The drive from Melbourne to Uluru is a long one and would take approximately 25 hours to drive in one sitting, but with so much to see and do on this route, it makes the perfect Australian road trip! The road from Melbourne to Uluru sees you travel through stunning wine country and cute historic towns with plenty of stops that will have you getting up close to curious native wildlife and fantastic world-class art. Travelling by campervan means you can go at your own pace, and wherever your fancy takes you. Stay a little longer in places you love, without the hassle of packing and repacking the car. Not to mention when you travel in a home on wheels, you won’t have the stress of booking accommodation or hunting for meals each day, making for a more relaxed and easygoing trip.
This itinerary covers the must-see stops on an epic 12-day road trip from Melbourne to Uluru (or Uluru to Melbourne). Simply pick up your Mighty camper from the Melbourne branch and hit the road, the red centre is calling!
Found conveniently in central Melbourne is the Mighty Melbourne branch, making it easy for you to pick up your campervan and get on the road to Uluru. This first leg of the trip is an easy one heading inland to Ballarat, but don’t forget to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria on your way out of town. The gardens are found in Melbourne, and are one of the city's most beautiful attractions. The gardens extend over 38 hectares and house up to 8,500 different species of both native and introduced plants.
Once you’ve covered the distance between Melbourne and Ballarat, be sure to visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park for an awesome afternoon filled with unforgettable animal encounters. The park offers visitors the experience to walk through the park and get up close and personal with one of the 100 free-roaming kangaroos and hand-feeding them! Remember to grab an ‘Animal Encounter’ photo with either a koala, meerkat, wombat, giant tortoise, and, if you’re brave enough, a snake!
A great place to park your campervan and stay the night is the BIG4 NRMA Ballarat Holiday Park. The campground gives you the options of unpowered and powered camping sites while also offering wonderful facilities like a heated pool, spas, tennis courts and barbecues galore to make use of.
Next up on your road trip to Uluru is the town of Horsham. Horsham is well regarded in Victoria, being voted the tidiest town in Victoria in 2021. Upon arrival, head to the Horsham Riverside Caravan Park, a campground in Horsham perched nicely on the banks of the Wimmera River. The camp has great facilities, with a camp kitchen, barbecues, powered camping sites and easy access to the playground in the Botanical Gardens next door. The campground is a great base of operations, being so close to some of the best activities that Horsham has to offer. While in town, check out Barangaroo Boutique Wines and enjoy a glass of wine and a delectable grazing board while gazing over the beautiful surrounding gardens. You could also head into the Horsham Regional Art Gallery. The art gallery has been operating since 1973 and specialises in collecting Australian photography, with one of the best collections in Australia.
On day three you’ll hit the road and drive just under 2 hours to reach Bordertown. One of the biggest attractions to Bordertown is the Clayton Farm Heritage Museum. The museum, which is only 3 km from the town centre, features a recently renovated homestead and a wide variety of vintage farm equipment where visitors can experience farm life as it was more than a century ago.
The Bordertown Wildlife Park is another great attraction to visit, famous worldwide for its mob of white kangaroos, a genetic strain of the common grey kangaroo. It is the only place in the world where you will find a group of white kangaroos - a truly unique experience. Bordertown Caravan Park is a good place to park the camper for the night. You have a choice of both unpowered and powered campsites and are just a stone's throw from town.
Waking up on day four, you’ll head to the city of Adelaide for a coffee fix, a quick grocery shop and to soak in the sights, or even hit the town for the night. On your way to the city of Adelaide, pull over at Lake Indawarra for a picnic lunch. The man-made lake makes for an awesome spot to put your feet up and break your trip down a bit.
A true spectacle of Adelaide that you should head to upon arrival is the Art Gallery of South Australia. With about 47,000 works of art spanning 2000 years, the Art Gallery of South Australia has one of the greatest art museum collections in Australia. They house paintings, sculptures, jewellery, ceramics, textiles and so much more.
Park your campervan overnight at the Adelaide Caravan Park, sitting just 2 kilometres from the bustling city centre. Here you’ll have access to powered sites, wifi, a pool, a playground and the option to stroll into town for the rest of the day. Camping in the centre of a city couldn’t be simpler.
Day five is light on the driving, so after a sleep-in and a wander around Adelaide, make the short trip to the historic town of Port Wakefield, built to service the mining town of Burra in 1850. You can learn all about this town’s fascinating history on the self-guided Port Wakefield Historical Walk, reading interpretive signs along the way about the heritage buildings in the town. History is a huge focus in Port Wakefield, so after the historical walk, head into the Port Wakefield Heritage Museum to find out a little more about the town and be sure to stop in at Kiplings bakery for one of their famous pies. The Port Wakefield Caravan Park is the perfect place to park your campervan for the night. It has access to both powered and unpowered sites and even a tidal pool, perfect for swimming and splashing around in.
From a small town to legendary wine country in just an hour, day six is best spent among the vines. Clare Valley is a notable wine-growing region in Australia, so it only makes sense that one of the first things you should do is head off on a winery tour. The tours include lunch and a handful of wine tastings at the wineries you visit. They last up to six hours and are a wonderful way of seeing the region and its local businesses as you go. You could also head off on a bike tour to soak in this wonderful valley. Many professional and budding cyclists visit Clare Valley for this purpose alone, however, the cycling can also be leisurely and purposed towards taking in the sights. Nestled among the vineyards of Clare Valley is the Clare Valley Caravan & Cabin Park, a beautiful spot to park your campervan for the night. It offers both powered and unpowered camping sites, stunning surroundings and incredibly easy access to the great wineries.
With your camper stocked up with wine, it’s time to explore Port Pirie, home to one of the world's largest lead smelters. If that doesn’t capture your interest, then you’ll be glad to know that’s not all this city has on offer. The John Pirie Bridge, also known as the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ is a bridge crossing the Port Pirie Creek. It goes over to a patch of uninhabited land that was originally envisioned as an industrial area, but eventually panned out to nothing. It makes for a unique photo stop and a bit of a laugh. Though it sounds disastrous, the bridge is an important part of Port Pirie’s history.
The Port Pirie Railway Station is another cool piece of history found in Port Pirie. The building is very old, being built in 1902 and even houses some prehistoric dinosaur bones found in the area. Port Pirie Caravan Park is the place to stay with your motorhome while in Port Pirie. It is a tranquil spot, perfect for relaxing in the evening before heading off again in the morning. You’ll have access to both unpowered and powered campsites and waterfront access.
On day 8, head to Port Augusta, home to the Wadlata Outback Centre, famous for its ‘Tunnel of Time’, a must-do before heading into the actual outback of Port Augusta. The ‘Tunnel of Time’ can take you anywhere from 10 minutes to 4-5 hours to finish walking through and there’s plenty to learn on the way. The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden is another unique stop in Port Augusta, unlike most botanical gardens you may have seen before. It isn’t focused on the mesmerising colours, but rather on the classic dryer-growing plants of South Australia. The entire garden is based on a rainfall average and what the plants actually need to grow and is a great way to experience Australian native plants.
Discovery Parks - Port Augusta is a world-class holiday park, featuring powered and unpowered sites, wifi, a gym, and a pool and is situated incredibly close to town.
The longest leg of the trip thus far is to the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy. To break the trip down, pull over at Woomera for a picnic and stretch your legs while checking out some of the Royal Australian Air Force’s memorabilia around the town. Upon arrival in Coober Pedy, the Old Timers Mine is an awesome spot to have a look around. The opal mine is also a museum and features an underground home in the caverns. It’s an intriguing sight that you won’t see in many other places in the world. Riba’s Underground Camping & Caravan Park is a prime spot to stay while in Coober Pedy, with underground camping spots to avoid the heat. With your motorhome, you have access to unpowered and powered sites above ground, but be sure to head below and check out some of the facilities they have underground.
It’s another long stretch of road ahead to Erldunda Roadhouse, so stop in for lunch at Cadney Roadhouse on your way. Here you can grab a nice cool drink, and a bite to eat and can fill up your campervan for the rest of the trip ahead. Upon arrival in Erldunda Roadhouse, an awesome sight to see is the Emu enclosure. Here you have the opportunity to get up close and personal with these massive, friendly birds and can even feed them some emu feed. Erldunda Roadhouse is of course the spot to park your campervan for the night while in the area. Here they have free wifi, great parking spots and a swimming pool to cool off in after a big day on the road.
Yulara is your last stop before reaching the magnificent Uluru. Upon arrival, get yourself and your companions involved in a Kata Tjuta sunrise and Valley of the winds half-day trip. Visit Kata Tjuta to witness an Australian outback sunrise and take a guided tour of the Valley of the Winds. Hear intriguing tales about Kata Tjuta's geology, history, and culture. Six kilometres deep, this amazing collection of granite domes is the result of erosion that started more than 500 million years ago. You descend into a timeless refuge within the domes on the 5.4 km hike to Valley of the Winds across creek beds. Ayers Rock Campground is possibly the most authentically Australian campground you’ll come across. Just 20 kilometres away from Uluru, you spend the night under the stars of the real Australian outback. Hook up your campervan to a powered site here and experience a night like you never have before.
Just down the road from Yulara is the final destination, Uluru. Depending on what time you arrive, one of the best ways to seize the moment at Uluru is with a camel ride tour at sunrise or sunset. As you ride along in the camel train, your tour guide will tell you stories of the outback and Uluru while being backed by an epic sunrise or sunset. This is an unforgettable experience in front of the largest rock in the entire world. After experiencing Ayers Rock and it's beautiful and astonishing surroundings, the best place to stay is back at Ayers Rock Campground.
Once you have reached Uluru, it’s recommended to stay for a couple of days to explore the area before heading back to Melbourne, or onwards to your next destination.
It’s a long journey from Melbourne to Uluru, but to turn the entire drive into one big trip is an awesome idea, especially with the number of activities to do and sights to see on the way. The flora and fauna of Australia draw people into the cool little cities and towns, allowing them to experience more, with arrays of artwork, museums and history, you can’t possibly get bored. Book your Mighty camper today in a branch or online. Get more travel inspiration on our blog.
Australian Itineraries