Which route to take
 

My girlfriend is going to fly to Australia to meet me sometime in August/September and now we are wondering which route would be better for 2-up riding?:
- Perth to Adelaide
- Brisbane to Melbourne

We have roughly three weeks to do one of these legs.
We do not do diving.
Plan is to camp quite much and also use hostels/motels.
We are not looking "tourist" attractions (crowded by tourists)
She said that she would like to do quite much camping in the wild (as we did in Kazakhstan).

So, all comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

I have rode the latter and can recommend it. There's a lot of interesting places to visit, and I think in three weeks you will do both a fair bit of riding and be able to see a lot of sites.
:funmeteryes:

Easy!

Perth to Adelaide is boooorrring!

Brisbane to Melbourne- with a detour or three, especially taking one of the more inland routes - is great!

I just did Perth to Adelaide (and onwards to Melbourne) and can confirm its pretty empty. Which is actually quite fascinating if you're not used to immense open spaces. I enjoyed it, especially after the insanely crowded roads in Indonesia... And you meet some interesting characters along the way. Brisbane to Melbourne has more to see, to do and better riding roads but felt "too normal" to me (rode it three years ago). If that makes sense...

Perth to Adelaide
 

I have been living in Adelaide for over 20 years and am still finding great rides around the state. The Nullarbor can be long and tedious but has hidden gems. The Eyre Peninsula is stunning and so is most of South Australia. If you decide to do this route hit me up and I could offer some advise and perhaps accommodation. We will be overseas doing a ride of Alaska until mid September but after we can help you out. Good luck

Brisbane Melbourne will have more variety (people, scenery, facilities) than Perth Adelaide.

Camping? At an 'organized camp ground' .. then Brisbane Melbourne. 'Remote' self sufficient camping can be done on either route.. more possibilities on the Perth Adelaide route, you'd have to be more careful on the route you would use for Brisbane Melbourne.

Thank you all for quick answers.
Hmmm, hard to make a call. Both seem to have their own highlights...
We really loved the empty roads in Kazakhstan, so I think it will be my gf´s decision, because I will continue to ride around Australia after she returns back to europe.

In the east coast, can you recommend a "must see" place (we are more interested of natures wonders)?

There are a few..
Suggest you look at the list of 'National Parks' -- they are actually state based so you have 3

Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing (Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing)
Home | NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
parkweb.vic.gov.au/

Before you leave Qld ... http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au...kout/index.cfm

Most Ozies go for the alpine areas around the boarder of NSW and Victoria. But you probably have 'better'.

I'd come down out 'Great Diving Range' to say Tamworth (there are some Zig Zags I'd do to get in some 'good' roads .. and I'd see a beach or 3 to cool off) then Mudgee, Lithgow, Wombeyan Caves, Canberra, Adaminaby, Tintaldra, Omeo,

Thanks Warin,
I need to mark these places to the map.

If you found it boring- then it's you and not the areas :oops2:


It offers some of the most remote riding you can do, with plenty of history, experiences and nature if you can get yourself to spend some time exploring rather than "rushing through" over the Nullarbor lie most seem to do.

And the sad part (for people like Jeroen), is that the Nullarbor is now in the same "condition" as it was last in the 70's- if you missed it, you missed out and who knows how many decades you'll have to wait to see it like this again? Australia is an arid place and it's never the same twice. No matter how many times I head out over the plains, it's never the same for me.

Esperance to Border- Border run 2010 part 1 - ADVrider
Central Aus- August 2011 - ADVrider

and if you run some searches, you'll find much more. I'm not going trying to sell it, but if you decide to come this way, let me know and I'd be happy to arrange a little sightseeing trip for you (or come stay a few days and you can mark some places on a map if you want to do it on your own)

Nice photos there! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the invitation, I will be in that area at some point, not sure yet when.

No rushing for us - we'll be coming over on Posties!
Would actually like to find some off-road tracks so we don't have to tango with the trucks.

Send me a PM and we can discuss- I can send you some gps tracks that'll keep you off the highway from about Penong to Norseman (or further if you like) :thumbup1:

And I'm always willing to assist feloow travellers if they get bogged out there- most of the roadhouses are total ripoffs and there to make money, not be helpful :taz:

And if it coincides with the Border run on the 1st weekend in August, I'll be out there anyway :smartass:

Cheers mate. It'll probably be around Feb next year and I'm hoping it won't be too hot... specially for the pommies.

We kicked off our 09 Oz trip down through that area & had a ball, great riding, scenery, wildlife & neat campsites. It might be getting a little cold in places in Aug/Sept though? I'd be thinking about looping out & down through the warmer outback desert areas at that time of year.

Cheers
Clint

Some more on the run across the Nullarbor:

Blog 200 Esperance and the Nullarbor Plain 13th – 21st Jan 2012 � Guzzi Overland

Hi Marko, where are you now?? we are in Bali, not bad but really want to get to quieter places

jaja, I was going to ask more or less the same.

We don't know if to drive:

1. Darwin-Alice-Brisbane-Sidney or

2. Darwin-Perth-Alice through Outback Way - Australia's Longest Shortcut - Home
Brisbane-Sidney

Do you guys think the second option can be done in around 40-50 days without rushing??

Thanks

Jose
https://www.facebook.com/AventurasEnMoto

Jose:

Yes that trip could be done fairly comfortably in 50 days.

Hemuli:

I would go Perth to Adelaide, but not via The Nullabor.

Perth - Kalgoorlie - Laverton - Giles/Warrakurna - Uluru/ Kata Tjuta - Kings Canyon/West MacDonnell Ranges - Alice Springs - Coober Pedy - Maree - Lake Eyre - Flinders Ranges - Port Augusta - Adelaide.

There is a fair bit of dirt road in this route, but it is generally in very good condition. It includes some iconic Australian destinations that I think a lot of visitors would like to see. There is a lot of variety too, and I think you would get a very good feel for what the Outback is like. Brisbane to Melbourne is very boring in comparison.

Hi Joel, thanks for your message, you helped us to decide to go for the second option

Cheers

Jose

You're welcome Jose.

I'm driving from Kalgoorlie to Alice Springs and back in June (by 4WD). I will report back on the road conditions.

On the way there I'm going Kalgoorlie - Rawlinna - Neal Junction - Warburton then following the Great Central Road/Outback Way to Alice Springs. On the way back I'll most likely follow the GCR the whole way.

The Neal Junction detour would be very difficult by bike without a support vehicle. It is 1062 km between fuel stops.