Tips on planning stops on a long journey

[slowtrip]

I am wondering how you go about planning all the stops along the way for a long journey.  I am planning, for example, a trip, Brisbane to Darwin - so lots of stops on the way, but how do I  actually locate nice places to stop (maybe overnight, or maybe for a few days or more)?

- I have a camper trailer, and prefer free camping, or camping in national parks etc, i.e. busy caravan parks are low on my preference list,  but, quick overnight stops at a motel are also a possibility.
- I am thinking of driving 300 to 600 km per day

I have wikicamps on my tablet, and a copy of Camps Australia Wide but not real experienced in using either.

The maps in Camps Australia seem to have markers for overnight camping and markers for Caravan parks on the map but doesn't seem to differentiate between a roadside stopover/rest and national park camping, for example.

  Wikicamps is great for searching and filtering campsite types, finding the nearest places etc, but just reading it's maps is very hard.  They seem to have a technical problem where you cannot see the names of small towns until you zoom right in, so looking at outback qld zoomed out to the 300km sort of scale, you have no idea where you are.

So, like I said, I am after tips for, say, finding each stop about 500km apart on average, and trying to find nice ones, even if that means stopping sooner, or pushing on a bit further each day.

[weeds]

I work on averaging 80km/hr over 8hrs......approx. 640km. Seems to work out about right taking into count 2-3 stops for smoko and lunch., kick the footy etc

[krog]

Trip advisor is a great friend type in a place and usually you can get both good and bad feed back when we planned our trip up the center it was a great help.

[slowtrip]

Trip advisor is a great friend type in a place and usually you can get both good and bad feed back when we planned our trip up the center it was a great help.

I haven't used trip advisor for this type of work.   I will have a play with it.  Thanks for the tip.

[slowtrip]

I work on averaging 80km/hr over 8hrs......approx. 640km. Seems to work out about right taking into count 2-3 stops for smoko and lunch., kick the footy etc

That confirms my thoughts.  As I said, 600km was the maximum I had in mind.    Of course, happy to stop a lot sooner to experience a really nice spot.

[glenm64]

Another good resource for finding potential spots is Google Earth.
You can look for rivers, rock formations etc on your route.
In open areas you can zoom in on tracks. Ive used it a few times, and checked out spots that are ok, but sometimes their inacessible or ordinary.

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[MDS69]

The maps in Camps Australia seem to have markers for overnight camping and markers for Caravan parks on the map but doesn't seem to differentiate between a roadside stopover/rest and national park camping, for example.

I don't know about your camps book but mine has the numbered icons on the maps and then you find the corresponding numbered site in the index which in turn has symbols denoting services and conditions. Elsewhere in the book there is a legend describing these services and conditions. I use it all the time and then will also Google a particular site for additional info if available.

[stiffbreeze]

Google maps can be good to determine your max range k's and route per day, then use wiki camps within that area to locate a sites for the night. Worked well for us when we did north NSW to Melbourne along the coast.

Also better to use google maps on desktop or laptop when planning the route. More options to edit routes if there's places you want to visit along the day etc.

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[hawks667]

Google maps can be good to determine your max range k's and route per day, then use wiki camps within that area to locate a sites for the night. Worked well for us when we did north NSW to Melbourne along the coast.

Also better to use google maps on desktop or laptop when planning the route. More options to edit routes if there's places you want to visit along the day etc.

Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk

Thats pretty how much i do it as well..

Desktop PC, using Google Maps for the route and then WikiCamps for the spot to stay. I then dump everything into a spreadsheet, with GPS Co-Ordinates, Klms, departure location & destination including departure & arrival times...with hyperlinks where possible.

Did this recently for a trip from Melb to Central, but im very fussy about planning...perhaps a bit too fussy...hahaha

Heading on the spreadsheet are as follows:

Departure Date   Departure Time   Departure Location   Destination   Nights    Cost per night     Camping Cost    Camps Ref   GPS Co-Ords   Klms   Travel Time   Arrival Time   Google Maps Link   Notes

[slowtrip]

I don't know about your camps book but mine has the numbered icons on the maps and then you find the corresponding numbered site in the index which in turn has symbols denoting services and conditions. Elsewhere in the book there is a legend describing these services and conditions. I use it all the time and then will also Google a particular site for additional info if available.

Sure, there are numbers,  but without differentiation on the map itself, you are constantly flicking pages back and forth just to find it isn't even the type of site you are looking for.   Wikicamps does this much better by having a greater number of different icons right on the map, and being able to filter them.

[slowtrip]

Google maps can be good to determine your max range k's and route per day, then use wiki camps within that area to locate a sites for the night. Worked well for us when we did north NSW to Melbourne along the coast.

Also better to use google maps on desktop or laptop when planning the route. More options to edit routes if there's places you want to visit along the day etc.

Yes, I think this is what I will have to do. 

[slowtrip]

Thats pretty how much i do it as well..

Desktop PC, using Google Maps for the route and then WikiCamps for the spot to stay. I then dump everything into a spreadsheet, with GPS Co-Ordinates, Klms, departure location & destination including departure & arrival times...with hyperlinks where possible.

Did this recently for a trip from Melb to Central, but im very fussy about planning...perhaps a bit too fussy...hahaha

Heading on the spreadsheet are as follows:

Departure Date   Departure Time   Departure Location   Destination   Nights    Cost per night     Camping Cost    Camps Ref   GPS Co-Ords   Klms   Travel Time   Arrival Time   Google Maps Link   Notes

Spreadsheet is a great idea, thanks.

[Rumpig]

I just pick a route then start researching camp areas along the way normally, just google the towns and camping etc.
Maybe if you tell us what route you plan to take and what you'll be driving and maybe towing, we can give you a heap of camp suggestions to stop at along the way....alternately, here's some light reading for you http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=17519.0

[slowtrip]

I just pick a route then start researching camp areas along the way normally, just google the towns and camping etc.
Maybe if you tell us what route you plan to take and what you'll be driving and maybe towing, we can give you a heap of camp suggestions to stop at along the way....alternately, here's some light reading for you http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=17519.0

I think I mentioned I was looking at Brisbane to Darwin,  and towing a camper trailer.    I meant to say, I don't have a 4WD, so good roads only.

Initial thoughts were   Brisbane/Roma/Emerald/Longreach/Mt. Isa/Three Ways/Katherine/Darwin.     After that if we still want to keep going, Darwin to Broome, back to Alice, Uluru, then back to Brisbane.

Think I'll go look at your light reading

I am planning well ahead.  Expect to this in the cooler weather next year.

[Rumpig]

I think I mentioned I was looking at Brisbane to Darwin,  and towing a camper trailer.    I meant to say, I don't have a 4WD, so good roads only.

Initial thoughts were   Brisbane/Roma/Emerald/Longreach/Mt. Isa/Three Ways/Katherine/Darwin.     After that if we still want to keep going, Darwin to Broome, back to Alice, Uluru, then back to Brisbane.

Think I'll go look at your light reading

I am planning well ahead.  Expect to this in the cooler weather next year.

you'll want a 4wd to drive the route we took to Darwin via the Savanah Way, but the report will still show you plenty of other nice places up that way to stop in at. Basically for you and the bitumin route you'll take, the section between Mt Isa and Three Ways on the Barkly Hwy isn't great as far as choices go for places to camp at, but other then that section there's plenty of options to consider elsewhere.

[slowtrip]

you'll want a 4wd to drive the route we took to Darwin via the Savanah Way, but the report will still show you plenty of other nice places up that way to stop in at. Basically for you and the bitumin route you'll take, the section between Mt Isa and Three Ways on the Barkly Hwy isn't great as far as choices go for places to camp at, but other then that section there's plenty of options to consider elsewhere.

That's great to hear.

[BrettMG]

We are currently doing the lap and have found that the best source of information is your fellow camper. When you are pulled up for the night drift around and chat to whoever is around. We have found some cracking campsites this way.

[slowtrip]

We are currently doing the lap and have found that the best source of information is your fellow camper. When you are pulled up for the night drift around and chat to whoever is around. We have found some cracking campsites this way.

Of course.  Didn't occur to me, but it should have.  Already, friends who are campers have told us of great spots to go to - for example, Peach Trees camping ground near Jimna.  Went there on a recommendation and simply loved the spot.

[Barrabart]

We are currently doing the lap and have found that the best source of information is your fellow camper. When you are pulled up for the night drift around and chat to whoever is around. We have found some cracking campsites this way.

This is fraught with danger, the more people you talk to, the more great places you hear about and want to go see, hence you lose focus on your original route and end up never coming home........ 

[Stewart]

We drove from the Gold Coast to Broome in July, then did the Gibb and Cape Leveque. Can highly recommend Neil Turner weir free camp at Mitchell for your first overnight stop. We stayed there as our first and last stop for our trip.
Flushing toilets, fires allowed, spots on the river bank, just out of town so quiet, shade trees along the river bank and one night there was a huge pile of timber mill off cuts to use on your fires. We even saw a few people fishing. The free camp at Longreach was more of a dusty carpark  with toilets when we went past. There is also nice free camping on the banks of the Georgina river just over the bridge at Camooweel but it is byo toilet there. If you want to stay at Edith falls near Katherine, the tourist info people say to be in by 1pm or no room unless you have a small tent.

[HEM19X]

Even on the blacktop, some of the roads in western QLD [plus lots of others] mean that long days can be hard on all concerned. If you have no particular time constraints, what we do is travel until you have a lunch break/fuel stop etc, then assess how the driver [me] is feeling. If buggered we will start looking so something an hour or so up the road, or it might be a case of travelling further. We have even stopped at the next spot or at a CVP in that place to break the trip up. It really depends on where you are, are there places in the area that could keep you occupied for a day or more that require a big day behind the wheel?

Wiki is easier than the Camps book but it is really up to you. The best advise is to take your time, enjoy the trip & NEVER drive when tired - sunrise is a time for sleeping/coffee, sunset is time for a  & a chat with fellow travellers - that way you run less of a risk hitting wildlife.

Enjoy the trip.

Hem

P.S. There's a freecamp out of Elliot N.T. called Longreach Waterhole - 11's of dirt road but well worth a night or 2.

 

[slowtrip]

This is fraught with danger, the more people you talk to, the more great places you hear about and want to go see, hence you lose focus on your original route and end up never coming home........ 

Hmmm, having a hard time seeing that as a negative   

[slowtrip]

Even on the blacktop, some of the roads in western QLD [plus lots of others] mean that long days can be hard on all concerned. If you have no particular time constraints, what we do is travel until you have a lunch break/fuel stop etc, then assess how the driver [me] is feeling. If buggered we will start looking so something an hour or so up the road, or it might be a case of travelling further. We have even stopped at the next spot or at a CVP in that place to break the trip up. It really depends on where you are, are there places in the area that could keep you occupied for a day or more that require a big day behind the wheel?

Wiki is easier than the Camps book but it is really up to you. The best advise is to take your time, enjoy the trip & NEVER drive when tired - sunrise is a time for sleeping/coffee, sunset is time for a  & a chat with fellow travellers - that way you run less of a risk hitting wildlife.

Enjoy the trip.

Hem

P.S. There's a freecamp out of Elliot N.T. called Longreach Waterhole - 11's of dirt road but well worth a night or 2.

Not averse to dirt road.   Thanks for the tips.

[alnjan]

https://au.tripigy.com/content/index.aspx


Tripigy, works a treat with lots of info and links to different things, it's great, shows your trip on the map and all. 

[RWS]

P.S. There's a freecamp out of Elliot N.T. called Longreach Waterhole - 11's of dirt road but well worth a night or 2.

x2...bird life here is like watching a David Attenborough special