Campervan Hire in Australia is perfect to explore the outback of Queensland.
If you’re like many other fellow travellers, you might be wondering what the outback in Australia is really like and can this be explored in a campervan hire or motorhome rental. There are a few stories about the outback doing the rounds which include things like ’there are no sealed roads’, and ‘the need to take spare containers of fuel’. The great news is that there are plenty of places to explore in the outback where there are sealed roads and enough fuel stops so that you won’t have to worry. It’s the perfect place to travel if you are planning on campervan hire in Australia.
Share in this campervan adventure, which will give you some ideas of where to travel in your campervan hire Australia. If you are thinking of other travelling routes with campervans for hire, enjoy other informative articles like the one on the Nullarbor Plains or for top tips for travelling Australia with motorhomes for hire.
Leaving the bright lights of Brisbane behind, we headed west towards Roma in our campervan hire, which incidentally has the largest saleyards in Australia. Tuesday and Thursdays are the days to see all the action, however there were still plenty of cattle and trucks coming and going on the other days as well. This trip was all about exploring and staying in some truly beautiful locations. By that I don’t mean five star accommodations, but our campervan with five star views! There are plenty of freedom camps throughout the outback – free or low cost camping. The great thing about these is that most allow campfires, which are perfect for cooking dinner and of course meeting fellow travellers around. We found all of these freedom camps to be perfectly safe.
After a particularly good evening around a campfire just outside of Roma we were greeted with the sign ‘welcome to the outback’. It officially starts 50 km west of Roma, and definitely a sealed road!
We started to see all the ‘icons’ of the outback in Australia as we travelled along in our Campervan hire. Road trains, long straight roads, the odd farm house and most importantly beautiful scenery were all on offer. The Savannah plains also provided plenty of sightings of wildlife like emus, eagles, kangaroos, wallabies and brolgas (a type of crane).
The first sighting of a road train can be quite daunting for the unprepared traveller. Road trains are an essential part of the outback, a way to move cargo across the long straight roads easily. If you are planning campervan hire Australia, have a chat to us about information concerning road trains for peace of mind travel.
Our journey took us through Longreach, well known for the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Qantas Founders Museum on our way to Mt Isa. Longreach is definitely a worthwhile stop over in your campervan hire travelling in Australia.
While the entire drive through the outback is stunning, there was one particular stretch that had everything you could ever ask for. The stretch of road I am talking about is between Winton and Mt Isa, via Middleton and Boulia. The more popular journey is via McKinlay and the Walkabout Creek Hotel, however I found the Boulia route to be far more picturesque. The road is sealed, so perfect if you are hiring a campervan or motorhome. It’s a little quieter too, which means a much greater chance of seeing wildlife.
Campervan Hire Australia – explore the Queensland Outback
We stopped so many times to take photographs on what seemed like every corner. Emus were at the edge of the road to give us a nod as we passed by. Eagles enjoyed their tucker on the road edges. Kangaroos posed for photographs before dashing off into the bush.
People often think of the outback as flat dry grass, but that’s not really true, which you will discover as you travel in your campervan hire in Australia. In this area, the dirt was a brilliant red colour and there were plenty of Spinifex grasses. However along this stretch of road we came across Mesa’s, or ‘jump ups’ as they are known. These are flat topped hills that rise out of the flat land. Around sunrise and sunset the colours of the landscape are really too beautiful for words.
A worthy stop along this route is the Middleton Hotel, which was once a staging post for the old Cobb and Co coaches. The publicans Les and Val will definitely make you feel welcome and share a yarn or two. They serve food and cold beers, which is perfect after a day of wildlife spotting. Across the road from the pub was a great place to freedom camp with your motorhome or campervan – it’s known as the ‘Hilton Hotel’. A little joke by Les, but he welcomes anyone to stop for the night. We had an excellent night at the Middleton Hotel chatting with the locals. Apparently it is no big deal for a landowner to have a million odd acres – nearly fell of my stool when he said that!
We really enjoyed this outback trip and getting amongst the locals who are only too happy to share tales of their own adventures. Being able to have a camp fire nearly every evening while travelling through the outback also made for some tasty tucker. While the roasts were excellent, I enjoyed the pizza we made in the camp oven. Did I mention we made the base as well?
These days there is really nothing stopping anyone from having their own adventure in the Australian outback and campervan hire or motorhome rental is the perfect way to do it. Enjoy either on your own, or join us on a campervan tour to many locations in Australia. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more information on what we have to offer.
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Tags: Campervan Hire
