Newbies to travelling Melb to Darwin and East coast return-any tips?

3 Get a handheld UHF radio so you can talk to other vehicles on the road. It's cheap (I got a pair of Uniden 2W handhelds for $70 on ebay.)

If you're a really complete newb, read the articles on this site so you know what emergency supplies to carry.

Hi Nicki,

The time frame that you have proposed for your trip is excellent, you will be able to take your time and really get to see heaps of wonderful things. There is a great deal of info on this site - have a look under the Places, Treks and Activites buttons in the blue bar at the top of the Forum page and you will get lots of ideas. Also search in the forum and blogs for articles from people who have done similar trips. Have a look at our blogs from 2001 and 2002 where we covered much of that area.

Allow plenty of time (min one week, maybe 2) in Alice Springs as there is a lot to see and do there and the East and West MacDonnell Ranges are accessible via good sealed roads, or good gravel.

Get hold of a copy of Camps Australia (Camps 6 is the latest version) to find free camps/bush camps. Talking to other campers you will gets lots of up to date info. Caravan Parks are not as friendly as bush camps (not necessarily unfriendly, but just not as sociable as the free camps) but getting info from others on the road is a good way to go, so dont over-plan, allow plenty of flexibility in your itinerary.

Dont worry too much about missing the good stuff. In 5 months you wont see it all, but you will see much that is new and truly amazing. Just aim to have a great trip. Take a good camera and keep a diary so that you can recall all the things that you have done and seen.

How far you travel in a day will vary - sometimes it might be 50 km other days 500km.

Get a UHF radio for local communication. You 3G phone will only work around towns, and those are widely spaced as you go north. Doubt that you would need a satphone as you wont be going away from passing traffic.

Cheers,

Val

Hi Nicki

We spent a bit of time touring in the Northern Territory in 2008 and 2009. My blogs from 2008, much of which were in and around Alice Springs, are in the My Blog section. You would not need 4wd for seeing most of the East and West MacDonnells, and there is a good bitumen road to Kings Canyon and Uluru. We also did dirt road touring, including Palm Valley, which would not be suitable for your rig.

I haven't got my 2009 trip up yet, but yesterday put up a very brief outline. Highlights which did not require 4wd included hot springs at Mataranka (Bitter Springs is a more natural feature than the springs at the resort), Katherine Gorge where we took the boat cruise through the main gorge, relaxing at Douglas Hot Springs (some dirt road but OK for 2wd in dry weather), Litchfield which has good bitumen road to some features and others on 4wd tracks, Kakadu where the main parts can be seen without 4wd, apart from Jimjim and Twin Falls where the access track is definitely 4wd only; the Yellow Waters cruise is great for crocodile and bird life spotting. War history throughout the top end, underground fuel storage tunnels in Darwin, and the Aviation Museum. We only saw a small slice of this wonderful Top End country.

Take you time and be ready to respond to what you learn about from others along the way.

Motherhen

With that amount of time my advice is not to plan a thing!

Just head off and take your time. Ask locals and other travellers what there is to see. If you miss something, make a note for the next trip.

2wd will get you most places.

Every town has 3G coverage nowadays. Make sure that you have 'Total Care' or equivalent for road side assist.

Have a great time.

All good advice so far! I cannot emphasise too much the need to go slowly! Remember you are touring to see the country, not just aiming to cover distance! On a similar trip we met people who were close to exhaustion and divorce after travelling hundreds of kilometres day after day! Needless to say they found the country 'boring' and 'there wasn't much to see'!
Your rig will get you most places with no problems. Everywhere is interesting if you take the time to look! Just camping out in the bush and looking at the stars was wonderful.
We found it very interesting to learn about World War 2 in the Territory, the bombing of Darwin and the incredible story of road building and defence of the north. There are several airfields you can visit and some great local museums at unexpected places along the way. The soldiers involved never got the recognition they deserved. Have a great trip! Lynne

We don't really make plans, so we crisscross cross the country and often just follow a sign if it sounds interesting (like meteor craters this way). We have those things that we really want to see, but the other things that we see on the way are often just as interesting. I mean those places we had never heard of.