I plan on visiting Cairns this October and have over a month to spend in Australia. I realize the distance is quite vast, but is it worth the time and effort to hire a 4WD and drive from Cairns to Alice Springs and sightsee and/or camp along the way? Also thinking about then driving from Alice Springs on up to Darwin and visit Kakadu Nat'l Park. This isn't quite as far but still quite a hike. From there I planned on flying back to Sydney and spending some time in the area. <BR> <BR>Is there another area of the country that is a must-see and therefore makes the time involved in pursuing this road trip useless? <BR> <BR>Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Hi kj, I can only relate my experience in Australia and, of course, you'll have to make your own decision. About 5 years ago a friend and myself left Adelaide on the Ghan Train at about 2 pm heading for Alice Springs, believe we arrived there the next morning about 9 am. Enjoyed being "driven there". After a few days in "Alice" we took a 2 day bus tour to Ayers Rock, back to Alice, then took a Greyhound (I think) bus to Darwin, breaking that long haul up with a few days in Katherine that included an all day tour to and through the gorge. <BR>Lest you think we aren't drivers, we did have a rental car from Sydney to Melbourne for a leisurely pace of several days, staying at 3 different farms along the way, fun! <BR>Good luck on whatever you decide. <BR> <BR>I can't comment on your idea of Cairns to Alice since I'm not familiar with that possibility.

Cairns to Alice in October could be a bit of a challenge. Unless you know what you are doing with a 4WD, you would be strongly recommended to take the bitumen road all the way (for some of the way the bitumen is only single lane anyway!), which is kind of the long way around (the dirt is much shorter, but very remote, and takes almost as long because you have to drive slower). Flying is probably cheaper considering the distances. It would certainly be an experience if you decide you want to do it - but you really need to do some research before planning your trip (eg you can't drive at night because of the likelyhood of collision with large animals - so you'll get a maximum of 1000km per day). If you would like some more information, send me an email, I have done the Townsville - Alice Springs section the short way (ie 600km dirt road) many times.

I agree with Jennifer. Particularly at that time of year, when there is going to be some significant rain in the Top End, taking unsealed roads will present a substantial problem. You can take the Great Green Highway from Cairns to Townsville, then head westward on the Flinders Highway, across Queensland. As mentioned above, it is a narrow road that will cause you to seek the wide unsealed shoulders when giant 4-trailer long 'Road Train' trucks come booming down on you. <BR><BR>At Mt. Isa, you turn onto the Barkly Highway, and as soon as you cross into the Northern Territory, the roadway dramatically improves. While a longish and sometimes bleak drive, we found it interesting, and there were a few colorful roadhouses along the way to break up the drive.<BR><BR>At Three Ways, you can go north on the Stuart Highway towards Darwin, or south towards Alice. If I were you, I'd head north to Darwin, then take the Arnhem Highway into Kakadu. From there, you can loop your way south on the Kakadu Highway and back to the Stuart Highway at Pine Creek (not far from Katherine. While in Kakadu, there are all sorts of fine places that you can visit if you have a respectable 4WD vehicle - it WILL be rainy and wet in October, though, as that is the beginning of The Wet season.<BR><BR>From Katherine, you can take a short side trip up the Victoria Highway to Nitmiluk National Park (a/k/a Katherine Gorge), before heading back south on the Stuart Highway, back through Three Ways, and then on down to Alice. Don't miss the wonderful Devils Marbles north of there.<BR><BR>We've done this drive, taking about 2 weeks, with lots of stops along the way to visit parks, homesteads, and other areas of interest. We had our own van though, and continued on to Adelaide and Melbourne from Alice. You will need to figure out if it pays to rent a car in Cairns and then figure out where to leave it off in order to fly to Sydney. You may want to consider flying into either Darwin or Alice, rent a car and drive up/down the Stuart Highway, then fly on out to Sydney.