The outback is boring.

Berger

Berger

Berger

Soldato
Joined
22 May 2003
Posts
10,856
Location
Wigan
Don't come to Australia, the outback is boring and over-rated, nothing but mega straight badly surfaced roads that stretch out as far as the eye can see. Drove 750km today, so much easier than driving in the UK with the lack of traffic, main problems are poor road surfaces/conditions or wildlife.

IMAG0042.jpg


I think I managed to drive an hour today before I even came to a kink in the road.

Its a very lonely place and I wouldn't want to break down, even with all the equipment I normally carry!

Its been over a month since I last saw a live kangaroo, not impressed, they are supposed to out number humans here! I don't want to see one on the road mind, make a mess if you hit one, even with bull bars fitted.
 
[TW]Fox;21202514 said:
Looks like the road I took from Hay to Bathurst. That's not the outback though is it?
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It's the road from Nevertire to Nyngan (Mitchell Highway).

New South Wales outback starts from Narromine onwards according to the signs!
 
I've never heard of the outback being described as a rewarding driving experience.

If you can do 750km in a straight line, then surely the road needs to be made as direct as possible. I appreciate that it boring you to tears, but isn't it kind of what you expected?
 
Moving away from what does and does not constitute outback and 'what exactly did you expect?', etc., what car are you driving and how's the trip going otherwise?
 
Oops, assumed this was another road trip thread and he'd changed his location to suit. Anyway he lives in Australia but I assume his journey is still not part of his commute, so both questions stand.
 
It must be hard to stop yourself getting distracted when all you need to do is keep the car generally pointing forward. Are the radio stations decent out there?
 
Robbie G said:
Moving away from what does and does not constitute outback and 'what exactly did you expect?', etc., what car are you driving and how's the trip going otherwise?
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I moved over for work towards the end of last year, but hope to see quite a lot of the country while I am here.

I ended up going out there with work today, not been out that far West yet, been doing more work in the mountain regions recently.

Driving a Toyota Hilux D4D 3.0L diesel, fitted with full front bullbars, front rally spot lights, UHF radio, toolbox and drilling auger rig mounted on the back.

Its a good tool, but the rig on the back is a little heavy it moves around a little on the bumps and impacts on the 4wd effectiveness off road when its wet, OK when dry. The other rigs are trailer mounted, so this is a more compact solution for smaller jobs. Doesn't help fuel efficiency either, worked out at 22mpg today... bugger when it only has a single fuel tank. The series 79 Land Cruisers we also run have two fuel tanks which gives much better range and have more power to boot, but aren't as good for long distance driving.

Radio is terrible. You have a choice of country which isn't too bad, or chat shows which seem to consist of horse or harness racing, or livestock information. The Hilux has Aux in so I plug my Ipod in, no need for a Satnav as there are very few roads so you can't get lost!
 
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Sounds like an awesome experience and being paid for it! We're not at all jealous sat at our desks in sleety UK only getting up to fix a printer :p
 
oh is it not a permanent move Karl? If not, will this contract(?) help with regards to getting permanent residence?
 
Satnav is hilarious. I was driving Sydney to Canberra down the Hume Hwy.
"Enter highway at the next junction and drive south for 150 miles" then is completely silent for a few hours.
 
I drove up the west coast on dirt tracks for 500km once in a Landcruiser diesel. That was not fun. So much concentration required to miss potholes, kangaroo's and goannas; and on the rare occasion theres a car in front of you, all you can see is dust.
 
That's not the outback! Waaaay too much green!

I've got to say it was the remoteness that I loved when I was out there. The sense of scale and the silence was the most relaxing and humbling thing I've experienced, really enjoyed my time there.
 
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