Any recommendation for a three-four week-travel in Australia? We'll land in Sydney, rental a car and would like to do some kind of trip (is it possible to drive to the Northern Territory & Ayers Rock/Uluru?). We'd like to visit as many places as possible, driving ourselves, stopping at any town we want, but we need some kind of route, beginning in Sydney, and presumibly, finishing the trip in the same city. Any ideas?

Pat, <BR> <BR>It is certainly possible to drive to the NT and Ayres Rock. Depending on what your interested in seeing would depend on what route I would recommend. <BR> <BR>However one route would be to drive from Sydney down the Hume Highway to Melbourne ( about a 9 hour drive ), spend two days seeing the sights of Melbourne and surrounds. <BR> <BR>Then Drive the great ocean road to Adelaide ( take 2 days ). Spend 2 days sightseeing in Adelaide then drive to Coober Pedy ( 7 Hours ) then spend a day checking out Coober Pedy. <BR> <BR>Next drive from Coober Pedy to Ayres Rock ( approx. 7 hours ) Spend a day at the Rock then drive to Alice Springs ( 5 Hours ) and spend another two days checking out the sights. <BR> <BR>Next drive to Cairns via Mount Isa and Townsville ( 3 days ) spend 3 days in Cairns checking out the Great Barrier Reef. <BR> <BR>Next drive from Cairns down the Bruce Highway and Pacific highway back to Sydney taking in the sights as you go ( about 3 days of driving the restyou can use for sightseeing. ) <BR> <BR>You wont need a 4 wheel drive for this route and it will be a lot of driving, but you said that is what you wanted to do. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.

Pat, you will find most roads excellent when travelling by car in the outback. We had no trouble with our family sedan. There are a couple of things to consider, the time of year you are travelling there (April-October)is advised and most rental companies exclude certain areas, so you will need to check up on that. <BR>My photo album of some of our travels there is at <BR>http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=203732 <BR>cheers, Peg.

Pauls suggestion is very good but it could be very hot in our Summer and you should realize that there could be 200 miles on occasions with no towns.Names on maps may be little more than a pub and a petrol station if youre lucky.

Have you thought about buying an airpass and flying over the long stretches? For example, the drive from Ayers Rock/Alice Springs to Townsville is long, the road is terrible in parts, and there is very little to see, with only small towns and road houses en route. We did it last year and wouldn't do it again. You could hire a car in each destination and return the car to the airport before flying onto to the next place. It may be more expensive but a lot easier. A second alternative would be to fly from Sydney to Ayers Rock, then fly onto Adelaide, pick up a car and drive through South Australia, Victoria and back to Sydney.