driving Brisbane to Adelaide

[Guest tinkham_lee]

hi all.

 

My wife and I are going to be driving from Brisbane to Adelaide soon, we will be doing it over two days and know which route we are going to be using. we are hoping to get as far as Hay on the first day

 

Can anyone offer any hints or tips for driving that sort of distance.

 

Also are you allowed to sleep in the car at the side of the road or in a car/truck park?

 

thanks

[flossybeth]

Haven't done anything of that distance but it seems a mighty long way to do in two days. Drive safely and carefully and have a good trip.

Edited July 15, 2013 by flossybeth

[kadina]

at least one stop off is recommended over night in a motel really, take plenty of water, and if possible a can in the car with some petrol in, we very nearly broke down in the middle of no where and just made it to the petrol station. Sleeping in your car is not recommended they are truck stops for a reason, travelling a night is a big no no too as the road trains / other trucks use the road at night plus you get lots of wild life its really not a good idea as its very dangerous, plan your journey well and stop off before it gets dark. We have done a lot of long distance driving several times adelaide to Sydney, and take regular breaks too and share the driving if possible theres a lot of long, very long roads and sometimes you see no one.

[Guest shella_n]

We did that trip just a few weeks ago although in reverse. We stayed at Hay too - there was hardly anything there - could only find one place to get dinner that was open. Other night we stayed in Tamworth. We did it over 2.5 days and they were looong days of driving.

 

There is nothing from here to Hay but after that there was lots of McDonald's on the way that we could stop at and buy a coffee and an ice cream for the kids. I wouldn't advise driving at night - there are heaps of kangaroos making it quite dangerous.

 

cant think of any other tips for now but will come back if I have any brainwaves

[longtimer75]

Hi,

 

Regardless of which route you take, Brisbane to Hay is a long drive. Be prepared for white-line fever! The advice in the other replies about water, petrol, not sleeping in lay-bys & truck stops etc is all very sound as is the caution about driving at night. From experience, I'd add that native beasties like to mess about at the roadside at dawn and dusk. At least you know that they're not on stay-awake pills which is more than you can assume about drivers.

 

If $$$$$ is an issue, believe me, flying is much cheaper, more efficient and less stressful. However, if you need or want to drive,I'd recommend that you take your time and enjoy frequent stops in the towns along the way. It helps with survival and you can learn so much about this huge country. Remember that a lot of country towns do not have 24-hour or even late hours of opening so plan to get your provisions in daytime hours.

 

 

Keep your lights on, be alert, and keep a special eye on your speed within 50kms either side of Hay. The traffic police there net a fortune from drivers and are absolutely ruthless in their interpretation of the law!

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

You can free camp in loads of places - we pretty much did that for most of the 16 months we were travelling around

 

There are some good resources for finding places to stop for naught - http://ozcamps.net/ is one of them, also the legendary Camps series (I think they are up to Camps 6 now - just google) of books are good.

 

However - if you are doing serious driving of that distance in that time, without being used to it, I really would advise trying to stay in a hotel or something - it sounds easy, but its really not (again - 16 months and 32,000km of experience talking there).

 

As others say, don't try to drive at night - hitting kangas is neither fun for you or your car, nor for your health (not to mention the poor roo - if you do hit one PLEASE stop, drag it off the road, and check inside it's pouch to see if it has a joey - if it does, please remove it and take it to the nearest wildlife rescue place - you can read online how to do this (its not as easy as just taking it). Or just don't drive at night).

 

Music, lollies and water are essential (to help relieve the monotony), take your time - better to get there a tad later than you want than never get there.

 

Have fun, and enjoy the scenery - don't just zip past it all - You'll see the landscape change amazingly, its fab!

 

Any more tips can probably be rooted out on our sharkaroo website

[Guest Bonnydoon7]

We've just recently done this trip spending 3 months on the road, and all of the advice you have been given so far is right. I'd allow another half day if you can spare the time, take regular breaks, change drivers every 2 hours and get out to stretch your legs and breathe in some fresh air. Our little country towns are so much the essence of Australia, and it's worth taking the bypass road and going into some towns. Taking a walk down the main street will usually uncover a bakery with friendly people, old-fashioned and goodies and we always stop at a McDonalds for a coffee and muffin and clean toilets. Hotels and motels usually cost about $90 night, certainly not fashion-statements, but well worth the expense to have a comfortable bed, a warm meal and a warm shower in the morning - but try and stay off the highway, noisy trucks go past all through the night. Caravan parks have cabins for about the same price and these are also comfortable. We stayed in a hotel in Hay and it was old fashioned but we had a good night sleep. We take breakfast cereal, bowls and spoons as bought breakfasts are usually very expensive, usually on the road by 7 am and then stop for morning tea later in the morning.