First time on the site, so apologies in advance if I do something wrong.
My wife does not like to sit in a car for hours on end, totally different from me as I drove solo Sydney to Cairns over 4 days with the greatest of pleasure. We then spent the next month driving back to Sydney with numerous stopovers.
I plan to drive solo, in a Subaru Outback, from Sydney to Darwin via Alice and Kathrine. then onto Broome, Perth, Adelaide and then home. She will fly and meet me in Darwin, Broome, Perth and Adelaide. I will also not be towing a caravan but overnighting in Hotels/Motels/Caravan Parks.
All the roads on this journey are sealed so the Suby is OK to use, and I am in no rush so anticipate total driving time will be about 1 month with various rest breaks, sight seeing, etc.
My concerns are about where it would be dangerous for me to stay overnight and also where I could be endangered on the road (e.g. thrown rocks from walkers). I am especially concerned about Tennant Creek and the road from Katherine to Broome - both of which do not seem to have a good reputuation.
If you are worried about Tennant Creek you could look at Banka Banka Station about 100kms north of TC. We travelled that route in 2021 in a motorhome so were able to stay a distance from some of the towns and had no trouble. We stayed in a park at Timber Creek with no problems. Things may have changed a lttle since then. Our neighbours had their vehicle stole from a caravan park in Fitzroy Crossing last year.
Welcome to the Forum.
Usually taking common sense decisions is enough to ensure safety when travelling - Insurance kept up to date is the best protection.
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If I remember correctly when reading about the investigation of the outback murder of Peter Falconio, the police were aware of no less than four psychpaths capable of the deed in the area at the time. The message being that it is a potentially dangerous world. If we over-focus on such things, we would definitely stay at home and miss out on all the wonderful people and places throughout Australia. Your trip sounds like a great adventure AndyZ. Make the most of it. Statistically, you are totally safe no matter where you go.
First time on the site, so apologies in advance if I do something wrong.
My wife does not like to sit in a car for hours on end, totally different from me as I drove solo Sydney to Cairns over 4 days with the greatest of pleasure. We then spent the next month driving back to Sydney with numerous stopovers.
I plan to drive solo, in a Subaru Outback, from Sydney to Darwin via Alice and Kathrine. then onto Broome, Perth, Adelaide and then home. She will fly and meet me in Darwin, Broome, Perth and Adelaide. I will also not be towing a caravan but overnighting in Hotels/Motels/Caravan Parks.
All the roads on this journey are sealed so the Suby is OK to use, and I am in no rush so anticipate total driving time will be about 1 month with various rest breaks, sight seeing, etc.
My concerns are about where it would be dangerous for me to stay overnight and also where I could be endangered on the road (e.g. thrown rocks from walkers). I am especially concerned about Tennant Creek and the road from Katherine to Broome - both of which do not seem to have a good reputuation.
If you are planning this trip in a month, you may as well fly with your wife instead of driving. You are not going to see anything in one month. Unless it is quantity that you are after instead of quality..
Australia, it is not a dangerous place. Some people read some crap online, and then they think, they know the people or the area. Tennant Creek, has good price for fuel, good food and nice normal people, like most other town.. Yes, you will come across some drunk (either black or white) and you just simply ignore them. The highest number of drunk people I saw was actually in Halls Creek in front of the IGA.. The road from Katherine to Broome is nice and there is plenty to see with a 4WD and not dangerous at all, unless you drive at night, and you hit some wild animal.. People wise, you don't have to worry about a thing! This is off course IMO.
You are more likely to be mugged in the major cities than in the outback. Use common sense when you travel - if possible, don't go into pubs. Staying in motels or caravan park cabins is generally safe. The only drawback is that you don't meet up as much with fellow travellers. Meeting them, you get all sorts of hints as to where to go and things to see en route to make the trip more interesting.
Tennant Creek can be intimidating - yes - but some of the pubs have been bought by the local aboriginal community and closed down. Similarly, the pub in Timber Creek years ago banned the locals who misbehaved, thereby keeping them off the pub property. Instead, they - politely - asked us to buy some grog for them. Since I don't drink alcohol myslef, naturally I didn't oblige.
One month to do the trip around the block is a bit tight. You won't see much other than the white line down the middle of a black strip of bitumen. And by the end of the trip, you will want to burn your car. It is too rushed. It can be done, but I would allow at least a month to Darwin, and the same or more Darwin to Perth and back home. Hell - it is about 4000 km Darwin to Perth, and another 4000 or more back to Sydney.
As said above, use common sense. Don't drive at night. You will notice there is no grass on the bitumen surface of the road. That is because at night, the cows, Kangaroos, camels, horses, goats, emus and probably a few other feral animals come out onto the road to eat the grass and sleep - the road surface is warmer. Also, if it has rained, there are puddles to drink from. If you see a carcass of a cow or a roo, be wary. Large irds like wedgetailed eagles feast on the carcasses in the morning. They are slow to get off the ground at the best of times, but when their bellies are full, it takes even longer. Hitting one of tjose will ruin your trip, apart from killing the bird.Try to be settled into your night accommodation by about 4:00 pm, because then you can sort out the best places to eat, and also in winter, the peak season, accommodation may be booked out after that hour.
Depending on when you do this trip, I think AntiClockwise is the best way to go. A few years ago, my wife and I did this trip. We spent about 3 weeks looking at crocodiles, 3 weeks walking in the gorges in the Kimberley area, then headed South as the wildflowers came out. As we travelled South, the flowers were just coming into bloom, and it was specacular. I cannot remember how long the whole trip took, but we were waiting for the wild weather to abate in the South West of WA , and eventually gave up and headed off for home. One day we had winds of 85 km/h, gusting to over 100 - luckily as a tailwind most of thw way across the Nularbor plains. What a trip! But we were towing a caravan, and asd the choice to stay where and when we wanted, except in Broome. You will have to pre-book accommodation in Broome and maybe Kunnanurra as well.
Provided your domestic situation permits such a trip, this would be the best thing you could ever do for yourself. Yes - it is a long way, it is hot, it is at times boring but I can thonk of nothing better than what you are proposing to do. Your timing is far too short, but I am green with envy.
-- Edited by erad on Friday 11th of July 2025 10:41:27 AM
