Melbourne to Perth in 5 days?!

It sounds crazy right?! Driving from one end of Australia across the Nullabor to the other side in just 5 days but you know what, it can totally be done! A very dear friend of mine was making the move from her current home town in Brisbane to Perth and rather than stressing herself out with putting her car on a truck and all her items I offered to do the trip with her and within accepting and us honestly being like 'so we are actually doing this?', I was on a plane to Melbourne within a few days to meet her and make the trip back home to Perth.

The trip in total took us approximately 50 hours and 4,564KM from Melbourne Victoria, through the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide South Australia, to Streaky Bay South Australia, across the Nullabor to Esperance then Denmark, Margaret River and back to Perth Western Australia. It is worth noting that you can shorten this trip by going via Kalgoorlie and bypassing Esperance, Denmark and Margs (Margaret River) but we thought since we were doing the drive we might as well go big or go home so we smashed it all in the 5 days!

Now some may say 5 days to get from one side of Aus to the other?! You have got to be mad and to be honest... we were a little. Before we left we received the smart and really common knowledge advice of not driving before sunrise or after sunset across the Nullabor and just on the roads in general as wildlife such as Kangaroo's are in full force. We had every intention to follow this advice until we got on the road and found ourselves stopping at nearly every stop possible along the Great Ocean Road and then realising there was no way we were going to make it to Adelaide before sun down. Driving before sunrise and not after sunset is the smart way to go about it and the safest. Once it had hit night time on the Great Ocean Road and traveling through to Adelaide you have to be on high alert. You have to have your eyes peeled for Kangaroo's that could pop out at any given moment as well as anything else that may pop out in the pitch black of night. You do get tired so we were smart in the fact we took it in turns to sleep and drive, even if it was power naps of 30 min at a time. Before i get ahead of myself I will backtrack a little.

The Great Ocean drive was beautiful and something i look forward to getting back to do again. There was so many beautiful sites you could stop at but because we were doing the drive so quickly, we quickly realised we definitely did not have enough time to stop at them all but boy did we try out best! If you do get the chance to do this drive, make sure you take at least 3-4 days for the Ocean drive alone. There were so many great beach shacks to stay in along the way, where you could sleep by the sea and wake up and walk straight out onto the beach. This place is definitely worth taking at a leisurely pace. I also don't think i have seen two more excited girls who realised that the 'Round the Twist' lighthouse and home was along the Great Ocean Road. For those that don't know what 'Round the Twist' is, put some time aside to watch the TV series. It was a massive thing to watch growing up.

I have so much to say on this adventure and probably not enough word count but what i will say is if you get the chance to travel Australia - do it. It makes you realise just how large it truly is. How different each state is and how when you cross into them it feels like you have entered somewhere completely different every time. No part of Australia is the same. Each part is beautiful in its own way. In a short 5 days we managed to drive the Great Ocean Road, see the 12 Apostles, see kangaroo's by the plenty, watch an Outback sunset and wake with a sunrise. We got to drive across the Nullabor, watch wedge tail eagles fly across the sky and sit amongst the Great Aussie Bite. We got to visit the Pink Lake of Esperance, eat chocolate in Margaret River and sit by a wood fire in the forests of Denmark. We got to visit places we have never been and I have memories that will stay with me for a life time. Also 5 days of driving with another person guarantees you will learn so much about one another. It is a great experience and travel adventure for all involved. If it isn't on your list definitely add it. Oh and ladies, believe your Dad's when they say to check your spare tyre. All tyres really. We didn't need it thankfully but Dad's are always right in a sense of it is always best to be prepared in case anything happens!

Things to note when traveling Aus:

* Note that it isn't the cheapest when you don't have a caravan attached and that a number of fuel stops are required along with accommodation requirements and of course meals. It is also worthy to note that fuel isn't the same across Australia and that it will differ in every state.

* Like i mentioned above - check your car. Make sure your tyre pressure is correct, your oil and water is checked and your car service is up to date.

*It is safest to drive from dawn to dusk and not at night time even though we did do it. It probably wasn't our brightest idea. Driving at night is always a risk especially out in the country as you are faced with countless kangaroo's on the side of the road who have the risk to be in front of your car quickly. Driving while the sun is up and you have much more visibility of what might jump out of you.

* Don't drive TIRED. Take turns driving and letting one another sleep. This is a must.

*It is definitely, definitely worth pre planning your route as there are a number of routes you can take when crossing Australia. We took the scenic route which was in toe the longer route but if you wanted to shorten it you can bypass Kalgoorlie instead of Esperance. If you can at least pre map your route then you can also work out driving times and where you will need to stop for accommodation / fuel pit stops / food etc.

*It might be worth having a jerry can for a just in case scenario.