The Wollongong to Broome campervan route for people sleeping on board

The shortest sensible sealed-road version via Dubbo, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, the Stuart Highway, Katherine and Kununurra is roughly 5,500 km. You can technically punch it out in 10 or 11 brutal days, but that is a fuel-receipt collection, not a road trip.

For most campervan travellers, 14 days is the minimum and 18 to 21 days is far better. That gives you time to do laundry, empty the cassette, wait out a hot northerly, and not arrive in Broome looking like you slept in a tumble dryer.

• Minimum: 14 days if you are disciplined and pre-book key stops.
• Comfortable: 18–21 days with Alice Springs, Katherine and Kununurra breathing room.
• Big Lap pace: 4 weeks if you want side trips, rest days and fewer 600 km slogs.
• Do: start driving early; dawn to lunch beats afternoon heat and roos.
• Don’t: plan 800 km days back-to-back in a high-roof motorhome.

This wollongong to broome motorhome road trip sticks to sealed highways: Great Western or Hume connections west, Mitchell/Barrier Highway through NSW, then the Stuart, Victoria and Great Northern Highways. It is not the shortest line on a wall map, but it is the line most hire-camper contracts will actually allow.

You will still cross long, lonely country. Dubbo to Broken Hill is 750 km of big sky and small servos. Port Augusta to Coober Pedy is 540 km where the horizon barely blinks. Kununurra to Broome is over 1,000 km and the Kimberley heat can make a 3 pm fuel stop feel like opening an oven.

• Best main-road corridor: Wollongong, Dubbo, Cobar, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Kununurra, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome.
• Road surface: sealed all the way if you stay on the highways.
• Hire caution: many rental agreements ban unsealed roads except short, approved campground access.
• Skip in a 2WD hire van: the Gibb River Road, Tanami Road, Plenty Highway and most rough station tracks unless your supplier explicitly permits them in writing.

Fuel is not hard if you behave like a remote-area adult. It becomes hard when you roll past a servo because the queue has three caravans in it. Expect diesel consumption around 10–14 L/100 km in a campervan and 14–18 L/100 km in a larger motorhome, worse with headwinds, roof air-con pods and a heavy right foot.

The bigger gaps to respect include Cobar to Wilcannia at about 260 km, Glendambo to Coober Pedy at about 254 km, Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing at about 290 km, and Fitzroy Crossing to Broome at about 396 km if you do not rely on limited-hour roadhouses. Out here, half a tank is not a prompt; it is a warning.

• Fuel rule: fill at every major town and keep a practical 500 km range.
• Road trains: some run 50 m long; let them pass, hold your line, and do not drift onto the soft shoulder.
• Overtaking: use UHF 40 if fitted, but never rely on it; wait for a long, clean straight.
• Night driving: avoid it. Roos, cattle and unfenced sections are not impressed by your itinerary.
• Do: check tyre pressures cold every few mornings.
• Don’t: park overnight in truck bays; drivers need them for fatigue-law breaks.

Plan your first few nights like a cautious grey nomad, not a hero. Dubbo, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, Katherine, Kununurra and Broome all have caravan parks with powered sites, showers, laundry and water. After a dusty 600 km day, a powered site is not a luxury; it is civilisation with a hose.

Public dump points are commonly found at showgrounds, visitor centres, holiday parks and council facilities along this corridor. Always check current access before arrival, because some are locked after hours or for park guests only. If your van has a cassette toilet, empty it before remote stretches rather than carrying yesterday’s mistakes across the desert.

• Water: allow at least 5–10 L per person per day for drinking and basic use in hot country.
• Power: book powered sites every second or third night to recharge house batteries properly.
• Free camping: use signed rest areas or legal campgrounds only; no-camping signs mean exactly that.
• National parks: book online where required, no pets in most parks, and generators are often restricted.
• Do: arrive before dark so you can level the van and spot low branches.
• Don’t: dump grey water on the ground unless the site specifically allows it.

May to September is the civilised window. Days are generally warm through the Centre and Kimberley, nights can be cold around Alice Springs, and roads are less likely to be cut by Wet season flooding. November to April can mean 40°C-plus inland days, closed Kimberley roads, swollen crossings and humidity that turns the van into a laundry bag.

When you cross into Western Australia near Kununurra, quarantine rules are serious. Fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, plants and some seeds may be inspected or confiscated. Eat your apples before the border, not while arguing with an inspector in the heat.

• Best season: May–September for Broome-bound self-drivers.
• Wet season risk: November–April, especially across the Kimberley.
• Cold nights: Alice Springs can drop below 5°C in winter.
• WA quarantine: clean out fresh produce before the border checkpoint.
• Time zones: NSW, SA, NT and WA changes can make booking cut-off times sneak up on you.

A Wollongong start usually means collecting in the Illawarra/Sydney basin, doing a proper handover, then pointing the nose west. Broome is a seasonal, long-distance finish, so one-way availability can be limited, especially in school holidays and peak dry season.

Choose the vehicle around how you actually travel. A compact campervan is easier in town and cheaper on fuel. A motorhome with toilet and shower gives more freedom at basic camps and fewer awkward midnight torch walks. Either way, check height before pulling into older servos, bottle-o car parks and low caravan-park trees.

• Book early: dry-season one-way hires into Broome are not infinite.
• Check online: compare vehicle size, bedding, toilet, shower, kitchen and one-way return options.
• Ask yourself: do you need a toilet on board, or are caravan parks most nights enough?
• Do: check availability online before locking flights or leave dates.
• Don’t: assume a 7 m motorhome will fit every town bay, viewpoint or old service-station canopy.