Will driving from SYD to Kununurra kill me?
 

Hey Ppruners,

I'm planning on driving up from Sydney to Kununurra in late January. A lot of my friends and family are concerned about me doing this trip, understandably so, I'm driving a Daihatsu Sirion and I'll be driving on my own, plus there are floods up North, not to mention the heat.

Any advice from anyone who has done this trip would be greatly appreciated.

Scorp

Don't pick up hitch hikers* and/or, if you break down, don't accept help from Brendan Murdoch look-a-likes. You my find you get a few miles down the road, then he skins you and wears you as a costume.


* A poster on here can no doubt tell you a story how his bleeding heart made him pick up a traditional owner who was hitching a ride to "town camp". They got to conversating and the hitcher forgot that he needed to ask the driver to stop, as he needed to urinate due to the copious amounts of goon he consumed. He then proceeded to urinate in the drivers car. Hilarity ensued.

It's quite likely, the bush doesn't take too kindly to "city boys" :E

Sell the Sirion, fly to Kun,buy an old station wagon there, camp in the back until you get a job, and BOB is you UNCLE

Don't be a softc*#k.
Get on your horse and do it, you'll love it.
Plenty of us have done it before, numerous times. "Daihatsu Sirion" ? You lucky bugger!
It'll get the city-slicker out of you and you may even grow into a decent bloke, the better for it!
Giddey up!

What is going to kill you? :confused:

I drive 60,000 kms each year in the Outback and it hasn't killed me yet!!!

Usual precautions....

• Stick to highways;
• Rest often;
• Don't ford flooded roads;
• Carry two days food and water;
• If in doubt, carry extra fuel;
• Carry an extra spare wheel or compressed puncture repair cans;
• Watch out for 'roos at dusk and dawn and emus during the day.

Cell phone and UHF CB are useful.

Did the trip a few years ago myself. Did it in convoy with a mate of mine. We made it in about 5 days I think. Stopped at Cobar, Port Augusta, Alice Springs, Katherine and then Kunners. Spent a night in each place, except Alice where we spent two or three nights. Was about 4,600km from memory, so each leg was about 1000km so pretty big driving days.

Overall, pretty picturesque drive, a little boring in some parts but really interesting to see how the country changes. All main roads so you're not gonna end up in a place where noone will find you if you break down.

Just watch out for the cattle crossing the road!!! They're big - and will really modify the front end of a Sirion!!!

There are some good pieces of advice here. One thing to consider if you are planning a Darwin to Kunners trip is to factor in the wet season where the road gets blocked off due high water.

Ideally you would have a four wheeldrive that you could sleep in, cross creeks, bounce kangaroos, pack up quickly. The UHF is a good idea to. The number of times i wished i had a 4wd and/or a bull bar. In a sirion you could come second best if you hit something.

I STRONGLY reccomend that you do not drive at dawn dusk or night. (Particularly in a sirion).

Whilst its a great adventure in your shoes (and having well and truly been there and done that) i'd probably fly up and buy a car.

I agree, Have a good think about whether driving is the cheapest option.

If you decide to drive its not a bad drive. 4 days is plenty if your aim is to get to your destination without enjoying the scenery too much.

Make sure you have NRMA cover for breakdowns.
Only drive during day light hours.
Check the road conditions prior to leaving and speak to the BOM to ensure you dont end up spending a week or so in Mt Isa or some other god forsaken town due to flooded roads.
Work out early in your trip the fuel consumption on the highway while you still have plenty of fuel options and then check the distances between stops. You may need a jerry can or two. If you can do 400kms you should be fine.
Dont pick up hitch hikers.
Take plenty of food and water in case you break down. A phone with next G should do the job and a computer with next g mobile coverage is excellent as well. (check road conditions, weather, fuel prices)

You should be able to average 100kms/hr all the way to Kununurra.
Its a pretty cruisy sort f drive with long periods of nothing in between.

The roads are generally good, there will be area with rain damage now. watch out for wandering stock and kangaroos and emu's, especially early morning and later in the day.

I personally cover around 1500kms a day when I do thesae type of trips but if your not used to long times behind the wheel that my be way too much and being tired is not on. Stop and enjoy the country, have a beer in the closest pub and a good sleep and try again the next day.

Once you have done it once its no big deal, just a bloody long way.

Enjoy
 

Enjoy the trip, make the most out of the situation, stop of at all wierd and wacky places, who knows you may even find a job along the way.

Just do your research on fuel stops to make sure you can make it, a couple of extra jerry's could help and definately and extra spare. Got a personal ELT? Handy for ya remote area flying anyway.

Go on now, have a blast!

Driving
 

Dear Scorp
Big drive. Get your car serviced,. RAC !!!!!! yes
Drove a 89 ford escort to KNX.
Good experience, but why is KNX the ultimate be all and end all ass end of low life aviation.? I wasted 2 good years of my life on spag boll, listening to crap and even playing indoor cricket. Just to get a job or keep up.
$220-00 a week ,16 hour days, driving bus,s and no hope.
Think else where , but don,t rely on it.
CP,s normally an anal retentive sad loser who has had a gear up,crashed metro,s. or too fat to do anything else.
In your trip the advice.

RAC . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No EXCUSE.



Fly Spray,Black @ Gold surface spray.
Because when you break down in a swamp 90 miles out of Katherine, you will really wish you were dead. Seriously !!!!
Best of luck Scorp.
Multi:ok:

Just as well there are no requirements for young pilots in PNG these days :rolleyes:

Their mummys would have to take them up

Well said by Torres............

Plus... a GPS and your WAC charts. They are often more use to you on the ground than in the air!

J:ok:

All good advice.

I can't stress enough though, DON'T DRIVE AT NIGHT IN YOUR SIRION! (or you will die, :E). Kangaroo's are quite solid, and the only vehicles I've seen that come off first best are large 4WD's with heavy bullbar's, Roadtrains, and Coaches.

Shouldn't have any problems with making it to fuel stops (unless it's a really old car with a small tank). Maybe do a highway drive beforehand and see how far you can get out of a tank. I wouldn't recommend carrying jerry cans of fuel in your vehicle unless you really really need to. However, don't make the Outback the place to think "I wonder how far I really CAN get out of that tank", :bored:.

Make sure you, as they say, STOP REVIVE SURVIVE. I don't particuarly want to be flying you out of some remote town after they've just peeled you off the side of the road because you fell asleep at the wheel. I've seen it enough to not want to see it again.

With common sense and a bit of forward thinking, the drive won't kill you. You'll find it's one of the best things you have done so far (the scenery, the places you'll go through, all interesting in their own way). Outback driving is not like driving up and down the East coast. It WILL get boring, hence the need to stop and have a break, take some munchies, and some good music.

And finally, as well as having some water in reserves, drink plenty while you're driving! :ok:

morno

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[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Will driving from SYD to Kununurra kill me?[/FONT]

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the drive won't but the heat might, the cow probably will, the croc will bite, snakes will chase ya & so will many other creatures if ya pissem off!

on a more serious note, if your going to drive along with the extra water, food, tools, spare tires, extra coolant & oils, take some good old tropical aerogard!

a bit of info that's normally given to truckies who drive up north & given in no uncertain terms (I got this one earlier on in my driving experience)

At the risk of sounding racist being politically incorrect or upsetting the universe.... 'people' occasionally when drunk have been known to go for a snooze in the middle of the road at night & if god forbid you are unfortunate to hit one DON'T stop. as it's possible & happened before that you might be confronted by the poor buggers mate who's not to happy with you to say the least. simply keep driving, take note of where you were & as soon as possible report to the police.

I know this sounds awful & go's against almost everything we are tought, but the reality is that up north can be a dangerous & unforgiving place at times & first and foremost keep yourself safe.

Thanks guys for the feedback so far, some rather entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the post about covering my plane in black and gold fly spray.

My main concern are the floods if I was to drive Alice to Katherine to Kununurra this time of year. Has anyone been caught out in these floods and would the trip from SYD to Kununurra still take 5 days?

Seriously though, thank you so much for the info.

dont forget to watch 'wolf creek' before you go.

;)

ditch the matchbox toy car, fly to kunners, buy a bomb up there and run it into the ground. Will still be cheaper than trying to drive when u factor fuel, accommodation, food, etc etc

If you take that route you'll be fine at least as far as Katherine. The Stuart Highway is completely open at the moment all the way to Darwin. Takes a fair bit of rain to knock it out. If you try and take the shorter route via QLD and the Barkly highway... well thats a different story. Its still closed as far as I know and will be for a little while yet as they try and find the missing bits and put it back together :}

I really hope your Sirion is the 4cyl 1.3L model and not the 3cyl 1.0L model.

Have to agree with the fly as opposed to driving!

I drove from Adelaide to Darwin in 47 hours in a Hiace, with the dog! Worst drive ever, I think the largest distance between towns was around 200km's, with no phone reception, damn optus!

Do not drive at night! lots of the roads are not fenced and livestock just wander anywhere they feel like, mainly the left hand side of the road, behind crests!:uhoh:

I never realised just how vast and isolated this country was until driving across it.

And you will love the price of petrol in some places:eek:

Nrma/rac
 

Definetly go with that but,

MAKE SURE ITS THE HIGHEST COVER!!!!

Having the low or mid range option is no good. If it really goes bad you'll get the first 120k's or so of a tow free plus a rental car and accom if it's more than a few days repair.

Not sure about NRMA but RACQ Ultra Care only costs $150 a year, far less than you'll spend on the above if you breakdown.

Better still...take a portable DVD player, set up camp off the highway in the middle of nowhere....and then watch it.:eek:

and dont forget to watch 'rogue' as well. best viewed close to the shore of the ord river.

all the best and good luck scorpion83;).

I drove right around Aus in a battered Datsun 1200 back in the eighties. Brilliant adventure.

A lot of good advice above. Reiterate:

Water
Aerogard
Swag
Torch
Hammock (more comfortable than sleeping in the car)
Matches
Fire extinguisher
Camp oven
Baseball bat
A lot of good music to be played VERY loud ...doof doof doof...
EPIRB (406 of course!) and make sure someone knows where you are going and when you'll expect to get to the next place
DON'T GO OFF ROAD AND ONLY DRIVE IN DAYLIGHT!!!!!

Never mind the creepy DVDs, watch some Russell Coight All Aussie Adventures before you go!

Late January could possibly, might be, a problem. The low pressure system that was Charlotte should have passed by then but who knows what other systems might be lurking.

It is not uncommon for the Stuart Highway to become impassable due flooding any where from the Barkly Hwy to Darwin. The Barkly Hwy from Isa to TFC (Tenant Fcuking Creek) is reported to be closed for up to three weeks.

The Victoria Hwy closes, every year it seems, at the Vic River Crossing, due flooding.

Don't be tempted to drive the Buchanan Hwy through Top Springs to Timber Creek, it's a dirt road, 4wd only at this time of year.

Read RENURRP's advice.

Tennant Creek scares the bejesus out of me.. highly not recommend spending a night there.

Not only" Wolf Creek ", watch "Australia" as well, it will certainly make you ride a horse up there instead :E

Yes, and 70% of the time it will be as useful as an ash tray on a motor bike!!! The Telstra Next G network in the bush has nowhere near the coverage of the old CDMA network, now closed down. :ugh:

You won't need multiple jerry cans - far too dangerous. There are plenty of fuel stops along the way. I don't know your vehicle fuel range but plan ahead and take a small fuel container "just in case". (My diesel Prado comes standard with 1,800 km range!)

The 'roos aren't too bad in the wet, but in the dry and drought they were thick along the edges of the road getting the last green pick. Watch out for emus during the day. They are absolutely stupid and will do the same damage to your car as a 'roo.

Multiple punctures is a possibility. I carry two spares on unsealed roads and always carry a couple of those compressed tyre repair cans. If you get a flat tyre, never pass the first place you can get it repaired.

Take one of those $20 tow straps and a couple of shackles.

Don't follow close behind cattle road trains. :E

A trip like that is no big deal to a sensible person exercising normal caution. I do similar trips every few weeks (2,500 trouble free Outback kms in air conditioned comfort in the past two weeks.)

Doing "The Track"
 

Been up and down that so often I gave up counting when I ran out of fingers and toes and I'm about to do it again.

Everything said above is good advise.
Barkly is out till about 1/2 Feb at best guess, maybe longer if it rains a heap more.

If you think you may need fuel when coming into some little town, YOU DO.

DON'T try to pass a road train if you cant see a LOT of road ahead. They're 55Mts and more.

New Vic River bridge is sposed to be open now so it may not trap you there if the river comes up a bit.

Going the Buchanan via Top Springs is a NO NO. Vic River at Dashwood crossing is metres deep. We gave it a miss in a 4X4.

Lots of luck. It can be a pain up here but I love it, so might you.

My main concern are the floods if I was to drive Alice to Katherine to Kununurra this time of year. Has anyone been caught out in these floods and would the trip from SYD to Kununurra still take 5 days?

Yes, it's all about timing.
On my 3rd Melb/Darwin trip I got caught south of Alice Springs/NT border by floods, racing up North for a position I knew was going. Spent the night at the Marla road house, as did many others so it was a boon for the Roadhouse and a top night at the bar:ok:. Missed the job... others came though.

Melb/Darwin after a few trips I was doing in 3 days (knowing the road/roo's and traps). I drove Sydney/Darwin once, which is longer through Blackall/Fug-all/Longreach/Mt Isa - 5 days... and the roads not as good (as per Hasselhof's mention previously).

First trip was in 1990 in 1969 Ford Cortina (2 door Sports!:})... broke down in Tennant Ck, needing a new engine due overheating (caution the afternoon temps!)... jammed in another 2nd hand sort from the wreckers... muffler came off around Katherine so it sounded like a truck, entering the township. It got me to Darwin though, where I finally sold it because it still had a good set of Kumo's on it. If I didn't put a mesh over the front grill for bugs it wouldn't have cooked the engine, never-the-less it was all character building, networking and provided top opportunities to spread the CV and meet companies along the way.

Out of 5 trips, I was caught once by floods. Lived in Timber Creek for awhile too (between Kath/Kunn) and that does flood abit in many parts and isn't up to scratch like the Stuart Highway up the centre is. Good time to have a break Barra fishing with the locals though, if trapped there!

Lots of good advice to heed on this whole thread. Only thing I could add is to keep tuned to ABC National Radio. It's nationwide and keeps you up to date with news/road warnings etc... as well as "ABC Grandstand" - broadcasting sports results all day saturdays too (!!!) and "Macka around Australia" on Sunday mornings.
Mobile phone coverage has improved dramatically on the major roads with the carriers but a cheap Dick-Smith's UHF radio may be an idea, just to keep a listen out if the truckies are hitting Roo's or not. If plenty of rain, they will be off the road side-strip grasses and out in the scrub though.

Give it a run and take time to enjoy the whole experience, it's characters and what this huge country is about. I know you'll be the better for it.
As the Buddhists say 'Life is in the journey, not the destination."

A useful site

Flooding can last well into March, particularly on the Stuart Highway between Daly Waters and Tennant Creek, as I found out to my cost. :{

hey mate,

I just did the drive from sydney to darwin 2 weeks ago (just before the floods), and it was a great drive. All the roads in qld have now been fixed so you wont have any dramas around the QLD/NT border.

Ensure that when you are going through mid QLD towards the NT you ask the servo's and even truck drivers what the road conditions are like, they will be the best source of information in terms of flooding and surface condition.

the advice given above regarding only driving at day is spot on, Roos and Cows come out on the road at night and believe me - you dont want to be hitting one of them in the middle of nowwhere.

i've also noticed a few people talking about dodgy towns.. when i did the drive the places I'd recommend to stay would be Mt Isa, Cloncurry, and then Katherine.. no where in between is really worth it, as it will be below average, and expensive.. not to mention uncomfortable - which will spoil your rest for big days off driving.

another key bit of advice if fuel, if possible make the most of QLD fuel prices, the best thing you can do is fill up the car and a few jerries at Mt Isa and then smash accross to 3 ways.. its possible in a mazda 3 with 2 additional jerries. but in saying this, dont take any chances with fuel, make sure you do the maths and you know you can make it.. also when doing the calculations, ensure you add 10% - 15% when travelling on the barkley between camowheel and three ways as the head wind (and ability to speed) can dramatically reduce your economy.

have fun with the drive mate.. if you want any specific information on the trip send me a PM..

Re reading some of this stuff makes it sound like you are doint the trip on a camel.

Its simply not that hard. Its a sealed highway all the way, except the part the washed away recently!!
People do this drive every day for goodness sake.
There is plenty of traffic, you will see other cars every 1/2 hr or so.
5 days from sydney? only if you stop at every pub. 2 1/2 days from Darwin - Sydney via ISA, just under 2 days from Darwin - Adelaide both trips only during daylight hours.

Be sensible, water food and I forgot the music, check the roads and weather and just do it.

Oh yes, forget the nonense about crocs, you will not even see a croc driving, Simply nonsense. even when you get there they won't be an issue unless you intend swimming in the local Top end rivers and creeks.
As for Wolf Creek, forget that as well, better watching the "End of the World" just as much relevance. :8

Having said that I did meet Murdoch or his brother driving between Burketown and Normanton whist carrying out some running repairs :eek:

I know someone who did that trip in an old Holden Barina. He had no problems. The secret was not to use the air conditioning at all. The engine then worked perfectly. Aircon puts a big strain on the engine and that is the last thing you want on a long trip like that.

Daihatsu

pfffft....plastic crap.

Do it in a proper car

http://www.webtrade.com.au/p76/image...WetTAS2001.jpg

ok, now your going to have to watch 'mad max'!

P76, great choice Atlas....but you want something that has spares lying on the side of the road....something that the Bush Mechanics can help you with.:cool:


http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ing_q/xd01.jpg

Hell and damnation, I've had it wrong for 15 years driving in the tropics arid zones and deserts. Averaging 30,000 km/year, that's about 450,000 km, probably 430,000 of which have had the air-con running, and not one engine failure.

One compressor failure, hit one roo, hit two trees in the one episode, 3 blow outs, one busted 5th gear, 3 different 4wd and one Volvo (remember that one RENURRP?) but touch wood, I'm still waiting for the engine failure and I've avoided approximately 5300 hours of discomfort, driving in temps up to 50+ degrees with no air-con! :hmm:

I don't remember much about the volvo. I do remember the hat wearing volvo driver :rolleyes:

I thought you were supposed to turn air cons on when it got hot :confused:and heaters on when it was cold :confused: