Lauradublin

Hi,

A friend has just suggested to me to join another few friends on a trip July 2011 driving from Darwin to Cairns. How realistic is this - know that it's a very long way and will take days to drive but is this worthwhile? Would love to see Katherine Gorge and Kakadu but once we get away from these is there much else apart from bush? She suggested that we may be camping which I'm not too sure about. Are there motels along the way? Could we rent an RV and use that or do we need a 4WD? So many questions!

Appreciate any help that you can give me.

Many thanks, Laura

ivenotbeeneverywhere

I have driven that route and although there are expanses of absolutely nothing it still was fun, particularly as at the time I did it there was not a speed limit on the Northern Territory roads which meant that I got to the Qld border in one day. After you have seen Katherine and Kakadu, Mattaranka Springs http://www.discoveraustralia.com.au/...mataranka.html and a few other places en route there is not much else till the border when you arrive in Queensland, then if you do a detour up to Lawn Hill National Park and surrounds you are in for a fantastic trip. The one thing that you have to watch for in the NT are ferral pigs, emus can be a nuicance together with the usual kangaroo so no driving at dawn and dusk is the best idea. Camping would be absolutely fine and possibly the best method anyway and no you do not need an RV at all.

Peter_S_Aus

Darwin to Cairns is about 3000 km – all of it highway, where you can clip along at 100 km per hour. It is a good road, so there’s no need for a 4 wheel drive. I have ridden it on a bicycle. There’s a trip report, which is incomplete, but might give you the flavour. It’s here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...-road-trip.cfm

I think it’s a worthwhile trip – sure, it’s a long drive, and you would need three days to do the driving, plus the time you take for stops. Seven or eight days would be plenty of time. If it was me doing this trip, I’d buy a cheap tent – about $120, a little gas stove, a sleeping bag and air mattress and I’d camp.


Katherine Gorge is great, and there is a good, safe camping ground there, full of families camping. You can hire canoes and paddle up through the gorge, and when I went there ten years ago, I took the canoe, sleeping bag, petrol stove and mattress and slept out over night. This was in July, and was magic.

Time the trip to visit the Barunga Cultural Festival, which happens in early July. Here’s a link to the 2010 festival, and 2011 would be about the same time. http://www.barungafestival.com.au/festival.html Barunga is a gathering of a couple of thousand Aboriginal people from all over Australia, plus a few hundred Europeans. Barunga is about 100 km south of Katherine, and people camp there. It’s a different experience being in an ethnic minority. Everyone camps there, and you would need to have your own food - Barunga is a tiny community.

Mataranka, south of Katherine, has a good camping ground, plus hot springs.

Then, the long haul to Tennant Creek, which is not my favourite town. There’s a Youth Hostel there, which is OK.

Head East towards Cairns, and there’s camping at Barkly (or Barkley, can’t remember). Mount Isa is a big town, worth a look around, and Charters Towers is lovely. There is back packer accom in both Mt Isa and Charters Towers, or motels. Don’t ignore country pubs either – you can get rooms in pubs for about $40 a room, and you get to meet the locals. Head North from Charters Towers, and visit Undarra, where there is good camping. Then it’s a day’s drive from there to Cairns, via Kuranda. I’d avoid the coast road from Townsville to Cairns – it’s mostly cane fields and boring.

I think that the trip is worth doing. There are places for petrol and food about every 200 kilometres, and the distance gives you an idea of just how vast and varied Australia is. You can do it in just about any sort of car so long as it is reliable, and the weather in July is good, not too hot.

Neil_Oz

Yes, there are motels and pubs in the towns along the way. An RV is certainly a feasible option but I for one wouldn't sleep in a tent, as nights in July will be damn cold in the inland. Unless you plan side trips off the main roads a 4WD isn't necessary, especially as it will be the dry season in the tropical areas, but you might find one more convenient.

You'd encounter unimaginably vast stretches of dry bushland, semi-desert and savannah country along the way - as you recognise, it's a very long drive - but this may well be what would make it a memorable journey.

It's a very long time since I made that trek, but even now parts of it stick in my memory. I remember, for instance, pulling up in the middle of what seemed literally nowhere, with nothing higher than a few feet breaking the horizon in every direction, and being investigated by a mob of curious emus. In its own way it was quite magical.

I'm not familiar with caravan parks along the way (you can find them by googling) but one accommodation option would be the on-site caraans or better still cabins that most parks have. I expect the ever-friendly and helpful "grey army" of retired RV-ers will be there in force.

AlanJG

How much time do you have and what are your interests other than scenery? I ask this so I can offer some side trip suggestions and comment on the 4WD question. All the advice above is good.

stormbird

You could visit Lawn Hill Gorge National Park north of Mt. Isa but you might need a 4WD. It is a sensational spot! I love the Savannah country up around that way.

Lauradublin

Hi again,

Thanks for all the good advice. We will have two weeks, which I guess is plenty of time to explore and do the journey. My main interests are photography, so I'm happy to go anywhere that is interesting. There will be 4 women ranging in age from 41 to 70, so there cannot be anything too strenuous. From all the advice that you have given, sounds like it will be an amazing trip.

Laura

AlanJG

Try this web site. http://www.savannahway.com.au/index.html I think a 4WD would be of advantage. Then you can do partsw of this trip as side excursions. There are dinosaur and other fossil museums along the way as well as interesting history displays in some of the small towns.

ivenotbeeneverywhere

Wildlife photography person's wonderland around the areas that you would see. Here is a link too for another spot near Lawn Hill National Park and it gives a run down on camping facilities and costs. http://www.adelsgrove.com.au/ and for Lawn Hill http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/boo...ill/index.html

pat_woolford

If you intend to stay a day or so at Lawn Hill National Park (Boodamulla), you will need 4WD, better book your spot asap. I was just talking to some Darwin people who've driven over to Cairns and stayed at Lawn Hill and Undara, they say Lawn Hill is booking out very quickly for this dry season.

Alexhasthetravelbug

Hi

I want to do this same trip in January. I realise that this is the middle of wet season, and I only have my baby mazda 2 to get me around, but is it possible??

Thanks,
Alex

Peter_S_Aus

The Mazda would be OK, as long as it is reliable. I've ridden Cairns to Darwin on a bicycle, so a car would be easy by comparison.

Wet season is not an issue, as long as you are on the bitumen.

AlanJG

Sorry but the wet season could be an issue if you have a tight schedule. It will also mean that most side trips would be difficult or impossible in the little car. I do not know why someone would want to make this trip without being able to enjoy the wonderful scenery, wildlife and other experiences off the main road.