After being stuck in Brisbane for nearly 3 months, due to various appointments, it is now finally time to hit the road again.

This time we will be heading to WA for Christmas / New Year, so a trip over the Nullarbor is coming up soon.

The Plan

Get to Adelaide in a timely manner. Here in Brisbane it’s November and we have been experiencing storms nearly every second day, while not severe, (I think we are just lucky where we were and got the the edges most times compared to other parts of the city), the bad parts are getting close. It’s also getting very warm and humid. Time to leave.

We decided on this part of the trip no caravan parks, low cost or free camps only. Goondiwindi Showgrounds, WikiCamps did not show much here that was dog friendly, so we went with an unpowered over night stop.

We passed through Silverton/Broken Hill on the way to the Mundi Mundi bash about 2 years ago. At that time Silverton was packed, so we just drove straight passed. It was noted that whenever we were in the area again we would stop and have a look around.

This time we plan to stay at Silverton and we want to check out the Mad Max 2 museum and have a look around, so a 2 night stay was on the cards.

Day 1 – Goondiwindi Showgrounds (B)

Our first stop after leaving Brisbane is Goondiwindi and it was raining. Rain seems to be a bit of a theme with us every time we leave Brisbane!

The drive to Goondiwindi is about 386Km, we stopped about half way at Millmerran – Lions Park. This was a nice spot to have some lunch, stretch the legs and let Shadow have a run around.

After the break we moved onto our overnight stop.

Once we got to the showgrounds, there were automatic boom gates that read our number plates and let us in. First time we have come across this in a showground. We did book prior to arriving.

Day 2 – Alex Trevallion Park (C)

Today is a 342Km day. For us, that is our sweet spot when it comes to travelling, not too long or too short.

Our midday stop was at Mungindi -Major Mitchell Crossing, on the NSW/QLD border. A nice area with all the amenities, toilets, bbq and picnic tables. The ladies toilet was closed. Its a really great spot for a rest.

After the break we moved onto our overnight stop at Walget.

It was at this stage we came across a dirt road. Good old Google maps, we decided to push ahead and luckily the dirt road was reasonably smooth, not too dusty and best of all did not last long before we were back on to tar-seal. Phew!

Alex Trevallion Park itself was pleasant enough and other campers pulling up gave us some peace of mind. When it comes to free camping, especially by a town, next to a main road, other campers being around make us feel better about the place.

The facilities, hot showers, toilets, bbq, even filtered water all looked reasonably new and in good condition. All this for free, amazing.

There is some artwork on one of the towers coming into town. It’s about a 1 km walk from camp and worth taking a look.

Day 3 – Cobar (E)

For this leg, we went the slightly longer route through Bourke, looking at Google maps, we thought the shortest route could be over dirt roads so we opted for the 10 min longer and a few extra km route instead.

This route is about 400Km, 6 hours with a stop somewhere in the middle. We chose Percy Hobson Silo Art, in Bourke for our rest stop.

The only thing here was rubbish bins, nothing else on offer at this park.

After our break it was onto Cobar. In WikiCamps, it comes up as Reba Park, in Google maps it’s Cobar free camp. Enter off Conduit St and you will have plenty of space to pick a site.

When we were there, there was about 6 campers/caravans. We felt safe enough to stay. While there are no amenities onsite, it is a short walk across the road to the information centre to use their toilets.

A dump point and potable water for filling tanks was just about next door to the campsite.

Day 4 – Silverton Outback Camels (E)

This was going to be our longest day on the road, at 482Km, I was sure glad when we pulled up to camp.

We left early, about 8AM, had a quick look around Cobar, filled up with gas, and then on the road. We swapped drivers about every hour or so. It was tiring, as the road is straight, with not much on it.

Even with a break about half way, it felt like the road was never gong to end. We stopped at a rest spot somewhere along the road.

We finally arrived at Silverton Outback Camels mid afternoon. We set up camp and relaxed until the Ostrich came a calling to say hello and pecking our windows. Hi mate.

Day 5 – Silverton / Broken Hill (F)

This was our day to have a look around and take a break from driving. Well sort of, at least there is no towing but plenty of driving around looking at stuff.

• Mad Max 2 Museum – trip down memory lane when this movie was big, I may have to watch it again.
• Silverton Hotel – A small country pub, with character. We had a few beers, and a meal here.
• The Living Desert, Sculpture Symposium – interesting sculptures and a good walk around NOT DOG FRIENDLY
• Pro Hart Art Gallery – pretty cool gallery
• Broken Hill town centre – good walk around, even visited the BHP (Broken Hill Pub), too late for lunch, had a beer instead.

Day 6 – Peterborough (G)

A 305Km day today, so nothing too strenuous. Also today we went over the NSW/SA border. Something to note is the quarantine station is 200Km from the border.

Yes, the station is manned and they do check your caravan.

It was then on to the Peterborough RV park, a free camp on the edge of town, with no facilities, except rubbish bins. It’s a big park with plenty of space. A dump point NS toilets are in town about 1 Km away.

It was a quick trip, with a stop in Broken Hill/Silverton. It could be done in 5 days, if not towing a caravan, you could possibly cut that down to 4 days.

When towing the caravan, we travel approximately 90 – 100Km/hr, depending on road conditions, mainly around 95km/hr.

We spent 5 nights on the road. Accommodation cost us around $70 all up. Fuel approximately $900, over 2000Km and 22 hours on the road.

If you like the art work on silos, water towers, etc, and you want to see where they are and ‘mark’ them off your list, you can download the Australian Silo Art app. It will tell you if any are near you, add to a list, note the date you visited them, etc. Worth getting and it’s free – even better!

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Thanks for reading Road Trip – Brisbane to Adelaide. Shadow, the van, and the two of us will catch you at the next campsite.

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