Brisbane to Darwin via Longreach and Tennant Creek - Mighty

Six nights and 3,426 kilometres from Brisbane to Darwin in a campervan, up the coast and then straight across the outback.

Bundaberg and Rockhampton come first on the Queensland coast, the second more or less on the Tropic of Capricorn and the self-declared beef capital of Australia, then the turn inland.

Longreach follows, the birthplace of Qantas, with the original hangar and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame in the town, then Cloncurry, where the flying doctor service began, and Tennant Creek on the Barkly Tableland, cattle country of a scale that is hard to take in. Katherine comes next, where Nitmiluk is a series of thirteen sandstone gorges cut by the river and walked or paddled in sections, before the run north to Darwin.

The camper and the day-by-day plan come from Mighty, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Seven days for 3,426 kilometres is the hardest schedule in the range: this is a repositioning drive with a few stops on it rather than a tour, and anyone with a fortnight would see a great deal more of the same route. Winter is the season for the inland half, and the dry season from May to October for the Top End. Fuel and water want topping up at every town. This is a one-way hire across the continent, so a relocation fee is worth confirming at booking.