Eclipse 2028 practical guide
Travelling to Totality from Outside the Path
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Hobart and most of Aotearoa New Zealand see only a partial eclipse. Here is how far each is from totality, by road and by air.
Quick answer
From Canberra and Newcastle, totality is an easy drive: about three hours to Wollongong, and an hour and a half to Gosford. From Alice Springs it is five hours north to Tennant Creek. From Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Wellington and Auckland, fly: Sydney, Kununurra, Queenstown and Dunedin are all inside the path and served by direct flights.
Nearest totality by road from each city outside the path
For every major city that sees only a partial eclipse, the table lists the three quickest towns by road that get at least two minutes of totality. Each cell gives road distance, ordinary-day driving time and totality at that town. Driving times come from the OSRM router on OpenStreetMap roads and assume free-flowing traffic with no stops; totality comes from NASA's Besselian elements.
| From | Quickest | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broome | Kununurra 1,043 km · 12.2 h · 2:53 | Wyndham 1,053 km · 12.3 h · 3:25 | Tennant Creek 2,224 km · 24 h · 3:26 |
| Alice Springs | Tennant Creek 506 km · 5.1 h · 3:26 | Kununurra 1,689 km · 16.9 h · 2:53 | Wyndham 1,788 km · 18.1 h · 3:25 |
| Melbourne | Orange 757 km · 9.4 h · 2:11 | Bathurst 768 km · 9.6 h · 3:00 | Wollongong 823 km · 9.7 h · 2:51 |
| Brisbane | Coonamble 759 km · 9.6 h · 2:49 | Gilgandra 792 km · 9.9 h · 3:52 | Gosford 837 km · 10 h · 3:18 |
| Adelaide | Bourke 1,032 km · 12.6 h · 4:05 | Brewarrina 1,130 km · 13.8 h · 3:28 | Orange 1,131 km · 14 h · 2:11 |
| Perth | Kununurra 3,189 km · 37 h · 2:53 | Wyndham 3,199 km · 37.1 h · 3:25 | Bourke 3,230 km · 38 h · 4:05 |
| Canberra | Wollongong 243 km · 3 h · 2:51 | Penrith 282 km · 3.4 h · 3:45 | Sydney 285 km · 3.5 h · 3:49 |
| Newcastle | Gosford 91 km · 1.4 h · 3:18 | Sydney 161 km · 2.2 h · 3:49 | Penrith 183 km · 2.5 h · 3:45 |
| Hobart | Orange 1,549 km · 22.6 h · 2:11 | Bathurst 1,560 km · 22.7 h · 3:00 | Wollongong 1,615 km · 22.8 h · 2:51 |
| Uluru (Ayers Rock) | Tennant Creek 959 km · 10.2 h · 3:26 | Kununurra 2,141 km · 22.1 h · 2:53 | Wyndham 2,241 km · 23.3 h · 3:25 |
| Wellington | Dunedin 794 km · 13.3 h · 2:51 | Ranfurly 817 km · 13.5 h · 2:17 | Wanaka 859 km · 13.8 h · 2:29 |
| Christchurch | Dunedin 361 km · 5.1 h · 2:51 | Ranfurly 384 km · 5.3 h · 2:17 | Wanaka 426 km · 5.6 h · 2:29 |
| Auckland | Dunedin 1,433 km · 21.5 h · 2:51 | Ranfurly 1,456 km · 21.7 h · 2:17 | Cromwell 1,494 km · 21.9 h · 2:51 |
Road times for Hobart and Wellington include the Bass Strait and Cook Strait ferries.
Road or air: the practical route from each city
- Broome: The Great Northern Highway to Kununurra is a full day's drive; most visitors will treat it as a two-day trip.
- Alice Springs: Tennant Creek is a straight run north on the Stuart Highway, close enough to drive up the day before.
- Melbourne: Driving takes a long day; flying to Sydney is quicker and puts you inside the path on arrival.
- Brisbane: The drive into inland NSW is a long day; flying to Sydney is the simpler route.
- Adelaide: Bourke is more than 12 hours by road; flying to Sydney is the practical route.
- Perth: Fly: Kununurra, in the Kimberley path, has direct flights from Perth, as does Sydney.
- Canberra: Wollongong, Penrith and Sydney are all an easy morning's drive or a short flight.
- Newcastle: Gosford is under an hour and a half south on the M1; Sydney adds another 45 minutes.
- Hobart: Fly to Sydney; the road route depends on the Bass Strait ferry.
- Uluru (Ayers Rock): Ayers Rock Airport has direct flights to Sydney; by road, Tennant Creek is a long day north.
- Wellington: Fly to Dunedin or Queenstown; the road route needs the Cook Strait ferry and a long day south.
- Christchurch: Dunedin is about five hours south on State Highway 1, or a short flight.
- Auckland: Fly to Queenstown or Dunedin; both have direct flights from Auckland.
Plan the trip in segments
Write the route as linked segments: home to gateway, gateway to the observing town, the final walk from parking or public transport, and the return. For each segment record the ordinary travel time, a buffer, fuel or charging, toilets and mobile coverage. A fast route with one bridge, mountain pass or small-town fuel stop is less resilient than a slower route with alternatives.
Budget for eclipse traffic
The times in the table are ordinary-day estimates. On 22 July 2028 a large crowd will converge on the same corridors and leave within the same hour after totality. Where a route has one bridge, mountain pass or ferry, it can add hours. Leaving earlier reduces the risk more reliably than driving faster once traffic builds, and waiting an hour after the partial phase ends avoids the worst of the return.
Set a fatigue limit
Count the eclipse wait and the drive home in the day's total. If the drive is longer than about four hours each way, stay the night before or after, and share the driving.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Melbourne from the 2028 total eclipse?
About 760 km by road to Orange or Bathurst, roughly nine and a half hours of ordinary-day driving. Bathurst gets about three minutes of totality and Orange about two. Most Melbourne travellers will find a flight to Sydney quicker: Sydney gets 3 minutes 48 seconds.
Can I drive from Canberra to see totality?
Yes. Wollongong is about three hours away and gets 2 minutes 51 seconds; Penrith and Sydney are about three and a half hours away and get about 3 minutes 45 seconds. Leave the evening before or very early: every other Canberra eclipse-chaser will be on the same roads.
Where is the closest totality to Alice Springs and Uluru?
Tennant Creek, about 500 km and five hours north of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway, gets about 3 minutes 26 seconds of totality. From Uluru it is about 960 km, a long day's drive.
Is it worth a long day trip just for the eclipse?
Only with two drivers and an overnight stop. A same-day return adds a three-hour eclipse wait to two long drives, and the return leg will be in eclipse traffic.
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Turn the route into a plan
Check the city guides for measured viewing sites in each destination, compare July cloud records, build the day in the eclipse-day planner, and read totality vs 99% if you are deciding whether the trip is worth it.