Guest TheMagees Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 We are going on a rekkie to Oz in February. We are hoping emigrate to Queensland area, probably Brisbane. We decided to fly into Sydney for 5 days (couldnt afford to live there but have always wanted to go). Then we thought it would be a good idea to drive from Sydney along the coast to Brisbane, to see a few more places and to get a feel of different areas. This seemed a good idea at the time, but now we are thinking that it might not be the right thing to do with three kids and Grandma in the car!!!!!! We were thinking of spending 7 days driving up and then another 5 days in Brisbane to have a look round. then we are flying home from Bris bane. Would be grateful for anyone who has been brave enough to do the journey, how did it go and is there any 'Must sees' along the way. Many Thanks Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 We did the journey as we had three days in Sydney in 2007. We literally did a straight through drive and it took 11.5 hours pretty much non stop. Hunter Valley is nice for wine! Let Grandma babysit while you go wine tasting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Emmap Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 We are going on a rekkie to Oz in February. We are hoping emigrate to Queensland area, probably Brisbane. We decided to fly into Sydney for 5 days (couldnt afford to live there but have always wanted to go). Then we thought it would be a good idea to drive from Sydney along the coast to Brisbane, to see a few more places and to get a feel of different areas. This seemed a good idea at the time, but now we are thinking that it might not be the right thing to do with three kids and Grandma in the car!!!!!! We were thinking of spending 7 days driving up and then another 5 days in Brisbane to have a look round. then we are flying home from Bris bane. Would be grateful for anyone who has been brave enough to do the journey, how did it go and is there any 'Must sees' along the way. Many Thanks Julie Not done that but it sounds a great thing to do.........report back when you have done it!!! One day when i can get time of work i will travell around this great city!:emoticon-signxmas: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddysMum Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 If you do decide to do it, cousin Fiona, a teacher, gave us a great game to keep kids occupied on the long long long journeys (we did 7.5 hours from Gladstone to Brisbane): Each time you go over a creek, you will see the name of the creek on the side of the road. They usually have very odd names, so everyone in the car has to come up with a good story of how the name came about! Sometimes the creeks came so thick and fast that we couldn't keep up. It made such a difference that we were able to do the whole journey in one go instead of stopping overnight as we had to on the way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 It's not a bad trip but the road is a bit dodgy in some places - it isnt dual carriageway all the way and it is notorious for crashes. It's not a boring journey like the Hume up from Melbourne to Sydney because the road actually goes through enough places to relieve the boredom and the scenery is very pretty. You'd need a people mover with 6 of you in the car and it is a nicer trip if you break it up and spend a couple of nights on the road although you can do it in one hit if you are a bit of a masochist. In February you wont be bothered with the summer holiday traffic because all the kids will be back at school. If you do drive, you will get the feeling of distance for sure!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bottomley Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Hello The Magees and everybody else, We, family of four, drove from Sydney to Gold Coast and back again a couple of years ago in a motor home and it was fab. We stayed at lots of lovely places including Lake Macquarie, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise. We also went inland through Warwick which was lovely and onto Glen Innes. Depends how quickly you want to get to Brissie, but I'd deffo stop off along the way. We are doing it again in a couple of weeks, this time in a car upto Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast and I can't wait. Have a fab time, however you decide to do it...let us know what you decide... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest taffy 62 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I have done the trip a few times. I would drive to the entrance about one half hours out of sydney its got a lovely forshore for the kids and theres pelican feeding everyday at 3, the water is knee deep at low tide and you can walk accross to the other side, theres also nice lake areas. Then I would stop at port macquarie. Then stop at coffs harbour. Then Balllina. You could spend 3 days at the gold coast, and theres great theme parks. If you want to eat out I would recomend the rsl clubs bowling clubs or surf clubs for reasonably priced meals and some have kids activities. Theres heaps of places to see along the way, Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Hi Magees Only just found your post We flew in to Sydney to meet the OH brother who lives in Manly ,then we drove up to Noosa which is a bit further on the Brucie . We did not have our kids with us at the time cos we were doing our recky on the Sunshine Coast but I forget how many times we said to each other that the kids should have been with us. We did it in 2 days which meant 14 hours total driving and it was fantastic. The highways are built for the sight seeing traveller with so many 'Tourist Routes' to break up the drive . We stayed in a couple of really great places without booking any and nothing was too much trouble. There are numerous servo's(sorry , thats garages,been here too long) all with dining,washrooms.w/c's etc along the roadside that make the whole thing easy without thinking you have got 500k btween stops for fuel and the usual kiddy needs. If you want to take 7 days to do the trip you will have a great time cos you will only have to do a couple of hours drive a day(approx 200k) Now we are here on the Sunshine Coast we are going to take a' Winnebago' on the same trip south with our 4 kids but keep on going round to Adelaide where we have friends from the UK,,can't wait ,,!! it's just one adventure after another,,,LOVE IT !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckerfa Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 We did the trip in October 2006. It was fantastic. We hired a camper van and took our time. The scenery was out of this world. We took four days in all and enjoyed every KM of it. Now we live in Brisbane and at some point we are going to fly to Sydney, hire a car and take 7 days driving up so we can see more towns and villages. Looking back, I would say, for me, the driver it was the most enjoyable drive I have every done and I can't wait to do it again. The Tuckers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neilalys Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 hi did the trip october 2008 , with 3 kids , wife and myself, mum and father in law, so 2 cars, went for big cars plenty of room, after climbing the bridge, we drove about 4 hrs a day , we stoped over night in port mc quarie , great place , then byron bay , a real beaut of a place, then to brissy and on to sunny coast , plenty of garages, plenty of rest stops with some great views, roads not bad, great trip and would do again in a heartbeat , have a great trip and enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bod Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Fantastic drive the roads are being improved, but leave your self good time to look around Brisbane remember it's a reccie try to get as miuch info as possible. Good Luck John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheMagees Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Think Grandma will need a drink as well after 24 hours on a plane and then a few hours in the car with her 'lively' grandchildren, in fact I think we will all need a few BOTTLES each.!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest angiebabe Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Its a fantastic drive, we did it 3 weeks ago and drove Melbourne to Sydney then Brisbane. Took us 11hrs driving Mel to Sydney then and then 10hrs Sydney to Brisbane we stopped for the night at Coffs Harbour which is a lovely place, didnt pre book accomodation and had no problems getting a room for the night. The drive as you Come out of Sydney going Northwards brought some of the most beautiful scenery i have ever seen! Didn't see a single live Kangaroo but be aware of them as there was quite a few unlucky ones. We got the kids a pad and pens so they could do a travel log which kept them occupied throughout the journey. Take plenty of drinks and if you can fit it in a travel fridge (was a god send to us, keeps everything cold) Plenty of petrol stations with toilets along the way so don't worry about that. If you are using Sat Nav, keep an eye on the route it is taking you as we ended up on some not so suitable roads with a car full and it took us a bit inland, coastal route will be best for you. Enjoy the road trip we would do it again in a heartbeat. :emoticon-signxmas: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheMagees Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Just a quick thank you for everyone who replied, some great advice , and re assurance that we arent as mad as we were beginning to think for doing it and many people have done it with children in tow and survived. I may pm some of you and pick your brains, but we ve done it now, booked the big people carrier with air conditioning , we are staying at Port Macquirie, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. Getting really excited now. Merry Christmas Everyone, Thanks again for all the information. And I will wite a full report after our rekkie. Cheers, The Magees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chellynel Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Driving Sydney to Brisbane isn't that bad at all if you plan the trip well !! Just organise to stop a few times if you have that many of you in the car !! otherwise it will be a LONG journey ! Places to see or stopover - Forster/Tuncurry (about 3 hours from Sydney) - biased as thats where I grew up ! - Port Macquarie - Coffs Harbour - Byron Bay - Tweed Heads / Gold Coast There are lots of places to stop along the Highway - STOP/REVIVE & SURVIVE is the slogan ...so that you should take a break every 2 hours when driving long distances if you haven't done it before.... Good Luck ! it's a gorgeous drive !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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