Brisbane to Geelong campervan route: the inland way south

The inland route via Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, the Newell Highway, the Riverina and the Goulburn Valley is roughly 1,800 km. In a campervan or motorhome, call it 22 to 24 hours of wheel time before coffee stops, servo queues, roadworks and the inevitable hunt for the toilet cassette key.

You can technically do it in three big days, but that is not much of a holiday. Five days is sensible, six or seven lets you add a soak in Moree, a proper food shop in Dubbo, and a slow Murray River morning around Tocumwal or Cobram.

• Fast but tiring: 3 days, mostly 600 km days. Not ideal in summer heat.
• Comfortable: 5 days, with 300 to 400 km most days.
• Best for first-timers: 6 to 7 days, especially if you are new to reversing, filling water and emptying the cassette.

Do not plan your first night too far from Brisbane. The Toowoomba Range, supermarket stop, first fuel-up and first campsite check-in will eat more time than expected.

This brisbane to geelong motorhome road trip keeps to sealed highways: Warrego and Gore Highways out of Queensland, then the Newell through western NSW, before angling through the Riverina and down through northern Victoria. It is Big Lap country without needing a 4WD.

The landscape changes properly. You start with the climb out of Brisbane, run into grain country around Goondiwindi and Moree, pass the Warrumbungle turn-off near Coonabarabran, then settle into flat wheatbelt and irrigation country before the Murray. By the time you reach Geelong, the air has usually lost the Queensland stickiness and picked up a Bass Strait bite.

• Do: keep your fuel tank above half once you are west of the coast. Servos exist, but not every small-town servo is open late.
• Do not: follow a GPS shortcut onto an unnamed dirt road after rain. Black-soil country can turn into axle-deep grease.
• Watch for: B-doubles and road trains on the Newell, plus harvest trucks from about October to January.

Rental conditions usually allow sealed roads and short formed access roads to recognised campgrounds. If a side trip is signed 4WD-only or unsealed for long distances, assume it is off-limits unless your hire terms say otherwise.

You are not crossing the Nullarbor here, but this is still inland Australia. The useful rule is to fuel at the larger towns even if the gauge says you could push on. Goondiwindi, Moree, Narrabri, Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Parkes, Forbes, West Wyalong, Narrandera, Tocumwal and Shepparton are the main comfort stops.

The longest practical legs on this route are around 260 to 350 km, depending where you overnight. A typical 2-berth diesel campervan might use 10 to 13 L/100 km; a larger 4 to 6-berth motorhome can be more like 13 to 17 L/100 km, especially into a southerly headwind. That makes a full tank before each big leg cheap insurance.

• Water: top up at holiday parks and approved town taps; do not assume every rest area tap is drinking water.
• Dump points: commonly found at showgrounds, visitor information centres and larger caravan parks; check current council signage before relying on one.
• LPG: swap or refill options are easiest in larger towns and city-edge servos. Do not leave it until Sunday afternoon in a small town.
• Rubbish: carry it to a proper bin. Free camps get closed when people behave like galahs.

If you are using unpowered sites, manage battery use. Fridges, lights and phone charging are fine, but running an inverter for half the evening is how you learn about flat house batteries before breakfast.

For the first night, a powered site around Goondiwindi is the easy option. You have climbed the Range, crossed the Darling Downs and are far enough from Brisbane that the trip feels real, without arriving frazzled in the dark.

After that, mix paid sites and low-cost stops. Powered holiday parks make sense every second or third night for showers, laundry, water and dumping the cassette. Free camps can be terrific around Forbes, Narrandera and the Murray, but only if you are self-contained and obey stay limits, fire bans and local signs.

• Queensland and NSW: do not assume a roadside rest area allows overnight camping; check signs.
• National parks: camps usually need to be booked online before arrival, and pets are generally not allowed.
• Victoria river camps: access can change after floods. If the track is wet or rutted, stay out.

A good rhythm is paid site at Goondiwindi, paid or showground-style stop near Moree or Dubbo, free/low-cost stop near Forbes or Narrandera, then a Murray River night before the final run into Geelong.

The Toowoomba Range is the first proper test. Use lower gears on the climb and descent, leave space, and do not let impatient locals bully you into corners faster than your crockery can handle. Once you are on the open inland highways, the challenge becomes fatigue rather than corners.

Road trains and B-doubles need respect. Hold your line, keep left where safe, and let them pass when a proper overtaking lane appears. If you pull into a rest area, park so a truck can still swing through; they are working, you are making tea.

• Wind: high-sided motorhomes can move around in crosswinds near open plains and on the West Gate Bridge.
• Heat: summer days inland can sit above 35°C; start early and avoid long lunchtime drives if the van is working hard.
• Parking: avoid underground car parks and anything signed 2.1 m clearance. Many motorhomes are 2.7 to 3.3 m high.

For Geelong, avoid navigating through Melbourne CBD. The usual self-drive approach is via Seymour, the M80 Western Ring Road and the M1 towards Geelong, watching for lane changes and traffic rather than scenery. If your navigator says CityLink, check tolls and height comfort before blindly agreeing.

Autumn and spring are the kindest seasons for this run: cooler nights, manageable days and fewer storm dramas. Winter can be crisp and excellent for sleeping, though mornings around Dubbo, West Wyalong and the Riverina can be close to 0°C. Summer is doable, but inland heat changes the pace.

Flooding is the sleeper issue. The Newell and Riverina highways can be affected after big rain, and low river camps along the Murray can close or turn boggy. If councils say a road is closed, it is closed; rental vans are not rescue boats with cupboards.

• Check: state road updates for Queensland, NSW and Victoria before each driving day.
• Carry: at least 5 to 10 litres of drinking water per person in hot weather, separate from the van tank.
• Plan: food before public holidays. Country servos are reliable, but not magic.

Once your dates are set, check availability online and book the campervan size that suits how you actually travel: compact for easy parking, larger if you want an internal shower and toilet between long inland stops.