Coming from the USA I thought my main worry was driving a manual transmission campervan on the wrong (oops - the other ) side of the road.  The other side of the road is a bit of a challenge but I've driven an automatic in England so I've done that but my right hand knows about manual transmission - not my left.  And now I have discovered that you let trains drive on the road!  Well not exactly trains but but but what the ...
Trains!!

I'm planning to drive the Kennedy/Gregory Development highway from Cairns area down through Charter Towers. I don't have an UHF transceiver.  Am I going to live to report on this madness when I return?

Seriously - should I be worried about this?  I have this vision of coming around a bend while driving on the single lave of pavement and meeting something that weighs as much as a small ship barreling down of me and I have to immediately abandon the road for - well for what?  Is there always room off the pavement?

And I thought driving in Italy was scary. Can I rent a UHF transceiver?
John

John

Travelled that very road ten days ago with a 17 ft caravan in tow.  Road is in fair condition with a couple of road works in progress.  Re road trains.  The further west you travel the longer they become.  The basic rule for these and any vehicle that looks bigger than yours is to get off the sealed part of the road and let the other vehicle have it all.  You should also slow down to a crawl.  This has two main advantages:  You run less risk of being run over and less risk of windscreen damage. 

My vehicle still suffered damage on that section of road however as a small chip in my windscreen later became a large crack top to bottom.   I also hit a pheasant which smashed one of my spotlights.  Didn't do a whole lot of good to the bird either.

Other dangers on that road include cattle, horses, emus and roos.  

If you want a nice look at Queensland that does not include beaches etc you should continue on that road down to Clermont and then on to the Springsure to Eidsvold area.  Sensational country. 

Ian A

yep you'll see the dust long before they get there, when they do get close dont stop on a corner, and give them plenty of room

they will be travelling at between 70kph to 100kph and weigh in at 200 tonnes some with 3 and four trailers

they dont like to swerve and they will have as much of the road as they wish to take

just give them all the road and stare in amazement as they go by remeber these blokes and girls are at work not on a holiday

Have you a reason for taking the Gregory Development Road to Charters Towers. You will I feel will miss some of the best country in North Queensland i would take the Palmerston Highway from Atherton to Innisfail , then onto Cadwell onto Ingham then Townsville . Charters towers is 133 KLM west of Townsville and worth a look . But you only have 12 days i think you are going to run out of time , I think at some stage you will be having a quick drive to Brisbane . Driving on the other side of the road i have done it all you have to remember the steering wheel is all next to the white line in the middle of the road. I have not driven the Gregory Development road but it is difficult in the wet , you must pull off the road when you see a Road Train approaching in the wet could become stuck .

Blimey John after reading the re-assuring answers to your questions,I am now a bit worried myself.200 tons of smelly cattle trucks bearing down on you from the dust is mind boggling.The metre long centipedes would be my main worry.As Dave O has already mentioned the"Drop Down Bundy Bear" is a definite hazzard if you choose to camp beneath a tree.John,you will have a great time over here,just make sure that youpack a big swag of Sense of Humour.Cheers.Ibbo.

big sense of humour and your beer gut,............. what????????? you dont have one well O.K. we'll give you one dont worry about the roadtrains we only lost 72 tourists under their wheels last year, much better this year only 68................so far,...................... when did you say you were coming over?????????? no funeral costs though, not much left when you emerge from under 48 wheels, gets a bit "squishy"

If you come up behind one of these roadtrains full of cattle or one overtakes you (there is a whole new experience) try to sit reasonably close behind it for 10 minutes or so.

They have one of those amazing features that will wash your vehicle for you on the move. It works even better on a dusty road.

Heh heh, just kidding, it is incredible that in a truckload of cattle at least 3 are pee-ing at any one time.

Seriously though, if you do get a roadtrain coming up behind you on that road do all you can to get off the road, for his/her sake as well as yours.

Cheers

Neil


-- Edited by Delta18 on Friday 4th of December 2009 03:59:30 PM

 Yes you can hire UHF radios, we met somebody who had a hired one, but dont know where they got it from.  Maybe your campervan hire company can help with that. The channel to listen to is UHF40. The road train drivers call at intervals to let you know they are coming and it gives plenty of time to find a convenient spot to get off the road. But if theres been a lot of rain it could be very soft on the edges. Do you really have to take that road?

There is a very good article covering your questions on the "Grey Nomad Homepage" Mate. All about Road Train Etiquette......so they say........we call it survival :) Have a gander or a butchers hook or a captain cook or a sqizz at that

G'day Mate. We did that trip some few years ago so the road may be different now. We enjoyed the trip as it was somewhere different. Please note what others have said abd give roadtrains as much room as you can within safety.I would advise having a UHF radio for any trip out side on major roads. The cost of a radio is small enough to be negligable when compared to the cost of fuel out that way.Don't want to have one mounted in your camper then there are hand held ones very cheap that work over a small distance but are good for talking to road train drivers and any one else it your immediate area. One other thing to think about is a personal epirb. A lot of people dont carry one but off the beaten track these will save life in EMERGENCY SITUATIONS. You don't say how long you will be here so enjoy your stay and travel safe Cheers Jack Cherie and the four legged kids.

That "billy goat track" bitumen can be cruel. Those road train drivers don't all let your know they're on the way. I confronted a huge bulldozer on the Barkly with not much room to spare. I saw the escort and asked him how much room he needed - white post to white post on single lane bitumen. The bitument edge was broken with a deep drop off. It's quite a chore to get off the road gently without running tyres off the rims and staying in control at the slowest possible speed. Qld roads are the pits in those out of the way places. This international nomadic visitor will need a language book to decipher the Aussie lingo you've bombarded him with. The poor bloke is probably still scratching his head sorting out the Australianisms. He'll spend his entire holiday in Oz pondering the language. Be gentle with him.

No Granny.......no need to be gentle...............as long as the man is capable of scratching his head......we are in with a chance!! Adapt.....Convert.........Overcome!! The Australian Army Regiment of Engineers' Motto!! As a good foreigner to our shore......he has to learn early!!

Dead silence from John either on his way to Cairns or died of fright after seeing the photos

He's probably out of range now. All we can do is wish him a safe trip, confronting all those road trains, following all those "wet" road trains. I followed one full of sheep in NSW. It does pay to keep your distance. Gee it stinks and splatters all over the windscreen. Yuk!

Just hope it dont rain when when he is doing that part of the trip , deep drop off and soft edges

There is worse to come for John."The Gulflander" is still prowling.DaveO told me about it early on in the year.Cheers.Ibbo.

-- Edited by ibbo on Sunday 6th of December 2009 07:58:33 AM

Yes brother inlaw in Mareeba all the signs are in place for a wet season

There hasn't been much rain around up here yet. The humidity is here, it gets overcast, but there's no sign of big rain yet. Occasional showers at the most. The Gulflander is up at Normanton. I think this guy is going inland from here where the Savannahlander travels. Either way he'll have to keep an eye on the sky.

Thought I may as well add a pic too. We saw this one at Madura WA

where's the photo's of the drop bears!! and the drunk koala's

There are illuminous wombats on the Nullarbor!! Did you see them Pam or did you not drive at night??

stuck to day driving Disco.
The drive across the Nullabor was very interesting.

well I got one for you! on the subject of strange and mysterious sights coming home one night along the coorong my car was struck by a flying tortoise, a car coming the other way caught the tortoise by the edge of the shell and flicked it up in the air and hit my car right on mudguard!! beat that!

ooh! that punishments a bit over the top

John is an American so he will be OK because he no doubt follows the writings of L ron H and would realise the benifits of wearing an Alfoil Beenie in such situations....

I drove the Nullarbor five times a week Pam so I didn't find it THAT interesting after 9 years Pam. LOL I would leave Ceduna and drive to Madura and then back the next day. I actually enjoyed the drive. If the stops were not included then I had no gear changes in about 7.5hrs of driving. Not bad in a coach!! The odd times we would go through to Norseman if either service was running late!

Well I have only crossed twice.......................going over then 4 weeks later coming back.