Melbourne to Kalgoorlie via the Gunbarrel
One month duration
Distance travelled: 10,500 km ( 6500 miles )
Unsealed roads total: 3,190 km ( 2430 miles )
Total fuel cost: $1370 AUD ( $755 US )
Total fuel used: 1435 litres ( 379 US gallons )
Average fuel consumption: 13.6 l/100 km ( 17 US mpg, 20.6 imperial )
We undertook this trip in December 1999.
This trip didn't start out the best when not even 24 hours into our trip my wife had the car flip one and half times after a series of events which is explained with more pictures on the specifications page. After getting the insurance cheque two weeks later I built a new XJ up from stock in a week and we left again.
Not the best way to start a holiday
So after working on the new car for 16 hours a day we were on our way again in the new Jeep and went to Woomera Rocket Range where they did their tests for the British in the fifties. There is a good museum there with a lot of the rockets they fired on display outside. From there into Coober Pedy and looked at some opals before heading toward the Painted Desert.
Moon plain in the Pedirka Desert north of Coober Pedy
Dinner on the track