Sydney to Brisbane

[RAPID_BA]

Originally Posted by No.6

Gday forum gurus!

In a months time i will be taking a short holiday to the gold coast...by car...from sydney. I have never done an epic drive of this magnitude before...in fact, the longest drive would have to be from sydney to nelson bay. So, for those of you that have done such a thing is there any tips you have or precautions i should take?

Im also interested in roughly how many kms/fuel stops it will take to get there. My car is an 09 xr6t..around sydney i get about 370-400km per tank...could i expect to get 550km per tank to brisbane?

I know i could just fly up there, but what is the use of having such a nice car when you only drive it around metro sydney!

Thanks in advance.

I have done this drive at least 10 times, bank on 1 and a half tanks each way and under $100 each way and about 11 hours with reasonable stops. Its an awesome drive, here are my tips.

Make SURE you have quality tyres on the car, you don't want it to rain for hours on end and you get the hippy shakes. Tyres are most important. One of my drives I had three lots of flat tyres.

Polish the front end of the car at least for bugs and crap to later be easily cleaned.

Drive during the night, easier on the car with cooler temps, no sun, less cars on road, better economy and higher average speed. ( But you will feel a little hungover the next day, but better than wasting a day on the road)

Swap drivers every 2-3 hours and try snooze when your not in the pilots seat.

Treat the windscreen to anti fog and anti rainN makes a big difference for at least half the trip and invaluable should it rain.

Don't do the first leg to newcastle, its all traffic to get out of sydney and not much of a drive. Best leg is leg number 2 all highway. Then after coffs harbour for the run home as the sun rises.

I have driven all sorts of cars there and back, my favourite is an old 88 model pintara I drove with a mate back a few years. Those cars when travelling 110km/h felt like your going 200km/h (like vl commodores), it was lowered to the max so we felt every bump, it had an exhaust which droned like buggery and no power steering, it rained for half the trip, It felt like driving in a rally, felt really fast, loud, low, I was crossed up more often than not, bouncing and muscleing the car around the road the whole way, frantic on the steering left and right bendS, overtaking when overtaking lanes presented themselves and in hysterics laughing. He had retreads which developed an air bubble towards the end. Best drive ever!!!!

In your car 100km/h will feel slow, it will be a relaxed cruiser. Tyres are most important mate

[69XWGT]

Deesuns post is spot on.

Only thing i'd add is for someone that hasn't done any distance driving i'm not sure it's that wise to be leaving at that time.

I did a 10pm leave for Townsville with an X girlfriend. She was adamant about doing it at night and said she would do her share of the driving.
Well she did for the first hour and i drove the rest of the way through the night. Which at the time was no biggy because i used to spend a lot of time driving long distances.

Get out every couple of hours, have a cuppa or Redbull or something and a small bite to eat. If you start getting restless in the seat, rubbing your eyes, and start to stare at the road you're fatigued. Get out and rest

Before you know it you'll be in Brisbane

[noosacuda]

12 hours Brisbane- Sydney was always an average run,(i used to go down to Sydney for weekends in the 1980's) i have done it ONCE in 8 hours on the New England,but many years ago when young and foolish. These days my advice is do it in 2 days and set the cruise control to enjoy the drive,you'll arrive refreshed and alive! Watch out for the stupid 50km hour zones in NSW.

[DevilishChick60]

I've done it in 13-14 hours. thats only because I stopped to visit the Big Banana in Coffs and when I went there were roadworks around Grafton/Taree.. I didnt go though Newcastle, more or less just stuck to the highway and mostly missed most of the towns. Stopped at Port Macquarie for a feed, and fueled up in Coffs Harbour.

my advice to you.... dont leave at night around the times you are due to go to Sleep... that is the worst thing you can do... Leave around 1-4am in the morning, and if your lucky youll miss most of the touristy traffic, but might be stuck behind a stray truck or something... Dont worry if you get stuck behind a truck, it will help you stay alert.

Just my 2 cents worth...

[RAPID_BA]

In 2001 on the way back from gold coast to sydney with a few blokes, we had 8 guys and 3 cars, 2 ea fords and a s2000 honda. One guy decides to be a smartarse a drive home alone the night before. Took his bags and went whilst we were all in nightclubs.

Next morning 5 of us leave at 6am, 5 of us in a ea ford, bags as well. One guy decided to drive all the way home and at 85km/h all the way and would not let anyone else drive (worried we were intoxicated). Even at servos he stayed in drivers seat, annoyed everyone. Took us 16 hours to get home.

The 2 remaining guys left 4 hours behind us in the s2000 and by half way into the trip back we see them absolutely scream past at 170km/h. They claimed to get home in 8 hours and 4 hours ahead of us.

My point, just make sure how ever you get there and back you make it safe n sound.

[No.6]

Really good posts there guys, heaps of useful information. Cannot change depart time due to the missus having work (ill be having the day off). Hoping to get to coffs harbour to watch the sunrise on a beach somewhere lol. I work afternoons and usually stay up till 3am so i should be ok for the first leg of the journey...plus i have hamish and andy podcasts to keep me awake. In other news, drove over a piece of metal that fell off a truck in front of me and it ripped a hole in the left side skirt :( Will be fixed on monday for $400...i hope nothing happens on the way to brissy

Much appreciated!

[RAPID_BA]

Originally Posted by No.6

Thanks for all the responses guys...it certainly will be an interesting drive.

Basically ill be taking the pacific highway all the way up and aiming to fill up at coffs harbour. I will be departing sydney somehwere between 7pm-10pm so all the driving will be at night. Check in time at the hotel in brisbane is about 2pm but hopefully they will let me check in earlier, if not, ill just chill out around brisbane till they let me check in. Unfortunately time wont allow me to stop half way so itll be a non stop trip to brissy, besides the stop revive survive stuff.

The other question i forgot to ask is how high is the risk of running into a kangaroo or something similar? thats the other thing that scares the bejesus out of me...do they happen often? Also, how long is the drive via new england highway?

Thanks again for the tips!

Leave at the time your saying, its nice to have a quick snooze at 3am and then come in as the sun rises. Don't waste a day driving incredibly frustrating.

In my 10+ drives there and back I've never seen a kangaroo, but plenty of rain. Make sure your tyres are right.

[SteveJH]

Its not a bad trip, especially if you share the driving. Over whole length of the trip, remember its probably the 2nd best road in the country (I'm assuming the Hume is better).

Just set the cruise control, stick to the speed limit, share the driving and take a break when you are tired.

[drew`SEVNT5]

I did Stanthorpe - Brisbane Airport - Sydney CBD in 13.5 hrs... so make of that what you will... Only driver too.