Hi
Just getting ready to leave for Tassie.
What would be a average time to get from Brisbane to Port Melbourne it says 18 .5 hours on google. Plus whats the more enjoyable inland or coastal route. We leave end o January 2019 and must be in Melbourne by end of February.
Cheers
Scoota
Personally I would go Pacific Hwy then Hume Hwy. Double lane all the way with some stretches 3 lanes. Try and go through Sydney mid Sunday morning but due to your time frame this may not be possible.
I travel both highways twice a year going to Townsville and back to VIC and prefer that way as due to two lanes trucks can get around you easy. I also allow a minimum of two nights each state.
Keep Safe on the roads and out there.
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Hi Scoota - traffic on the NSW north coast will start to thin out after the kids go back to school on the 29th January even better if after that you are able do your travelling mid week. I agree wirh Dougwe the coastal route is a great run now except for the 100kms of roadworks between Grafton and Woolgoolga (lots of 60kph sections). We will also be heading down to Port Melbourne mid February from Newcastle via M1, Pennant Hills Road, M2, M7 and the Hume Hwy. As we have done before we will stay overnight in Beachworth from there its a fairly easy drive down the Hume to Melbourne and if you can plan your run properly you get there an hour or 2 before they start loading.
A tip not mentioned - when you come to the end of the Newcastle Expressway at Hornsby make sure you are in the right lane. The turn off onto the tollway is only about five kms away along the Pennant Hills Road and if you are in the left lanes you won't be able to turn onto it. It happened to us and I had to go via the Cumberland (so called) Highway through Liverpool onto the start of the Hume Highway before it becomes a freeway.
I have stopped at the Euroa caravan park - it is a fair way from the town center but on the south bound side of the Hume there is a large servo with a Coles mini supermarket with the basics. There are several takeaways there also.
We mainly stay at the Goulburn River caravan park in Seymour for our two day stopover. (it has just been taken over by another chain - cannot recall the name of it). There is a second CP in Seymour but I don't like the looks of it.
If you decide to stay at the caravan park in Beechworth don't take the exit to Beechworth from Wodonga, instead keep going and take the Chiltern exit and turn left. It is only 9kms longer but you don't have to go through the south of Wodonga with many round abouts and winding road.
Murray
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Thursday 27th of December 2018 09:32:23 AM
There is a good freebie at Gunning between Goulburn & Yass.
As Scoota noted, coming from Newcastle direction it's easy to miss the right hand turn from Pennant Hills Rd to the Motorway because you are in the wrong lane. Going to Newcastle is easy. Coming from not so. It's well sign posted in both directions. It's getting into the RH lane to turn west and around the Western Sydney sprawl. In any case, there are people who will probably realise you are a Qlander heading out West around Sydney and give you a bit of space.
As for busy freeways, getting to Port Melbourne from any of the Melbourne freeways can be a task on weekdays unless you travel early or late. Same as any other capital city.
Another tip for your trip down south. At the end of the Hume Freeway turn right onto the Western Ring Road. Then move across out of the left lane as soon as possible - the left lane becomes an exit ramp a kilometre or two further on and if you end up being boxed in and forced off the WRR you will be in a fair amount of trouble trying to find your way to the Port.
Try and stay in the middle lane - in a couple of places the left lane becomes an off ramp.
I might add that the WRR is the only road that frightens the life out of me. Everyone is doing 100 km/h and they are virtually bumper to bumper. Also, it is best avoid peak hours when the 100 km/h can drop down to almost standstill!
To get to the port continue off the WRR onto the West Gate Freeway - generally called the West Gate Car Park! Going over the bridge move into the left lane. At the bottom of the bridge take the exit to the servo - it's a Shell as I remember. Don't go into the servo but bear left and turn LEFT into Cook Street. Go a couple of hundred metres and turn LEFT at the round about into Todd Street and go under the bridge. Go straight across the next round about. At the traffic light turn LEFT into Williamstown Road which is a divided four lane road with a poor concrete surface.
Turn RIGHT at the next traffic light into Graham Street. Go along that to the next intersection traffic light and turn RIGHT into Bay Street. A hundred metres or so and you reach Beach Street and depending on the time of the day the Tasmanian ferry can be seen on the RIGHT. If not there you can still see the pier.
If you are adventurous or with a good GPS you can go straight along Todd Street through the Williamstown intersection. That road goes through an industrial area with a few turns which does eventually joins Beach Road and goes past the ferry terminal.
We used to go via the Wiiliamstown road way when we went to Black Rock a couple of times a year so can recommend it. Next week we are taking our van down to Geelong but at the end of the WRR we turn right onto the Geelong Road.
Murray
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Friday 28th of December 2018 05:27:16 PM
-- Edited by Long Weekend on Friday 28th of December 2018 05:30:41 PM
