Welcome to Australia!
We are the land that has it all! Golden beaches framed by rolling green hills, the wild outback contrasted against pristine forests and snowy mountains. Australia is one vast landscape, so where do you even begin?
There is so much on offer in Australia in the way of camps, destinations and things to explore. But the sheer size of this country means that getting from one place to another can be difficult. Sometimes the nearest town is literally hours away!
So, road tripping the land down under is the best way to go if you really want to have a good crack at ticking some things off your bucket list.
State-by-state Destinations
I’ve been building a comprehensive catalogue of many camps and destinations from my own travels, plus with the help of others. This is proving to be an invaluable resource for many travellers, like yourself.
INFORMATION INCLUDED:
- Features & facilities
- Location with map
- Background information
- A bit about the experience
- Prices, address, opening hours etc.
- Other camps/ things to do in the area
- Pins for your Travel Planning Boards on Pinterest
| CLICK ON EACH STATE BELOW TO VIEW THE INDIVIDUAL CATALOGUES |
Australia’s ‘BIG Things’
Besides camps, destinations and itineraries, many travellers also like to tick off the ‘Big Things’ in Australia. These quirky roadside attractions that Oz is so famous for are rather iconic.
While technically a ‘Big Thing’ is any sculpture that’s bigger than it’s original size, it’s easy to get caught up in it all! Therefore we’ve decided just to focus on the main, infamous gigantic BIGs.
Get the Ultimate Big Things Checklist below and see how many you can find!
BIG Things Australia
The Complete Checklist!
- 100 pages
- Pre-filled with 600+ Big Things
- Regional Maps for each state/ territory
- Full street addresses
- TICK off your finds
- RECORD dates & photos captured
Tips for Travelling Australia on a Budget
Cutting Fuel Costs on the Road
Given the mammoth size of this country, it’s no surprise that I found fuel to be one of our biggest expenses on the road.
To help counteract the heavy fuel costs we opted for travelling slow. That way, our weekly fuel bill was less and we got to make the most of each region while we were there.
Just to give you an idea, for four of us living on the road full-time, our weekly budget was around $740 (average). That covered everything from food, fuel and accommodation, to phone bills, insurances, registrations, experiences and everything in between.
You can see our first 12 month budget for a more in depth look at our expenses, which may help you with your own planning.
Other ways to keep your fuel costs down:
- Avoid travelling against head winds if you can help it
- Loose some weight (with you set-up that is)
- Slow down a bit and find the sweet spot where your car isn’t revving too high
- Make sure your tyres are sitting at the correct PSI
- Unhitch the trailer to do day trips (unless you’re heading that way to the next camp anyway)
- Walk to local shops and attractions from camp when you can, rather than starting up the car and driving
Cutting Accommodation Costs on the Road
My biggest tip for reducing your accommodation costs on the road is to Free and Low Cost Camp as much as possible! The more self-sufficient you are, the less you need to rely on Caravan Parks and other paid accommodation.
Free & Low Cost Camping means having your own toilet, shower and kitchen sorted. Plus, carrying as much water as you can will keep you going for much longer. Another important lifeline is power. Solar power with decent battery storage is the way to go.
Check out our complete set-up (both car and caravan) for how we travelled the country. I could even run the automatic washing machine while camping off-grid in the bush!
Have a read of these 40 Hacks that’ll have you Free Camping like a pro!
Cutting Costs on Experiences while Travelling
While it’s tempting to want to dive in and do IT ALL, that mentality is the fastest way to send you broke and on the next ride home. When you’ve worked so hard to save for your Aussie Road Trip, the last thing you want to do is blow all your money before you’ve even made it halfway through the trip.
I once received some very wise advice, which I took with me along the way…
What one town offers for a fee, the next town offers for free
Now this doesn’t mean that we didn’t indulge in paid experiences and support each town along the way, it just gets you thinking twice before opening your wallet for every little thing that’s on offer.
By eight months into our travels we’d been to that many fantastic free and low cost Historical Centres, that when we got to an expensive one, we decided against it.
Another example was when we stopped at Innot in Far North Queensland. We had the choice to either pay $31 for the hot pools and spas at the caravan park, OR we could soak in the natural Innot Hot Springs next door for free. You can guess which one we chose!
When it came to experiences that we really wanted to do or were endemic to that area, we were more likely to have the funds for those things because we’d said ‘no’ to the other things that didn’t rate for us.
But now it’s over to you as you start planning your own awesome Aussie road trip!