We've done home to Gold Coast twice (12hrs & 16hrs, long story lol) and home to Melbourne twice (11hrs) with Zander at varying ages. J hasn't had a big drive yet.

Definitely leave in the early hours. We do they whenever we go away so we can get a few hours away without anyone really noticing they are in the car. We also stop for breakfast, have a run around & then play it by ear, sometimes we can go a few more hours other times it's only an hour before we need to stop. Just be warned that if she needs to poo she might get a bit distressed because it will be hard for her to do it while sitting down IYKWIM. Z would get really upset & we'd have no idea, took him out of the car & after a minute it was apparent what the problem was

Keep the toys hidden until she needs them. If she sees them she'll get bored with them very quickly, bring them out one at a time so she can get bored with one then move onto another. Same with snacks, don't give her an option, surprise her with them. We generally have grapes, dried apricot / cranberries / sultanas, cheerios, strawberries, rice cakes & for a treat if things get really bad chocolate buds

Some kids won't cope in a different bed, bt if she's going to be sleeping with you then she should be fine. Like TS said, home is where her mummies are, it's not about a place to a very little person.

The weather is pretty unpredictable at the moment which is a problem. We had 33 degrees here yesterday (we are 2hrs south of Newcastle) but a few days prior it was about 18 degrees. Today there is also a massive dust storm covering most of NSW so visibility is bad & it's not good for doing anything outside.