Around the Block- in 14 days!!
Submitted: Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:15
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Member -Signman
Quite a few years ago, I was given the opportunity of doing a quick trip ‘Around
the Block’. The list of towns below belies the fact that of the 19000kms- about 70% was off the black-top, and a lot of that was through some pretty rough country including semi-desert stuff. If you care to plot it out, you’ll find it ain’t the shortest way ‘round either.
MELBOURNE- Tooborac-
Bendigo-
Ballarat-
Hamilton-
Heywood- Mt. Gambier- Bordertwon- (
Big Desert)-
Pinnaroo-
Renmark-
Kingston-
Murray Bridge-
ADELAIDE- South Flinders-
Yunta- Curnamona-
Broken Hill- Frome Downs- Maree-
William Creek-
Kingoonya- (Trans Cont Rlwy)-
Maralinga- Nullabor-
Eucla-
Mundrabilla- Cocklebiddy- Rawlina- Kalgoorlie-
Lake King-
PERTH- Geralton- Meekathara- (via 1000 creeks)-
Newman- (Karinja NP)- Wittenoon- Pt.Hedland- (
Shay Gap)-
Broome-
Derby- (Gibb Riv. Rd- 516km in 5 hrs /night)- Kunnanurra-
Katherine-
DARWIN- Mt. Goyder- Pine Ck-
Katherine-
Mataranka-
Roper Bar- Booraloola-
Wollogorang-
Burketown-
Camooweal- Mt Isa- BangBang-
Croydon-
Georgetown- Mt Surprise-
Cairns- Mt Garnet- Mt Fox-
Ingham-
TOWNSVILLE-
Bowen-
Collinsville- Mackay- Marlborough-
Rockhampton-
Maryborough-
Brisbane to
SYDNEY (via numerous forestry tracks along the mountains)-
Goulburn-
Canberra-
Cooma-
Bombala-
Delegate- Wulgalmerang- (snow!!)-
Buchan-
Omeo- Towanga- Yackkandandah- Albury- then blacktop to
MELBOURNE.
Total Distance- just over 19000km. Time: 14 days
Melbourne to
Melbourne.
Repairs: 12 destroyed tyres by
Perth (supplied Yokohama)- changed to Uniroyal with no further problems. Clutch at
Broken Hill &
Perth where we realized the wrong unit had been installed originally. Gearbox rebuild at Mt Isa.
Vehicle: 2WD, 4-cylinder Datto !!!!!!
Reply By: Member - John (Vic) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:24
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:24
Would have been a great trip if you had taken 14 months rather than 14 days.
14 days seems like the drive from hell.
What was the purpose of the trip?
AnswerID:
219873
Reply By: Member - Cruiser (NSW) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:28
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:28
2Wd 4 Cyl Datto, around Australia in 14 days with a fair bit off the blacktop sounds like a professional car rally to me.
AnswerID:
219876
Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:28
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:28
Reminds me of that song "I've been every where man, I've been every where"
Wayne
AnswerID:
219877
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:45
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:45
Nah-not everywhere Wayne- I reckon you've been a few
places that I wouldn't know existed...but it was an 'interesting' trip to say the least.
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Reply By: HGMonaro - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:53
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:53
was it 1979?
AnswerID:
219882
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:57
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:57
Yup- August- sound familiar???
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Follow Up By: HGMonaro - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:54
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:54
I wouldn't have known the month, but it was on ABC2 recently* I taped it but only watched it fairly recently. Great viewing. I remember following the news reports at the time as a car mad kid. Parents had a 1600 so always on the
lookout for a P510 giving the big boys a hard time (i.e. Portman vs HDT).
* - probably last year... 'recently' could mean up to 2 years!
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Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:19
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:19
You've got it. Portman was actually in a Stanza. We had a P510. Fiberglass bonnet, front fenders & boot lid. Perspex windows (apart from windscreen). Roll cage extended from top of strut towers- thru car, to rear shock mounts. 100l aluminium fuel tank. All the
suspension, diff/gearbox, drive shafts were 240Z. The (factory supplied) engine was as run in the African Safari Rally.
Just a note on Geoff Portmans Stanza...after a number of rollovers..when the car was in 'parc ferme' at
Sydney,- the cops there gave his car a defect notice stating 'the left side tail light is legal- but that's all'. No probs. but, must have had a sense of humour.
The Repco Rally was more hard work than even the London to
Sydney in 1977.
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Reply By: Member - Gomax (VIC) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:40
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:40
That would be the Redex Replica.....
Got a mate who did that in green 180b.
Lotta knackered faces at the
Showgrounds finish!
AnswerID:
219896
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:20
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:20
Was that Gil Davis???
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Follow Up By: CLC50 - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:49
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:49
gee that brings a name from the past Jack Murray winner of a few Redex Runs
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Follow Up By: Member - Gomax (VIC) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:37
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:37
Yair Gil was in the car which he prepared, mate was co-pilot
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Reply By: greydemon - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:00
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:00
At an average of 1,357 km per day, rally or no rally, it just seems like a pointless waste of fuel to me. To drive the
Gibb River Road with out stopping to enjoy the sights would be a bit like sprinting the length of the Reeperbahn.
AnswerID:
219903
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:35
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:35
Hi 'demon'...yup tend to agree..
The
Bathurst 1000, V8 Supercars, F1 GPs, Driving cars to the cricket & footy etc- all a pointless waste of fuel (grin)..
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Follow Up By: Member - Pesty (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:38
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:38
Nearly 30 years ago
Grey, the
gibb river road would have been a track then.
Do you have a car? hope you dont go down the street in it, or
heaven forbid go on holidays in it, what a waste of fuel !!!!! Get a life.
Cheers Pesty
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Follow Up By: equinox - Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 00:26
Tuesday, Feb 06, 2007 at 00:26
Yeah, it would be a good way to
check out some of the good spots for the next lap later on, sounds good to me.
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Reply By: Footloose - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 18:29
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 18:29
Nearly 30 years ago I took my wife and kids around
the block double quicktime because thats all the time I had. All on the blacktop, and we took 3 weeks, two of them driving the HJ60 and one week of stopping for a breather.ie one day stopped every few days. No we didn't see much, but we did get to know where we wanted to return to. And yes, we had a ball.
We did the same trip again five years later, taking a lot more time, and noticing huge changes.
I'd do it again tomorrow if I had the resources, but this time it would take me at least a couple of years.
AnswerID:
219958
Reply By: Alloy c/t - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 18:37
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 18:37
Seem to remember that the actual round Australia record was set sometime in the early to mid 70s by a bloke on a kawasaki 1300 m/cycle going anti clockwise
Sydney to
Sydney on what was then h/way 1 ,
Sydney to
Cairns to
Darwin to
Broome to
Perth to
Adelaide to
Melbourne to
Sydney.
AnswerID:
219962
Follow Up By: RichieK - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 11:05
Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 11:05
This was definitely the case at one stage. I was a member of Willoughby District Motorcycle Club in the 80's and a cople of members held the record at various stages. Chris Peckham held the record of 15 days (achieved on a 125cc no less!), then Terry (Tex) O'Grady held it years later - he got it down to about 8 or 9 days from memory riding a CB750/4. The z1300 came some time after, there were also a pair of policeman who held it too (funny how they were never booked). Some one got the record down to less than 7 days before some people started experiencing various fatal afflictions (rapid deceleration illness, concrete sickness etc) as they tried to break the record, and then the word was out that no more attempts were to be made. Rightly so in my book. But some of the stories that Chris P and Tex used to tell...
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Reply By: Motherhen - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 23:53
Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 23:53
You could do it in a bit less time than that - by plane - probably see about as much too.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Ivan H (NSW) - Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 11:59
Wednesday, Feb 07, 2007 at 11:59
Nothing wrong with that..some people prefer driving than sight seeing.
I am one of those, and dream to do a lap (Syd -
Tathra - Mel - Adel -
Perth -
Broome -
Darwin - Cairnes - Syd) in as little time as possible with a couple of mates.
Till I find some people as crazy as me, I'll stick to going away with my wife. She likes the sight seeing at different locations, I love getting there.
AnswerID:
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