Sydney to Perth – Our Epic Road Trip Across Australia

Australia, Blog, Bucket List, New South Wales, South Australia, Travel, Victoria, Western Australia, , , , , , , , ,

What to expect

  • Drive across Australia’s longest road
  • Visit an Outback town Hollywood loves
  • Spend the night at an outback station
  • Admire Australia’s outdoor art gallery along the Silo Art Trail

Fast facts

  • Time: 19 days
  • Distance: 4,916 kilometres (3,055 miles)
  • Transport: 4WD
  • Price: $$$

Every year my husband Josh and I make a promise to each other to go on an adventure for the year, whether it’s in Australia or overseas. Lately, we have started to become increasingly interested in exploring more and more of our own country. As we say, “people travel to our country to explore it and yet we don’t do enough exploring of it ourselves.” So with this in mind, when our friends invited us to their wedding in Dunsborough, which is 2 hours south of Perth in Western Australia, we thought it was the best excuse for us to create a road trip from Sydney and across Australia that included in a few items from my bucket list and few things we have always wanted to do or see as a couple.

Feel free to use this itinerary as inspiration or guide for your next adventure across Australia.

Day 1 Sydney to Wagga Wagga, NSW

We were a little too exhausted after driving all day to do some exploring by the time we arrived in the late afternoon, so we set up camp and just relaxed for the evening. However, if you are down for a bit of adventure you can check out the Victory Memorial Gardens which was created to pay tribute to those brave souls who fought in World War 1, or head 30kms south of Wagga and check out the Livingstone National Park (Fido is not allowed in National Parks, so skip this if your pooch is on the adventure or see if there are doggy daycare providers).

If you’re after a dog friendly or budget friendly accommodation, we stayed at the Big4 Wagga Wagga Holiday Park.

Day 2 Mildura, VIC

Mildura is a cute and quaint Victorian town that sits on the Murray River, Australia’s largest river (no big deal). There’s a lot of river activities you can enjoy, however if you do have your pooch with you, you will find that you’re limited to frolicking along the bank of the river. If you’re lucky like we were, your accommodation might back up on the river and you can wake up and take a beautiful morning walk along the water front.

If you’re wanting to check out some silo art, an hour and half or so south of Mildura there is the Patchewollock Silo Art. Silo Art Trails are becoming tourism hot spots in Australia and there are truly amazing to see in person.

For a budget and puppy friendly accommodation option, we stayed at Big4 Golden River Holiday Park.

Day 3 Port Augusta, SA

If you’re after red dirt and lots of it, Port Augusta is the place to be. Keep in mind, if you’re visiting in December like we did, brace yourself for heat because it can get really uncomfortably hot. But don’t let that deter you from getting outside and exploring, just make sure to do it before and after the middle part of the day.

We checked out the Matthew Flinders Lookout which is a 5 minute drive from the town centre and is dog friendly. If you are travelling with your pet, the activities here are quite limited but if you’re not, you might enjoy the Wadlata Outback Centre which has some cool history exhibits, or maybe a stroll in the Australian Arid Land Botanical Gardens.

We stayed at the Discovery Park Port Augusta. This park is dog friendly and kind to the wallet and within walking distance to a few service stations, bottle shop and pub. Hot tip: when booking, request a grass site. We got a site in the very corner and it was all red dirt.

Be sure to stop in at Kimba, SA if you’re heading towards Ceduna and check out the Silo Art there.

Day 4 & 5 Ceduna, SA

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here and I’ll admit, I absolutely LOVED the mellow, chilled out vibes here. There is the famous jetty and pier to check out, plus a designated swimming area which, unless you want to tempt fate with a Great White Shark, I highly recommend utilising if you are wanting to go for a swim. If you are a little more on the daring side, there is a shark cage dive experience in Port Lincoln which is about 4.5 hours south from Ceduna.

Day 6 Eucla, WA

Eucla is your first stop in Western Australia as you come through the border check. If you’ve ever been scrolling through instagram and you see photos of random sign posts or a big kangaroo or a huge whale statue along the Nullarbor, Eucla is where it’s all at. Eucla Motel also has some dog friendly rooms, so be sure to book ahead prior to your trip as there is limited accommodation

Aside from getting snap happy with statues and sign posts, be sure to check out the Old Telegraph Station in the dunes. It’s a little difficult to find on the GPS as we found there is no real “address” or “directions” that seem to exist for it. All I can suggest is as you drive behind the Eucla Motel towards the signs for the Old Telegraph Station, you will see large white sand dunes. Head towards the sand dunes and you will see an area that looks like a culdesac off to your left. Park there and follow the path and you will see the Old Telegraph Station to your right, half submerged in sand.

Day 7 Norseman, WA

There really isn’t much to see around Norseman but after driving 7 hours from Eucla to Norseman, it’s the best place to stop and recharge after a big drive along the Nullarbor. If the Nullabor(ing) drive hasn’t taken the adventure energy out of you yet, there are corrugated camels in the town centre which are pretty cool and there is Beacon Hill Lookout to check out.

We stayed at the Norseman Great Western Hotel which is also dog friendly. There is a restaurant on site, however for 2 people we found it to be one of the more expensive dinner options on our trip. If you have camp kitchen gear, I suggest going to the local IGA and grabbing some groceries and cooking diner. It will save you several dollars.

Day 8 Hyden, WA

You can’t visit Western Australia without ticking Wave Rock off the bucket list. It’s about 15m and roughly 110m long and is a culturally significant landmark for the local indigenous population where Dreamtime legend says Wave Rock was created by the Rainbow Serpent.

We stayed at Wave Rock Caravan Park in one of the dog friendly cabins. Don’t worry about leaving pooch in the cabin (technically, you aren’t allowed to do this anyway) but dogs are allowed to be at Wave Rock and the Hippo smile, just be sure to not climb wave rock with your pooch. It’s the parks water source and allowing Fido on top will contaminate the water.

If you’re heading to Hyden or Perth via the regional route and not the coast, be sure to check out the Western Australian Art Trial known as Public Silo Trail. We were lucky enough to check out Raventhorpe, Meriden and Northam on this trip.

Day 9 Perth, WA

Wanting to take in a little bit of food culture? Hello dog friendly wineries and venues! Right near where we were staying at Swan Valley Discovery Park there was a pub that was dog friendly. A little up the road we were allowed to bring our pup into a winery while we had the most delicious lunch we had on our trip. I have never had a simple Aussie meat pie that gourmet in my life! It was amazing and worth every single calorie.

Day 10-11 Dunsborough, WA

We headed down to Dunsborough, 2 hours south of Perth, as we had friends who getting married on New Years Eve. So rather than staying at a caravan park I splurged and treated us to an absolutely gorgeous train carriage converted into a cottage at the Dunsborough Rail Carriages and Farm Cottages.

This place was absolute HEAVEN! The farm has Alpacas that you can feed each morning at 9:30am and wild Kangaroos across the road in the vacant blocks. Even better, we used the spare paddock as our fetch playground with Fritz, playing fetch until he tired out (which if you have ever met Fritz, it can take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. That kidlet is a bundle of endless American Staffy energy).

Day 12 Perth, WA

Given we had a wedding the night before and my husband was a little worse for the wear, we planned to only drive 2 hours to Perth and sleep off the hangover the previous nights celebratory activities produced and take it easy to recharge our adventure batteries for the drive home.

Day 13 Frasers Range, Nullarbor, WA

Frasers Range looks like it’s from a scene in Hugh Jackman’s movie Australia, all that is missing is Hugh and that infamous water can scene.

So Josh had found this place by using an app called Air Camp – where it identifies free or cheap campings spots throughout Australia. Being an Outlander fan I thought it would be cool to stay at a place with he same surname as the infamous Jamie Fraser, but the reality of a bushfire burning near Frasers Range kind of freaked me out a little bit. Thankfully, the team at Frasers Range confirmed that the bushfire was no where near us and we were in no danger what so ever.

This was the most close to nature we got on our road trip – literally. At dusk and during the night at our camp site, we had Kangaroos eating 30cms near our swag. We could actually hear the not-so-little guys chewing on the grass and making cute noises.

And if you’re after a spot where you can stargaze and actually see millions of stars, then this spot is it. After we had finished watching a movie on my mobile phone I stayed up just looking up and checking out the milky way.

There is also a domesticated camel and cow on the range. They offer range tours and also have a group dinner available with a predetermined menu for the evening. You can book when you check in, but Josh and I had already grabbed some food to cook for dinner as we were leaving Perth and had it sitting in our fridge that we couldn’t let go to waste. And Josh is quite the cook, whether it’s at home or on the road.

Day 14 Eucla, WA

On our way back through we made sure to check out the Great Australian Bight as it’s definitely a place to stop at, stretch the legs and take in the sights, especially during whale migration season (I think between May and September are prime times to stop in and possibly see whales). Just note, if you do have a dog with you your little furchild is unfortunately not allowed past the gates of the Great Australian Bight visitor centre. Luckily, Josh was more than happy to skip this and take Fritz for a walk while I did the sightseeing. It was pretty awesome…..and a little windy.

We also stayed at the same hotel, there really isn’t much alternative. This time, I made sure to have pre downloaded some movies onto my phone so we had some entertainment in the evenings.

Day 15 Ceduna, SA

On our return trip we stayed at a different caravan park that was a little further out from town and not an easy walk into town like the other caravan park, but it was still a great spot. This caravan park is 300m or less from the beach so it’s a great spot if you have puppies who love the ocean as the beach is dog friendly. This beach was the very first time Fritz voluntarily swam in water!

Day 16 Port Augusta, SA

If there is something you can do on a long road trip it’s get yourself a campsite with an ensuite. I don’t know why I didn’t choose this option throughout our adventure, but it was a nice added luxurious feel to the trip after such a long time on the road– and privacy! It was nice to have a bathroom that was so close by and rather than having to trek through dirt after our showers.

Day 17 Broken Hill, NSW

The gem of the Outback, Broken Hill was one of our favourite stops on our road trip because we felt like we got to have a real Aussie Outback experience. The highlight for us was the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton which is about 20 mins out of Broken Hill. If you’re a fan of the Mad Max franchise, you won’t be disappointed. The museum is also dog friendly! But be sure to bring cash as the eftpos facilities are currently being installed.

If you just want to learn more about Hollywoods connection to Broken Hill and Silverton, you won’t be disappointed. Ask any local and they will be more than happy to point you in the direction of pubs or landmarks that have appeared in films, such as the Palace Hotel which appeared in The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

For more about Broken Hill, check out my blog post here: Guide to Broken Hill, Australia’s Outback Gem

Day 18 Dubbo, NSW

Prince Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex Megan Markle visited Dubbo on their trip to Australia and my family on my mothers side has strong ties to Dubbo. I remember visiting Dubbo Zoo as a child but haven’t been back since and my husband has never visited, so when we were planning our trip back to Sydney we thought we should check out the town that was fit for a royal visit.

We arrived at Dubbo in the late afternoon and checked straight into the dog friendly caravan park. We then decided we would take a look around the town and find a place where we can get a bite to eat for dinner and take Fritz for a walk. We came across the Old Bank Restaurant and Bar where dogs were welcome out on the balcony. We found that by the time we had arrived at Dubbo there wasn’t really much for us to do, besides a walk around town.

Day 19 Sydney, NSW

Home sweet home! After 19 days on the road exploring more of Australia and creating so many new memories, my husband and I were both happy and sad our epic road trip was over. But now we are planning our next epic adventure together for 2019 and 2020.

Stay tuned!

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Welcome to my personal blog The Rosé Nomad. It's a space where I share stories from my bucket list adventures, reflections on living a joyful, child-free life, and the little luxuries that make everyday meaningful. It’s all about intentional living, personal growth, and embracing this beautiful journey on my own terms.