Wet and Dry

Hi Karen

I set off north from Perth on a motorbike in September a few years ago for an extended trip to Melbourne. Unfortunately it was a bit later in the year than I had originally hoped, and I had the monsoon chasing me all the way through the Kimberley and Northern Territory. It meant I had to hurry along a bit, and the days were stinking hot and humid. The heat in Perth is in low humidity, and is much different from similar temps in high humidity.
Having lived in far North Qld for a few years, my advice would be to avoid northern Australia anytime after October. The roads will be cut when the rains start in November/December, and the pre-monsoon heatwave isn't a whole lot of fun to travel in.
I think Northern Australia is best from June-September. Autumn is far away the best season in the southern half, with warm days and light winds (mostly).
Of course, there are always a lot of different opinions, often dependent on personal preferences and experiences.
I hope this helps you with your planning, but depending how long you intend to travel, it will be difficult to see all of Australia in the ideal seasons IMHO.

Best of luck
Tom

It is not just the heat that is an issue across the north, in summer, although that tends to deter you from a lot of activity outdoors. A lot of the best destinations are becoming very dry and dusty from around then, on - so you will not be seeing them anywhere near their best. Waterholes, creeks, falls are often dry by then. In some places, tourist operations close down later in the year. There can also be cyclones, floods etc - especially early in the year.
Example - often, people who visit kakadu in August or later, are disappointed and wonder what all the fuss is about. If they had gone there in, say, April or May, might be a different reaction.
Think if I was setting off in August, would be looking at experiences like the wildflowers in SW WA, or the Flinders Ranges of SA, Grampians of Vic. Would be spending the summer period in places like Tasmania, the southern coasts, the High Country of NSW and Vic. Then I would head north about March or April.

Karen
I live in the North and love it, Around Mt Isa /Cloncurry the hottest period is October/November, after that the storm build-ups cover the Sun in the afternoons, Most tourists seem to come in our dry season, I know it's to escape the cold from the South.
As for roads being closed it does happen at times, I operated a Roadtrain Car Carrier from Brisbane to Darwin for nearly 2 years , 2 trips per month right through the year and never got held up, I guess it's luck of the game. The humidity is not all that bad really, here in the Top End you don't get the searing heat like the South and then 2 days later you have Jumpers on , As for Cyclones you get plenty of warning and time to plan a move, unlike the severe storms over at Brisbane and other Southern States, 1 hour or less warning if your lucky and wind and Hail can wipe your Caravan out in a few seconds. In the Wet Season the country comes alive, everything is beautiful, green and wet, the Storms and Lightning are something to behold, just amazing. Right now we are into the Dry, grass is dry, country is dusty, Burn-offs and smoke, but it's not cold, just a little cool at nights , just come and enjoy a wet season,after all people do live here all year so really you have nothing to worry about.

.

Hi Karen,
Both above posts sum up the build up to the wet pretty well. If you were able to put up with the humidity and the heat and see a wet season through to the dry season you will experience some of the wildest monsoon thunderstorms and lightning shows you will ever see.
You wouldn't believe the transformation of our creeks from nice tranquil waters to raging torrents 3 or 4 times wider than in the dry season. Kakadu turns into an inland sea and to see the park from the air with with sporadic rain storms is like something out of Jurassic Park.
My advice is to see both the wet and the dry to really appreciate the tropics. Yes it's bloody hot and humid in the wet, I know, I have seen 35 of em.

Noel K,

Karen,

To give you a sensible answer we really need to know how long you are planning to be on the road. If its 3 months there is one answer, totally different if its 12 months...or more.

Cheers,

Val