Melbourne to Darwin in June/July

G'day Robert, I think it's a matter of luck on which way the winds are blowing really. The current La Nina weather pattern makes it hard to plan. As an example; we've been up the middle heaps of times & have never had wind issues before, but last Aug we had real probs between Pt. Augusta & Coober Pedy :( We filled up with Diesel at Pt. Augusta, but battled a head wind all arvo & the orange light came on 150KM out of Coober Pedy. This has never happened before! We had the same issues on the way down in the central NT. So the wind had done a complete 180 degree turn. Good luck on your trip! :)

Generally you are likely to get westerlies driving from Kalgoorlie to Ceduna in winter months and these can give a good tail wind then (or a terrible head wind if you are going the other way.) Otherwise it is hard to forecast, especially this year so far! If you do get a heavy head wind it is better to just stop for a few hours and it will usually drop! Battling against a strong wind is painful and a waste of fuel. So just don't set rigid deadlines and drive to the conditions taking a bit longer if necessary. Don't worry too much about it and have a great trip! Lynne

Hi NTVRX

Regardless of the 'prevailing wind' for an area and time of year, winds can come from all directions and you will meet these variations. Just go the way you want to go. If you plan your trip on 'averages' Murphy is sure to make it wrong for you anyway. Allow time in your itinerary so that if you have a really strong headwind, you can pull over until it abates. Usually all is good by next morning.

Motherhen