Finally retired and planning our first big trip around part of oz for a few months however long it takes !!!! Having said that I would love to hear of other peoples experiences when they first did that big retirement trip ... did it live up to your expectations or were there some things that came as a bit of a surprise on your trip ? very exciting for us first timers wife retires next april and we will be up the stuart hwy in may STICKING TO THE BITUMEN .. ............ so many things to see on that hwy and any kind of research helps when planning something like this .
We go away all the time in our small campervan long weekends etc .. but never anything like this before .
G;day Dave - you will have the trip of your life - this country is amazing, I have been right around twice, and will be doing this sort of travelling for the rest of my days Been up the centre - a great trip, from Melbourne head up through Mildura, across to Port Augutta - then northward bound - yeehaaa! Heaps of places to stop, free or paid.
Couple of places I love - Lake Hart - right next to the Ghan train line, a fantastic pink salt lake with a great history - near the edge of the lake is a pile of salt, you an see where it has been bagged up - it was stacked there in 1934 to be put on the train, it was never collected, and has sat there all that time. The water sort of goes out and comes in, when it is out you can see the old track where they collected the salt from the lake - several other bits and pieces around as well. The lake is also a part of Woomera Rocket launching facility - not permitted to go on certain parts of the lake, apparently.
thanks so much for replying to the post ... this site never nets me down great advice and info thanks keith .. judy ... great pics jules ... good story about the salt .. yes read about lake hart cant wait ... heard about Mataranka springs also ... sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much .
If you are going to stay in caravan parks, you should either book ahead, or get there early, because after say 3:00 pm, the parks fill up very quickly. This applies virtually all the way from Port Augusta Northwards. It is a long way, and in places there isn't much to see, but don't rush yourself, sit back and enjoy it - Oz is a wonderful country.
I did the trip op the Stuart highway in May this year. Had a wonderful time, we mixed up our camping between free camping & c.p's. I would have liked to spend more time in Alice Springs then we did, there is so much to see in Alice & the surrounding, beautiful MacDonnell Ranges. Coober Pedy was interesting in a weird sort of way, make sure you do the trip to The Breakaways. Ularu was awesome as was The Olgas & Kings Canyon.Take your time, don't travel too late in the day or too early in the morning. There are a lot of livestock & wildlife on these roads, you can't be too careful. We were off the rd by 4:30 p.m & didn't get back on the rd before 9:a.m. Didn't go any further North than Alice........that will be for another time.
Thanks pam ... basic is fine neither of us is high maintenance we usually always free camp $25 sounds reasonable ... is that unpowered or powered .....
That is Robbie Robbins Reserve - Stuart Highway Berrima NT - Stratco is on the corner of the street = $25 unpowered, $30 power/water. Good water to fill your tanks - showers, toilets, and easily placed to city, shopping centres, and all attractions.
Another great place is Mount Bundy Station, at Victoria River, they have an unpowered area down the bottom - was $11 pn - showers, loos and a POOL. Happy hours are good.
Pussy Cat Flats at Pine Creek - is a racecourse - good camping, showers, laundry, and a bar with meals that opens at 4pm - we met Bryan Brown there.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
I will make a note of this place $25 is about the average price in vic ... although a lot of places boost it up in peak times !!! I'm writing these places down in my little travel book thanks very much for the info ...as I have always said theres a wealth of knowledge out there as these site proves . thanks jules.
We did a simialr thing this year. First big trip in retirement and were so excited. We loved every single thing about it but couldn't believe how much others are doing the same thing. We did up the middle and across to the top end of WA. Ticked off some big bucket list items so if we never get back we will be happy with what we saw. If free camping try and pull in early to get a spot. The only caravan park we booked was Darwin and Kununurra so we were lucky. Enjoy it all and my one piece of advice is, if you want to do it, do it if you can afford to as we never know what tomorrow may bring.
Great advice leajoy no we just don't know whats around the corner eh ? love this country and cant wait to get off and see the place ... yes very exciting the first time ... I'm always wary about stopping on highway stops seen many in camps 8 book ... cant always sleep because of this but this is the cheapest way of travelling .. I guess most free stops there's always someone else there also ... in this case I feel a bit safer .
Have you had any issues with these wayside stops ?
I must admit we rarely stay in the ones right on the road because of the noise bur will do at a push if someone else is there. Mostly we can find a spot that is off the road. We have never had any issues and you rarely camp by yourselves these days, especially in peak season. If I don't feel comfortable we move on and find another spot. Showgrounds can also be a way of reducing costs as they are usually cheaper
On my first full lap in 2013/14 (and every trip since), I was overwhelmed by the friendliness of other travellers
I had planned where I was going, and could not go to other peoples favourite/secret places, otherwise I would never have got back to home base.
As soon as I mentioned that it was my first lap, the tips came thick and fast, which as a novice traveller, I appreciated
As a sidenote I split my road trips into three equal parts, and gain equal pleasure from the following parts
Planning the trip
Viewing the scenery, while getting to where I am going
Meeting the people at the places I stop
I never got to see Darwin, as I had hurt my back somewhere near Elliot, while unhitching the caravan from the car I turned left at Katherine, and headed straight home
We did the big lap in 2014 two places on the way to DArwin were Banka Banka, and Daly waters pub both are in the camps book we had a great time at both these places,but you need to be there early to get a spot.good luck we should be back on the road about then planning a trip up the centre, the info on this web site is invaluable I have taken notes about some of the places when planning our trip.might see you on the road
Great site sandy ........... yes ive h heard of daley waters will make a point of going there novelty pub that has expanded over the years ... I have a rough idea of what I want to see and you guys help so much thanks.
Well jules having retired just a few months ago this chrissie with family will probably be the last for a while !!!! itching to get on the road as well .
