Australia companions.

ct.owen

60 year old English cyclist would like to tour Australia this October onwards or Feb 09 onwards.2 or 3 month ride...Prefer to ride from Melbourne to Brisbane or Brisbane to Darwin or wherever?..Open to suggestions..Would welcome companions and advice...Looking to camp mainly or hostels...Happy with 40 to 50 miles per day but can do more..tudorowen1@hotmail.com

wallabyhunter

Hey CT

There are few posts on this forum which will help search davidd in aus & jilbi both did tours east & north this year. I can't help with info about the east, but if you need any 'bout WA let me know.

Feb is about the end of summer, if starting from Melbourne you'd be OK, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere north of Brisbane until late March or April. Depending on your tolerance for heat.

daviddd

Hi ct - have a look at my blog (link in sig) - I've cycled from Perth to Darwin around the bottom. Hard to say what the best option for 2 to 3 months trip is - the south is pretty busy road-wise but there are more opportunites to use smaller roads. Northern Queensland is very nice indeed - Atherton Tablelands; Cairns, Kuranda, Daintree and Cape Tribulation. proper 'jungle'!

Good luck....

andrewc

Tip from an Aussie - Work out just how far your intended trip is. Australia is BIG compared with UK.
I've heard too many stories of tourists (not just UK) thinking they can achieve a trip in one day which would realistically take 3, 4 or more days.
To use a driving example a 2 or 3 hour drive (~250km +/- @highway speed, one-way) is a short trip for an Aussie.

Quiz: Which is closer to Brisbane; Melbourne, Cairns (North Queensland) or Mt Isa (North-West Queensland)?

A: Melbourne (~1670km by road through Central west NSW)
(Cairns ~1730km, Mt Isa ~1800km)

FYI Brisbane to Darwin is ~3400km via Western Qld, further if via Cairns.

Also outside the cities Australian towns are widely dispersed - often 70km or more. The further North and West you go the towns are more widely spaced, particularly inland from the coast. Distances over 100km are not unusual with no facilities or services in between. That's no water, no shops, no campgrounds, etc. Many older, small villages in regional Australia (AKA "outback" in tourism industry speak) exist only as a few remnant houses or just a locality name.
Distances of several hundred kilometres between population centres become common in Western and NW Qld, most of South Australia, far Western NSW, the Northern Territory and most of Western Australia.

If you stick to the major highways you'll see at least a petrol station more often but the price will be frequent, high speed, heavy traffic. Back roads will be a much more pleasant option if you can manage the corresponding greater distances between facilities. However back roads options are more available where the population is denser. I.e., the South East.
E.g. North of Rockhampton, Qld some sections of the National highway #1 (coast) is the only connecting route without diverting several hundred kilometres inland.

Also also take a look at the Bureau of Meteorology web pages for climate info. Australian hot summer days are often around 35degC, or more, with "extreme" UV levels (Int'l std). Inland from the coast temperatures can approach, or even exceed, 40degC.

This is the average monthly maximum temperature for Feb 2008, a fairly mild summer.
(Feb 08 anomaly to long term Feb average max.)

Think that average maximum for Feb 08 sounds not too bad? Compare with highest maximum daily temperature for Feb 2008.

October to March are usually the hottest months in the South East, but depending on where you are, particularly altitude, you can still get quite chilly overnight minima. Including on the Atherton tablelands in far North Qld

Don't get me wrong bicycle touring in Australia is quite achievable and rewarding as long as you're well prepared for the conditions you'll face. I've ridden with a group of friends from the Gold Coast to Sydney on mtbs, traveled less than 100km on the Pacific Highway and had a ball.


Andrew
A cynic. Does it show? :-)