How Mad are we ? Cairns to Darwin to Adelaide in January ?

I’m tending to the “mad” side. Travelling to Darwin during the wet and all that entails and then through the centre at the hottest time of the year while towing and having three teenagers in the vehicle (and camping mind you). Good luck.

Is it possible to take your holidays later, say commencing in March or May next year. It sounds like it’s dependent on school holidays but if it’s at all possible, the trip would be a lot more comfortable, safer and enjoyable if you avoided the wet up north and the heat in the centre.

What ever you decide, have fun and safe travels

Mick

BB,

I'd say go for it.

If you monitor AM radio on your travels you can often be forewarned of any road closures, heavy rain, and I usually check the weather on my phone. ie: sat maps & radar. Note: the NT doesn't have much in the way of radio stations, at least ones that have some coverage.

I took a truck up to Darwin in early Feb this year, and the only rain was a few storms in the city. As far as heat goes, it can be hot & opppressive, so I'd be taking a fan with you to use in the 'van. And if it gets too much, humidity that is, get a cabin for a night or two.

Down around the Rock, the heat should be drier, but at least 40 deg plus, so it's a little easier to take than the humidity Keep fluids up, preferably water, not fizzy drinks, and you should have earned a beer at night. Because of heat , make sure your tyres are new, or not far off. Keep speeds down during the heat of the day, and have 'van wheel bearings checked before you depart.

Never know, it might be a bit wet, and conditions will be quite mild.....but I wouldn't bet on it.

Hope you enjoy it, stay safe,

Bob.

Mate. I have done it in the past with two teenage children.We were in a Commodore wagon towing a 15ft Viscount Poptop. We were probably lucky with the weather but we had a ball. Left Wollongong 16th Dec and were in Dampier for Xmas at my brother's place. We had a week there admittedly in his house but left 2nd jan and went up to Broom, across the top to Katherine,(saw some amazing storms and lightning shows) Up to Darwin where we found an old friend living on a yacht. Back down to 3 ways and up to Yorkeys Knob (Cairns) My mum lived there at the time so we had a week at her house. Then back home to the Gong. All in six weeks. I think the biggest thing is to make sure you all travel well as it is a loonng way. The kids need to be comfortable and have things to keep them occupied. Make time for stops along the way and I'm sure you too will have a blast. Fingers crossed that the weather is on your side. Cheers,Bob.

Gday,
It all depends on how well your family copes with heat?
If you don't mind it hot....and wet, go for it.
Personally , I think it is a great time to go as there wont be as many other tourists and accommodation will be easier to find and probably cheaper.

Cheers

Hi BB

You will be see some unreal parts of Australia and you will be travelling through a number a contrasting areas.

The Tropic area should be turning green from the start of the wet season, and then as you head further south, the Centre will be very dry and hot.

Make sure that you carry lots of water just in case you have any unforeseen stops.

It would be good to include a few side trips to see some special area. The Flinders is always a great place to visit, head for the Riverland in SA to see Australia's largest River and relax by the Murray, just perfect. The Southeast of SA will be at its best, with places like Robe packed out. See the famous Mt Gambier blue lake, you will not believe that and some unreal Victorian coastline through Portland and then along the Great Ocean Road.



Cheers


Stephen

Darwin etc will be o.k. and warm, but Ayers rock and the centre will try you out. It doesn't cool down at night out there in summer. Been there, done that. 5 people aren't going to sleep in a Jayco in those conditions unless you have AC.
Chalk me up for one vote - "crackers" ;)

my thoughts are that the heat will be bad. do you think you will enjoy your big family trip if the heat is to much for you. Not only on you but on your tow vehicle as well. Alot of people invest money into upgrades of there cooling system to help minimise any problems when travelling up north.
If you have options if the weather gets to much, like you said you may be ok. But as you said it would be a shame to miss out.
You may find yourself stuck somewhere for a few days because of the roads flooding but thats all part of the adventure. dont make your timeline to tight so if something does happen its not more of an issue than it needs to be.
prepare you vehicle and your van, take your time. 12 weeks is a good timeline.
enjoy your trip like everyone says, and yes i am jealous that would be an awesome trip.

Great responses guys !

Lots of positives which is good. I'm more of an optimist and lets give it a go type of guy. Some great ideas on where we should stop as well ! ... keep those coming.

As we've seen some of the east coast we plan to take a month to get up to Cairns and then head across to Darwin and Alice Springs in Jan. Don't plan to hang around those places too long particularly if it's too hot.

Then would like to do Adelaide and tazzy if I can fit as we've done Melbourne and the great ocean road.

Let me know if there any more Must Do's !

Cheers
BB

Dont forget mozzie nets and squirty bottles.........squirty bottles to keep you cool at night. and mozzie nets because you will probably be laying on top of your bed at night and camped near water.

Mad I say. This could be one of those trips where the teenagers are put off camping for the rest of their lives. You don't just get heat up there, it is oppressive especially if you're not accustomed to it. Throw in some road closures, the inability to see heaps of the tourist destinations because of the wet, mozzie bites, dehydration headaches and it just being too hot to do the walks you wanted to do (like climbing Uluru, Kings Canyon etc.

Go down south and do Tasmania at that time of year. You won't regret it.

How much of the southern parts of Oz have you seen? There are some just as worthwhile things to see across the south and going no further north than Geraldton.

From my experience leaving Cairns late December a few years ago and travelled via Mt Isa to, Kakadu, Alice.
It was blindingly hot all over under canvas pop top and thick with humidity esp' in Darwin. Had to sleep absolutely starkers. Take lots of light clothes and changes of underwear. Lots of water as well.
Stunning scenery at that time of the year from being trapped under tropical lows and being bogged and rescued after 3 days. To seemingly having the whole of Kakadu to myself mid January. Devils Marbles were at 45'. Trip was much better fun than doing it through tourist season.
Would do it again but not take anyone who may complain of harsh conditions.
Regards
John

Bawbag

Seem to have mixed responses.
I live in tropical North Qld, have been for 15 years.Camp regularly with family
I would not do the trip you describe. It is too hot to smell the roses. It is not fun trying to sleep at night at 35 deg C, behind flyscreens stopping the breeze to stop you from being carried away by mozzies.
Each to their own, I would rather go at a time where I have to share with a few more people but at a temperature to enjoy it.
Just came from Kakadu in July, I can not imagine the 1.5 hr walk to Jim Jim or many other places in the humid depressing heat. Kids will have little choice they can't even stay at the car, and normal swimming holes which are ok in the dry will not be ok to swim in
I respect the opinion of others, specially those who have actually done it, but this is my opinion.

Mad as a cut snake - the weather in Cairns & Darwin in summer is oppresive - it's not the heat, it's the humidity that will get you. You'll just want to be in a pool or an airconditioned room. It rains every afternoon, and everything you own will be damp, and probably mouldy.

Have a read of this:

A pom in Darwin


Cheers

Imagine packing up the camper in the wet, I couldn't think of a worse time to travel the top end at that time of the year with the rain and humidity and heat. I certain ally wouldn't be doing it in a Jayco Swan, perhaps in an air-conditioned caravan, but what are you going to do in the wet? Forget going up there at that time of the year perhaps plan a trip in the southern part go Oz.

hi bawbag, sounds like a great trip. i live in the nt, just need to remember the weather is so unpredictable at that time of the year. be prepared for floods, and storms and i mean storms. just remember you wont be able to go off road when in the nt at that time and most places where you want to go to will be closed., dont worry about the crocs. travell safe quincy

I did the centre, Darwin and Broome in January with 3 teenagers about 6 years ago. We loved it. It was so hot in the centre that it was a feature and the humidity in Darwin was unbelievable. It's the extremes of a visit that appeal to me, if I want comfortable I can stay home. Take a fan, you will sleep better. Cheers.

I don't think your crazy but if your not use to the humidity you may find it a bit much and take away from your experience. The weather is not such and issue as such, if a cyclone or big storms pop up there easy to avoid/reroute. I have lived in Carins since 96 and although I'm ok with the climate now, it did take me a few seasons to really adapt. Darwin is even hotter by a few degrees which doesn't sound much but a few degress when the humidity is around 90% makes a hell of a lot of difference. Having said that you could come up here that time of the year and have stunning weather, tollerable, and think what on earth are they on about. You could come the following week and it could rain all week. Generally Cairns around christmas is not to bad. The big part of "the wet" comes in Jan. Feb. Mar. The Wet is a little earlier around Darwin.

It's been a while since I have been out there but the centre is really hot very hard on the vehicle as much as you. One thing, make sure the cooling system is right up to spec. or better. If your towing and it's an Auto, a transmission cooler is not a bad idea either. Takes that bit of thermal load off the engine cooling system.

There is no doubt about it, the wet season or Green season as the tourism people call it, has it's own certain appeal. I love it and as mentioned less tourist. My favourite time of the year here is the latter part of April. It's as lush as lush the temp is still up a little but the humidity starting to drop off, the rivers and creeks are still up but dropping, the frogs are crocking and still not as many tourist.

Good luck and have a great trip!

I have always found this month is always seems the hottest across The Flinders Hwy through Mt Isa and the Barkly region. I have seen very sticky wet bitumen in Tennant in November but later on you get a cloud cover and some tyre coolant falls from the sky. Of course the Top End is much better.

.

I am a really optimistic person but sorry I have to say you are mad. I live in Karratha WA and travel regularly down to Geraldton, when the temperature is 35C in Karratha it is another 5 or more degrees hotter on the road add to that the hot winds that blow and it makes for very quick lunch stops. It would not be any different travelling across from Cairns to Darwin and the distance is much further! Take it from someone who has lived for 20 years in the Pilbara, you may think you only have to worry about rain closing roads and cyclones well you better add extreme heat and unless you can get to a caravan park and run your aircon it isn't much fun at all. The overnight temperatures don't offer a reprieve at all.

If you do decide to do the trip PLEASE make sure you have a lot more water than you think you might need. If you are forced to stop you will need it very quickly. There aren't a lot of trees for shade either.

Last November I needed to bring our Kedron down from Karratha to store in Geraldton for the cyclone season. I thought I would make it a bit of a holiday trip and spend one or two nights on the road (1100 klms) - left Karratha it was 35 C at 5.30 am - got down to Barradale it was 46C and blowing a gale. I stopped for lunch and the cold water in the tanks were super hot from the heat coming off the road! It was a very quick lunch and I ended up driving close to 800klms before stopping the night and I only stopped because of the roos on the road in the dark. Not fun. Imagine doing that for a few days and your holiday starts not to be a holiday.

Apologies for the doom and gloom but I really don't think you fully appreciate how uncomfortable that part of the trip (Cairns to Darwin) can be.

cheers

Sue

Wow - the swingometer is now firmly on the MAD side !

Disappointing as this is really the only chance we'll have to see Cairns and the North of Australia as a family.

Could we do Cairns come back to Townsville - across to tennant creek then go down (rather than up to Darwin) to Alice Springs and down through the centre ? Would that be a better option or is it these roads areas that we should avoid ?

We have 3 months and would love to see north of Queensland but don't want to turn back to go down the coast again but looks like that might be the only option by the sounds of it.

We are very excited but now wishing we'd done more research. Thank you all for your help and responses.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what you would do with 3 months off starting from Sydney !!!

BB

BB

I see that you said you have a 4x4 Patrol. Please tell us it is not a 3.0 grenade.

Personally if it is I would not be putting my family in the position of subject them to the possibility of getting stranded with a blown up Patrol.

As for the trip.............

It's a big one at the least desirable time of the year. if you had lived in the climate for a couple of years it would be OK.

Welcome to the Forum Bawbag,
I tend to agree with Mick . Also,Yrs. change, weather wise. We've been to Darwin on 2 occasions One yr. It was oppressive in Oct. the next time it was good in Oct. The locals will say "The wet will be early this year or the wet will be late this yr. You could ring someone who'd have a fair Idea.
Either way it will be very hot & you are from Scotland? Many tourists from cold countries cope well .You, knowing of how your family react to heat can only be the judge.You don't mention how old they are. Bored, hot teenagers could turn your trip into a nightmare.
Make sure your vehicle is Prepared for the Trip properly & get your air conditioning checked
thoroughly. Keep yourselves Hydrated.
Take double the amount of water to what you think necessary. Take plenty of breaks where everyone can have some R&r like a caravan Park with a pool!!!!!! It's a long drive!!
If you find that it's not going well Have plan B in mind. Even if it is heading back South a bit to where you are all comfortable.
Apart from flooded road crossings & Crocs, the insects get very busy too so take plenty of Repellent.
You won't know until you try. Just be aware of what you're doing is a risk. & don't take risks.I'm sure you know to stay with your car if you breakdown.
Up the top end, there will be a lot of Burnoffs before the wet & driving through the smoke , you don't see much of the countryside.
My Vote, I wouldn't ,but if your family has no lung problems, give it a go under the circumstances. You can always turn back.
We have to take hols when our Harvest is finished, we have no choice either.
Could you get away even a week earlier?
Take care, safe travels. You'll be hot but enjoy your holiday. Bye for now Ma.

Hi BB,

We first moved to Darwin late 1974, my wife and I and two young kids. Drove from Adelaide in a Chrysler sedan. First 'problem' was getting bogged at Kulgera..got towed out and toodled off to Alice.

Blown away during Tracy and relocated down south. Not to be deterred went to Tennant Creek in 1976. During that time we would often drive to Mount Isa to do some shopping...leave Tennant after school Friday drive o'night to Isa and have a snooze in the panel van -yep with both kids- and drive back on Sunday afternoon.

From Tennant we went to Alice and had 5 years of travel around the area during all facets of weather.

After a few years South we returned to Gove, again we went during the wet season
It was just a wonderful experience.

I guess the message I am trying to put out to you is that only you can decide what is acceptable to yourself and your family. Sure, take on board all and everything that the forumites are telling you but everybody has a different tolerance.

As a family of 4, mum/dad/son/daughter..we never had a problem that we could
not resolve. Yep plenty of water and a common-sense approach will see you have a holiday that will live with you for many years..

Let me know if you need any more info...

rgds
MJ

Thank You all for your replies - Some interesting comments which has really got us thinking !!

I appreciate people taking the time to help.

Still not made up our minds but feel not going North even to try would be a travesty. We can see the south anytime but won't have a chance again to see the north.

We may go up to Cairns and see how we cope and make the call then

BB

Its really hard Tracy as we the North East and Northern Territory are the areas we really want to see. We can do the south anytime but with 3 months the good thing is we can do what we please and go with the flow a little.
BB