advice on trip: perth to sydney. ? fuel costs,best route

Submitted: Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 01:43

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mike g2

Hi fellow travellers, does anyone have or know current fuel ($/L) costs in 'outback' (nullabor/SA /country) for a perth-sydney run i propose in mid feb? will be going in a new jayco/fiat RV (diesel). est dist at 3,900km.
Also useful would be any driving time and fuel usage/cost info from others who have done this trip recently in a similar vehicle. plan to take most direct route thru from perth,norseman,nullabor. which is best way into sydney after port augusta?... assume from maps... port pirie thru crystal brook , burra to renmark then sturt hwy then mid western hwy?.
Thanks,
MG

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Reply By: mike g2 - Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 12:04

Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 12:04

as a newby, i cant seem to find a way to add to/modify my post- anyhow,I have managed to find fuel prices googling on net and some comments on same by searching within forum.
MG

AnswerID: 502345

Reply By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 13:42

Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 13:42

Hi Mike,

In the top RH corner there is a red search button - put in something like "Nullarbor fuel prices" and you will see that there are plenty of forum posts on that topic. Cant help you with driving time as there are so many variables, including weather conditions. A hot headwind or even side-wind can slow you up considerably.

As for the best way to go - we are near Canberra and the travel distance to Hay is about the same by either the Sturt or Mid W H'way. Probably more trucks on the Sturt though. Cant comment on the run east to Sydney but I would think that if you are after quick travel time you might be better to stay on the Hume H'way until the turn off to Wagga, then stay on the Hume until Renmark (sorry Im heading in the wrong direction). The rest of your route is fine.

Just avoid driving after dark especially across the Nullarbor - when we came across in spring there was a dead roo every few metres in places, and at least one dead camel. Also in February you should check for road closures due to fires (or floods if we should be so lucky!).

Cheers,

Val.

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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AnswerID: 502360

Follow Up By: mike g2 - Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 16:01

Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 16:01

Thanks, agree, dont usually drive at dawn or dusk because of roos- roo bar to suit the fiat/jayco is over $ 2,000 fitted. good point about fires-news here is for a bad season over east. have looked at some forum posts, fuel watch etc.. on fuel prices. agree travel time will vary depending on actual route thru sa,vic,nsw-wanted to get an idea. est 3-5 days (with breaks.) have done this before some years ago, different vehicle and it was a holiday trip rather than a straight drive.
MG.

FollowupID: 778776

Follow Up By: Member - Rod N (QLD) - Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 16:35

Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 at 16:35

No way you could safely and comfortably do it in 5 days. That is 8 hours moving time averaging 100km/hr. That does not include breaks,

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Follow Up By: mike g2 - Sunday, Jan 13, 2013 at 10:49

Sunday, Jan 13, 2013 at 10:49

fair point. a trucky maybe. depends on km per day and route. am going on a couple of quotes off net, googling perth-sydney est travel time as i havnt done this as a straight drive before, always as a holiday,complete with wanderings. going simply on kms, its 3,900 approx, divide by say 400km a day, thats over 9 days. need to do it 5-6 days if poss. seeing its summer, the longer daylight hours may make it a go.have done 800 km in a day port hedland to canarvon recently in a car, was dawn to dark travel and a long days drive!as it got dark, waited at a rest stop to follow a semi in for the last 100k-he can collect any animals.
will have to look at getting a roo bar and spotty, this would help.
+am getting a co driver .
MG.

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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Sunday, Jan 13, 2013 at 11:29

Sunday, Jan 13, 2013 at 11:29

Coming home recently we took five days from Balladonia to Canberra. Just drove with virtually no sightseeing, just stopping for lunch, cuppas and changing drivers every couple of hours as we usually do. Probably averaging about 95kph and stopping before 5pm, on the road by about 8.30 or 9. 800km a day is not unreasonable across the Nullarbor if you just keep driving steadily. So I think you could do Perth-Sydney in 6 or 7 days fairly comfortably with a co-driver.

But over that distance there are many things that can slow you down so you dont want to have too tight a schedule. We had a very hot northerly wind for a couple of days, and while it made us want to stay in the vehicle it did slow us down. Also remember that while you can do one or two long days without too much difficulty, its harder to do long days every day for a week, especially if its hot. Remember to take - and drink - plenty of water.

Cheers,

Val.

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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Follow Up By: mike g2 - Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 11:00

Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 11:00

in regard to travel time, have looked at aust met office info for average winds in feb: 10-20 kmh easterly across nullabor, so will have a bit of head wind on way and tail on return. add to this its hotter in feb + fire risks. i get the feeling 6 -7 days should be good without pushing it and allowing for any fire detours.

thanks for all your feedback.

FollowupID: 778963

Reply By: Member - David P8(Echuca,Vic) - Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 13:24

Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 13:24

Hi mike g2. We have just come across from WA and are at Smokey Bay. Fuel prices we encountered (diesel) were Norseman $1.569 lt, Balladonia $1.89, Eucla $1.89 and Nundroo $1.59. Passing thru Ceduna it was $1.52. We topped up from our jerries once which we got in Albany for $1.42(w coles disc.). Esperance was $1.57.
From Pt. Augusta go thru Wilmington, Ororoo to Peterborough and Broken Hill, Dubbo and Lithgow.
Hope this helps.

AnswerID: 502522

Follow Up By: Member - David P8(Echuca,Vic) - Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 13:33

Monday, Jan 14, 2013 at 13:33

Mike, we didnt encounter too much wildlife but did see the occasional camel, a few roos and a group of eight emus. Oh I forgot the single fox. The wind buffeted us about quite a bit- we are in a Nav towing a Track Trailer Topaz. The wind knocked our consumption back by 1kl/litre.
If you look at the map I think you will see my suggestions as the most direct route. Others might disagree.
Regards,Dave

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