Hi everyone, we are about to head north in early June from Melbourne up to the Daintree ( in our 2 door Prado & 21'6'' van) & have always gone either up the Hume to Sydney then the coast from there to Cairns or Newell hwy to Brisbane
we have planned to go to Charters Towers then onto the coast from there & would love to hear from anyone who has travelled the B55/A55 through Lightning ridge, Roma, Emerald etc or even up through Griffith, Bourke, Charleville etc on the B71/A71 for advice on
road conditions, campsites/van parks, fuel stops ,things to see
We are planning on taking about 3 weeks to get to the Daintree
Lighting Ridge, Roma, Emerald is a nice quiet road. My preferred route when travelling north. From there, you can go over to Rocky (good road) or up through Claremont to Charters Towers more isolated but not too bad.
Camps: Walgett, Lighting Ridge(worth a look) Injune (nice) Emerald (Higher Ground farmstay Self contained with water $7 Can get power $15 ( turnoff and go over dam wall just before Emerald.) Rocky way: Bedford Weir near Blackwater, Duaringa (very nice) Rocky (Kershaw Gardens)
Have only been Charters Towers way once and it was a quick trip, only stopping at a camp just outside Charters towers.
From Emerald you can take a number of roads to the coast, depending on what you want to see. I have found the Bruce, not too bad north of Rocky, however south, can be a bit rough.
Both routes have their attractions.
Via the Newell to Gilgandra, Lightning Ridge, St George, Roma, Emerald - towns are closer together. If you like the bush, can deviate to stay at the Warrumbungles National Park, then cut through to the Lightning Ridge road. There is quite a bit of truck traffic on the Newell. Last trip, we found the road from Gilgandra to Lightning Ridge to be very lumpy - but unfortunately, increased large truck traffic has meant that a lot of roads in inland NSW and Qld are similarly affected. Most of the towns along this route have at least adequate caravan parks. We prefer to overnight at Gilgandra, then drive through to Lightning Ridge - wouldn't stay at Walgett if I was paid to!
Our favourite CP at the Ridge is the Opal Caravan Park. There is quite a bit to do in that town - worth a few days there. Self guided drive tours; can go down a mine or two - the one with sculptures is excellent; buy opals - but only from proper shops! Do a day trip out to the Grawin/Sheepyard Flat; soak in the bore baths.
Like Pelican Rest CP at St George.
On the way north to Emerald, can sidetrack and visit Carnarvon Gorge National Park - stay at Takkarakka CP. Good walking.
Emerald is just a service town for the surrounding farmland. If you have the time and interest, can go a little to the west and visit the sapphire fields - Rubyvale and Sapphire have caravan parks. From Rubyvale can cut through on a decent sealed road to Capella, where there is a good little caravan park. Can buy buckets of gravel at the sapphire fields and use the equipment provided to try to find sapphires.
Going the other way you mention, there are fewer towns and it is a bit more "outback" in parts. Flatter, less green. Cobar Caravan Park is OK. Kidman Camp at Bourke is great. Good little boat trip on the river and excellent Info Centre and displays. Warrego Riverside CP at Cunnumulla is very pleasant. Ditto Evening Star, just out of Charleville - worth a couple of nights to look around Charleville. Tambo, Blackall and Barcaldine all have ok caravan parks and each has some local sightseeing that can occupy an afternoon or a day. From Barcaldine, going east, you can go to the sapphire firleds I have already mentioned, then cut through to Capella - missing Emerald. From Capella can make Charters Towers in a day - little to see en route. CT is worth a prop - interesting history and the nearby old town of Ravenswood is well worth a visit - is a caravan facility there now, I believe, but we only did a day trip there, a while ago. Several CP's at CT.
The route from Charters Towers down to the coast at Townsville is an easy way to go down to the coast - not the steep gradients of other routes. The ring road around Townsville allows you to miss the city if you wish. We like Woodlands CP on the northern edge of Townsville.
Rollingstone has an excellent caravan park - great place to relax.
Be aware that if you are travelling from Clermont to Charters Towers the road from Clermont to Belyando Crossing is rough in places. once you get past Belyando Crossing the road improves markedly. As for rest areas, from Clermont to Belyando Crossing there are no designated rest areas just a couple of gravel pits alongside the road, Past Belyando Crossing there is the Cape River rest area with toilets. Take your own toilet paper with you as they only supply 4 rolls for 2 toilets and as a result it gets used quickly.
Hope you enjoy Charters Towers as much as we did. Take the self drive tour with the CD you get at the Info Centre. It costs $15 and when you return it you get $10 back.
Our favourite CP at the Ridge is the Opal Caravan Park. There is quite a bit to do in that town - worth a few days there. Self guided drive tours; can go down a mine or two - the one with sculptures is excellent; buy opals - but only from proper shops! Do a day trip out to the Grawin/Sheepyard Flat; soak in the bore baths. Like Pelican Rest CP at St George.
Grawin / Sheepyard Flats / Glengarry Hilton are collectively called Pubs in The Scrub and is one of my highlights of tripping about. Lightning Ridge is worth several days. Do the mine with all the carvings, stay at the Opal CP, soak in the baths (even if it is at midnight - you probably won't be alone), do the Pubs in the Scrub, see the sunset.
Hi Did that trip last year from central coast to moree and then up to Atherton tableland via Carnarvon George ,charters towers roads are good a bit bumpy in places and where its sign posted rough area slow down, there are some areas with waves like being in a 3 ft swell. A fair bit of road train traffic in some area`s but use your cb and you are ok, mike g.
