Spaceships campervan hire Broome, without the first-day faff

Broome is mercifully small. The airport sits roughly 2 km from Chinatown and about 6 km from Cable Beach, so collecting a van is not the big-city circus you get in Sydney or Melbourne. Still, confirm the current Spaceships Broome depot address during booking, because pickup arrangements and transfer instructions can change with season and fleet movements.

The first trap is not traffic; it is enthusiasm. People collect the keys, point the bonnet at Derby and forget food, water, shade, sunscreen, insect repellent and a realistic fuel plan. In the Kimberley, a casual 200 km is just the warm-up act.

• Do: check tyre condition, jack location, spare wheel, fridge operation and any 12V charging before leaving town.
• Do: buy 10–20 litres of drinking water per person for remote sections, not just a cute bottle for the cupholder.
• Don't: plan a long first drive after a late-afternoon pickup; cattle, wallabies and unfenced edges make dusk driving a mug's game.

Broome's easy exit is via Broome Road to the Great Northern Highway. From there it is decision time: north to the Dampier Peninsula, east to Derby and Fitzroy Crossing, or south towards Eighty Mile Beach and the Pilbara. The distances look tidy on a map until you add heat shimmer, roadworks, caravans and 53 m road trains.

If this is your first Spaceships campervan Broome run, keep day one boring on purpose. Stock up, set the fridge, learn where everything rattles, then sleep somewhere legal with showers. You can be heroic on day three; on day one, be organised.

• Town to Cable Beach: about 6 km, usually 10–15 minutes outside peak holiday traffic.
• Broome to Roebuck Roadhouse: about 33 km, a handy final fuel/check stop before the highway opens up.
• Broome to Derby: about 220 km; allow 2.5–3 hours with a proper leg stretch.
• Broome to Fitzroy Crossing: about 396 km; this is a full driving day in heat, not an after-lunch whim.

The best first night in Broome is usually not a wild free camp with a million-dollar sunset and no legal certainty. It is a powered or unpowered site where you can unpack, test the bedding, charge devices, fill water, use a dump point if fitted, and discover which cupboard launches the saucepan on corners.

Broome holiday parks can book out hard from June to August when grey nomads, school holidays and Big Lap crews all arrive at once. If your spaceships motorhome hire Broome dates land in the dry season, lock in the first night as soon as your vehicle dates are confirmed online.

• Powered site: best for the first night if you want air movement, charging and an easy fridge reset.
• Unpowered site: fine if you are already comfortable managing battery use and hot nights.
• Free camp: better once you are outside the Shire restrictions and know the van setup.
• Do not: sleep in Cable Beach, Town Beach or foreshore car parks unless signs explicitly allow it — assume they don't.

Free camping is possible around the Kimberley, but it is not a blanket permission to pull up anywhere with a view. Broome's foreshore and beachside areas are actively managed, and overnighting in the wrong car park can turn a cheap night into an expensive souvenir. Use signed rest areas, booked campgrounds or commercial parks.

National parks and Aboriginal community lands have their own rules. Camps often need to be booked before arrival, pets are generally not allowed in national parks, generators may be restricted, and access can close quickly in the wet. On the Dampier Peninsula, the main road is sealed, but side tracks to beaches and camps can still be sandy, corrugated or not allowed under a 2WD hire agreement.

• Gibb River Road: treat as 4WD-only unless your rental contract specifically says otherwise. Most small campervans are not approved.
• Wet season: roughly November to April; flooding can close roads for days, sometimes longer.
• Dry season: roughly May to October; better driving, cooler nights, heavier demand for sites.
• Do: check Main Roads WA, park alerts and campground bookings before committing to a long leg.

Broome has the practical services you need before heading bush: supermarkets, servos, LPG bottle swaps, drinking water options and caravan parks with dump facilities for guests. Public dump point access can change, so check the Shire listing or visitor information before banking on a specific location.

Not every Spaceships setup has a toilet or grey-water system, but if yours does, use proper dump points only. Kimberley heat makes shortcuts foul very quickly. Likewise, do not assume beach taps are drinking water, and do not fill from private taps because 'it was only a little bit'. That is how travellers get disliked, and rightly so.

• Fuel: fill in Broome before leaving; next reliable stops depend on direction and hours can be limited.
• LPG: swaps are generally easiest at larger servos or hardware-style outlets in town.
• Water: fill at your holiday park or approved potable-water points; carry extra for breakdown delays.
• Rubbish: bag it, bin it in town, and never leave food scraps at rest areas — dingoes and crows need no encouragement.