From Perth to Hervey Bay

[Scolers]

Well in the old forum I was asking questions about the loyalty of the NJ Paj. I found out very quickly how loyal it is when you do a trip from Perth to Hervey Bay.

On the 30th June this year my family and myself left Perth bound for a new life in Hervey Bay. It was black top all the way largely due to the fact that my wife was following my son and I in a Getz ...

The Paj was packed to the hilt and towing a teabag camper trailer (our home for nine days!) and the route we planned was thus:

Perth/ Norseman 710km's

Norseman/ Eucla 704k's

Eucla/ Ceduna 497k's

REST DAY

Ceduna/ Port Augusta 467k's

Port AUgusta/ Broken Hill 415k's

Broken Hill/ Bourke 600k's (approx)

Bourke/ St. George 541k's

St. George/ Hervey Bay 637k's

TOTAL: 4500K'S (approx).


That was worked out via Google however the trip turned out to be 4623k's and that's with no detours.

We used a total of 659 ltrs of fuel at a cost of $911.40.

We averaged 14.25ltrs/ 100km.

Our best was 11ltrs/ 100km (we had a cyclone behind us!)

And our worst was 17ltrs/100km's.

First shot WA/ SA border

Second shot is the Nullarbor ... 196k's of straight road. Note the pedestrian crossing ... it's the 'runway' marker for the RFDS.

3 The rig at Ceduna.

4. Bridge at St George

[Scolers]

I should have mentioned ... SHE DIDN'T MISS A BEAT ON THE WHOLE TRIP!!!



Scol.

[Wal]

I did the trip in reverse in April.

Gold Coast - Goondiwindi (stayed at the Gundystar Van Pak with the owner, my mate Gerry)
Goondiwindi - Bourke. Stayed at Gidgee Guest House - nice but inexpensive
Bourke - Broken Hill Silver Spade Hotel/Motel
Broken Hill - Kimba - Kimba Hotel/motel
Kimba - Nullarbor Roadhouse - this really is the middle of nowhere. Took a motel unit for $95 a night single
Nullarbor Roadhouse - Norseman. Stayed at Lodge 101 -quite cheap and very friendly
Norseman - Perth via Esperance.

I came back a much different way.

Perth - Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie - Laverton
Laverton - Warburton via Great Central Road
Warburton - Curtin springs
Curtin Springs - Gem Tree (on the Plenty)
Gem Tree - Boulia
Boulia - Blackall
Blackall - Toowoomba
Towwomba - GC

[Scolers]

That trip back would have been fun!

I'e done the Plenty but not Waburton > Curtin Spring bit.

Still corrugated as all hell?

Scol.

[Wal]

That trip back would have been fun!

I'e done the Plenty but not Waburton > Curtin Spring bit.

Still corrugated as all hell?

Scol.

Actually the road conditions were surprisingly good. The Great Central Road runs from Laverton to the NT border and is all dirt from there. Much of it was better than driving on some of Queenslands sealed roads and I maintained a steady 110kph for over 500 kms (apart from stops to avoid wandering camels and cattle). About 150 kms out of Warburton that changed (as did the shire administering the road strangely enough) but you could still get a 2WD vehicle across it with care and for a 4by it was easy. When you reach the Olgas the road becomes bitumen and is very good.

The Plenty has been vastly improved since I first crossed it in 2000 and it's getting better all the time thanks to the NT Govt. There are now only a couple of bad sections and they were starting to work on those as I passed through. The bummer is that when you cross the border into QLD the Plenty becomes the Donohue and after the first 20 ks this 300 km+ stretch is not only abysmal, it's downright dangerous. As a Queenslander I'm ashamed at the state of this road and it's about time the state govt and the Boulia Shire Council did something about it. So many people now use this route as a gateway to the west that it's crying out for redevelopment. How many times does it have to be closed for a week or more before someone gets the message. The alternative way around adds about 900 kms to your journey!