self-drive - perth to melbourne,
across the nullarbor plain

another thing that i had wanted to do when i retire was to drive across the desert in australia. but having done some 'research' and after talking to kok weng, i have decided that it is not something that is worthwhile doing.

i talked to kok weng because he has done it twice. i have also read reviews posted by other travellers who have driven across either way, perth to melbourne and melbourne to perth. one time, kok weng drove from perth to adelaide. the other time, he drove, or rather his son tseng san drove, all the way to melbourne.

according to kok weng, there is no need to stock up on petrol and water. with a full tank at norseman in western australia, they were able to drive the rented new toyota camry all the way to ceduna in south australia, a distance of around 1200 km. they did not do any driving along the desert route at night. however, siew hua, my former colleague at monk's hill, drove at night. with an all women crew, they took turns to drive non-stop from sydney to perth.

it is not advisable to drive at night because of the kangaroos and other nocturnal animals. i asked kok weng if the road trains posed any threat. these gigantic trucks hurtle along at speed in excess of 100km/hr. according to him, these thundering vehicles, which churn up a lot of dust and sand, only cause slight lateral movement to your vehicle as they pass you.

the desert road has the longest stretch of straight road in australia, some 146km. however, it does not mean that there is a chance for you to speed. along the way, they were stopped more than once by the highway patrol for exceeding the speed limit.

why i decided to abort my plan of driving across the nullarbor plain. first, i do not have to stamina to cover 1200km in one day. even if i take a break - by staying overnight at a motel - i still will have to cover 600km in one day, which is still too taxing for me. the other reason is that there is not going to be much sightseeing along the way.