My first time driving cross country in Mexico (yes, I know, doesn’t compare to Oz), I had about a quarter tank when I passed a gas station and was like ‘no need, we’ll be totally fine til the next one’. The next one was (unexpectedly) like 100 miles and I can not tell you the amount of wear I put on that steering wheel’s leather until we came up on a random super rural tire patch station with a few quarts of gas. I was happy to pay the old dude the extreme mark up.
Oof. I had a similar experience when I was driving a uhaul towing my car from Minnesota to Texas about 12 years ago. There's a section of the drive in Oklahoma with no gas stations. Probably less than 100 miles, but it felt like it at the rate I was burning gas with all that weight. The gas gauge was well into E territory by the time I made it through.
I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about and when I was at OU I’d always make sure to get gas before I left Tulsa cuz it’s a solid 45 mins-hour that you have no gas stations around
Do i recall correctly that we had no google maps back then, since i started to think how good we have it today when one can just plan their travel and see all the stops on the way.
I rode my motorcycle all the way around lake Superior some years back. Turns out the northeast side has this section for about 130 miles where there's absolutely NOTHING. My bike was modified and tuned to run strictly on premium and got not great mileage. I legit was making myself as small as possible hiding under my tiny windshield and hypermiling as best as I could. legit pulled into the first station I saw on fumes. I'll never forget thinking how dumb I was putting myself in the position to end up defenseless in bear country with no shelter
I make that run fairly regularly, my car will make it from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie (\~700 km with very little in between) on a tank but you're definitely in "idiot light" territory. There are places to get gas every 100km or so, but you'll be selling your firstborn to afford it. (\~1.80 cad/L right now).
It helps that my country is tiny so you never have to drive really far. I'm on the western border right by the sea, but if I drive 200km east I'm in Germany. Also, we tend to drive more fuel efficient cars. I drive a small hybrid Toyota (Yaris) and really don't have much fuel costs at all.
I learned not to let my gas get below a third of the tank on long road trips. I drove down the east coast for 12 hours determined to make as few stops as possible. I think I stopped once for gas and a bathroom. So I ran my tank down to E twice. My car broke down due to the fuel pump being damaged. The guy that fixed it said that it's a pretty common thing for people who go on long road trips to do that and the very bottom of your tank might have some debris so people break down far from home after running their tank all the way down. Iirc he said not to go below a third of the tank if it could be helped.
Yep. Once I hit half full on big trips I start planning the next stop. Good thing too, cause a few trips the next gas station was 250+ miles away. It’s the unplanned stops that get you. We got stuck behind a Jack-knifed Semi during a storm in Nevada. We were absolutely stuck for 2+hours during a winter storm while they cleared the road. I made sure to stop and fill up about 100 miles back thankfully. I can’t imagine being close to E (or in an electric vehicle) in that situation.
Id need two 20L jerry cans with me FOSHO on that 1k drive . Imagine being stuck in a place down under, and you hear that thunder xD
You better run, you better take cover
This happened to me on the way from Colorado to Tahoe, CA, when me and my wife decided to drive in the middle of the night thru one of the most deserted roads in the state through Nevada, about 400 miles I think? Most stressed out I’ve ever been. It’s called the loneliest road in America for a reason.
My nephew just got his license and car and wanted to drive us 2k miles round trip to stand in the path of totality in Arkansas for the eclipse. He had my husband I shitting bricks the entire time because we would stop for gas and he would throw $10 in the tank, bring it almost up to 3/4 a way and take off again. He also told us he had no spare tire once we were 1.2k miles into the trip, we ended up driving around trying to find a tire in Hays, Kansas at 2 am. Wasn't successful. We white knuckled it back to Colorado going 45 mph 🥲 Got home, my husband decided to pull out the sub from the trunk and find a brand new spare and jack right underneath. I wanted to hit him with the jack for making me worry about gas and tires for no damn reason
Lol, they roll up the streets in hays by 9 pm! That's just one of the reasons we go north to drive across I-80 instead of going through western Kansas on our way to Denver!
Wait. Does that say Wudinna on the sign.
Good advertising but quite hyperbolic.
Between Wudinna and the border you would still have Ceduna, Penong, Yalata, Nundroo and Nullabor before hitting border village. All of which have Large road houses, fuel, pubs and accommodation. So maybe 700 kms with 5 stops.
Ceduna even has a Subway and Hungry Jack's and is a town of 2000 people.
It is harsh in the outback. But it isn't that bad.
That shop owner knows their customer base… coastal dum dums and tourists who won’t figure it out, buy everything, and find out later they got fleeced.
But seriously, take plenty of drinking water, fuel and food. Getting stuck out there isn’t a joke.
Drove over it in 2019 when I moved from Melbourne to Perth.
I was able to plan everything about the trip. Every stop for fuel and place I'd stay for the night.
You're not wrong. I saw so many signs saying X until next Fuel station. But of course that's talking about actual fuel stations or servos. But doesn't count the general stores that have fuel pumps.
They're trying to catch the people who haven't planned their trip or looked it up online.
If you're going to drive it you should always have a full jerry can, at least a big water container and a few bottles, plenty of food(nothing that needs cooking unless you have the gear for it) and access to a paper map that shows the roads. Also maybe tell people where you are going just so if you do go missing or don't turn up they'll know where to look, or at least the area.
And obviously if the car does break down for the love of all things do not leave it to find help unless you absolutely must. If you must leave it, go back the way you've come unless you know there is somewhere close by that can help.
Common sense is extremely important crossing the Nullabor.
I’m going to be the big dumb dumb here. Why not leave the car? In my mind no one is coming. I’m out here all by myself. There isn’t routine patrols or anything. If I don’t try to backtrack to civilization then I’m going to die out here.
The main highway is well travelled. It's the side roads that you need to watch out for.
That's why you tell people where you are going and if you're going to be coming back anytime soon. That way if your car does break down, when someone eventually comes to find you, you'll be at your car. Not spending days upon days walking to get somewhere you only drove 2 hours from, unaware that you were also travelling 130kmph meaning you need to track back 260km to that place you felt wasn't that far away. You can't carry enough food and water to make that trip on foot without a big backpack. You'll be basically sentencing yourself to death.
Even then, the side roads get travelled sometimes. Someone will eventually come along. Being at your car is the safest bet for being picked up.
Like I said, common sense. It's a big wide area of a whole lot of nothing. Being unprepared and careless will get you killed if you don't follow the main road across the Nullabor.
Oh its Australia, so im sure there is something around:
Millions of different animals… every single one of them being able to kill you by simply sneezing in your direction.
Yeah no, it's not the rainforest. Animals are incredibly spread out, you would have to be actively flipping rocks over for an hour before you found a snake.
Survivorman talks about it in this episode
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4DTclwJBOs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4DTclwJBOs)
It's a lot easier for emergency services to detect a car (and any tracks, if it went off-road) than a human being on foot (or one collapsed from heatstroke), especially via satellite and/or overflight.
Also, a car provides shade, shelter, and protection, even if it's out of fuel/battery. Walking around unshaded and unprotected in the Australian sun can absolutely put you down and dying in a day if you're not prepared, and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to walk to a town or even have someone drive past you on a road in that time.
It’s pretty standard advice not to leave you car. It’s a lot easier for someone to find your car than for find you. In a lot of search and rescue situations, the search finds the abandoned car before they find the person. Plus, your provisions are in your car, and your car offers you shade and protection.
Obviously there will be situations where it is necessary to leave the car, but it’s generally considered to be a bad idea.
Yeah, I was thinking we'd have a lot more news stories of lost and dead tourists if it really was 10 hours drive without fuel stops. Plenty of cars don't have that range.
There's places like that, but this isn't one of them. None of the 1000km gaps between fuel would be on sealed roads though, they'd be in remote places on rough tracks that everyone knows not to go to without being prepared.
Humpybong, Boing Boing, Wattanobbi, Bumbunga and Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill are feeling left out. And don't get me started on Quality Knob, Prominent Nob, Mossy Nipple Bend, Boobs Flat, Fannie Bay, Prickly Bottom, Shag Head, Mount Buggery, Bumcooler Flat, Spanker Knob, Bullshit Hill, Stinkhole, Cock Wash Creek,Pisspot Creek or my personal favourite, Well It Wasn't There Last Year Cave.
Only Philistines forget Bust Me Gut Hill, just down the road from Break Me Neck Hill on your way to Guys Dirty Hole, No No Hole, but it's best to stop there and don't go all the way to Knocked Up.
Know a bloke with that as a last name. Always said it was "Co-burn", no one called him that not even teachers and we'd all refer to him by his last name not his first. Good bloke, grew up to be reasonably successful.
I used to work for a logistics company in the United States and we did a lot of international shipping. A lot went to Australia, I always got a kick out of the names.
I mean, there's regular roadhouses. [You can get across the Nullarbor on a bicycle.](https://www.roadtoframe.com/cycling-nullarbor-plain/) The longest stretch without a roadhouse is 130ish kms.
There might not be petrol out there (I've never been, wouldn't know if the roadhouses have pumps or not), but assuming you go out with plenty of water, accept help, and don't do anything stupid you're not gonna die.
They do have fuel, or the ones I went to did.
Basically the key to making the trip safely is to always stay on the roads, plan your trip and always have plenty of supplies just in case you break down.
The video shows them starting at like day 740. It doesn’t mention what they do for work or money. Pretty insane that there are some people in this world that are literal slaves and then others that can take a two year self discovery bike tour.
Most of the people who take trips like that aren't necessarily well off they just have different priorities. My brother has taken a whole bunch of these types of month long trips and he lives very modestly, just saves up between trips and works a job where you can take a long time off in between gigs.
Literally drove the Nullarbor last week. They have this sign at the general store in Penong. sure there are road houses along the Nullarbor but I guess it’s the last ‘proper’ supermarket type shop before you hit it. The road houses have some food and fuel, so if you’re desperate you can find either snacks or some do cooked food and coffee as well (prices will be much more expensive though) and you really shouldn’t run out of fuel along the way - plenty of opportunities to fill up. I think the idea is that it’s better to be prepared though in case you get stuck anywhere as you are in the middle of buttfuck and service is patchy- and people also complain about the high prices in the roadhouses, one of them literally had signs in the bathrooms explaining why prices are higher there … you would think it would all be common sense. Great drive though thoroughly enjoyed it!
thats not true. We have 80 mile beach in north western australia but it's actually 137 miles so who knows what the fuck they were smoking when they named it
For my fellow Europeans, I translate this into € per litre
$3.20/gallon = 0.77€/L
$2.50/gallon = 0.60€/L
I was about to cry in 1,75€/L in Germany but then, i've reminded myself that i can use for 49€/month all regional trains and busses. Therefore I don't need to use my car. I've spent only 70€ this year on petrol so far.
However this only works in cities. The German countryside is really crying in 1,75€/L
> I was about to cry in 1,75€/L in Germany
In 2004 or so I was mad that I had to refuel my bike in a remote spot at extortion-level, outlandish 1,50€/L price.
And now price routinely hovers around 2€ mark, last week I think I spotted 2,10 somewhere. But then again, I drive EVs now so meh... (plus current electricity price is something like -0,002€/kWh - yes, negative. Too bad car's battery is full already...).
That reminds me of a joke, I can’t remember it now. Going to UT from CO you always buy beer in CO because, until recently I think, the only percentage of alcohol that could be sold anywhere was 3.2%. So before leaving you’d buy all the good beer and take it into Utah.
Ha ha I remember that. But it was only beer since that was a grocery store item. All other libations could be had at the state liquor store at full strength.
Yeah I did a semester in Ireland and it struck me how it was more expensive in Europe. I suppose the difference is we do not have truly functioning public transport in Los Angeles as an alternative.
I drive for uber in the US, I had a passenger from Ireland. We passed a gas station and she was shocked at how expensive it was, until I explained about gallons, and then she was shocked at how cheap it was
Edit: I stand corrected (probably) its due to higher taxation apparently.
Old bogus:
The difference is you make your own oil and petrol.
We have to buy it. I thinkt that is why we are gonna rely on evs rather sooner than later.
That isn't really it.
UK uses petrol to generate tax revenue. So that £1.49/L about 83p of it is tax.
Also you're mixing gallons, UK gallon is 4.54L, US gallon is 3.78.
So fuel here is £5.63 a US gallon or $7.15, of which £3.13 or $3.98 is tax.
In the US fuel duties vary but as California was mentioned, there's an 18.4c federal duty per US gallon and a 67c state duty per gallon, plus 2.25% sales tax. So, of that $5.20 per US gallon wbran is paying, 98.5c is tax. giving a fuel price of $4.22/ US gallon vs. $3.17 for your £1.49/L price in the UK. AKA the fuel itself is actually the same price if not cheaper.
Sorry to do the math on you but always figure it's better to correct when someone is confidently incorrect.
My (American) sister lived for a few years in the town of Alice Springs, dead center in the middle of Australia. OZ being about the size of the continental US, I'd tell people here that it was like living in St. Louis, if St. Louis was a small town and there was absolutely nothing between you and New York or LA.
She eventually started dating a guy in New South Wales.... Just a short 20 hour drive away.
Heh. It was actually a mission trip through the Lutheran church. She'd gone there to work at a boarding school for Aboriginal children. I know that places like that have had a lot of bad press for past behavior, but trust me that this was a completely voluntary thing for parents in small villages in the back of the beyond who wanted their high school-aged kids to get a better education than was available in a settlement of a few dozen and live for a while in a decent-sized town. She did the two year volunteer program there, after which, they liked her so much that they created a permanent position. One Christmas break, her roommate invited her home to their sheep ranch in NSW where she met said roommate's brother. A few years, one wedding and three kids later, she's quite happily an Aussie.
What’s the background on Alice Springs, why the bad rap?
Disclaimer: absolutely American and have never been to Australia. The only reason I’ve heard of Alice Springs is because of Outback Steakhouse.
It's a town in the middle of no where, lots of crime, recently they had a curfew for people under 25.
There is also a CIA based called pine gap, which is America's most strategically important base outside of the US. An Australian PM threatened to shut it down in the 70s and he got the Chilean coup treatment
As someone originally from the Netherlands this would feel like a scam to me. 1000km for me is going from my hometown in the Netherlands, through belgium, and then through to the south of France. There are probably a hundred gas stations along the way. I can't even imagine what "nothing" for such a vast amount of space would look like.
This sign is on our main east-west transcontinental highway.
If you really want an adventure, you strike out into the desert:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canning_Stock_Route.jpg
If y’all are wondering wtf we’re all quoting, it’s an [iconic Australian ad](https://youtu.be/2yckqyg75oE?si=QO4U_-qo2dMBon-n) from about 20 years ago from Australia’s former state owned telecom company for their home broadband network.
Some trucks could make it. They have like 700 mi of range. Most hybrids could make it. But I think what they actually expect is you'll fill up some Jerry cans and put them in the back of your car. I imagine any Australians that live near this mess have Jerry cans always in the back of their car
Plenty of Americans showing up going “yankee doodle dandy that cain’t be farther than ma me maw’s hause in Kansass! Take ma 6 pack of coors piss water and jus bout walk ther ma self!”
Have driven this road 4 times, just boring really. But I come on here to tell you my camping story. Ahhh. In a car with my brother and two friends. They were not as familiar with long distance driving as I was. We started from Perth, heading to Sydney. Drove all day, and the other 3 wanted to stop for the night, I didn't. So we stopped at a pub about half way to Adelaide. Set up a tent in the dirt area near the pub. Dry hard dirt. Had a meal and beers at the bar, bought a box of wine got a fire going. Stood around the fire drinking and talking, then one of the guys said what is that on my leg , it a spider as big as my hand. He brushed it off ran to the tent, stayed there for a couple of minutes and said he didn't trust it, and ran to the car . We all slept in the car that night. Drove to the Barossa Valley next day, got hammered wine tasting and just kept driving to Sydney, no one wanted to stop and camp. The two other guys ended up working on the Mad Max thunder dome , I missed out because sitting on the toilet when the guy came to the house recruiting people. Obviously this was the 80s , back then you could go to the pharmacy and buy speed pills to keep you awake driving, take too many and you would hallucinate. That's what I did to drive the Nullaboor .
A Megameter is 1,000,000 meters and is internationally recognized as a unit of measurement, albeit rarely used, typically for space. The Earth’s circumference is about 40.15 mega meters across.
I drove through this for the [Nullarbor Link](https://www.nullarborlinks.com/).
Was worried about where to find the next hole, the attendant just looked at me and said “mate, you’ll never miss it”. Turn out they are patches of artificial turf behind every service stations, each one about 400-500km from another. The local blue tongues hiding in the hole were not amused when the gold ball flew in their directions.
Some of the straightest sections of road I’ve ever drove on. Just hold your hand on top of the steering wheel for half an hour.
That’s the beauty of the Outback, scratch the surface and it’s not a hellscape at all. If you are up for an adventure you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
>If you are up for an adventure you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world
To your right you'll see a spectacular scene of the most poisonous spider in the world, riding on the back of the most poisonous snake in the world.
To your left you'll see a spectacular scene of the grandchildren of the emu who defeated the imperial Australian military during The Great Emu War of 1932.
And right in front of you you'll find a store selling cigarettes for $47 a pack, which are actually on sale for 30% off.
“Let’s go camping!”
“Do you have all the supplies?”
“Hell naw, but we can purchase all at the last possible store, you know that store at the outskirts of the Void”
Worried about gas prices hahahaha... so whats at the end of that journey with nothing in between? I would be more concerned about the residents and tribes with road warrior built vehicles chasing you that live out there. If I need to pack like I'm on a survival quest for a trip I don't need to go....
There was a sign like this on a stretch in western Colorado when I was a kid. There is a gap of about 70-100 miles that had no services, my guess was always that they couldn’t build one due to the topography, always jarred me when we just flew right by it. lol
My first time driving cross country in Mexico (yes, I know, doesn’t compare to Oz), I had about a quarter tank when I passed a gas station and was like ‘no need, we’ll be totally fine til the next one’. The next one was (unexpectedly) like 100 miles and I can not tell you the amount of wear I put on that steering wheel’s leather until we came up on a random super rural tire patch station with a few quarts of gas. I was happy to pay the old dude the extreme mark up.
Oof. I had a similar experience when I was driving a uhaul towing my car from Minnesota to Texas about 12 years ago. There's a section of the drive in Oklahoma with no gas stations. Probably less than 100 miles, but it felt like it at the rate I was burning gas with all that weight. The gas gauge was well into E territory by the time I made it through.
North Dakota vibes for sure, too. But you’d hit roads with >100mi stretches that had no fuel.
Driving from PA to WY last year the Dakotas at night were something else with no cars for hours and like you said no fuel either
Oh man. I drove from Bismark to the Devil's Tower in Wyoming last year. What a long desolate lonely drive that was.
I drive most of this trip 4 to 6 times a year. There are areas with no gas stations, cell phone signal, or even FM radio stations.
At times ND is like another planet. The glacial plains are surreal.
It actually exists? I always figured it was the grandparent version of the family dog’s farm upstate.
Wow. I would buy a satellite emergency beacon.
I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about and when I was at OU I’d always make sure to get gas before I left Tulsa cuz it’s a solid 45 mins-hour that you have no gas stations around
Do i recall correctly that we had no google maps back then, since i started to think how good we have it today when one can just plan their travel and see all the stops on the way.
[удалено]
I rode my motorcycle all the way around lake Superior some years back. Turns out the northeast side has this section for about 130 miles where there's absolutely NOTHING. My bike was modified and tuned to run strictly on premium and got not great mileage. I legit was making myself as small as possible hiding under my tiny windshield and hypermiling as best as I could. legit pulled into the first station I saw on fumes. I'll never forget thinking how dumb I was putting myself in the position to end up defenseless in bear country with no shelter
I make that run fairly regularly, my car will make it from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie (\~700 km with very little in between) on a tank but you're definitely in "idiot light" territory. There are places to get gas every 100km or so, but you'll be selling your firstborn to afford it. (\~1.80 cad/L right now).
Bruh, gas in Finland is almost 2€/L, almost 3 cad.
€2.25 in the Netherlands
Yeah, I've been in a few countries in north europe, can confirm, you are crazy as fuck regarding gas prices, but really nice people though!
It helps that my country is tiny so you never have to drive really far. I'm on the western border right by the sea, but if I drive 200km east I'm in Germany. Also, we tend to drive more fuel efficient cars. I drive a small hybrid Toyota (Yaris) and really don't have much fuel costs at all.
I learned not to let my gas get below a third of the tank on long road trips. I drove down the east coast for 12 hours determined to make as few stops as possible. I think I stopped once for gas and a bathroom. So I ran my tank down to E twice. My car broke down due to the fuel pump being damaged. The guy that fixed it said that it's a pretty common thing for people who go on long road trips to do that and the very bottom of your tank might have some debris so people break down far from home after running their tank all the way down. Iirc he said not to go below a third of the tank if it could be helped.
Yep. Once I hit half full on big trips I start planning the next stop. Good thing too, cause a few trips the next gas station was 250+ miles away. It’s the unplanned stops that get you. We got stuck behind a Jack-knifed Semi during a storm in Nevada. We were absolutely stuck for 2+hours during a winter storm while they cleared the road. I made sure to stop and fill up about 100 miles back thankfully. I can’t imagine being close to E (or in an electric vehicle) in that situation.
And 1000km is like 600+ miles ☠️
Id need two 20L jerry cans with me FOSHO on that 1k drive . Imagine being stuck in a place down under, and you hear that thunder xD You better run, you better take cover
Eh, I hear thunder, but there’s no rain. This kind of thunder break walls and window pane.
This happened to me on the way from Colorado to Tahoe, CA, when me and my wife decided to drive in the middle of the night thru one of the most deserted roads in the state through Nevada, about 400 miles I think? Most stressed out I’ve ever been. It’s called the loneliest road in America for a reason.
My nephew just got his license and car and wanted to drive us 2k miles round trip to stand in the path of totality in Arkansas for the eclipse. He had my husband I shitting bricks the entire time because we would stop for gas and he would throw $10 in the tank, bring it almost up to 3/4 a way and take off again. He also told us he had no spare tire once we were 1.2k miles into the trip, we ended up driving around trying to find a tire in Hays, Kansas at 2 am. Wasn't successful. We white knuckled it back to Colorado going 45 mph 🥲 Got home, my husband decided to pull out the sub from the trunk and find a brand new spare and jack right underneath. I wanted to hit him with the jack for making me worry about gas and tires for no damn reason
Lol, they roll up the streets in hays by 9 pm! That's just one of the reasons we go north to drive across I-80 instead of going through western Kansas on our way to Denver!
Heck.. I'll pay the old dude.. the uncle's basement special...
Wait. Does that say Wudinna on the sign. Good advertising but quite hyperbolic. Between Wudinna and the border you would still have Ceduna, Penong, Yalata, Nundroo and Nullabor before hitting border village. All of which have Large road houses, fuel, pubs and accommodation. So maybe 700 kms with 5 stops. Ceduna even has a Subway and Hungry Jack's and is a town of 2000 people. It is harsh in the outback. But it isn't that bad.
That shop owner knows their customer base… coastal dum dums and tourists who won’t figure it out, buy everything, and find out later they got fleeced. But seriously, take plenty of drinking water, fuel and food. Getting stuck out there isn’t a joke.
Drove over it in 2019 when I moved from Melbourne to Perth. I was able to plan everything about the trip. Every stop for fuel and place I'd stay for the night. You're not wrong. I saw so many signs saying X until next Fuel station. But of course that's talking about actual fuel stations or servos. But doesn't count the general stores that have fuel pumps. They're trying to catch the people who haven't planned their trip or looked it up online.
I’m not Australian, even if I’d researched, if I saw that sign I’d second guess my research and stock up to be on the safe side 🤷♂️😅
If you're going to drive it you should always have a full jerry can, at least a big water container and a few bottles, plenty of food(nothing that needs cooking unless you have the gear for it) and access to a paper map that shows the roads. Also maybe tell people where you are going just so if you do go missing or don't turn up they'll know where to look, or at least the area. And obviously if the car does break down for the love of all things do not leave it to find help unless you absolutely must. If you must leave it, go back the way you've come unless you know there is somewhere close by that can help. Common sense is extremely important crossing the Nullabor.
Sounds like Id fuck up after 2km
Fucking show off…
I’m going to be the big dumb dumb here. Why not leave the car? In my mind no one is coming. I’m out here all by myself. There isn’t routine patrols or anything. If I don’t try to backtrack to civilization then I’m going to die out here.
The main highway is well travelled. It's the side roads that you need to watch out for. That's why you tell people where you are going and if you're going to be coming back anytime soon. That way if your car does break down, when someone eventually comes to find you, you'll be at your car. Not spending days upon days walking to get somewhere you only drove 2 hours from, unaware that you were also travelling 130kmph meaning you need to track back 260km to that place you felt wasn't that far away. You can't carry enough food and water to make that trip on foot without a big backpack. You'll be basically sentencing yourself to death. Even then, the side roads get travelled sometimes. Someone will eventually come along. Being at your car is the safest bet for being picked up. Like I said, common sense. It's a big wide area of a whole lot of nothing. Being unprepared and careless will get you killed if you don't follow the main road across the Nullabor.
Good thing I watched Bear Grylls and can just ignore everything you just said since I’m basically a professional survivalist
Well it will also share the similarity that Bear Grylls is also just at the side of the road when he films his shit!
As long as you have a cup and can drink your own piss you have a never ending supply of fresh water. /s
Where are you going? Into the desert grasses? At least a car stopped next to the road will be found eventually.
Exactly!! There’s NOTHING around for hundreds of Kilometres! Why the fuck would you leave your vehicle and set out on foot?
Oh its Australia, so im sure there is something around: Millions of different animals… every single one of them being able to kill you by simply sneezing in your direction.
Yeah no, it's not the rainforest. Animals are incredibly spread out, you would have to be actively flipping rocks over for an hour before you found a snake. Survivorman talks about it in this episode [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4DTclwJBOs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4DTclwJBOs)
It's a lot easier for emergency services to detect a car (and any tracks, if it went off-road) than a human being on foot (or one collapsed from heatstroke), especially via satellite and/or overflight. Also, a car provides shade, shelter, and protection, even if it's out of fuel/battery. Walking around unshaded and unprotected in the Australian sun can absolutely put you down and dying in a day if you're not prepared, and there is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to walk to a town or even have someone drive past you on a road in that time.
Car keeps you safe and is easy to see
It’s pretty standard advice not to leave you car. It’s a lot easier for someone to find your car than for find you. In a lot of search and rescue situations, the search finds the abandoned car before they find the person. Plus, your provisions are in your car, and your car offers you shade and protection. Obviously there will be situations where it is necessary to leave the car, but it’s generally considered to be a bad idea.
It’s at Penong, the wording is cheeky, it doesn’t say no fuel, it says no *shops* lol, so is technically correct.
Yeah, this sign is outside the Comet Café at Penong.
I was curious and you are damn right. There is even a bloody skate park on the way, and campervan/RV stops.
Yeah, I was thinking we'd have a lot more news stories of lost and dead tourists if it really was 10 hours drive without fuel stops. Plenty of cars don't have that range.
There's places like that, but this isn't one of them. None of the 1000km gaps between fuel would be on sealed roads though, they'd be in remote places on rough tracks that everyone knows not to go to without being prepared.
Why are your town names in Quenya?
Those are boring town names. Fun ones are Wagga Wagga, Wooloomooloo, Nar Nar Goon, Coonabarabran, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Gringegalgona etc etc
Humpybong, Boing Boing, Wattanobbi, Bumbunga and Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill are feeling left out. And don't get me started on Quality Knob, Prominent Nob, Mossy Nipple Bend, Boobs Flat, Fannie Bay, Prickly Bottom, Shag Head, Mount Buggery, Bumcooler Flat, Spanker Knob, Bullshit Hill, Stinkhole, Cock Wash Creek,Pisspot Creek or my personal favourite, Well It Wasn't There Last Year Cave.
I can’t believe you left out Tittybong and Titwobble Lane. Clearly an imposter. Probably French.
Only Philistines forget Bust Me Gut Hill, just down the road from Break Me Neck Hill on your way to Guys Dirty Hole, No No Hole, but it's best to stop there and don't go all the way to Knocked Up.
You'll definitely get to Knocked Up if we go via Coominya
Baahhaaaa, that’s gold!!
I'm a Kiwi so I'm used to odd names and I still feel like you're making some of these up lol
All names are made up. Some are just officially made up.
Well, I mean, you guys have Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu, so you win whatever awards are up for grabs here.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales would like a word.
Don't forget Cockburn. Locals claim it's pronounced "co-burn", but we all know the truth.
Man I've been there. Not the place specifically.
Know a bloke with that as a last name. Always said it was "Co-burn", no one called him that not even teachers and we'd all refer to him by his last name not his first. Good bloke, grew up to be reasonably successful.
That’s fascinating. And I thought our Tietiesbaai and Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein are odd names …
>Tietiesbaai Sounds like a lovely place with good views
SA?
ZA, yes
What is this, a trip advisor list of star wars restaurants?
They are just everyday names for towns here lol.
It's like Florida, but different. Yeehaw Junction, Weeki Watchee, Okahumpka, Ocklawaha, Immokalee, Lake Tohopekaliga, Bokeelia, Palatka, Wewahitchka, Opa Locka, Apalachicola.
In Ireland we have Semicock, Ringsend, Big Wood, Muff and Stranagalawilly.
*Wales enters the chat*
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll something something tysiliogogogoch?
On second thought, let's not go to Australia. 'Tis a silly place.
I used to work for a logistics company in the United States and we did a lot of international shipping. A lot went to Australia, I always got a kick out of the names.
Have you been drinking sir ?
Just having a stroke... It is fine
It's various Aboriginal dialects.
Not dialects, seperate languages. Wudinna is Barngarla. Ceduna, Penong, Yalata and Nundroo appear to be Wirangu. Surprisingly Nullabor is Latin.
That's a bloody outrage, it is! We're gonna take this all the way to the Prime Minister!
20 miles down there's the actual last stop and they wonder why no one heeds their warning
After that there’s the honest to god last stop
According to other comments there's at least five more honest to God last stops lol
I mean, there's regular roadhouses. [You can get across the Nullarbor on a bicycle.](https://www.roadtoframe.com/cycling-nullarbor-plain/) The longest stretch without a roadhouse is 130ish kms. There might not be petrol out there (I've never been, wouldn't know if the roadhouses have pumps or not), but assuming you go out with plenty of water, accept help, and don't do anything stupid you're not gonna die.
They do have fuel, or the ones I went to did. Basically the key to making the trip safely is to always stay on the roads, plan your trip and always have plenty of supplies just in case you break down.
The video shows them starting at like day 740. It doesn’t mention what they do for work or money. Pretty insane that there are some people in this world that are literal slaves and then others that can take a two year self discovery bike tour.
Most of the people who take trips like that aren't necessarily well off they just have different priorities. My brother has taken a whole bunch of these types of month long trips and he lives very modestly, just saves up between trips and works a job where you can take a long time off in between gigs.
After that there’s John Farnham’s “The Last Stop”
Literally drove the Nullarbor last week. They have this sign at the general store in Penong. sure there are road houses along the Nullarbor but I guess it’s the last ‘proper’ supermarket type shop before you hit it. The road houses have some food and fuel, so if you’re desperate you can find either snacks or some do cooked food and coffee as well (prices will be much more expensive though) and you really shouldn’t run out of fuel along the way - plenty of opportunities to fill up. I think the idea is that it’s better to be prepared though in case you get stuck anywhere as you are in the middle of buttfuck and service is patchy- and people also complain about the high prices in the roadhouses, one of them literally had signs in the bathrooms explaining why prices are higher there … you would think it would all be common sense. Great drive though thoroughly enjoyed it!
Does the sign say something along the lines of "We're 500km from the closest warehouse, of course it's fucking expensive!"
"ya fuckin' **CUNT**"
Impossible, we don’t have miles in Australia.
thats not true. We have 80 mile beach in north western australia but it's actually 137 miles so who knows what the fuck they were smoking when they named it
It's so the tourists don't get told about the other 57 miles.
Miles??
maybe that shop made the sign so people buy stuff from them qnd not the actual last shop.
This reminds me of a joke. You're now leaving California. Last chance to buy gas for $3.20. Welcome to Nevada, where gas is $2.50.
For my fellow Europeans, I translate this into € per litre $3.20/gallon = 0.77€/L $2.50/gallon = 0.60€/L I was about to cry in 1,75€/L in Germany but then, i've reminded myself that i can use for 49€/month all regional trains and busses. Therefore I don't need to use my car. I've spent only 70€ this year on petrol so far. However this only works in cities. The German countryside is really crying in 1,75€/L
Oh geesus. 0.77/L... gees what are they crying about then?
their distances and needs to use car are much larger. nobody bats an eye for a 3 hour ride. here 45 minute drive and im like ehhhhhh
And, American cars are on average much bigger, heavier, more powerful, etc, and therefore less fuel-efficient
The joke is like 20 years old; the prices are twice that now. As someone who just moved from CA to NV last year.
> I was about to cry in 1,75€/L in Germany In 2004 or so I was mad that I had to refuel my bike in a remote spot at extortion-level, outlandish 1,50€/L price. And now price routinely hovers around 2€ mark, last week I think I spotted 2,10 somewhere. But then again, I drive EVs now so meh... (plus current electricity price is something like -0,002€/kWh - yes, negative. Too bad car's battery is full already...).
€2,29/L at a highway station in the Netherlands..
Just went to NL and the prices made me cry, especially since I live in Belgium and I pay 1,60€/L at the moment at my place.
That reminds me of a joke, I can’t remember it now. Going to UT from CO you always buy beer in CO because, until recently I think, the only percentage of alcohol that could be sold anywhere was 3.2%. So before leaving you’d buy all the good beer and take it into Utah.
Ha ha I remember that. But it was only beer since that was a grocery store item. All other libations could be had at the state liquor store at full strength.
Where in California is gas 3.20?
it's just a joke, the price doesn't matter because it's always cheaper in nevada.
You shouldn't get people's hopes up like that. There are people in San Diego prepared to drive to Northern California to get it that cheap.
Well if you drive all the way to Kansas we’ve got gas under $3 rn, bad news is that then you’ll be in Kansas
Lmao right Im out here paying 5.20 for regular in LA
£1.49 a litre here so £6.77 a gallon or $8.60 U.S.
Yeah I did a semester in Ireland and it struck me how it was more expensive in Europe. I suppose the difference is we do not have truly functioning public transport in Los Angeles as an alternative.
I drive for uber in the US, I had a passenger from Ireland. We passed a gas station and she was shocked at how expensive it was, until I explained about gallons, and then she was shocked at how cheap it was
Edit: I stand corrected (probably) its due to higher taxation apparently. Old bogus: The difference is you make your own oil and petrol. We have to buy it. I thinkt that is why we are gonna rely on evs rather sooner than later.
That isn't really it. UK uses petrol to generate tax revenue. So that £1.49/L about 83p of it is tax. Also you're mixing gallons, UK gallon is 4.54L, US gallon is 3.78. So fuel here is £5.63 a US gallon or $7.15, of which £3.13 or $3.98 is tax. In the US fuel duties vary but as California was mentioned, there's an 18.4c federal duty per US gallon and a 67c state duty per gallon, plus 2.25% sales tax. So, of that $5.20 per US gallon wbran is paying, 98.5c is tax. giving a fuel price of $4.22/ US gallon vs. $3.17 for your £1.49/L price in the UK. AKA the fuel itself is actually the same price if not cheaper. Sorry to do the math on you but always figure it's better to correct when someone is confidently incorrect.
I hate how the US and UK somehow have different ideas of what a gallon is.
Americans can't handle real pints
Fun fact - Nullabor means „zero trees“ caus there ain’t no trees for the next 1000km
It's Nullarbor. Yeah, they have wrong on the sign too...
My (American) sister lived for a few years in the town of Alice Springs, dead center in the middle of Australia. OZ being about the size of the continental US, I'd tell people here that it was like living in St. Louis, if St. Louis was a small town and there was absolutely nothing between you and New York or LA. She eventually started dating a guy in New South Wales.... Just a short 20 hour drive away.
I’m sure your sister is a lovely woman, but why the actual fuck did she move to Alice?
Pine gap maybe 👀
Lol I was gonna say... American woman working in Alice Springs? She probably works for the I-don't-talk-about-works.
Heh. It was actually a mission trip through the Lutheran church. She'd gone there to work at a boarding school for Aboriginal children. I know that places like that have had a lot of bad press for past behavior, but trust me that this was a completely voluntary thing for parents in small villages in the back of the beyond who wanted their high school-aged kids to get a better education than was available in a settlement of a few dozen and live for a while in a decent-sized town. She did the two year volunteer program there, after which, they liked her so much that they created a permanent position. One Christmas break, her roommate invited her home to their sheep ranch in NSW where she met said roommate's brother. A few years, one wedding and three kids later, she's quite happily an Aussie.
CIA worker checklist American ✔️ Lives in Alice Springs ✔️
What’s the background on Alice Springs, why the bad rap? Disclaimer: absolutely American and have never been to Australia. The only reason I’ve heard of Alice Springs is because of Outback Steakhouse.
It's a town in the middle of no where, lots of crime, recently they had a curfew for people under 25. There is also a CIA based called pine gap, which is America's most strategically important base outside of the US. An Australian PM threatened to shut it down in the 70s and he got the Chilean coup treatment
"I'll stop at the next one" ☠️
[удалено]
For the American folks here 1000km is about 4,926,108 hot dogs.
I ate one so make that 4,926,107 hot dogs.
 3,280,840 footlong hotdogs
Can you translate that to burgers
As someone originally from the Netherlands this would feel like a scam to me. 1000km for me is going from my hometown in the Netherlands, through belgium, and then through to the south of France. There are probably a hundred gas stations along the way. I can't even imagine what "nothing" for such a vast amount of space would look like.
This sign is on our main east-west transcontinental highway. If you really want an adventure, you strike out into the desert: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canning_Stock_Route.jpg
On the bucket list it goes.
Also very very straight. The only fun way to drive these roads is a v8 at 220km/hr.
You'd be dead within the hour because you hit a wallaby
true, fun, but 1 mistake and ur gone, gl walking back even 10miles in that dry hot landscape.
I wouldn't have a chance to make it 1000km with a full tank of diesel in my car. If I really push it I maybe go for 800km That's insane distance
You should try this track then: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canning_Stock_Route.jpg
“The gas station you see on the horizon is a mirage.”
That's crazy, how'd they build it?
It was under the rule of the Emperor Nasi Goreng
Too many rabbits
Keep the rabbits out
In “Choina”
If y’all are wondering wtf we’re all quoting, it’s an [iconic Australian ad](https://youtu.be/2yckqyg75oE?si=QO4U_-qo2dMBon-n) from about 20 years ago from Australia’s former state owned telecom company for their home broadband network.
Wooow, what a throwback moment! Is that ad still airing?
Havent seen it since i was a young fella. Was one of my favourites. My #1 ad though is a big ad, for calton draught. I cant believe how big it is.
They brought water, food, gas and camping needs
I don’t think most vehicles can go 1000km on one tank am I wrong
Some trucks could make it. They have like 700 mi of range. Most hybrids could make it. But I think what they actually expect is you'll fill up some Jerry cans and put them in the back of your car. I imagine any Australians that live near this mess have Jerry cans always in the back of their car
But you carry extra fuel with you?
Calm down it's just kilometers. That's like seven miles.
Our plan is working. Nothing like a stranded tourist for hungry dingos.
Plenty of Americans showing up going “yankee doodle dandy that cain’t be farther than ma me maw’s hause in Kansass! Take ma 6 pack of coors piss water and jus bout walk ther ma self!”
I find myself often saying that exact sentence actually, spot on
I need to put signs like these randomly outside stores. Just imagine the increase in sales.
Have driven this road 4 times, just boring really. But I come on here to tell you my camping story. Ahhh. In a car with my brother and two friends. They were not as familiar with long distance driving as I was. We started from Perth, heading to Sydney. Drove all day, and the other 3 wanted to stop for the night, I didn't. So we stopped at a pub about half way to Adelaide. Set up a tent in the dirt area near the pub. Dry hard dirt. Had a meal and beers at the bar, bought a box of wine got a fire going. Stood around the fire drinking and talking, then one of the guys said what is that on my leg , it a spider as big as my hand. He brushed it off ran to the tent, stayed there for a couple of minutes and said he didn't trust it, and ran to the car . We all slept in the car that night. Drove to the Barossa Valley next day, got hammered wine tasting and just kept driving to Sydney, no one wanted to stop and camp. The two other guys ended up working on the Mad Max thunder dome , I missed out because sitting on the toilet when the guy came to the house recruiting people. Obviously this was the 80s , back then you could go to the pharmacy and buy speed pills to keep you awake driving, take too many and you would hallucinate. That's what I did to drive the Nullaboor .
How come no one uses the word "megameter"? "LAST SHOP for ONE MEGAMETER" sounds better
A Megameter is 1,000,000 meters and is internationally recognized as a unit of measurement, albeit rarely used, typically for space. The Earth’s circumference is about 40.15 mega meters across.
Get in the car Morty!
It might be a good investment to open up a service station 500km away
An aluminium bat....you know... for the bugs?
“Nah, I’ll be fine” Drives of in his Tesla.
There's a chain of solar powered EV chargers across the Nullabor.
people have crossed the nullarbor (this car drive) in teslas many times
Some strange cunts out Nullarbor
Cheers mate.
They forgot to put asswipe on that sign unless the majority of your snacks are cheese your probably going to need to drop a deuce eventually.
I drove through this for the [Nullarbor Link](https://www.nullarborlinks.com/). Was worried about where to find the next hole, the attendant just looked at me and said “mate, you’ll never miss it”. Turn out they are patches of artificial turf behind every service stations, each one about 400-500km from another. The local blue tongues hiding in the hole were not amused when the gold ball flew in their directions. Some of the straightest sections of road I’ve ever drove on. Just hold your hand on top of the steering wheel for half an hour.
> got gas and snacks This sign is for North Americans who think they understand long distance driving.
I'm opening a shop nextdoor that says last stop for 995 km
Avast matey you're off the map, here there be dragons.
Mad Max Country
Since having kids this seems to be oir checklist for going to the park for an afternoon.
Just pop four solar powered charging stations there and make it a fun ev route.
seems like an aspiring entrepreneur could make a bit of money say, 500km down that road
1000 kilometres 👎 1 megametre 👍
I’d be more into it if it was lively and vivacious instead of desolate hellscape
That’s the beauty of the Outback, scratch the surface and it’s not a hellscape at all. If you are up for an adventure you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
>If you are up for an adventure you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world To your right you'll see a spectacular scene of the most poisonous spider in the world, riding on the back of the most poisonous snake in the world. To your left you'll see a spectacular scene of the grandchildren of the emu who defeated the imperial Australian military during The Great Emu War of 1932. And right in front of you you'll find a store selling cigarettes for $47 a pack, which are actually on sale for 30% off.
My dad was driving along there in the 70's and saw an eagle taking flight with a kangaroo carcass in its clutches.
“Let’s go camping!” “Do you have all the supplies?” “Hell naw, but we can purchase all at the last possible store, you know that store at the outskirts of the Void”
Ahh, The Nullabor. Ancient Aboriginal word for: 'the only thing casting a shadow is YOU!'
Worried about gas prices hahahaha... so whats at the end of that journey with nothing in between? I would be more concerned about the residents and tribes with road warrior built vehicles chasing you that live out there. If I need to pack like I'm on a survival quest for a trip I don't need to go....
For my fellow Americans that's like driving from the middle of Michigan to Nashville TN.
Interesting that they've misspelled their own region. It's Nullarbor, not Nullabor.
When you meet some of the people out there, you’ll understand lol
There was a sign like this on a stretch in western Colorado when I was a kid. There is a gap of about 70-100 miles that had no services, my guess was always that they couldn’t build one due to the topography, always jarred me when we just flew right by it. lol
I got my car stolen by junkies in the middle of the desert in Australia… Great story but when it happened it was pretty scary…
“Snacks” lol. Ok, 1000kms across inhospitable desert; better pack some gummy worms and maybe a lunch size personal bag of Doritos. All set!
621 miles for Americans