darwin,
Litchfield National Park,
Kununurra including Large Argyle and
Ord River cruise,
Wyndham, Bungle Bungles, Gieke
Gorge,
Derby including trip to
Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek,
Broome and side trip to
Horizontal Waterfall, Karijini NP,
Shark Bay including
Monkey Mia, then down the west coast to
Cervantes and
the Pinnacles,
Perth, Bunbury,
Denmark,
Esperance, across the Nullarbor to
Clare then
home to
Melbourne.
It all went roughly in that order. The risk in going in April is road access in the north after the wet, while heading out in July means rougher dirt roads due to tourist activities, warmer weather up north although you would be further south by then.
My suggestion is to opt for a July departure. We left
Melbourne on 7th July.
Whatever you chose have a great trip. We surely did.
WBS
AnswerID:
557498
Follow Up By: Greg M15 - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 12:48
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 12:48
Thanks for your feed back your trip sounded great will take on board if you don't mind me asking what was your the approx cost for the period of time you were away
Cheers
Greg & Leonie
FollowupID:
843841
Follow Up By: disco driver - Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 20:24
Wednesday, Jul 29, 2015 at 20:24
Hi Greg,
Advice on here and other forums generally work on a figure of between $1.00 and $2.00 per km travelled. Those guides were some time ago so I'd be looking at the top end of the range these days.
For example a trip of 10000km will cost you somewhere between $10-20000 depending on a number of factors, expensive tastes in accom and meals, good reds v/s cask wines, how many scenic flights you take and a thousand other things designed to separate you and your finances.
Hope this helps your planning.
Disco.
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Follow Up By: Member - WBS - Thursday, Jul 30, 2015 at 10:09
Thursday, Jul 30, 2015 at 10:09
Greg M15,
I'm am away from
home at the moment so if you can wait a couple of days I'll get all my stats out and give you the answers to your questions.
WBS
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Greg M15 - Thursday, Jul 30, 2015 at 12:05
Thursday, Jul 30, 2015 at 12:05
Thanks for that look forward to them !!!!
FollowupID:
856194
Follow Up By: Member - WBS - Saturday, Aug 01, 2015 at 22:19
Saturday, Aug 01, 2015 at 22:19
Greg, expenses as best as I can find them:
Fuel: $5417.53
Accommodation: $2615.78
Extra curricular: $2278.05 (side trips such as
Horizontal waterfall)
Supplies: $4688.77
Food: $1900.78
Beverages: $250.06
Auto oil: $179.28
Auto repairs: $462.43
Auto spares: $330.52
Caravan:$195
Misc: $1353.9
Medicine: $16.8
WBS
FollowupID:
856278
Follow Up By: Greg M15 - Sunday, Aug 02, 2015 at 09:10
Sunday, Aug 02, 2015 at 09:10
Hi thanks for that very detailed what do you class as supplies?
Cheers Greg
FollowupID:
856280
Follow Up By: Member - WBS - Tuesday, Aug 04, 2015 at 17:23
Tuesday, Aug 04, 2015 at 17:23
I just got a shock to realise it was 5 years ago! To think that on this day 5 years ago we were traveling from
Fitzroy Crossing to
Derby. Ah the memories!
From my recollections I think that Supplies included Food, and the rest of the list below it.
WBS
FollowupID:
856644