Australia is pretty similar, in that it's way bigger than people think it is. I once pondered flying into Cairns, renting a car, driving to Hervey Bay to visit some friends, and go from there to Brisbane for my trip to the USA. Looks like a pretty quick trip on the map, yeah? They let me know it was about 16 hours of just driving time to get there, and another 4 1/2 to Brisbane.