Hi there, thanks to all in advance. We are looking to do our first real trip and the following is the possible itinerary. Could anyone help us with suitable stops with WC's a must. Could hang out for showers etc and spoil ourselves every now and then with a van park or the like. Happy to sit in the Truck/garage stops with amenities. We are looking to land around Mid May and amount of time will be decided as we plan more, for our first night out in Chinchilla, then off to Roma, Rubyvale, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton , Cloncurry, Mt Isa, Hughenden, Charters towers, Clermont, Banana, Monto, Gayndah. I know its a big ask for all this info but if you have had a great place worth me checking out and super stuff to see and do it would be very much appreciated. I have gone to several sites and its a bit of hit and miss. I look forward to any advise you have. Keep travelling. For interest we are AWD not 4x4 Dazzalyn
-- Edited by Dazzalyn on Tuesday 25th of April 2017 03:18:38 PM
-- Edited by Dazzalyn on Tuesday 25th of April 2017 03:40:04 PM
First trip.
You and\or old fella, a leetle nervous. Not sure of management of rig.
Short trips. Look at parking around 2pm ish onwards.
So figure speeds.stops, and where you'll be around that time.
Select several camps.
Then. If you don't like first one. or it's occupants.
You have time to travel to next one etc.
Don't jump in deep end.
Slide tootsies in smoothly.
You've got the rest of your lives, hopefully.
if you ain't got.
GET......
A Porta Potti and find home for it somewhere.
Also a twist out shower tent. And $40ish shower unit\pump.
20ltr water cont. and kettle or two of water.
Or just one of those matt black plastic shower bags
you hang up\layon roof of Patrol etc.
Nice shower. ANYWHERE.
Those.
With a 12\240 fridge. solar panel, battery.
and small genny should be first commitments
for a comfortable rig setup.
Those latter. IF you don't have money to start.
can be accumulated over the first 6 to 12 months or so.
But DO make all the difference to a nice camp.
Coupla 2 or 5mtr strips on LEDs make a nice bright car int. camp area.
for minimal 12v power output.
Just connect to a ciggy lighter outlet.
As Macka has mentioned, a good starting point is a copy of Camps Australia Wide 9, available at most newsagents, RACV/RACQ/NRMA etc (discount for members) or you can buy it through this website -
Maybe the first two could be Chinchilla Weir and rather then stopping at Roma head for Injune to Possum Park Racecourse Camping Ground then onto Jericho Showground Camping Area, have a look in Free/Budget camps on this site.Also there is WikiCamps a download with all sites caravan parks,free camps, low cost etc. I use the following site, but it doesn't have all sites but very good anyway.
On the blue header bar on the top of the page , Use the search engine and just type in the name of where your heading like Roma and Bingo you will find a lot of stored information .
I have wikicamps app on my tablet, and have the tablet sitting on the dash (passenger side) in a cradle so I can follow the blue dot (us) where ever we go. Great to see in advance rest areas (good for toilet stops) free or low cost campsites and caravan parks. Also Laundromats in towns, points of interest etc. I just filter out the backpackers hostels.
At night I preview the forward planned trip for the next day, seeking out the best possible campsites (never choose only one) Make sure you have an alternate route/campsite
PS: Welcome to the forum
-- Edited by Dunmowin on Wednesday 26th of April 2017 09:34:34 PM
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DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
Others above have given you good advice in obtaining the Australia Wide Camps book, and the Wikicamps app for the laptop, to help you plan your trip, on where to stop overnight
Of all the places you have mentioned I only stayed overnight at Winton, and Longreach free camps From memory, they both had drop toilets, and not much else
Being self contained, (in my old caravan), I would usually just stop in a parking bay, on the side of the road
If you are concerned that you must have overnight toilet facilities, then you must either plan ahead, or use a porti potty, or use a caravan park
Wife & I stayed at the Raceway at Injune. Lovely and peaceful location.
As we entered the park another traveller suggested that we not use the shower cubicle, in Men,s Amenities, as a verrrrry LARGE Brown Snake had just been seen going down the drain.
Lovely bush camp....shame about some of the wild-life. KB
Your trip will be a goodun Dazzalyn - having driven all those roads, I know you will love it.
I do hope you access some (all?) of the info resources that have been identified by the respondents throughout this thread as it really is almost an impossibility to list all (most?) of the camps that are available on that 4,000Km journey.
In fact there are also many other excellent stops you could also include that meet your criteria within short distances of those main highway/s.
It really will depend on just what YOU want to see, how YOU want to travel, how far YOU want to cover each day, how long YOU want to stay at any one place, and really how long YOU have to complete your journey.
Again, it is fantastic country you have chosen to traverse - you will love it.
Cheers - John
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Thank you very much everyone I understand there was a list of them so some ppl have donated some places. Wonderful response. We are so keen to get out and do and will be interested to see how many members are on the roads as we venture forth. Look forward to company on the way.
-- Edited by Dazzalyn on Thursday 27th of April 2017 04:57:00 PM
Your trip will be a goodun Dazzalyn - having driven all those roads, I know you will love it.
I do hope you access some (all?) of the info resources that have been identified by the respondents throughout this thread as it really is almost an impossibility to list all (most?) of the camps that are available on that 4,000Km journey.
In fact there are also many other excellent stops you could also include that meet your criteria within short distances of those main highway/s.
It really will depend on just what YOU want to see, how YOU want to travel, how far YOU want to cover each day, how long YOU want to stay at any one place, and really how long YOU have to complete your journey.
Again, it is fantastic country you have chosen to traverse - you will love it.
Cheers - John
I agree entirely with Rocky Lizard. Part of the journey is in the planning. And no matter how much planning you do, it is always fun to change the game. Use the tools suggested, and make your decision accordingly.
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Pay it forward - what goes around comes around
DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!
Yes Dunmowing, Thank you for your comment. We are enjoying getting things ready to go. I do hope like you say that nothing is rock solid and going with the flow is more of a journey. We have got Wikicamps. Fuel add on to go with it. Have Caravancaravan.com.au sorted sort of .lol. Picked up on a couple of the places noted above. My brother has a company called Dunworkin, so when I saw your tag I had to smile. Alas he is still working. lol doesn't happen for everyone. Enjoy your travels. Lovely place Atherton