Perth to Darwin in the middle of the year.

G'day Rick
Don't know what to make of all that purrin' ;-)
Might be time for a saucer of milk.

Up the coast all the way, Don't know haven't done this one but would be full of great stops and sights if you pick the right route.

Came accross this year from the East via the Great Central Road. Should take two to three days to get to the Olgas and Uluru from Laverton/Leanora. Worth it if you want to save time and get a bit of a looK at the centre of Oz. well worth a go if you're reasonably self sufficient.

Across the Nullabor, A couple of days driving with stops along the coastline (guessing, haven't done it) followed by a good couple of days driving to get to Alice, and then the rest to Darwin. The drive to Alice up the Stuart is worth it but reasonably uneventful .
There are plenty of of worthwhile sidetrips as you approach the NT border if you have the time but these can be done if you via the GCR.

Cheers
Paul

Hi Rick

Quickest: Would it pay you to fly? Two seats, little one on lap.

Quickest by road by a long way: If there isn't time for sightseeing (and i don't know which way you have been before), then the qucikest is via the NW Hwy (inland Hwy) to Pt Hedland, Kununurra all on the Hwy. 'Go see Australia' is one of many similar trip planners. You can put in an intermediate town into the planner and test the other routes as a comparison if they are of more interest to you. It only has two options - quickest (using bitumen roads) and shortest (any track it can find)

http://www.goseeaustralia.com.au/plantrip2.asp

Motherhen

Rick

I tend to relax more if I do the harder part of the trip first. Then, having worked out most of the variables, leave myself a known amount of bitumen for the trip home.

So I would meander my way to Darwin, then leave say five days for the trip down through Broome, Carnarvon etc

Implicit in that scenario is bypassing the Gibb River Rd, but you could still visit El Questro and the Bungles if you gave yourself a bit more time on the homeward leg.

As for getting to Darwin, I'd head east along the coast, turn left at the 'T' intersection near Pt Augusta, visit Uluru, Kings Canyon, West Macs, Alice then approach Darwin after going through Kakadu.

Sounds like you are going to have a great trip.

Hi Rick

I did this same trip 5 years ago.
I went up on the Great Central Road, through to Ayers Rock and Alice to Darwin and then down through the Kimberley's.
In all, I did 12,500km in 26days - That was an average of just under 500km a day.
I pretty much saw everything I wanted to in the NT and went to the Bungle Bungles in WA, but missed a lot of the Kimberleys. I was pretty tired by this stage, so was glad to get home asap and was on a time limit of 28days.
I would not recommend trying to do this trip in 21 days, as you won't have enough time. I was 26 when I did my trip and was climbing rock faces in the morning and driving till 9pm every night.
I have since planned a Kimberley adventure (that I am still yet to do), which would need a minimum of 3 weeks - and yes this is going express.
If you are interested in going to Darwin and seeing the sights in 3 weeks, I suggest you fly up there and hire a 4WD to go and see the sights. In the long run it will probably be cheaper than the fuel you will need for a 12,000km + trip and obviously you'll have more time to see things. I also recommend going to Alice on a different trip as it is extremely cold at night in June and July (minus 5) and you can easily spend 10 days around Alice looking at things.
What ever you do, goodluck with it all

Cheers, Will.

Rick

Use this site for distance and time calculations. At bottom of page on the right Site Link

The times shown are pretty muchnon stop driving times but it will give you an idea.

Either of the extreme routes ie Nortwest or Nullarbor will be a week of solid driving to get there and the same coming back. You m,ay be able to shave a day off going through the Centre. But ther won't be time to stop and smell the flowers.

I too would suggest you fly there and back and hire a small 4x4 in Darwin. Much more relaxing holiday


Cheers

hay there Rick
long time..no see....well me thinks ....up the coast..more to see very pretty........and the odd fishing spot.....and back down the center.......if you feel it at the time...zip over to central rd....but many things to see across the bight.....as you know im up nth all da time so give me a yell if you need anything
Cheers Bundy