Hitting the road for a 1900km drive - tips of advice?

[Delish-VY]

Heading off in a couple of weeks to drive from melbourne up to queensland, any suggestions on the best way to go, what are the roads like cos i know theres two main routes that i could take, the seaside drive which is through sydney, or right up the guts through dubbo n stuff. also any specific checks i should get done on the car before I leave?
Has anybody done this drive before and are there any things I should go out of my way to see or any really dangerous/dodgey parts of road I should try to avoid.

[Fekason]

Hi,

There are actually three ways.

1. Principally the Newell Hwy through Dubbo. This is the shortest route, and maybe still the quickest. Distance is just under 1,700 km according to Mapmaker and just under 21 hours driving time.

2. Hume/Pacific Hwys. When I last did that trip, the Newell Hwy was easily the quickest. However, lots of work has been done on the Hume and Pacific Hwys. There is not much of the Hume that is not freeway, the M7 (toll around $6) bypasses all but about 10 km of Sydney suburbia and more than 50% of the Pacific Hwy is now divided road. By Mapmaker, distance is about 100 km further and travel time about one hour more. However, I believe the times would actually be reasonably close.

3. Princes/Pacific Hwys. This route would be longer and slower than the other two as the Princes Hwy is sub-standard in many places.

My suggestion would be to give the Princes Hwy a wide berth, travel up one way, and back the other. See more of the country that way.

[Fekason]

Hi again,

Whichever route you follow is a comfortable two day trip. Too far for one day, but easy in two.

Newell Hwy. There is some winding road around Coonabarabran on the Newell. Otherwise the road is good and traffic generally light. Some sections between Goondiwindi and Warwick are a bit poor, and the descent from Cunninghams Gap is steep and winding.

Hume Hwy. No trouble spots that I am aware of.

Pacific Hwy. The higher traffic flows present a subtle hazard on the 400 km of one lane each way road. There is still some winding road between Nambucca Heads and Raleigh, and between Ballina and the Byron Bay turn off. And lots of speed cameras.

The trip presents no special hazards to a car in good condition. Make sure your cooling system is in good order.

[chancevy]

What a great trip, I did Sydney to home (Brisbane) a couple months ago (so I'm not sure of the Melb-Syd leg) but I'd say take the seaside route. It's more of a straight run and the roads are in better condition.

As for checks on the car I'd say take it to your local mech and have them take a look at it, things to look out for are suspension, brakes, ALL fluids and your spare tyre.

Jump on the RACQ or RACV websites and get a list of Petrol stations, toilets, rest stops etc on the way b/c you will need to make use of them.

Take the camera and have fun, safe trip mate

[PaulSV6]

I would go the Newell Hwy via Dubbo. As mentioned cause its quicker & is a more direct route.
Pac hwy still has roadworks going (god knows for how long) So expect delays, also there are still alot of sections that are single carriageway.

Just check ur tyre pressures, coolant & Oil levels.

[Calaber]

At present, major road works are being carried out at a number of locations on the Pacific Highway and they can cause lengthy delays with traffic being stopped. Ballina is being bypassed and you can surely expect to be held up there if you take the Pacific. Further south, before Bulahdelah, you might encounter some interruption and at Moorland, between Taree and Kew, lengthy roadworks mean that you are driving on and off new work interspersed with the old - it can be a bit confusing but it's great to see so much of the old road being replaced in nice big lengths of 30+ km at a time, instead of crappy little 2 and 3 km patches.

I've never travelled the Newell, but from the comments already provided, I would definitely consider travelling that road for at least one journey, for the variety and the lighter traffic. The Pacific is a very busy highway all year round - it's just a lot busier during holidays.

As far as checking the car, apart from the usual oil and water checks, pump all tyres including spare up to a good pressure for sustained higher speed cruising (I run 36psi in my 235/45-17's).

Check washer level and ensure screen wipers are clean of all contaminants. Check all hoses for cracks - if they are hard and tend to "crunch" when you squeeze them, replace them immediately. Make sure you have windscreen additive in the washers - plain water won't remove splattered bugs.

Check the condition of the serpentine belt for tension and cracks. If the tensioner guage indicates that the belt is worn past its tolerance, or any cracks can be seen in the webbing (not the small ribs, the main body of the belt), then replace it.

Check master cylinder and power steering reservoir levels.

On the water pump, there is a hose that has an expanded end to fit a larger diameter outlet on the pump. This means that the end of the hose tends to be pretty soft compared to the rest of the hoses. Check that area to ensure the hose is sound.

You would already know the overall condition of your car, but when you undertake a long journey, particularly during warmer months, leave nothing to chance.

Good luck and safe journey.

[VYMAD]

There's a short cut when going up the Newell. Just north of Dubbo after going over all the floodway bridges, I think it's a 90 km/h zone, turn right to Menduran, cuts out Gilgandra and all the hills there abouts. It's a good road with little traffic. At Menduran turn right towards Coonabarabran, will bring you back onto the Newell thirty k's south of Coonabarabran.

[Ozzie]

I went through bendigo along the warrago highway to the hume onto the new england hwy... its the quickest route but dangerous.
Safest route is along the coastline..

either way i ended up in sydney which i wasnt sposed to... thanks navman!!

[-scyth-]

Look out for ninja roos. they only attack at night.

[maginoodle]

if you do come up the newell as vymad said you can cut out here(gilgandra) by going round through mendoran. its a ok drive but wouldnt recommend it at dusk or dawn. also you can go through warwick or towoomba, each way ends up being about the same amount of time. i used to drive trucks from here to brissy and during the day i would go through warwick but at night i would go through towoomba. i would do this cause i would miss the daytime traffic at towoomba.
as for what you need to do to your car i would pretty much do what calaber has suggested.

cheers shane

[Fekason]

The comments on roadworks on the pacific Hwy are valid. I usually avoid them by driving at night or weekends, when there is no roadwork.

If you follow my suggestion to go Newell one way and Hume/Pacific the other, then I would suggest further that you do the Hume/Pacific way on a weekend if you can.

I am sure that you will enjoy the experience if you take your time and relax. If you are in a hurry, you will be less likely to enjoy it no matter which route you take.

[redrags]

despite what everyone is saying. i would go pacific. nice new smooth roads and its a nice drive. go the coast as much as possible. you might even get the chance to catch some hippies in nimbin.. and lets face it. whats the point of going north without going to nimbin

[david dubbo]

my suggestion is an esky full of redbull plenty of good music and plenty of chewies hit cruise control and relax

[-scyth-]

relax?? with an esky full of red bull?

[Delish-VY]

thanks for the suggestions guys, all points are noted, the people im driving up with are wanting to do it in 2 days but i wanna do it in one to avoid spending an extra like 100 bucks on accomodation, i do however have some rellies in port stephens that own a pretty sweet surfer/backpacker place so i might stay there n recooperate

[VSHeaven]

One day is pushing it. You will be stuffed when you get there and end up sleeping it off so what's the point. The 2 day scenario is far wiser. The Hume to Sydney then etag it via the M7 and M2 to the Pacific Highway. By the time you hit Port Stephens you will be happy to stay the night and refresh yourself for another 9-10 hours driving. BTW, no matter what you do you will miss a damn lot of things to see and do along the way. I took 3 days on the Princes highway to Victoria from Sydney and still missed a heap. Must be something special in canetoadland for you wanting to get there so quick.

[a1k3m1]

yeh i was thinking about doing something like this, a nice big trip. but i have no idea any good spots to have a look at, is there a website or something out there and shows ya heaps of attraction places?

[calais24/7]

Also mate if it hasnt been mentioned take an emergency tool kit sort of thing, incase something goes wrong and you need pliers/screwdriver whatever. take a 1 litre boltte of coolant and some water just in case. Also things like tyre pressure including your spare and top up all fluids and make sure everything is in good working order. Good luck and have a good trip

[a1k3m1]

and take some medical stuff too like bandages and whatnot, that is if you don't already have them in the car lol

[Delish-VY]

Must be something special in canetoadland for you wanting to get there so quick.

My missus is working at australia zoo for a couple of weeks lol so we"re goin up to see her n plan is to hit up the theme parks n cruise around the zoo for a bit when we get there

[MasterOfReality]

I'd go the inland way. Less traffic and nicer scenery but have a place to pull up at dusk because of the wild life. I used to live in Cobar (3 hours west of Dubbo) for work, and it can get quite hairy driving at dusk.

I did Brisbane to Wollongong and back over the Xmas and new year period. Went down via the New England Highway and came back via the Pacific.

New England highway was excellent, Pacific was a dog, plus heaps more traffic and roadworks on the Pacific.

I did the same trip around 3 years previous and it was the same. From now on only the New England Highway for me.

[Ozzie]

Look out for ninja roos. they only attack at night.

Yeah forgot to mention my fronts smashed in from hitting a roo on the way back through wagga wagga

[jamese_boy345]

hey guys, i drive from Bris down to Bathurst every year (for the race of cause), only just did the Newell coming back to Bris last year. A couple of mates and i went down for 4 days and so the Calais was prity packed and it went fine it gets quite rough in parts and more road train use the Newell but there are more streights and they are much longer then on the Picific great for overtaking.

I normaly do the Pacific in about 10 hours with all of those stupid road works but then thats driving through the night. Also did the Pacific down to sydney and back this time last year for TOP GEAR LIVE, during the day and im sure that took about 11 or 12 hours but dad and i shared the driving in a Mazda 6 (lake for power).

but i would try both see which one you profer and then let us all know.

have a good one.