Perth to Toowoomba

[Panda Shell]

Hey Everyone,

Thinking of doing a trip from Perth to Toowoomba, do the theme parks on the coast and then the bottom way round to come back home. Trick is we have 5 and a bit days to get to Toowoomba in time for Xmas then 4-5 weeks to get back home. Any suggestions on the best way to go across with that time frame in mind and towing the Panda? I know the first 5 days are going to be long days but then we can relax.
Ideas please.

 

[millers]

Hi @Panda Shell, my guess is that you do not want to do any dirt (and I would not think that it would be quicker anyway). Google gives you about 4, 300 km and therefore an average of 850 km a day. On a couple of trips (one just recently) we have easily done 760 km with plenty of time to spare.
Having done Darwin to Adelaide in two days (long time ago and no van) I would say that key issues are:

fuel: some of the places you are going shutdown overnight so make sure you organise the travel to suit fuel stops
distance between stops: The Nullabor and Barrier Hwy do not have many stops in between so you may not be able to find a town to stop at around your average km's for a day. If you are setup to free camp though this would not be a problem. I would avoid driving at night in these areas, and if you start early in the morning keep the speed down (in Dec roos will definately be on the move in the cool of night / morning).
Boredom: Not just fatigue for the driver(s), but also for the occupance. Portable DVD players and enough DVDs or what ever takes there interest is need or they could drive you nuts.

Obviously I assume that van and tug will be up to spec and totally serviced and ready for the trip, and you have a check routine for car/caravan/hitch every time you stop and take-off. For trips like this I would put possible overnight and fuel stops into a spreadsheet/table and show distance / time and accumulated distance / time to workout what is required each day. This way you can workout if there is a specific day which may need to be longer than the others.

Being Dec days will be long so make sure you do not get fatigued and realise that over 5 days you are going to tire. Even if you do 1000km in one day you still have 4 x 800km and the 1000km may make you so tide that you are fatigued for the rest.

My opinion is easily do able, just do your planing and book any stays ahead and if in a caravan park get drive through sites where you do not have to un-hook the van. Have everyone drilled in quick back ups each morning so you can get away smoothly and with no stress.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Drover]

'They will be long days getting to Toowoomba in that time frame, if you are a used to long distance driving it shouldn't be a problem but if not I would pace myself and take a break every 2 hrs, whats easy solo isn't as easy towing.
Anyway I would go ADL - Broken Hill - Dubbo - Goondiwindi - Toowoomba good roads, plenty of places to stop and you can cover the distance easily. Cobar to Toowoomba in a day is doable but will use all the daylight available.
Book your places on the coast now as it may already be too late for some.

 

[Dobbie]

At that time of year I'd also make sure you have fans for fridge.

We did the above route in January and managed about 700k a day easily but were constantly worried about the van fridge in temps around 47deg during the day. We had to make sure fridge side of van was protected as much as possible ....difficult when driving but manageable for short stops and overnights. Also rigged up some temporary shade cloth to help it in long hot afternoons.

The nights were a bit better at 37 deg so I'd also make sure you can duck into a powered site so you can run air conditioning and get a reasonable sleep.

Good news is you'll get an extra hour when you cross the border.....as a reward!

Another suggestion is check radio frequencies in area to be travelled before you leave,...makes it easier to fine tune radio in the hope you might get some reception. We found scans didn't work but if we knew the correct frequency we could fine tune and get a station most of the time.

 

[jeff]

Long way to go in 5 days but can be achieved. I like driving and would expect 10-11 hours on the road each day by the time you add in toilet stops, lunch etc. Furthest we have been along that route is Broken Hill, then down to Canberra. All the roads where good. Pity you can't tack a few extra days on to the beginning of the trip

 

[acmackie]

I recently did 820km in one day for the first day of my trip. I didn't get away as early as I'd have liked, and I ended up doing 110km/h+ for half the trip, using significantly more fuel than I would have liked. I think you'll be exhausted trying to average 800+km/day for 5 days, setting up each night, packing up each morning. The roads are good and straight, so no reason for them to slow you down, but I think you risk being so exhausted from the first 5 days that you won't recover for another week - but everyone is different, you might manage no problem.

 

[twscoot]

I personally wouldn't tackle that distance in 4-5 days. I reckon 550 is about as far as we like to travel in a day and generally 400. (2 kids 11 and 14) That way we are off the road by 2pm and get to visit the town we are stopping in having not rushed. We recently did three days Brisbane to Mornington Peninsula and was great. But it is doable of course.

 

[Smirke]

Hi @Panda Shell . We drove to Melbourne from Perth in December last year and had to do it in 3 and a half days. We did it no problems. (And yes, our 4 boys were with us). I find that the long days weren't too bad as you were on a mission to get there, and the kids wanted the theme parks, and it was exciting, etc so the quicker the better. We swapped drivers approx half way during the days, and kept toilet stops to a minimum. Our boys tend to go hypo when we stop, so we go for as long as we can while they are fine. They are pretty use to doing 10 - 13 hour drives, as we go north a lot, and as you know, it takes forever to get there.Found having an engle in the car with ice blocks worked perfectly for those....."mum, I'm hungry........mum where are we going to stop tonight............ Mum, my iPods out of batteries" moments. (Who knows, maybe it's just my boys that can be silenced with an ice block).
I think you can do it easily. But on saying that, it's what you are comfortable doing. Roughly plan your overnight stops, but change them if necessary.
Good luck!

 

[Panda Shell]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. This has given us plenty to think about and we definitely need to start our planning right now. The longest we have done with the kids and a van is Perth to Kalgoorlie in my Defender, which wasn't the most confortable, the kids did that reasonably well. Now we have a newer much more comfortable car so I am still keen to punch it out hard to get to Toowoomba, then take it really easy for the following weeks to return.

 

[Smergen]

As a few people have hinted, it's all about the kids in this instance in my opinion. With two fit drivers, a capable van and tug, you can get there no worries from that point of view. But the noise makers in the back seat, as with all aspects of life, will control everything you do. They get ratty, you'll get ratty. They're happy, you're happy (generally). So I'd focus on making sure you have a sound plan of attack... Books, iPods, DVDs, travel games, food, snacks, car games, and down time (i.e. pitstops for running around). Have as many weapons in your arsenal as possible and, providing you keep winding your kids up about the adventure they are on, then it is possible.

As always though, drive and travel within your means and capabilities. No point rushing to get to your holidays if it increases your chances in not getting there at all...

 

[Smirke]

One thing I left off, is BOOK NOW. As a lot of places are already full in Qld. We stayed at nobby's c.p. And even though it had bad reviews on trip advisor, it was brilliant. They have a brand new kitchen and pool and we're waiting for approval to put in waterslides. It's gated, and the owner, John, is fantastic. Plus you can walk to the beach if you want. We were at the theme parks everyday so it is not too far away from them either.