Travelling to SA from Perth

Is that 3 weeks to get to SA, or there-and-back? Makes a big difference.

At a push it will take you about 4 days of hard driving to get to Perth from say Adelaide. This will be the hottest time of the year but you can spend the night between Ceduna and Norseman camped at the service station which has power so you can run your air conditioner.

I would also be planning the return with time to do some of the south west region but really, you could do it in 3 months and still not see everything.

We drove it once in November when it was 50C with strong winds.
It pushed the limits of the vehicle cooling system to the point that the running the aircon was not possible. It would have been possible to only travel at night, but we did not need to resort to that.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Thanks people, I will give it some thought, hot, windy, and rushed is what I'm thinking? Might just have a poke around the South West of WA?

Gidday Gary P15,
merely an observation having traversed the "Nulla" numerous times since 1975. (cars & motorhomes)

By applying today's weather app technology, it's possible to pick your departure day to coincide with wind conditions ; a tail wind or a following slight side wind is a godsend.
Info can be applied travelling either way; noting you may not have that liberty if confined to a 3 week window.

Wind is a killer ; affords a diabolical driving experience - constant buffering.
Sept 2016 We'd departed Maralinga early, hit the hwy & gave up; by 11am we'd settled into the Eucla C/park for the day ! just too windy.
Again, early next day , no wind but by 10am it had started; we experienced headwinds that took fuel consumption from 12lts/100km to 18kms/100. Unsurpassed conditions in 45yrs of driving

It's a day drive ; Norseman - Eucla , then Eucla - Penong / Ceduna .
Hit the day early, both are a full day's drive.
From our experience, Eucla Village offers cheapest fuel, Mundrabilla roadhouse is usually a compatible price. (80kms away)

Good free camps @Southern Hills rest area (80kms- with toilets etc) & Newman Rocks ( 170kms) both east of Norseman

safe travels

Lots of advice here, so take mine with a grain of salt as well…

The number of km’s per day, is something that will be different for each individual (and vehicle & load type). I’ve often done 1000+kms in a day, but I also lived in the Pilbara, and just about lived behind the wheel. I know folk who consider 350kms, something of a stretch for a full day of driving. Keep in mind, fatigue is one of the biggest killers for country drivers. When you’re tired, YOU WON’T (CAN’T) STOP YOURSELF FROM FALLING ASLEEP. Most people generally wake up with an start after briefly nodding-off, however some unfortunates also wake up dead.

Does your car have lots and lots of excess engine-cooling capacity? It’ll potentially be 50 degrees, you may well have a head wind, you’re likely loaded-up, and you’re towing something.
- Get your cooling system serviced & pressure tested
- replace all the belts on the engine, keeping the removed belts as spares (even if you can’t change them, someone else might be able to)
- carry spare water (and coolant concentrate). The water can be used as coolant, and it’ll also keep you alive…

Try and avoid travelling during darkness or low light (dawn & dusk being the worst). Even if you have a full-size 4wd equipped with a heavy duty bull-bar, a big roo, camels, cattle and wombats can all destroy your front end. Worse, they put you off the road at speed, risking you, your passenger & your vehicle(s). High quality lights are great (and are almost a must), but even at 80kmh, you’ll still be hitting things that come out of nowhere. In the early mornings around dawn, if you’re travelling, stop for a coffee & breakfast while watching the sun come up (and the flies coming out). Ditto in the evenings - if you must travel, stop until it’s dark, then travel at a vastly reduced speed.

Do some good length practice runs with your car & van first DON’T LET THE PERTH-SA RUN BE YOUR FIRST TRIP (do some overnighters to Kalbarri or even further). Learn how to load your vehicle and van properly and evenly. Too much weight on the tow ball will affect handling significantly. Too much weight in the rear of the van, and you’ll end up swaying all over the road and risk jackknifing if something goes awry or you need the brakes in a hurry.

Take your time and enjoy the trip. Play the worlds longest golf course. See the bight. Look for UFO’s and bits of wayward US spacecraft. See the Milky Way in the way it should be seen. Let the trip itself be part of the exciting journey, don’t look at it as just something to be endured.

As others have said expect weather to be anything from 25C to 45C+ with strong winds, head or tail. As mentioned coastal spots in WA will be busy, popular tourist spots will be full to the brim (eg Lucky Bay, Bremer Bay). Generally gets much better after the hoards have gone back to work (usually 9/10/11 January).

We have done the Nullabor a few times but the only time we did it in summer was Christmas 2018, returning mid January. Went for a month Perth-Melb-Perth, took 9 days to get there and 8 days return, did a bit of sight seeing on the way. We basically high tailed it to Eucla in the first 1.5 days then took our time from there. The 5 of us (2 adults 3 kids) were packed into the 4x4 and had 2 double swags on the roof. Free camped most of the way, plenty of spots to stop.

On a couple days it was 43C so we kept driving until the sun went down as it was too hot to cook etc. If your van has no aircon this might be a factor in your travel. The heat obviously brings out all the bugs, if you're planning on spending the evenings outside the van you may want to bring any insect deterrent you can fit in the van haha!!!

One other thing that you may not be thinking of, the last night of the trip we were camped at the first camping area west of Norseman (Hyden-Norseman Rd). There was a faint smell of bushfire around 8pm so we went for a walk up the nearest hill but couldn't see any fires or glowing skies. We decided to stay, with no issues, but the thought of a fire coming our way made for a restless sleep! No SMS warnings, no radio, no way of knowing what is out there apart from our ears, eyes and guts.

Sounds like all doom and gloom but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Your vehicle will be working hard so make sure it's in tip top shape.

Brings back memories! First night at Newman Rocks, east of Norseman.



Port Gibbon, favourite camp of the trip.