Driven from Melbourne to Perth.

Nullarbor in January?

Best route?...... Probably Tullamarine Freeway to Melbourne Airport.

Place to stop?..... Airport car-park.

Must do?.... Board a plane!

LOL

Did that as a solo drive about 18 months ago Murdo, mostly straight across on princess hwy then last section from Norseman to Hayden to Perth.

Slept at roadside stops 3 nights so no costs but fuel.

1st night about 100km past Pt Augusta - I always go straight thru Adelaide also.


2nd night right at the edge on the great Aussie bite (not in the tourist bays) - serious updrafts there and not for kids or those who wander at night (needed a small fire)

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3rd night 1ookm before Norseman.

I did several short side trips to put the wheels onto beaches (where short on these in Melbourne)

Wanted to see some of once famous caves across the Nullabor but all close to highway were stuffed (closed).

Carried enough fuel to cross from Ceduna to Norseman no stops.

Hi,

I pretty much agree with Robin Miller. A mate & I did the trip back in 1989.
Day 1 to Port Pirie, day 2 to Nullarbor, day 3 to Norseman then day 4 to Perth.
Long days but not taxing with two drivers & regular breaks.

What you're interested in will dictate your places of interest. Some say the Nullarbor is boring, I reckon it was a great experience. We took the time to stop at every roadhouse to see what they were like inside. The Nullarbor is one of those places you rarely go back to, so soak it all in I say.

Some advice though, leave early when heading west to avoid the afternoon sun, leave late when heading east to avoid the morning sun. Remember you gain 30 minutes when hitting the Vic/SA border & a further 90 minutes at the WA/SA border.
Conversely, coming back you lose that time so it's harder to achieve the same mileage per day.

For your own safety only drive during the day. The road is often littered with dead animals struck down the previous night by large trucks.

On the second morning near Iron Knob, a passenger in a car coming the other direction seemed to frantically wave at us, we almost stopped thinking they were in trouble. The truth is from that point on, it's almost as if when crossing the Nullarbor, there's a healthy respect & admiration between drivers prepared to take the journey on so they acknowledgement each other with a cordial wave. It's all part of the adventure so enjoy yourselves. Half the fun is getting to where you're going.

Done it 4 times love it every time, but January??? I would not fancy that.

Don't forget Head of Bight, easy to find camping spots past the boarder just turn left, best to do it in the day though, big drop and no safety rails out there,
Coolgardie and Kal are good spots for a look also. If you have the time turn left at Norsman and have a look at Esperance and Albany


Don't forget plenty of water,

Must do :

Hand over all your fruit, vegies and honey at Border Village.
Its an extremely rewarding experience that must go on everybody's bucket list.

Hi

How long have you got? What have you seen in Victoria? Not the shortest, but best for summer would be to follow the coast - the Great Ocean Road, Princes Highway, Mt Gambier Blue Lake in SA is lovely and is only coloured in summer, then choose your route through or bypassing Adelaide.

Janaury is fine with a reliable vehicle and a good air conditioner. Seven Nullarbor trips (including in January) and we have loved it every time. Unfortuantely not whale watching season, and gate to Head of Bite may be locked. If not, still worth the drive for a look around.

The dirt road from Norseman to Hyden is usually good, and has an interesting Granite Woodlands Discovery Trail with maked features; brochure can be downloaded. See my 2007 Blogs here.

Motherhen

Fantastic trip, definitely should be on everyone's bucket list. Make sure you stop for a photo under the road sign marking Australia's longest stretch of straight road - 146km. Watch the wind at Eucla if you're camping, we ruined a perfectly good dome tent at the campground there. Have fun!

Take some warm clothes,i came accross the nullabor a few days ago and camped in the scrub off the road a couple of nights and once the sun went down it was freezing,had to put jeans,boots and jacket on.
cheers, sparra

Hi murdomacleod4,

It always surprises me the way people have a great aversion to driving anywhere in the summer months. I have traveled that route some 7 times both ways now and most of them have been to get from the East Coast back to Perth for Xmas so always traveled December Jan time frame. I have never considered the trip to be boring as it is different every time you cross.

Take your time as their is a heap of things to see and do on the way. Do some research on the net to make sure you know what their is to see and where. Most of all just enjoy the experience.

If its stinking hot then you are experiencing something that many of the others on this site will never experience because they wont travel during the summer months.


have fun

Lew

We have 'done' the Nullarbor 25 - 30 return trips. Since I moved to WA from SA in 1978 it has been almost an annual pilgrimage to see family 'back east'.

We never tire of the trip, there is always something different to see, watching for eagles, roos, emus, dingos, wombats. The only local wildlife I have not seen is a live camel. Will keep going til I do. ha ha.

If you have time, and the interest there is the Nullarbor Links golf course starting in Ceduna and the 18th hole is in Kalgoorlie. A hole is located at every servo along the way.

Again if you have time, a diversion south from Pt Augusta to Port Lincoln then up the west coast to Ceduna via Streaky Bay Elliston etc.

Cheers Neil

I'm heading to Perth this year and I've been looking on my VMS and Google Earth. Looks like some great overnight beach camping along the way (for example look at the Eastern side of Eucla and there is a whole bunch of tracks heading down to the beach with a designated camp sign).
Most of the accommodation along the way at the caravan parks and roadstops are shocking so don't bother with them and take advantage of the free camping spots along the way

Having just done Perth-Hervey Bay/Brisbane-Perth over the past four weeks, I can say that doing the Nullarbor was good fun. I last did a similar trip about 20 years ago so doing the Nullarbor again was great. The section I can only advise you about is Port Augusta to Perth.

A stop at Head of the Bight is essential. Even though it's not whale season, the InfoCentre, cafe and lookouts were open when we visited in late Dec 11; located about 12km from the Eyre Hwy, it's a sealed access road. Admission to the lookouts is $5 per person (whale season (Jul-Sep) is $15pp), the cost is worth it.

Just stopping at the various roadhouses along the Eyre Hwy is interesting to have a chat with the local staff and to check out the facilities. Must stops are Nullarbor Roadhouse, Eucla to visit the old telegraph station down the hill, and Balladonia to checkout the Skylab museum.

There are a number of lookout areas along the Bight and the cliffs between Nullarbor Roadhouse and Border Village that provide great and different views. And then of course is the 146.6km straight stretch.

Depending on what sort of vehicle you are travelling in, will determine whether you are able to get off road a bit.

Norseman to Hyden via reasonable dirt road then up to Perth is an option otherwise its Norseman-Coolgardie and on to Perth.

Hope this helps.
Guy