Thread: Lap of Oz - Timings and must do's

Originally Posted by Classic88

I did that exact trip in three months in 2009. It is doable but three months does mean driving almost every day with maybe 3-4 days in particular spots.

Yeah Google says 14,000km and 152 hours at the wheel.

Over 75 days thats an average of nearly 200km/day......lot of looking through the windscreen and not much fishing.

If your mission is to conquer the continent like a military operation and do the lap for the sake of it...by all means. But if there's one thing in the world many on this forum are qualified to advise on, it is 'doing the lap' (or not), the how and the why. ...Much sage advice already in this thread on slowing down. ...thinking you can compress a whole continent of overlanding into 3 months is not a good idea for so many reasons...

Exmouth to Perth, there are lots of things to see... Dont dismiss any area as boring or nothing interesting...

Just north of Carnarvon, the blow holes... Quobba is the name of the place...

Very nice bit of coast, was good fishing years ago, not sure now... Too many landrover drivers with fishing rods, probably killed it....

East of Carnarvon is Gascoyne Junction and thats the road into Mt Augustus... Interesting place and a damn big rock... Its a monocline, 2 1/2 times the size of Ayers rock...

Shark bay for fishing... Kalbarri, holiday town with a nice gorge for canoeing in...

Cervanties, they have the Pinnacles Desert...

Blah blah blah, there are heaps of places of interest and to see... The histor in WA's country areas is huge and 3 months will not give you the chance to see 1% of the state...
The highways are built for access to the next place of business, not where the sights, interest and history are...

Take Roebourne, there is so much around that area, yet most bypass it...

Now as for the Sth West, I would not go there... The trees are widow makers and drop branches on the highways... The people that live down that way are hill billies... Bit like Deliverance, they are weird and dangerous... I would not go there it s a bad place... I wouldnt live there...

Its terrible, I know, I'm in the middle of it...

Trust me I wouldnt lie to you

Regarding El Questro, book yourself one of the private campsites rather than one of the ones next to the station. They're much quieter.

Do the gorge trips and the drives up to the lookouts but really don't bother with the hot springs. As hot springs go they are really pretty average but they will also be really crowded.

On the west coast the Pinnacles are worth a look at. Rottnest Island is also pretty good but I'd hate to be there in the peak. I went in June and there were only about 30 other people on the island at the time.

Hamelin Pool stromatolites are interesting if you're in to that kind of thing. Stay at Tamala Station if you're in that area. I camped at Ram Island campground and it was really quite nice and quiet.

Ningaloo reef is worth the visit for snorkelling but it means that you'll probably have to stay in Coral Bay which is an overpriced and overcrowded. Also, Ningaloo Station isn't worth the hassle of going to and staying at.

(I'm not trying to put you off going to anywhere in particular but there are some things I wouldn't bother with again.)

Your trip plan map reminds me of our first outback jaunt in 2001, had 8 weeks which we thought was forever- longest holiday we had ever had- but once you get out and find just how big this island is, the weeks just evaporate making miles from one place to the next and you find you are rushing on from somewhere you like, just to get to the next place in time. Each subsequent trip, we have done less and less and spent more time staying in places we enjoy.
For example, you can 'do' the Gibb River Road in 2 or 3 days, you'll be able to tell everyone you've 'done' it, but it will be just another dirt road; or, you can spend 2 or 3 months there and find it's the best place on earth. My advice would be, pick an area that sounds like it would interest you, go there and spend as long as you can.
Sounds like you're a fisho, the north-west coast from Ningaloo Reef to Cape Leveque would probably float your boat and would be plenty to bite off in 8 weeks from the east coast.

Similarly the trip Broome to Kununurra and Katherine is one of the most spectacular drives on the planet. I did a lot of it at least once a week on average for more than 5 years...never was there a drive I didn't enjoy! The options for places to explore along the way are endless. 3 months across northern WA would be my first choice.... and if you're into fishing, nothing beats Barra!

Agree with all the above - my wife and I did a 9 Month 'lap' and still didn't even venture at all into NSW and QLD!

Great advice thanks guys...as I mentioned previously I'm already looking at using the West to East and South to North motorail as an option to cut down on 'transport' stages freeing more time up for the WA coast. I drove a nice chunk of the coast back in 97 whilst doing some work with the Pilbera Regiment...I can't wait to show it to the family and get into some off the places suggested.

It is all worth seeing at some point, but I'm going to have to drive straight past a lot of good country/sites just to get there. Still pondering whether to do SW WA below Perth...is it that good?

Thanks for the ideas and input.

Jason