Tuesday September 10, 2019

Road video and map – Tennant Creek, NT to Cloncurry, QLD

This was a day of pure driving with not even a photo stop along the way. I knew that there would be a couple of days like this so I thought I would add a few of my impressions of doing a road trip in Australia for anyone interested.

People: I wrote about the helpfulness and friendliness of everyone I encounter earlier and that has not changed.

Driving: Generally easy to figure out as long as you remember to start each trip by thinking “drive on the left”. Once you do that everything comes easily with good signage and road markings. Of course, it helps that I learned to drive in the UK.

Roads: Although the roads are in very good condition – I’ve only seen about three potholes so far – they are often very bumpy and uneven resulting in a noisy and, sometimes, uncomfortable ride. Many seem to be born that way as it happens even when the surface looks new. The smoothest roads I’ve encountered are in the outback; maybe they are built to a higher standard or just get less use. Roadworks are everywhere in populated areas but very rare in the outback. Road users are careful and considerate – except in Alice Springs where I was cut up several times and pedestrians seem to think that jaywalking is a sport.

I’ll cover accommodations, food and drink to fill out tomorrow’s post.