setting off in April .....any thoughts on which way to go ?
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 at 21:18
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offaroundOz
Hi everyone,
our family of 5 is packing up and heading off around Oz in April and I was wondering what your thoughts were on heading from
Sydney to Sth Aus, over to WA up the coast ,over to NT and then down back to NSW .
Im not too sure on seasonal weather conditions but have been told it might be better to go the reverse of what we are planning.....we're going to take 6 mths to do it, any advice would be greatly appreciated.?? .
Reply By: bruce - Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 at 21:35
Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 at 21:35
Done it twice...much better anti-clockwise...get a good westerly up the backside coming across the Nullarbor helps the fuel economy...going the other way knocks it about it , and yes the weather is nicer up north as
well in May,June,July...we head off in May...up the centre from Vic to
Darwin and then to W.A. and back
home expecting to be away for 3.5 mths...cheers
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Reply By: AlanDell - Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 at 22:44
Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 at 22:44
I think it does make a difference the way you go, taking into account the weather and especially the wind. Going up North then accross to WA, you should have a tail wind most of the time, then heading back across the Nullabor from WA to the East, you will have the Southerly pushing you along. We went the other way, and it made a big difference on fuel consuption. Also, agree that the weather will be a lot better up North between April and August. If you time it right, it can be nice a mild in
Perth and surrounding areas during Spring. Anyway, have a great trip. AlanDell.
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Follow Up By: fugwurgin - Friday, Jan 29, 2010 at 10:16
Friday, Jan 29, 2010 at 10:16
We are doing a similar trip leaving Early March from
Coffs Harbour. Going down the coastal highways right down and around to
Port Augusta. We hadnt decided which way we were going to from there, either up to
darwin or over to
perth. Thanks for
the tip, will definitely go anti-clockwise now, hadnt even considered the winds etc. Cheers
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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Friday, Jan 29, 2010 at 07:33
Friday, Jan 29, 2010 at 07:33
We'd definitely go anticlockwise if starting in April. If you don't travel too fast you'll be enjoying the winter in the north, then working south in WA as spring brings out the
wildflowers. From our 2009 experience, reaching the south WA coast earlier than about October is a mistake - cold, windy, wet if you get there too soon. Speaking of wind, WA has lots of it and it doesn't show in any of the brochures. The locals told us it blew for 11 months a year, but couldn't recall which month didn't!
Should be a great trip for the family - enjoy!
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
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Reply By: John and Lynne - Saturday, Jan 30, 2010 at 11:12
Saturday, Jan 30, 2010 at 11:12
Last year we went across the Nullarbor to southern WA and
Perth in early April and had perfect weather and excellent driving conditions.
Perth began to be wet and colder by end of May. We went north to
Geraldton again in lovely weather. We then went east through the wheatbelt to Kalgoorlie and had a great trip through the old goldfields (
well worth doing! see WA Tourist Info for excellent selfdriving guide booklet)
We came back across the Nullarbor in late July and were lucky with weather but others just after us were held up by very strong winds. We met some miserable weather in SA and
Bendigo In August but that was not a surprise!
We were too early for WA
wildflowers this trip - you need to be in the southwest about September.
You need to avoid the far north in the summer (Wet Season) when it is very hot and wet and you might strike cyclones. Enjoy your trip! Cheers Lynne
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