(Travelled in September, 2007)
As the legends of old Redex Trials and London-Sydney marathons slowly creep further behind the present day, it’s an interesting question for those of us who’ve never crossed Australia by car – How difficult is it really these days? What’s the road really like? How hard is it to get that Premium petrol? Are modern(ish) cars ‘up to it’? No, it’s not too hard to guess the answers to all these questions; but it sure doesn’t hurt to find out for yourself!
The goal was to cross Australia by road from Moss Vale to Perth via scenic southwestern WA. I had time on my hands and the need to get away for a while. Not to mention the loyal 406ST patiently waiting in the garage for it’s next task. All that was required was a major service at the local specialist; personally check all five tyres for condition and pressure; sort out new wiper blades and detergent for the washers; dig out the headlight protectors and fit them - and that was the car sorted. Really, when you think about it, the next nine thousand kilometres of steady 100-110kph driving would mostly be easier than the previous nine spent negotiating Sydney’s ‘streets’. Won’t it?
Meanwhile a new tent ($79); single ‘self-inflating’ 4WD mattress (wonderful things! $89); a compact torch and lantern (these new-fangled LED ones – bright; tough and easy on the batteries) and a 15-litre ‘cube’ to store emergency water. Put together a kit of Butane cooker and cooking bits and pieces and we’re about done. Last of all: a set of maps from the NRMA (essential!) and an Accommodation Guide for caravan parks (that I didn’t end up needing - Caravan Parks are hard to miss!).
And so the 406 and I were off!
The first leg was only down to Canberra where I caught up with a mate before heading off west. So it was Canberra to Yass Junction to Gundagai. Having done the NSW to SA trip a few times before, I thought a small change would be good. So instead of continuing down the Hume before turning-off for Wagga Wagga I went into Gundagai and headed west from there. This was quite a bonus, as the road from Gundagai to Nangus is quite a treat. After first ducking under the freeway it meanders along the river before heading over and around rolling hills, observed by various meals-to-be along the way. This is a nice Peugeot road: sweeping corners with plenty of bumps that showcase the sublime ride/handling combination of the traditional Pug. Being slower than the freeway it’s also nice for those older non-overdrive cars.
First night camping was in Narrandera. Met a nice bloke from Victoria (and the Victorian Club) who introduced himself. He was returning home with his wife, caravan and his 407HDi, which he didn’t like as much as his previous 406 diesels.
Day Two was the long stretch across the Hay Plains with that night spent in a motel in Mildura.
The following day was more interesting as the road headed across the northwest corner of Victoria and into South Australia. The B64 heads through Morgan and on through Burra. Suddenly of a very high quality, wide and smooth, it feels very isolated. If you check the map you become very aware that to your right across the relatively flat treeless expanse it’s hundreds of kilometres to any town (Broken Hill) or thousands if you miss it!
Just before Burra, however, is another driving highlight. You approach a line of decent hills that rise out of the monotony. When you reach them the road and scenery are transformed into gorgeous rolling farmland with the road winding its way in such an enjoyable way that you’re reminded why you love driving and why your choice of car is what it is.
Port Augusta is an interesting town. Not the prettiest by any means, it appears to have been forced on the landscape and made to fit on the buildable land along the edge of the Gulf and around the river. It does have a certain romance, though. You feel that those who aren’t locals have, like you, come a long way and have plenty still to go. The numerous Road Trains and the double-decker rail cars visible across the river give the impression of mass haulage going great distances.
A surprise for my mental image of the Eyre Peninsula is that it takes a good day’s drive just to get across the top to Ceduna, where the Great Australian Bight is first seen on this trip.
Then it was onto the new stuff for me. From here on was a personal record – the furthest west I’d been in Australia! The advice from the Ceduna Tourist information centre was to be mindful that from here it’s 1250km(!) to the next town (Norseman). There are well-stocked roadhouses at about 200km intervals that also have limited motel accommodation and a number of powered and unpowered sites. It’s best to book ahead for the motel rooms, especially during peak times.
First stop was the old whaling town of Fowlers Bay. It’s a 31km dirt detour off the Eyre Hwy. These days there’s only about a dozen buildings left and I’m told by the friendly couple at the general store that more buildings are under the sand dunes that come right up to the town. Every now and then a dozer comes along and trims the otherwise advancing hills of sand.
A more poignant stop is at the remains of Coorabie; another village on the 26km road back to the highway. Now not much more than an intersection and a few buildings, I stop at the focal point which is a fairly normal War Memorial like we see in so many of our country towns. Four names are on one side representing the men who fought in the Second World War. More interesting, I think, are the twelve names on the other side, of the young men and boys that went off to World War One. Standing at that hot and silent junction, many hours drive by modern car and highway from the nearest city, it was humbling to think of these young men leaving their region (probably for the first time) to travel to Albany ready to take ship to Europe. Travel by ‘road’ would be unthinkable. The rail line (only just completed) was about 150km to the north, so the most likely option would seem to have been to travel (Walk? Horse and cart?) the 20km down to Fowler’s Bay and then take ship around to Western Australia. What a huge undertaking and what an eternity before they finally faced the enemy!
Next stop on the same day was at Head of Bight. As the name suggests, this location is the northern most point of the Great Australian Bight, but more appreciable as a great spot to see whales. At the turn off from the highway a chalkboard read that this morning’s aerial count was thirty-two whales in the area. Sure enough, once the few dollars were paid at the lone information building, a boardwalk lead down to the cliffs where I counted about 10 whales visible in front of us. Many with calves, as this is a great location for the mothers to shadow the young in the shallow water while they get the idea about swimming. A highlight of the trip!
Then it was a further 200-odd kilometres to Bordertown via the Nullarbor Roadhouse (Premium 176.9 if you needed it!) and several lookouts over the cliffs of the Bight.
Meanwhile, the 406 cruised as comfortably and quietly as ever. At 108kph the tacho reads about 3000rpm and the engine noise is less than the gentle tyre rumble and wind-noise. None are intrusive. Overtaking is straightforward. Even with only two-litres, the gearing is such that most overtaking is done in fifth with only a little planning. The length of a three-trailer Road-Train is easily enough to put on another 30kph which dispatches the exercise quite promptly. If baulked such that we’re brought down to, say, 80kph, then third gear is again quite capable of easily getting around the inevitable caravans of the trans-Australian roads.
Speaking of which, though I digress, one incident brought home the performance of modern ‘family’ cars. I was plodding out of a roadhouse behind a humble-but-new Toyota Aurion that was towing a reasonable-sized caravan. I decided that it would be easiest to despatch him as he worked his way up to speed on the highway. As it turned out, that was not an option available to me! Caravan and all he accelerated at such a rate it was all I could do just to keep up, let alone try to overtake! (N.B. Aurions have exactly double the horsepower of a two-litre 406!).
After a night camping at the Roadhouse at the SA/WA border (where an illustrated sign on the amenities door warned of the danger of deadly snakes making their way into the showers!), it was into Western Australia and a 700km drive to Norseman. This included the 90-mile straight – the longest stretch of straight road in the country. Personally, it seemed as monotonous as the rest of the Eyre Highway, but maybe that’s just me. There were, however, some things that gave the stretch interest. Firstly was the eagle standing by the side of the road. It was as tall as the white marker posts and seemingly of a size as the dead wallaby at it’s feet. It didn’t move as I zoomed by but gave me a very dirty look. Upon reflection - with no lips, eyebrows or even a forehead – it probably didn’t have a lot of facial expressions to call upon…
Secondly, at distant intervals along the road were dedicated sections marked out for the Royal Flying Doctor planes to land. At first I thought this was pointless since you could land a fleet of jumbos anywhere on this highway, but perhaps it helps to have these places marked out to make it easier to organise rendezvous’ with patients?
Finally, because I’m easily amused, I took great pleasure in stopping to talk to the herd of wild camels (no radio, remember!) trying to graze next to, and seemingly on, the road.
From Norseman, one has to decide how one intends to get to Perth. There’s no straight line between the two so you have to either go directly north to Coolgardie (near Kalgoorlie-Boulder), or south to Esperance. Despite the mission to cross the country, I was touring so it was south.
Despite loose restrictions of time and budget, Esperance was a great place to spend two nights and have a break from driving. It may be a bit of a tourist town (and I was shocked to see that my Riverstone house in Sydney wouldn’t get me all that much here!) but the beaches and coastal scenery in general are worth the visit alone. The beaches really are white, and combined with genuinely turquoise waters, you could quite easily think you were somewhere much more tropical.
Another day driving west got me to Albany. The biggest centre I’d been to since the east coast, Albany is part tourist attraction, part real city-town. One could easily spend a number of days meaningfully occupied exploring the area. For me, a pleasant surprise was the local Wind-Farm.
Though familiar with the Crookwell installation and impressed by the 60-odd(!) we saw on a trip earlier this year from Mt. Gambier up to Adelaide, this was the first time I’d been able to walk right up to the base of these massive structures. And the first time I’d been able to hear them. We’ve all heard the arguments against this technology in terms of noise and danger to bird life. I’d always thought the former would be negligible and the latter would be fine as long as the birds simply looked where they were going! Well! The diagrams showed that each blade of these things is at least as long as the height of Albany’s tallest building. This means that in spite of the apparent lazy rotations, the linear velocity of the tips is quite high. Again, according to the signs, at the slowest wind-speed that causes the blades to move (7kph/10rpm), the tips are doing 130kph! At the maximum wind speed at which the turbines automatically shut themselves down to protect themselves (130kph) the blades are doing 260! The result of the sheer size of the blades is a distinct and deep “whoosh” of displaced air and the sheer speed of the things means the local birds better keep their wits about them!
From here it was on to the Walpole area and an introduction to Western Australia’s famous tall trees.
Near Walpole is the elevated treetop walk amongst the ‘Tingle’ trees that can grow to 75metres over a period of up to about 400 years! In fact it takes 30 years before the first series of flowers! The steel elevated walkway rises to a maximum of 40metres above the bush floor, giving a treetop view of this magnificent bushland. For those who’ve not seen this type of set-up, similar structures exist near Otway in Victoria; Huonville in Tassie and, I’m told, near Dorrigo in NSW. Well worth a look!
Further up the road at Pemberton, a narrow gauge (ex-logging) rail line has tramway or Steam rides amongst the Karri trees - the other big tree of the region. I was intrigued by the occasional bridge on the dirt side roads made entirely of Jarrah that, we’re told, is of no interest to the local white ants. There is also a tourist drive through the Karri forest near Pemberton that travels over dirt roads and through some magnificent avenues of these mighty trees. A nifty feature is a designated radio signal that one is told to tune to in order to get narrative at particular spots along the track. A great idea and a source of some quite interesting insights into the origins of the area.
From Pemberton it’s a straightforward trip across to Augusta and nearby Cape Leeuwin with it’s lighthouse. A big moment as it is the first time I’ve ever seen the Indian Ocean and the point at which I’ve achieved the basic goal, at least, of my journey. Across Australia solo by 406! Cape Leeuwin lighthouse oversees Australia’s south westernmost point and you can look out and imagine a dotted line between the Indian and Southern Oceans. This day it was extraordinarily windy and a real struggle to get up to the lighthouse let alone hold a steady camera to take photos!
A big mistake I almost made was to take Highway 10, the more direct route to Busselton on the way up to Perth.
Instead, I fortunately took another lovely driver’s road. Highway 250 meanders up through some more gorgeous forests and wineries until, for the first time since leaving home I’m hit with the rude shock of urban sprawl near Busselton. Just like our Eastern equivalents, the seemingly soulless spread of housing divisions is pasted here straight over the top of the original landscape. This is particularly harsh after the last fortnight of Australia’s genuine environment.
It’s now an easy drive up past Bunbury to Perth itself. A nice fresh freeway is available for much of the trip and comes complete with an electric passenger train line (soon to be in operation) straight down the centre to service the massive and rapid expansion to Perth’s south.
Many of you will be familiar with Perth so I won’t go into it too much here, other than to say I was a little disappointed. I was expecting a much more fresh and exciting feel to the place – a kind of ‘big Adelaide’. Instead, the parts I saw reminded me of the architectural and planning mediocrity of Sydney. Like Sydney, there are some nice aspects for those able to afford the waterfront lifestyle, but everyone else goes without. That’s just my not-so-humble opinion, of course!
For the return journey I was on a mission! I’d had enough of continually packing and unpacking the tent or forking out for motels. The quest was complete so it was time for home. Two things became apparent on the way back. Firstly, and with only a couple of exceptions, how broadly similar the landscape is from Perth all the way to Wagga Wagga, where suddenly you’re in the green rolling hills of the Great Dividing Range after all that flat sparsely forested space. Secondly the sudden drop in road quality when you pass into Victoria and onto New South Wales. All through WA and SA, the road is wide and smooth, with a 110kph limit. Crossing out of South Australia and the road suddenly narrows, the surface becoming more shiny and undulating.
Seven days of straight driving returned me to my hometown of Moss Vale. Yes, it could be done more quickly, but again in my opinion, not safely by one person – no matter how accommodating the vehicleIt will come as no surprise to the Peugeotphiles reading this that the 406 is a wonderful steed for such an adventure. A car with no rattles, no annoying little flaws; whose seats are comfortable all day, every day – no backaches here! With plenty of space without being truck like; having enough performance for the job whilst averaging a respectable 7.65l/100km (36.86mpg) over 8896km (with Premium always available). And, of course, not a single mechanical gremlin along the way. I’d suggest that the HDi (diesel) and SV (3-litre/6 cylinder) versions would be even better with their greater torque and, in the case of the diesel, even greater range. As I say to anyway silly enough to stay still long enough – I’ve owned many cars, some of which possessed greater glamour and/or performance, but the 406 would make a pretty good stab at being the very best!
Facts and Figures
1996 Peugeot 406 ST
Engine: DOHC, 4-cyl, 1998cc
Max. Power: 100kW @ 5500rpm
Max. Torque: 187Nm @ 4200rpm
Weight: 1315kg
Fuel Tank: 70 litres
Distance Travelled: 8896km
Fuel Used: 680.6litres
Overall Fuel Consumption: 7.65l/100km (37mpg)
Best three readings: (l/100km) 6.08 / 6.62 / 6.82
Worst three readings: (l/100km) 9.45 / 9.22 / 9.04
Cheapest Accommodation: $7 - unpwd site: Balladonia, WA
$54.00 – motel: Balranald, NSW
Usual cost of unpwd site: $14.00
Dearest Accommodation: $90.00 Motel in
Norseman
Usual cost of Motel: $70-$80
