Australia - 12 Tipps to driving long distances

Dear loyal blog readers,

SHEEZ! I couldn't believe it even when I checked the figures: over 7,000km!!! We drove over seven THOUSAND kilometers from Perth to Darwin in just 30 days... In comparison, Markus and I drove over 3,000km on the East Coast from Sydney to Cape Tribulation and back to Cairns in 18 days. And let's not forget my awesome 5 day Kangaroo Island trip (a roundtrip of about 800km). And the Tasmania Tour (about 1,500km in 6 days) and the Southwest Tour (about 2,500km in 6 days) even though I didn't drive myself.

So all in all I consider myself someone who knows a little bit about driving long distances, especially in Australia (let's just forget about all the other backpackers who have done the same routes and more before me...). 

Therefore I have come up with this handy dandy list of tipps and things to consider when you are planning on doing a really long roadtrip. Let's begin:

1) Knowledge of the traffic rules

Here it comes: in Australia they drive on the LEFT side of the road! Like in the UK or in Sri Lanka or in about 50 other countries. Some might understandably be afraid of driving suddenly on the other side of the road but I can assure you that you get used to it very quickly. The only three things you have to consider in my opinion is the gear stick which will be to your left, the mirror positions are different and driving in roundabouts. When I did my driving licence in the UK I was SCARED of roundabouts but you simply couldn't avoid them. Now they are not a problem for me anymore as far as I know in advance which exit to take.
With the gear stick is can be quite simple as well as there are more automatic cars around here than manual ones. So easy peasy, right? ;-) Well, the mirrors, you might want to start driving in the countryside with less traffic to get used to them and not right in the rush hour of a big city.
Get yourself familiar with speed limits and if necessary to another measurement unit. In Australia it is km per hour and the maximum speed limit is 110 km/hour on motorways but I have seen a lot of 130 km/h signs in the Northern Territory.
Oh, and don't forget your valid international drivers licence. Even if some say it is not accepted in Australia, trust me, policemen would want to see that rather than your national drivers licence.

2) Knowledge of the distances

Well, kind of obvious but you would be surprised to find people who plan on a roadtrip and aren't sure if it is going to be a nice trip to drive from Perth to Darwin in just two weeks AND see all the nice places in between. Or how far Cairns is from Sydney and similar. You really need to break down the drive into feasible distances that you can manage in a day. And that not only depends on the length of a stretch from one point to the next. Like, let's see, maybe the vehicle you want to drive?

3) Fuel consumption of the vehicle and the volume of fuel tank

Long distances in rural areas cause another problem that we in Europe are not used to: the very limited number of petrol stations who might sometimes run out of fuel... You should roughly know the average fuel consumption of your car and how big the tank is; nevertheless carry some spare tanks with you just in case. I made the mistake to overestimate the fuel consumption of our Toyota Camry on the East Coast and totally underestimated our binge-drinking Tankgirl on the West Coast...

4) Fuel stations and overnight accommodation

So, as mentioned before check for the next two fuel stations or even get a map where all main fuel stations are marked. Depending on how you want to spend the nights you should acquire these kind of informations as well. Nowadays with the mobile internet and all sort of apps you don't need to do it beforehand as you can do it on the run. But it's always worth to check the next overnight possibilities the day before, especially during busy seasons like school holidays (Easter, Christmas, summer/winter holidays). On the East Coast Markus and I had booked quite a few accommodations a fair bit in advance. This was absolutely not possible on the West Coast as I took on the journey on a short notice with strangers of whom some turned out to have some other accommodation preferences than me. Hard to do anything about this in advance but we did our best by checking the internet, different maps and following the accommodation signs.

5) Roadworthy conditon of the vehicle

A lot depends on the car that you drive. Surprisingly, you can basically register any car in Western Australia as they do not check the car for roadworthyness! Holy moly, I still cannot believe that an advanced industrial country like Western Australia with the biggest emptiness in the whole of Australia would let ANY car drive around the country. I have seen so many abandoned cars next to the roads, you wouldn't want that to happen to you. If you don't know a lot about cars, just ask for help to check a few things before you head off. I was always lucky to have someone with me who would check the car for me.

6) Check the road conditions

Australia is a very challenging country in regards to driving in many ways. Depending on the season you have to either fear floodings due to cyclones or bushfires due to the dryness. Especially when intending on going on 4WD tracks you need to check the condition of the track beforehand. Even than it is all rough estimate and unforeseen obstacles can get in your way.

7) Stock up on supplies

Speaking of spare fuel tanks, always carry enough other supplies with you as well. Especially water and food like little snacks that can survive in the heat for a while. Dried fruits, muesli bars, nuts, ingredients to make sandwiches and salads, tins and cans of all sorts. And of course a cooling box, an esky.

8) Organise several drivers

Driving long distances over a longer period of time can be very tiring. The more (sympathic) drivers you have available to share the driving with the better. Consider that in Australia some car rental companies do not lend their cars to drivers under 21 or even 25. Others want an extra insurance fee for young drivers.

9) Music, chatting and keeping entertained

Keep awake and good music (this is your own personal definition here but please consider your fellow passengers as well if possible ;-) ) helps a lot. Don't rely on radio as in rural areas you will not have reception.
Well, having said that about music, I am the kind of person who doesn't have a device with music files on it with me. Nothing at all, not even on my laptop, no smartphone or tablet or whatever. So for me it was always helpful to have someone with me who would chat with me and entertain me with stories, preferably funny ones. But that's not always the case as the others might sleep or are just not the chatty kind of person who would put their headphones in and that's it. What better thing to do than play a road game that you can play by yourself if necessary.

10) Road games

I have collected a few road games that you can easily play by yourself but they are much more fun if there are a few more people involved. I am sure you know the "I can see what you can't see and it is [colour]" game. By yourself you need to adapt and search for anything that is red/blue/yellow... But guess what? In rural Australia there isn't a hell lot of a colour change.
The best game I learned about is the waving game. You have to wave to other vehicles who pass you and if the driver waves back you get points. If they lift just up to three fingers it is 0.5 point, lifting a hand but leaving it on the steering wheel is 1 point and actually lifting the hand of the steering wheel gets a whooping 5 points! I played that game with Charlotte for a while and I wanted to introduce a 10 point gain for a peace sign from the other driver :-D This game entertained me for quite some hours as it made you watch the road and other cars.
You could also do a counting list on how many kangaroos (dead/alive), road trains, other Wickedcamper vehicles etc. you see on the road. Or do bus bingo. Along the East Coast (but not on the West Coast) we saw a few boards with Trivia questions to keep your brain alerted. The answer would be given a few kilometers later.

11) Driving at night

If you are planning on a tight schedule than you might have to consider driving at night time. This in other countries isn't a big issue except for the low light you have and some people just don't like it very much. But in Australia you have the kangaroos and - far more dangerous in my opinion - cows crossing the roads. Hitting a roo or cow can cause serious damage to you and your vehicle. Brake, stay straight! That is the rule, do not swerve and if possible dim down the lights as the animals might stop on the road looking mesmerized into the headlights. Depending on your car insurance driving at nighttime might not be insured at all!

12) Overtaking road trains

Another thing you will have to do at some point while driving long distances in Australia is to overtake a road train. They can carry up to 4 trailers and measure more than 50m in length. Strong winds and curves make the trailers swerve quite a bit. So take extra care when overtaking them. Go for a long visibility of at least 1km and a straight piece of road or wait for the next overtaking lane.

Yepp, there is quite a lot to consider and I learned most of the things by doing a roadtrip. I was never unprepared but I always learned a lot as well. I hope this helped you a little bit! Do you have any more tipps on driving long distances especially in Australia?
Yours roadtrip-experienced Stefanie