We are planning a 1 year (approximately) trip around Australia and have a couple of key questions.
1. We are starting in Brisbane in October and thought we should head south for the summer which means travelling clockwise. We have heard travelling anti-clockwise is better because of wind direction. Is this fact or fantasy?
2. How long should we plan to travel from Perth to Brisbane (or vice versa) via Darwin with a side trip to Uluru. We thought 4 months but could make it longer. We want to travel in a leisurely manner with time to enjoy the natural wonders and do a bit of walking, fishing and golfing.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Peter and Lesley
tezza said
11:24 AM Sep 10, 2009
The ptevailing wind in the cooler months in southern Australia is westerly therefore chances are you would pull into it often. That being said we crossed the nullabor in the wrong direction this August and encountered no wind. However i would hate to be doing it this week or any of the past 4. The best thing to do is whatever you wish but generally unless you can hole up and not travel into the wind it would be easier and cheaper to cross the bottom of this land from west to east. Have you considered going going south then up the middle and down the west coast and doing your home state last via broken hill lightening ridge and up effectively doing a big untidy figure 8. enjoy.
Vic41 said
03:34 PM Sep 10, 2009
Welcome Peter & Lesley,
I think the choice here is whether to travel with the weather or take a chance on the wind being in the wrong direction. I have a friend travelling from Melbourne to WA at the moment and he said the headwinds (Westerly's) on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria were horrific, however like Tezza said it is a bit unpredictable and you may be lucky when you come over. The last time I travelled over the Nullabor (June 06) the winds were coming from the North blowing out to sea........so figure that one out!
I would rather tolerate the wind whichever way it is blowing and follow the weather, there is no way I would head north in Oz (especially up the centre) from October onwards, including WA.
I would stick with your original plan for October, south of Oz, across the Nullabor to WA (Don't forget the new "World's Longest Golf Course, see http://www.nullarborlinks.com/ if the heat isn't too much ), do the south of WA then head north of WA in April/May then across the top to Darwin, down to Uluru and back across the Barkely Highway and pick a route back to Brisbane that suits. Working on 12 months, I would do 6 months for the Southern leg and 6 months for the Northern leg, playing it by ear as you go, should give you time to smell the roses etc,
Vic
-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 10th of September 2009 03:39:33 PM
-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 10th of September 2009 10:29:26 PM
Nicholstones said
07:42 PM Sep 10, 2009
We're currently heading south down the WA coast (that is, we're doing the loop anti-clockwise) and we have been towing into incredible head winds most of the way since we left Broome 3 weeks ago. Fuel consumption has been a shocker. Hope you're right Tezza that when we finally head East at the bottom we'll get some tail winds!
rosey said
05:58 PM Sep 12, 2009
Since we are currently planning "the big one"too, I've been watching this topic with great interest. We liked Tezza's idea. Thank you!
A howling freezing gale last March on the Great Ocean Road taught us to be flexible and go inland but that wouldnt be possible on the Nullabor.
Theres also the question of what we'd like to see...some attractions such as Whales off the South WA coast, or WA wildflowers are seasonal, and often when the winds are up, so we might have to put up with it.
I think the choice here is whether to travel with the weather or take a chance on the wind being in the wrong direction. I have a friend travelling from Melbourne to WA at the moment and he said the headwinds (Westerly's) on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria were horrific, however like Tezza said it is a bit unpredictable and you may be lucky when you come over. The last time I travelled over the Nullabor (June 06) the winds were coming from the North blowing out to sea........so figure that one out!
I would rather tolerate the wind whichever way it is blowing and follow the weather, there is no way I would head north in Oz (especially up the centre) from October onwards, including WA.
I would stick with your original plan for October, south of Oz, across the Nullabor to WA (Don't forget the new "World's Longest Golf Course, see http://www.nullarborlinks.com/
if the heat isn't too much ), do the south of WA then head north of WA in April/May then across the top to Darwin, down to Uluru and back across the Barkely Highway and pick a route back to Brisbane that suits. Working on 12 months, I would do 6 months for the Southern leg and 6 months for the Northern leg, playing it by ear as you go, should give you time to smell the roses etc,
Vic
-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 10th of September 2009 03:39:33 PM
-- Edited by Vic41 on Thursday 10th of September 2009 10:29:26 PM
A howling freezing gale last March on the Great Ocean Road taught us to be flexible and go inland but that wouldnt be possible on the Nullabor.
Theres also the question of what we'd like to see...some attractions such as Whales off the South WA coast, or WA wildflowers are seasonal, and often when the winds are up, so we might have to put up with it.
Hope you have a great trip Peter and Lesley!