Coast to coast and more - Roadtrip!!!!!

Day 16 Charlaville to Broken Hill 1071km

Nice early start ay 615am - my new friend next door appeared as i started up the mustang to hear the car with auto choke going - i apologised beforehand to let them know that it there was going to be some noise lol.
Id spent the whole trip rejoicing with the lack of kangaroos on the road- this morning leaving town that all changed- i counted at least 3 dozen crossing kangaroos in the first half hour.



The other road hazard was the large number of dead kangaroos and emus in the road- big enough to do damage to the mustang so i adapted to avoidance maneuvers- made more interesting when located on blind bends or crests on hills. I had a road train approaching me that hit a dead kangaroo as i was about to go past - head cartwheeled over the top of my car lol.

Several hours and i arrived at the NSW/Qld border- temperature was nudging the 38 degrees andit was warming up.





Fuel economy was awesome for the first half of this leg- 8.2 per 100km, running 98 and im guessing the lack of hills helped. First major town was Bourke then a turn south on the Kidman Way - a direct route to Cobar. It was the West on the Barrier highway - temp was now in the mid 40s and the mustang didnt seem to even notice- engine temp didnt ruse at all and the aircon was awesome.



Stopped in at Wilcannia for a final fuel top up at the local fuel depot - the owner was calling the police on a truck driver who had filled up and then found he had zero funds- there i am standing in 46 sun waiting for this kafuffle to sort out infront of me. Once i finally got inside i spot 9 cattle dogs all snoozing in tne aircon - apparently he had had a few issues with people stealing fuel lol.

Last couple of hundred Km to Broken Hill was non eventfull other than passing a number of trucks. Last time i had been here was in 91 and they were not fond memories - things have improved significantly, especially with motel accomodation though my poor old aircon is taking a hammering lol.

I genuinely look forward to seeing your update each day! Awesome trip and great commentary.

Day 17 Broken Hill to Ceduna 887km

Today was a sleep in till 6am - and I must say I slept in the best bed that Ive had in the past couple of weeks. Went to sleep at 1030 and it was still 37 degrees and woke up to a chilly 24 - hadn't seen that in the last few weeks. Driving through Broken Hill in a Mustang is an entertaining experience - lots of turns, hills and interesting dips in the road - as well as high incline driveways. Good luck if you are wanting to drive a lowered car through this place.

The drive out to the SA border was nice and quiet and the border caught me off guard - bugger all warning that its coming up and its gone in a flash - so no border pic :(. Whats really noticeable out this way is the change of landscape - rocks are replaced by loads of grazing cattle, and the towns are much more interesting and have some amazing old buildings. Stopped at Peterbourgh - what an amazing town!!!. If I had realised how good it was I would have driven the extra few hours to stay here last night, and they have what looks like some cracking pubs.



Also found a little car museum with some classics





Now to the fun part of this leg - on the western side of Wilmington is a section of road that winds down through the range at Nectar Brook. I had driven an RX4 rotary through this stretch many years ago and had fond memories of this drive. Its much like a reduced version of the famous Putty Rd in NSW with a large number of curves and bends - damn this was so much fun going down that I seriously considered turning around and going back up. If you live or happen to be out this way give it go and you will be impressed.





Driving into Port Augusta required dealing with more traffic than I had seen for many days but the roads down here a so much better than NSW and QLD. Port Augusta was looking good but the bridge crossing with the water all I could smell is rotting fish - not too sure whats going on there.

Heading out east of Port Augusta was pretty good though I was certainly overtaking more cars and trucks, and alas it was one of those that I finally scored a couple of stone chips on the bonnet ( not bad but it still stings lol). Stopped in at Kimba for a quick pic with the old parrot.



Last couple hundred of Kms into Ceduna was nice and relaxing, especially as tempretures out here were much cooler than what I have seen of late. Sat on 130kmph for most of this leg without any run ins with the local bill.

Checked in at my regular haunt here - the Ceduna Motor Inn. Have stayed here a few times and I like that its out of the main part of town as things can get a bit exciting with the locals. And they are located next door to one of Australias flashest car wash. Speaking of which i took the ol girl over for a decent clean inside and out, and got to meet the owner Bevan- definitely a local Ceduna legend and an absolute character. He takes car washing to a new level with air injected sprays, wash mops containing real horse hair and a car wash that would leave most of the ones in Perth for dead. Bevan made it big in Ceduna with providing hire cars to the local mining companies and now spends half of his year back home in Greece.





Well the Stang is now all ready to go for her sunrise morning shoot at the foreshore as well as her first Nullabor crossing- I must say its my favorite part of the trip as I really love this stretch of road.

And today we hit the 10,000km mark - only 3000 short of driving from Melborne to LA!!!

Are you bypassing Sydney and Victoria? No Great Ocean Road or Putty or Oxley?

Myke said:

Are you bypassing Sydney and Victoria? No Great Ocean Road or Putty or Oxley?

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My whole intent of this trip was purely for the driving experience - not as much emphasis on nice locations or pictureqe drives - I dont feel that driving down the coastal highways are as challenging on the car as these inland routes. I wanted to put this car to the test with varying road surfaces and operating temperatures. The other deciding factor is total distance (servicing oil etc) as well as free time.

Mind you, I know that if I had a couple of extra weeks I would have stopped in at Syd and Mel

I wanted to take this car where none of us had dared taking them before

You have definitely done that! Likely to be the first and only person to have gone around country Australia in their mustang and keeping her clean at every stop too!

Hats off to you mate!

Day 18 Ceduna to Esperance 1405km

Up at 430 this morning to get on the road early- there is a good spot about two hours west of Ceduna for taking sunrise pics. No roos on the road which made life easier though top speed was 80kmph.









A little further down the track the highway is just a stone throw from the great australia bight.



Arrived at the ceduna quarantine/wa border and some of the most friendly staff i have ever met - the ladies spent more time checking out the car than my esky- and three car loads of kids were keen to take some pics - its amazing how popular this car is with the younger generation.

From the border it was onto the long stretches - temps were in the low 20's so perfect for the nullabor crossing- I really do enjoy this road as its a nice road surface for most parts and at speed the car sits nicely. Fuel consumption was great with figures in the low 8s. This highway is nice and straight so overtaking is a real treat. Today i think i overtook more trucks and cars than i had for the rest of the trip. Fuel prices were some of the most expensive i had seen anywhere and i really feel they are price gouging. Most stops had 95 or 98 except for caiguna who only had 91 at 1.80 per L





Arrived at Norseman at 2pm and redfueled for the southern leg to Esperance - its a much more enjoyable location to spend the night and is worth the extra couple hours of travel.



Staying at the Best Western Foreshore and is a great motel in a top location. Whilst today was a blast I must say im feeling fairly shattered - i think continued long distance driving is accumulative and after nearly 3 weeks i think I'm just about there lol. Tomorrow is an easy to Denamark where im staying at Castelli Lodge - as its the last night of the trip I was looking for somewhere special- and will be a fab location for some more pics. Will get some more pics tomorrow.

Day 19 Esperance to Denmark 530km

Due to the shorter leg today it was a great opportunity to have a sleep-in though the body clock was still working on SA/Daylight savings mode so I still managed to wake up at dark o clock. Had a nice relaxed morning catching up on emails and social media stuff and some decent coffees. Another chilly start with 17 degrees and a decent breeze.

Departed Esperance around 930 am and headed out on the South-West coastal highway. The death toll on this stretch was 16 for the last 12 months and it's easy to see why - lots of sweeping bends with stretches of undulating road that made overtaking a lot more trickier - one occasion I had car pop up as I was passing a truck and it was a quick shift of gears to get out of there. A fair amount of this highway is badly in need of repair and subsequently there were a number of occasions where I had to slow down to avoid getting unstuck. There are lot more caravans down this end of the world so more overtaking opportunities were abundant - having power on tap makes this process more fun than challenging.

The last hour of the highway into Albany was much more comfortable with recent roadworks and extensions, and very scenic as you come through the ranges - some great views of the coast and the Porongurup Ranges.

After a quick stop for fuel and supplies it was back onto the South Western Highway for the final 53km into Denmark. I know this stretch of road very well and its good fun in the Mustang with lots of stretches and winding sections - though one needs to be aware that the Albany police love this stretch and have regular speed traps. This section is fantastic scenery-wise as well. Arriving in Denmark was very busy - its this time of the year where the tourists are in strength, a total opposite to how it is in Northern Australia.

A fantastic 6 minutes up Mt Shadworth Road (uphill with lots of winding road) and I arrived at my destination for the night at Castelli Lodge. This B&B is a family run business and Annette & David Lane are doing a fantastic job!!! This historic property is located within a vineyard and has some of the most amazing views that I have ever seen. Once checked in the car was cleaned up for her afternoon shoot, and afterwards it was time to enjoy locally brewed beer, wines and some incredible food. Having the car out for the shoot drew in a crowd from the bistro and I spent the best part of an hour showing the mustang off.

jumby said:

Having the car out for the shoot drew in a crowd from the bistro and I spent the best part of an hour showing the mustang off.

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Couldn't get it up onto the helipad?

Drewbo said:

Couldn't get it up onto the helipad?

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Would you beleive they scored that for use as a stage for live bands!!

Just spent the morning binge-reading this thread - thank you for taking the time to post up and photo your journey - awesome!

Great thread, really enjoyed reading your updates. Nice to see Sun and hot temperatures are happening somewhere in the world right now. The topography of Australia is amazing and this thread has solidified Australia as a bucket list destination for me!

I'm ready for Winter to be finished up here in Canada...

jumby said:

DAY 2 - Carnarvon to Broome

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Just showing the Mrs this thread and realised the background in this photo is so familiar. Would this be Devil creek about 60km west of Karratha?

Unkle Ed said:

Just showing the Mrs this thread and realised the background in this photo is so familiar. Would this be Devil creek about 60km west of Karratha?

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Yes I'm pretty sure that was the location

Thanks Jumby for taking us along on your awesome road trip.

This has been one of the most enjoyable threads I have yet read on this forum.