Happy about any Infos about the most beautiful possibilities for Long distance cycling through Australia.
Darwin-Melbourne via Alice Springs is an Option for us, but, the question is also about the prevailing winds.
Also, we need to start and end at fairly big cities/Airports for Connections to Europe.
Thanks for any ideas and discussion,
Chris n Agnes
I'll preface this by saying that I've never ridden that leg but have driven it a few times (I would love to ride it but there's lots of other places on the list first)
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Australia is BIG. From Darwin to Adelaide alone is over 3000km. It is beautiful, to be sure, and there is lots to see on that route but it is very "samey". The distances between resupply are large and the availability of items quite low. It would be quite a commitment to ride that route, and I would suggest reading others' trip reports. The Outback is amazing and well worth spending some time in but not entirely indicative of how most Australians live. 80% of our population is spread up the eastern coast!
The route from Adelaide around to Melbourne is spectacular. Oceans, mountains (as much as we can actually call them mountains), desert, wineries. It really is quite lovely.
Tasmania is my favourite part of Australia. Easily a week or three of riding. There are a lot of historical locations from our convict past, magnificent coastlines and world heritage forests. It's quiet and the roads are traffic free.
There are many routes from Melbourne to Sydney: via central Victoria and NSW, the south coast, through our excuse for alps, the nation's Capital. All of this area is beautiful but well touristed and may not be what you are after.
I live on the Mid North Coast and see many cycle tourists riding the highway between Brisbane and Sydney. It's easy riding, there's lots to see, but again well touristed.
Queensland has lots to see. The Great Barrier Reef is also world heritage listed. We make the joke that if you want to see it you better do it soon as it is under serious threat from human impacts. I've travelled some, but not lots, in QLD. It's hot and I hate hot weather.
I have never been to Western Australia but again it's definitely on the list. The wild flowers between Geraldton and Perth in September(ish)
look too good to be true. WA is HUGE and any remote travel there would need some serious planning.
Others who have actually ridden long term in Australia would be able to give you more experienced information but I can have a go at giving you more specifics if you need.
thanks Jacob for your informations.
Do you also have some idea about wind directions, as it might be crucial for our decisions.
I have a general idea for my location but the Bureau of Meteorology has lots of information for each location.
The wind rose data for the time of day and for each month can be found for each location on this website. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/wind/selection_map.shtml
I also like this for real time information https://earth.nullschool.net
I couldn't find any information on the prevailing winds for each location. If you look at the graphs though you can get a general idea of the likely direction and speed.
You didn't mention when you wanted to ride. I have family in Alice Springs that I could ask about the weather.
We will ride between Jan and February. The original idea was melbourne- Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin, or the other way, or, anything else...
thanks a lot for your help
That is more the time of year to be cycling in New Zealand. It will be hot in most places in Australia and quite wet in the tropics. The far south is your best option (VIC/TAS). We spent 6 weeks in Melbourne and Tasmania in jan/feb two years ago. The first two days in Melbourne it was hot, 41, and dry. Then when the wind changed to a southerly it dropped to 17 and we had some showers. Apparently that's normal for that time of year. Tasmania was great, never too hot and almost no rain. If you get off the bike every now and then to visit the parks and sites that can't be explored by bike you can easily spend a month or more on the island.
From the wind rose data it seems like the wind is generally from the south through Central Australia at that time of year.
This map shows all the weather stations in Australia and can give you an idea of the temperatures and rainfall. At that time of year it is generally drier in the south and wetter in the north. It is hot everywhere... day and night.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/index.shtml?bookmark=200&view=map
Tasmania is a beautiful place to tour. We live there, and love riding north west to south. The east coast is one of the most incredible rides.
Some ride across the north, down the east coast to Hobart and back up the west coast. The latter being more sparsely populated and wilder.
Summer and early autumn are the best months.
For cycling in Jan/Feb I would definitely recommend coastal SA/Vic, Tasmania or even the South Island of NZ.Tasmania and NZ are great because the weather is a lot cooler, plus they are both islands,meaning you have a nice defined route along the coast.They make for a nice circular tour, meaning you can start and finish in the same city.I have cycled from Cairns to Darwin, and am planning to ride from Port Hedland to Perth this July/August so if there are any WS hosts along this route, I am looking forward to meeting up and hopefully putting my tent up in their back garden.
I did Melbourne - Adelaide - Darwin in Jan / Feb a few years ago and I definitely recommend that direction if you decide to do this. Really strong SE tailwinds from Adelaide to past Alice Springs. Still to this day my furthest distance in a day is 260km and I hardly pedalled near Coober Pedy. Extremely hot so need to be aware of water stops and know what you're in for. Fun times though, can't beat the outback with a good tailwind.
Tasmania... Challenge, hills, scenery, not hot... Beautiful beaches.
We are WS hosts in Devonport Tasmania so are a bit biased to Tassie but you could easily spend that time only in Tasmania, many do. It is a bit challenging at this time of the year unless you like the rain and cold but we do have cyclists still, a couple on Thursday actually.
Australia is such a big place you have so many possibilities. Some use the many free one way return of vehicles to cover some of the vast distances quickly eg transfercar
If you plan to do any outback distances be sure to do your homework, and carry plenty of water.
Hello, we have cycled Darwin to Perth via the Kimberly region and the Pilbara. Amazing cycling, Hot and wet in Jan and Feb. I would travel From South to North but be aware of the conditions and distances.
We are now hosts in North East Victoria which also has great cycling, on and off road. . At that time of year I'd consider a slow cruise in Tasmania to avoid some heat. You are welcome always