Sydney to Perth Ride
Hi guys,
I'm new to this forum. I am looking at doing sydney to perth, perth to sydney in July over a period of 2 and half weeks. I am a small female who will be traveling on my own and was wondering if i could get some feedback from experienced riders if its safe first of all for me to do a ride like that on my own. Also what kind of things i need to keep an eye out to expect on the road or for prep of the rip. cheers maria |
Sounds great, things to look out for depends alot on the route taken. But no matter which way, watch the wildlife, don't ride at dusk.
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Wow, thats a lot of miles to do in 2 1/2 weeks. One crossing of the Nullarbor is enough for anyone in a lifetime, let alone 2 back to back. Unless you have a pressing desire to be in both Sydney or Perth.
I really think you would be better sticking to one side of the country or other, for a short period like 2 1/2 weeks. As far as safety goes, that's a little difficult to quatify. As a single female travelling alone, all the usuall precautions should be applied. Australia is typically a safe destination and you'll find we are a pretty friendly lot. Thats not to say that from time to time tourists and locals alike will find misadventure and misfortune. As previously mentioned, the biggest risk on our roads are the critters. Mostly native animals at sunrise and particularly sunset. Don't disregard farm stock as well. Other considerations are the exhaustive distances and weather. June the temps could be surprisingly low and probably windy. Tiring on a small bike. |
Yes it's safe and as others have said biggest risk is animals, especially at dawn and dusk. Would it be fun? The road from Adelaide to Perth is long straight and boring. Doing it once can be an adventure, twice in 2 weeks would for most people be hell. Petrol out of the big town's is also expensive, as is accommodation so it could be an expensive, uncomfortable way of seeing not much.
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G'day Maria,
You'll love it. Don't ride before 8am or after 4pm and you'll be O.K. A truckie does it under 36 hours, so you have plenty of time. There is a lot to see just off the highway. Take warm gear and water. What are you riding? Enjoy.:clap: |
Just so no one gets confused and under estimates this journey, Sydney - Perth is 3950km. Trucks do it on a couple of days by using multiple drivers. Single drivers/riders on a mission sometimes do it in 3 days, but 4 or 5 days is more realistic and still tough going. Doing there and back again on two and a half weeks is a serious undertaking.
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So Maria, what have you decided. The adventure may be in the achievement, for some just clocking up big miles puts a smile on your dial. For others it is all the exploration and mateship. Do what works for you, but watch the wildlife and fatigue.
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Just my humble opinion... but if I was starting in Sydney and had just 17 or 18 days, I'd ride along the southeast coast through Lakes Entrance and Phillip Island to Melbourne and Geelong, then ride the Great Ocean Road. If you're making good time, ride up to Adelaide. That's 2500 KM one way. Turn around and ride back roughly the same way.
Each way could easily take you five or six days if you're riding along the back roads along the coast. Allow time to stop in a few places along the way to play tourist, and allow a couple extra days in case you run into some bad weather. |
Maria
2.5 weeks are plenty. Even if you only do 500km/day, you'll have plenty of time. And the less stressed you are about time, the more you will enjoy it. There are plenty of great things to see and explore on the way (including the Nullarbor). You can realistically expect around 8 hours travel/day at the moment. If you plan to visit Esperance, please look us up. Plenty of room if you want to stay over. One thing to remember though- Southcoast is winter rainfall and the weather can be crappy. Going north will ensure much better weather. |
Hi Maria, I did it a few weeks ago from Perth to Sydney. I did it on my own bush camping along the way where I could. It took me 7 days with a day lost due to 100kph winds. I loved it, but would prob look to head a different route back to get the most of your trip. Maximum distance was about 250km between roadhouses. Have fun.
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This stretch is every motorbikers dream --
or more likely -- NIGHTMARE!!! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...0/IMG_4179.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b...0/IMG_4180.JPG Weather has been mentioned. We are a couple of weeks out from Sydney towards Adelaide (yes, a very slow trip) and for the first week we had rain all day every day and very cold windy days with temperatures down to 1C on a couple of nights with 3 and 4c being common. We have been on the Nullabour when the winds were so strong that a couple of bicycle riders were getting along at about 40kmph without pedaling. One coming the opposite direction was sitting under a bush waiting until night when he hoped the wind would drop. |
Two and a half weeks there and back sounds way too much - I did Sydney to Byron Bay then through the middle to Perth which took three and a half weeks last year. With alot of Kms on straight roads broken up with interesting things to see and do, two and a half weeks your not going to see much other than gas stations at road houses and tarmac. Felt pretty safe most everywhere but be well prepared if your off the beaten track solo it's a big big place. Next time I'd do one area probably the west coast north and south of Perth some stunning spots over that way. Or head north from Sydney for half your time then inland back down sounds far more enjoyable.
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Bunch of pussies!!! - 2.5 weeks is fine for a there and back. Did the Black Duck Rally a couple of times in the 1980s and only had two weeks off work to get back to Melbourne. Did it on a 650 and 800 BM, 2 up on the 800. Camped all the way. I think it was the June long weekend, I do remember it was cold.
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This chick was a one post wonder and has not been back to check your responses.
2.5wks there & back.....no problem, but boy, you are going to be on a mission :mchappy: |
I only just saw this post. I rode to Perth-Melbourne-Perth in Feb-Mar this year on my Suzuki DRZ250. I'm only 5'2", hence small bike for height and weight to pick up (and I had to!!).
Roughly 11 days each direction, clocked over 7200km. My aim was 350km per day, and I rode at 95-100km/h. I travelled alone, camped every night bar a couple nights with friends, free-camped 16 out of 21 nights out there, supplied all my own food. I had an inReach device as back-up for communication and safety. I think I got off lucky with the wind, had a bit of rain and some hot weather. NO WILDLIFE bar two dingos. I never ride at dawn or dusk or night. I like to explore, so plenty of time for photos and sight-seeing. The Nullarbor is awesome if you just give it a chance :-) After initial difficulties, I loved it, and the total trip cost under $1000. |
Mrs X, what did you do for food? Did you use a dehydrator to get everything smaller? I'm doing Perth to Byron and back in September. The idea of free camping is very appealing, but unsure about the volume of food I'd be packing. Advice?
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You don't need to pack more than 2 days food. And that would be breakfast and dinner. Lunch can be had on the road. Every 2 days you should be past a shop selling the food you want, or something close to it.
Packing dehydrated food would be at lest 600g / day ... so 11 days would be 6.6 kg ... then add water ... If it is cold you may want 1kg of food / day ... just to keep warm. Common store bought food is going to weigh more .. but you don't need to carry that much of it .. so less weight and space this way. Oh, and then factor in the cost of the dehydrated stuff too. |
Hi Micki24nz,
One of my aims was self-sufficiency - I wanted to see what it would be like if I was REALLY far out there and couldn't stock up food easily. So I actually had all my food for one direction (11 days). I'm glad I did - the roadhouses don't really look after 1) health or 2) small packing! Full of grease and very little in the way of small-portion one-person-meal groceries. I checked most roadhouses to see what they had - not many even had 2min noodles or boxes of crackers! I was also on a VERY tight budget, so buying fried food for every meal or eating in the roadhouses wasn't an option. I was free-camping and don't ride at night unless unavoidable, so I wasn't eating at roadhouses then going off to camp. I carried a mix of the following & cook decent meals as much as possible. BREAKFAST - porridge oats or Asian instant noodle soups if cooking, Clif energy bars, nut bars or pureed baby food sachets if not cooking (don't knock them till you try! Just make sure you get at least 450kJ or you'll get hungry quickly). LUNCH - crackers, small tins of flavoured tuna, processed cheese (Laughing Cow or Kraft - good in heat and over several days). Otherwise nutbars. Box of crackers lasted several days. DINNER - pasta or rice, freeze-dried veggies, meat was canned chicken or tuna or freeze-dried mince (actually quite good!). Sauce made from tomato paste sachets (light and compact, 1 per meal). Also couple of readymade curries in sachets and 2min noodles for quick/I'm-too-tired meals. I can get 3 meals out of the Backcountry veggies and mince. I carry spices in little bottles (chilli, garlic, mixed herbs, curry powder, salt, pepper). This makes anything taste great :-) I had no fresh veggies Perth-Adelaide each way, but did from Adelaide-Melb. When it's easier, I generally stock up every day or two with meat and veg. YES, my food took up a lot of space and weight - no questioning that. At least 5kg that got lighter every day :-) It took up a lot of space in my luggage. But for me camping and travel is also about food and enjoying a good meal. Full meals of freeze-dried food are easy, less water needed, quick, but expensive. I'm small and still need a 2-person meal to feel full! They weren't an option, but the sides were great (veggies, mince). I've never tried dehydrating food, but you still need a bit of water to rehydrate anything, so factor that in. I picked up water every day - 6lt water bladder plus 3lt Camelbak. Cooking a full meal can be more costly for water, but I also washed every day & clothes every 2 days, and would go through most of my water each day. Every roadhouse has water, there are a couple spots on the way to collect as well, but not easy. Happy travels :-) Tam |
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