Road Trip Melb-QLD

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 11:26 AM

Hey guys planning on doing a road trip to Queensland in a couple of weeks and looking for a few tips from the Northerners on the forum. I will have a co driver with me and we want to try and wing it as much as possible and arrange accommodation on an as needed basis. The rough plan at this stage is to head up inland via Albury and Wagga with night stopovers at Parkes and Goondiwindi before heading across to the Gold Coast.

My first question is what is the best route from Goondiwindi to Gold Coast? Google maps seems determined to put me on the Logan motorway but I was thinking taking Beaudesert-Nerang Rd? We will be taking my XA so I want to avoid unsealed roads.

Also my last time I drove back from Brisbane it cost me a grille from all the birds feeding on roadkill on the Cunningham highway. Are they always there? Whats the chance I'll get back home with my grill intact lol?

Anyway we are planning on taking the coastal route back and head back inland after Sydney. Thinking of night stopovers at Coffs Harbour, Sydney and Wagga coming back. Just looking for tips on best places to stay here. Especially in Sydney I don't really want to get caught in Melbourne style traffic jams if possible so if anyone can give me tips on areas to avoid that would be great.

Smoke Pursuit · 27-02-2013, 11:42 AM

Just watch the weather before hand especially around Moree / Gundy (as it floods out there). I do Brisbane to Melbourne in a day. As for traveling from Gundy to the coast just go the Logan Motorway, its a much better road then trying to go through Beaudesert.

You run the risk of damage from wild life anywhere on the trip.

TheSneakiness · 27-02-2013, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DASH GT

As for traveling from Gundy to the coast just go the Logan Motorway, its a much better road then trying to go through Beaudesert.

Allow about $5 for tolls along here.

deesun · 27-02-2013, 02:10 PM

I live on Goldy and have asked this same question of the locals as I've only been here a short time. Seems that the Beaudesert Rd is rubbish, windy and twisty. It also copped a bit of a battering recently in the storms I think. If its for the drive then take it but if you want to get here quickly and smoothly then Logan Mwy is the go.

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapid_Axe

Allow about $5 for tolls along here.

Do I need to pay in advance or will they just send me an invoice? Not fussed about the toll just don't want to cop a fine for not paying. Obviously they will add an admin\lookup fee on top.

Speaking of revenue do I have to religiously watch my speedo like in Vic or is there some level of tolerance> I had no number plates last time I drove around there and didn't get hassled once in NSW or QLD but obviously wasn't looking out for speed cameras either.

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

I live on Goldy and have asked this same question of the locals as I've only been here a short time. Seems that the Beaudesert Rd is rubbish, windy and twisty. It also copped a bit of a battering recently in the storms I think. If its for the drive then take it but if you want to get here quickly and smoothly then Logan Mwy is the go.

Its a bit of both really but there's going to be plenty of opportunities to enjoy the drive so it sounds like Logan motorway is the go. I actually find the really tight and twisty roads pretty hard work in the coupe. Long sweeping bends are more my thing.

Vincenzo · 27-02-2013, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbxd351

Do I need to pay in advance or will they just send me an invoice? Not fussed about the toll just don't want to cop a fine for not paying. Obviously they will add an admin\lookup fee on top.

Recently did Perth via Canberra to Darwin via the New England Highway. In relation to toll roads you can drive them and so long as you pay within three days you should be ok. I didn't and it took two months before they found me. So, instead of paying about $7.20 in total tolls it cost me nearly $40.00 as each toll came with a $10.00 Administration fee.

Cheers Vincenzo

Smoke Pursuit · 27-02-2013, 03:32 PM

Yeah make sure you pay the tolls within 3 days... otherwise just go via ipswich road through to kessels road / M1 if you dont want to pay the tolls, will only add about 20 minutes extra to the trip.

Coppers up here are pretty good... most of them will give you 7% over before they nab you, 10% is pushing it a bit.

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 04:34 PM

Thanks for the tips guys. Its always good to get advice from locals rather than take a guess. If I hadn't asked I probably would have gone via Beaudesert saying to myself "This is ****ed! Why didn't I take the ****en motorway?!"

Anyone got any advice on the best way to navigate North-South through Sydney and a good area to stay for the night?

deesun · 27-02-2013, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbxd351

Anyone got any advice on the best way to navigate North-South through Sydney and a good area to stay for the night?

If this is for the trip home then the best way is F3, Pennant Hills Rd to M2(toll) which becomes M7(toll) which leads you all the way through to Hume Hwy. Easy peasy lemon squeasy. The **** part is Pennant Hills Rd but you are only on it for about 10k.
Re tolls, if you havent got a ETAG then there are some short term options which vary state to state but are able to be used on all toll roads. Check Vicroads website.
Re staying the night, this will depend on where you are at the time.

deesun · 27-02-2013, 05:33 PM

Re staying the night, this will depend on where you are at the time. Squillions of places in Coffs to stay from backpackers to 5*. Hotel booking sites have real cheap deals during off seasons. Many on the hwy and a few down the waterfront area check around near Coffs wharf.
Re Pathetic Hwy-WARNING the Pathetic Hwy is more pathetic than usual because of recent flooding. From Ballina to Grafton mostly single lane but quite a bit of overtaking lanes. From Grafton south the same but from about 40k out of Coffs its 80/60/40k for roadworks roadworks and more roadworks. Coffs to Port macquarie nice to start but then single lane with o/t lanes through Urunga, Macksville and Nambucca. There is a brand new bypass of Kempsey and Fredericton about to open and if you not going in the next week or so u might be lucky and drive it, otherwise its a horror through those towns. From Port down its beautiful dual lanes all the way with only slowing at Heatherbrae to Hexam and around to F3.

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

If this is for the trip home then the best way is F3, Pennant Hills Rd to M2(toll) which becomes M7(toll) which leads you all the way through to Hume Hwy. Easy peasy lemon squeasy. The **** part is Pennant Hills Rd but you are only on it for about 10k.
Re tolls, if you havent got a ETAG then there are some short term options which vary state to state but are able to be used on all toll roads. Check Vicroads website.
Re staying the night, this will depend on where you are at the time.

Cheers yeah looks easy enough skirting around the edges using the main highways. We would hopefully like to venture into the city center for some entertainment. I guess it's a matter of whether we stay somewhere out in the suburbs or in the city. Obviously need a pretty secure place to put the car. Motels with parking right outside the room are my favorite always prefer having the thing right under my nose. That story about the XA coupe that got stolen from a secured underground hotel car park on the Gold Coast a few years back makes me pretty nervous.

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesun

Re staying the night, this will depend on where you are at the time. Squillions of places in Coffs to stay from backpackers to 5*. Hotel booking sites have real cheap deals during off seasons. Many on the hwy and a few down the waterfront area check around near Coffs wharf.
Re Pathetic Hwy-WARNING the Pathetic Hwy is more pathetic than usual because of recent flooding. From Ballina to Grafton mostly single lane but quite a bit of overtaking lanes. From Grafton south the same but from about 40k out of Coffs its 80/60/40k for roadworks roadworks and more roadworks. Coffs to Port macquarie nice to start but then single lane with o/t lanes through Urunga, Macksville and Nambucca. There is a brand new bypass of Kempsey and Fredericton about to open and if you not going in the next week or so u might be lucky and drive it, otherwise its a horror through those towns. From Port down its beautiful dual lanes all the way with only slowing at Heatherbrae to Hexam and around to F3.

Thanks for the heads up on the roadworks. Google maps puts the travel time between coffs and sydney as 6.5 hours does that sound about right? We might be lucky enough to get on the new bypass we'll probably be returning down that way around March 20.

And thanks again really appreciate your info very helpful.

deesun · 27-02-2013, 06:19 PM

No probs, travelled the road plenty of times. 6.5 sounds about right maybe a bit less depends on stops but take off .5 if kempsey is open which it should be by then. They had a community open day weekend before last. Has a 3k bridge in it, longest bridge in Australia the blurb says. If you can add an hour drive into Port Macq via Hastings River Drive,Park,Horton,Clarence,Stewart sts and stop at Town Beach lookout. Then south along Pacific drive and down to Lake Cathie, North Haven and Laurieton. Turn right out to highway again but do yourself a favour and then left to the North Brother Lookout. Windy and steep but amazing views nth and sth. Back down and out to hwy and on to Syd. Will add about 1.5 hrs to trip and see what a beautiful area it is.

mik · 27-02-2013, 06:19 PM

regarding sydney , should you end up going through the big smoke i would avoid going through it on a friday arbo, i got got caught last time...........sheesh i though melbourne was bad on on a friday(shakes head).

xbxd351 · 27-02-2013, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

regarding sydney , should you end up going through the big smoke i would avoid going through it on a friday arbo, i got got caught last time...........sheesh i though melbourne was bad on on a friday(shakes head).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeman

Weren't BMW using solenoids to activate their valves incl variable lift to control power ie ...small lift for idle, increasing for power.....forgotten what they called it...
VALVETRONIC?

Yes will definitely be avoiding this. Will probably hit Sydney on a Wednesday in the evening after peak hour has died down. Hopefully it will be manageable at this time. I got stuck in Melbourne's cbd gridlock in Friday peak hour doing a job a few weeks back and it's hard to imagine much worse than that but I'm sure Sydney is every bit as hectic if not more.

deesun · 27-02-2013, 10:14 PM

Peak hour in Syd lasts from 730am to 730pm but you will be going in when most will be going out. Not many motels between end of freeway and start of M2 so without going too far off main track there are three main ones. http://www.pennant-hills-waldorf.com...ent_types.html on south going side of PH Rd. Not much in PH but there is an amazing pizza place 5mins walk from motel or PH Pub 7 mins walk. http://ibishotel.ibis.com/gb/home/index.shtml, Opposite side to travel nothing near this but Maccas 10mins walk away. http://www.ascotmotorinn.net.au/, 500mtrs from end of freeway in opposite direction to travel. Its old with 70s decor but clean, Indian and steakhouse restaurant on site. Waitara rugby club within 1k has good feed and cold beer. Ive stayed at Ascot not at others, fed at club and pizza joint.

**buggerlugs** · 28-02-2013, 09:21 AM

And when you cross the border and get into Qld remember to speak slower.........

deesun · 28-02-2013, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

And when you cross the border and get into Qld remember to speak slower.........

And the locals are worse at running orange/red lights than anyone else I have ever encountered. They also dont use left indicators when turning at roundabouts.

dexter69 · 11-03-2013, 01:04 AM

best advice i can give you is do not use the pacific highway for the trip up north mate. head inland thru tamworth, glen innes, tenterfield, stanthorpe, warwick, ipswich and finally to brisbane.

Yellow_Festiva · 17-03-2013, 05:28 PM

I saw this thread on my phone and wanted to post something but forgot..

Be very careful on 'winging it' with the accomodation in small country towns. I have a rental in Cowra and was surprised at the amount of events that are hosted there as well as many others in the area.

For a month last year I went up every weekend to do maintenance work and generally booked stuff only a few days in advance. A few times I was very lucky to get a bed. Once, the only place with a bed available was a winery several km out of town.. at a cost that was well above what we generally paid for a basic hotel in town.

If you know roughly where you will be stopping, get online and book ahead. I doubt you will have an issue if you are driving mid week.

xbxd351 · 18-03-2013, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I saw this thread on my phone and wanted to post something but forgot..

Be very careful on 'winging it' with the accomodation in small country towns. I have a rental in Cowra and was surprised at the amount of events that are hosted there as well as many others in the area.

For a month last year I went up every weekend to do maintenance work and generally booked stuff only a few days in advance. A few times I was very lucky to get a bed. Once, the only place with a bed available was a winery several km out of town.. at a cost that was well above what we generally paid for a basic hotel in town.

If you know roughly where you will be stopping, get online and book ahead. I doubt you will have an issue if you are driving mid week.

Thanks mate appreciate that I think we have passed that danger though. Currently kicking back in Surfers the last 2 days. Certainly no shortage of accommodation here. Stayed in Parkes on Friday night and Goondiwindi on Saturday. Will post up a few pics when I get a chance.

I have to say Queenslanders are far less aggressive than Victorians on the roads and in general more laid back. They actually move out of the right lane when I approach even to the point of braking and falling in behind the car in the lane next to them! Never seen ths happen in Victoria before. Really enjoying aggro free driving up here.

gossy · 19-03-2013, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbxd351

I have to say Queenslanders are far less aggressive than Victorians on the roads and in general more laid back. They actually move out of the right lane when I approach even to the point of braking and falling in behind the car in the lane next to them! Never seen ths happen in Victoria before. Really enjoying aggro free driving up here.

Give it a few days and get back to us...........

deesun · 19-03-2013, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gossy

Give it a few days and get back to us...........

He must have parked the car and walked for a few days. Wonder if he's seen anyone use a blinker yet.
Anyway have a great time while you are here, hope you have a safe place for the car.

4stanger · 19-03-2013, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbxd351

They actually move out of the right lane when I approach even to the point of braking and falling in behind the car in the lane next to them!

They (the locals) probably know a speed camera is ahead

xbxd351 · 23-03-2013, 11:04 PM

Haha you guys need to spend a week driving in Melbourne and then come and tell me how bad Queensland is. Got back here Friday and realised just how hectic it is. Even Sydney felt nice and cruisy in the cbd on Wednesday evening and just after morning peak on Thursday.

Thanks deesun for all your advice was certainly very helpful although I couldn't find that pizza place you mentioned. I was really looking foward to that too!

One of the highlights was getting pulled over by a HWP in Surfers after tailing us for a few blocks. The first thing he said was "Mate you haven't done anything wrong I just wanted to have a look at your car and I didn't know how much longer I could keep following you"

So we all chatted about old Fords for a while and took some photos while a bit of an audience was gathering.

It really is great to hear a HWP officer tell you they love our modded or old school Fords rather than reel out a list of defects. Just goes to show they're not all out to give us a hard time.

Anyway I posted a picture thread in the coupes section:

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11391932

**DJM83** · 24-03-2013, 09:51 AM

Thats awesome.

deesun · 24-03-2013, 03:52 PM

Glad you had a great time and the road trip was worth it. My Pizza directions might have been askew. Good to see a policeman with some Ford sense and a car lover. Happy Days mate.