In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From the dam at Mundaring via the Avon Valley, the monastery town of New Norcia and the granite domes of the Wheatbelt to Wave Rock, then along the Golden Pipeline to the edge of the Super Pit: just under 1,300 km of inland Western Australia with road trains, pumping stations and starry skies.
The spirit of the route
This route follows a pipe. In 1903 water from Mundaring Weir in the Perth Hills began flowing east, over some 530 km to the goldfields of Kalgoorlie – and the pipeline still runs alongside the Great Eastern Highway today, sometimes visible as a silvery line in the roadside ditch, sometimes hidden beneath red sand. In between lie the green Avon Valley with its 19th-century colonial towns, a Spanish Benedictine monastery in the bush, and then the Wheatbelt: wheat and canola fields to the horizon, grain silos as the only high points, salt lakes, granite domes with old water catchments. From the sliding door you see galahs in the eucalypts and kangaroos at the edge of the fields in the evening, and at night a sky full of stars with no light pollution. Beyond Southern Cross the Great Western Woodlands begin, a forest of salmon gums, until the headframes of Kalgoorlie appear. Driving here, you don’t need spectacle – you need patience, water in the tank and respect for road trains.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Perth to York (via Mundaring Weir) (approx. 125 km)
- The drive
- Perth is just the starting point: take the Great Eastern Highway (National Route 94) through Midland up into the Darling Range to Mundaring, then turn right onto Mundaring Weir Road through jarrah forest to the reservoir. Return to the highway and at The Lakes take the Great Southern Highway down into the Avon Valley to York. Heavy traffic and climbs with truck lanes as far as Mundaring, quieter open hill country after that. Around 2 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Mundaring Weir: the dam wall on the Helena River, starting point of the Goldfields water pipeline; when the gates are open you can walk across the wall.
- No. 1 Pump Station at the foot of the dam wall: an exhibition run by the National Trust on the Golden Pipeline and its engineer C. Y. O’Connor – open only at certain times or on event days, so check with the National Trust beforehand.
- York: Western Australia’s oldest inland town (founded 1831), with Avon Terrace, Victorian facades, the suspension bridge over the Avon and the Mount Brown lookout above the valley.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: York has a caravan park on the edge of town with powered sites and amenities; ask about facilities and length limits in advance. The DBCA campground at the Perth Hills Discovery Centre (Beelu National Park) near the dam wall is intended only for tents and swags, not motorhomes or caravans – so with a camper you carry on to York.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Overnight stays outside campgrounds are not permitted in the Perth metropolitan area or the Perth Hills; forest car parks along Mundaring Weir Road are for day use only. In Western Australia you may stay on private land for up to five days with the owner’s permission – in the Avon Valley some farms offer this via the camping apps.
- Insider tip for campers
- Stock up on food, gas and water in Perth before you set off: prices rise as you head east. The access road to the dam wall is winding and busy with day-trippers at weekends; with a large camper, come on a weekday and early in the day. In York, parking for long vehicles is on the side streets off Avon Terrace, not directly on the main street.
2Stage 2: York to Toodyay (via Northam) (approx. 70 km)
- The drive
- Down the valley along the Avon River via Spencers Brook to Northam, then on Northam-Toodyay Road through pasture and river valleys to Toodyay. A short, relaxed stage on sealed roads, gently hilly. About 1 hour’s driving time – plenty of time for walks and museums.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Northam: the long pedestrian suspension bridge over the Avon with its white swans, and the silos painted by Phlegm and HENSE on the PUBLIC Silo Trail.
- Toodyay: Connor’s Mill and the Newcastle Gaol Museum, telling the story of escape artist Moondyne Joe.
- Avon Valley National Park north-west of Toodyay: granite, wandoo woodland and views into the river valley, with wildflowers in spring.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Toodyay Holiday Park & Chalets on Racecourse Road with powered sites, amenities, a dump point and cabins. In Avon Valley National Park, DBCA runs basic campgrounds (such as Bald Hill) with toilets and untreated water; they cannot be booked (first come, first served, self-registration, fee per person) and some are designated only for tents and camper trailers. The access roads are unsealed and partly steep – unsuitable for large campers and rental vehicles not cleared for unsealed roads.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In the national park, only at the designated campgrounds, not at picnic areas or lookouts. A park pass is required for entry; it does not cover the camping fee.
- Insider tip for campers
- Northam has large supermarkets and several fuel stations – the last really affordable supplies before the Wheatbelt. If you are travelling in late winter or spring, check seasonal conditions in the national park: the tracks are slippery after rain, and fire bans are frequent in summer.
3Stage 3: Toodyay to Dowerin (via New Norcia) (approx. 210 km)
- The drive
- North via Toodyay-Bindoon Road to Bindoon, then on the Great Northern Highway through farmland and bush to New Norcia. From there east via Calingiri and Goomalling into the Wheatbelt proper to Dowerin. From New Norcia onwards, narrow country roads without shoulders, used by grain trucks and farm machinery. A good 3 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- New Norcia: Australia’s only monastic town, founded in 1846 by Spanish Benedictines – abbey church, Spanish-style monastery buildings, museum and art gallery, guided town walks.
- Bread and nut cake from the monastery bakery, well known in town and in Perth.
- The grain silos of Goomalling and Dowerin: on this section the landscape of fields, silos and salt pans begins that will accompany you as far as Merredin.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Dowerin is RV-friendly: the council runs a short-stay facility with powered sites for caravans and campers, showers and toilets; booking and fees through the Shire of Dowerin. Alternatively, Goomalling, 23 km to the west, has a small caravan park. In New Norcia there are a few powered sites behind the roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway with a basic amenities block, no advance booking, payment at the roadhouse – check the current situation by phone beforehand.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Main Roads WA designates rest areas along the highways; you may only stay overnight where signposted (usually up to 24 hours). The tracks between the wheat fields belong to farms – no stopping without permission. RV-friendly towns allow short overnight stays on designated areas, usually only for self-contained vehicles.
- Insider tip for campers
- The Great Northern Highway is the main road-train route north; between Bindoon and New Norcia only overtake with a long clear view ahead. Arrive early in New Norcia: tours and the museum run at fixed times. In the Wheatbelt, shops often close at midday at weekends, and many small fuel stations only take cards at the pump.
4Stage 4: Dowerin to Kellerberrin (via Cunderdin) (approx. 135 km)
- The drive
- South on country roads to Meckering on the Great Eastern Highway, then east along the Golden Pipeline, which here runs beside the road and the railway, via Cunderdin and Tammin to Kellerberrin. A wide highway, but heavy truck traffic and long straights. Just under 2 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Meckering: memorials to the 1968 earthquake, which largely destroyed the town and ruptured the pipeline.
- Cunderdin Museum in the former No. 3 Pump Station, with steam-engine history and an earthquake exhibition (check opening hours in advance); plus the cartoon-style Ettamogah Pub.
- Kellerberrin Hill Lookout on the edge of town, with views over the railway, silos and fields.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Kellerberrin Caravan Park in town with powered sites and an amenities block. If you would rather stop in Cunderdin: Cunderdin Tourist Park with drive-through powered sites, cabins and chalets.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Tammin, 30 km west of Kellerberrin, offers RV sites and a dump point at Donnan Park Oval – booking and conditions with the Shire of Tammin. Elsewhere the basic Western Australian rule applies: overnight stays only in designated areas.
- Insider tip for campers
- October to December is harvest time: grain trucks pull onto the highway from farm tracks and silos with little warning. On hot, windy days the shires impose harvest and vehicle movement bans and the authorities declare Total Fire Bans – then any open flame, including a gas stove outdoors, is off limits; check Emergency WA.
5Stage 5: Kellerberrin to Hyden / Wave Rock (via Bruce Rock and Narembeen) (approx. 190 km)
- The drive
- South on country roads to Bruce Rock, on to Narembeen and through ever larger expanses of wheat and salt lakes to Hyden. Sealed throughout, but narrow, with soft shoulders and hardly any traffic apart from grain trucks. Around 2.5 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Kokerbin Rock west of Bruce Rock, one of the largest granite monoliths in the Wheatbelt – a short climb with all-round views (detour).
- Narembeen: Roe Dam and Roe Lookout on the edge of town, an old granite water catchment.
- Wave Rock: the granite wave, around 15 m high and 110 m long, with its vertical colour bands, in the low evening light, plus the walk up onto the rock with views over the dam wall.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Wave Rock Caravan Park right at the foot of the rock wave: powered and unpowered sites, including sites with private bathrooms in the bush area at the back, toilets and laundry. The gate is locked in the evening – call or book before 5.30 pm. Wave Rock, Hippo’s Yawn and Lake Magic are within walking distance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Free camping is not provided for at Wave Rock or in the Hyden area. On the way: Kwolyin Camp near Coarin Rock (south-east of Kokerbin) is RV-friendly with toilets, a camp kitchen and fire pits; in Bruce Rock you may stay free for up to 48 hours at the old tennis courts. Narembeen Caravan Park lets self-contained vehicles stay free for up to 72 hours.
- Insider tip for campers
- A fee is charged for Wave Rock; the Wave Rock Entry Pass also covers The Humps and Mulka’s Cave. The park does not list a dump station – use the dump points at the caravan parks in Bruce Rock or Narembeen. Fill up in Hyden before moving on.
6Stage 6: Hyden / Wave Rock to Merredin (via Mulka’s Cave) (approx. 205 km)
- The drive
- In the morning, about 15 minutes’ drive north to The Humps and Mulka’s Cave and back, then north via Narembeen to Merredin. The access road to the cave may be partly unsealed – check its condition and whether your rental agreement permits it. After that, sealed roads through farmland. About 3 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Hippo’s Yawn in the early morning: the gaping granite “mouth” a few hundred metres from Wave Rock, quiet before the day visitors arrive.
- Mulka’s Cave at The Humps: a cave with numerous hand stencils and paintings, a significant site for the Noongar – do not touch the rock or paintings, and do not climb.
- Merredin: Merredin Peak with the Railway Dam (a water catchment from the 1890s), the painted grain silos and the Military Museum.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Merredin Tourist Park on Oats Street, which is also the town’s dump point; powered sites and amenities. Drinking water and rubbish disposal by donation are also available at the Central Wheatbelt Visitor Centre in the old railway station on Barrack Street.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Merredin Peak Reserve (Benson Road): free overnight stays for fully self-contained vehicles for up to 24 hours in open woodland at the foot of the hill, no fires. Pioneer Park in town is not suitable for motorhomes and caravans; the parking areas on Barrack Street are for daytime parking only (6 am to 6 pm).
- Insider tip for campers
- The No. 4 Pump Station, around 3 km west of Merredin, is a secured ruin with no pedestrian access – photograph it from the fence. Merredin has 24-hour card-operated fuel stations on the Great Eastern Highway – ideal for filling up before the Goldfields section.
7Stage 7: Merredin to Karalee Rocks (via Westonia and Southern Cross) (approx. 165 km)
- The drive
- Back east on the Great Eastern Highway: via Westonia to Southern Cross, the last sizeable town before the Goldfields, then a good 50 km further and about 4 km of unsealed track north to the granite at Karalee. Long straights, road trains, and from Southern Cross onwards more and more woodland instead of fields. A good 2 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Westonia: Edna May Lookout over the open-cut gold mine, 1 km north of town, and the small Hood-Penn Museum.
- Southern Cross: the streets named after stars and the Yilgarn History Museum in the old Registrar’s Office and courthouse.
- Karalee Rocks: a granite catchment from which a 19th-century aqueduct carried rainwater to a large earth tank – part of the Golden Pipeline, with evening light on red rock.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Southern Cross Caravan Park & Sandalwood Lodge in town with powered and unpowered sites, if you would rather have facilities. Westonia Caravan Park with powered sites is an alternative halfway along.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Karalee Rocks is a basic, free camping area off the highway – minimal facilities, check the current situation in WikiCamps beforehand; bring your own water and take your rubbish with you. In Southern Cross you may stay free for up to 24 hours at the Old Information Bay (Great Eastern Highway/Three Boys Road, west of town).
- Insider tip for campers
- Southern Cross has an RV service station with a dump point and water (Achernar/Sirius Street). After that there is no reliable supply point for around 190 km until Coolgardie – fill up with fuel and water and empty the cassette before turning off to Karalee.
8Stage 8: Karalee Rocks to Kalgoorlie-Boulder (via Coolgardie) (approx. 175 km)
- The drive
- Through Boorabbin National Park and the Great Western Woodlands with salmon gums and gimlets to Coolgardie, then around 40 km on the Great Eastern Highway to Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Long, lonely straights, road trains in both directions, kangaroos by the roadside. A good 2 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Coolgardie: in 1892 the destination of the first big gold rush, today a quiet town with extra-wide streets and the grand Warden’s Court housing the Goldfields Exhibition – a ghost-town atmosphere among stone facades.
- Mount Charlotte Reservoir and Lookout in Kalgoorlie: this is where the Golden Pipeline ends – a fitting finish to the route.
- Super Pit Lookout on Mount Monger Road (off the Goldfields Highway): a view into the huge open-cut mine, open daily from 7 am to 7 pm; a short stop is enough.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Kalgoorlie-Boulder has several caravan parks with power, amenities and dump points, including Discovery Parks – Kalgoorlie Goldfields. In Coolgardie, self-contained vehicles may stay free for up to 48 hours on Woodward Street by the Railway Station Museum, with a dump point and water tap.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): South of Coolgardie there are two basic campgrounds by granite rocks that need no booking: Victoria Rock in Goldfields Woodlands National Park (DBCA, toilets, tables, fire pits, one site suitable for caravans) and Burra Rock in the conservation park of the same name, around 55 km south of Coolgardie (free, toilets). Bring your own drinking water; the access roads are unsealed and may be closed after rain – only with clearance for unsealed roads and in dry weather. Sleeping in your vehicle on streets and in car parks within Kalgoorlie-Boulder is not provided for.
- Insider tip for campers
- At the Super Pit Lookout, information boards and the operator’s website give blasting times; if you want to see a blast, plan around them. Further east via Norseman and the Nullarbor, the CampingSpirit guide to the Eyre Peninsula and Nullarbor takes over; the south with Esperance is covered in the guide to the WA South West.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- Western Australia only allows camping at caravan parks, approved campgrounds and rest areas that Main Roads WA or the local councils expressly designate for it (usually up to 24 hours). Since September 2024 you may stay on private land for up to five days with the owner’s permission; unauthorised camping can cost up to AUD 200.
- Many Wheatbelt towns are RV-friendly: they offer free or low-cost areas for 24 to 72 hours (e.g. Merredin Peak, Bruce Rock, Southern Cross, Coolgardie), often only for fully self-contained vehicles with their own toilet and grey-water tank. The conditions are set by the shires and change – follow the signs on site.
- In national parks and nature reserves (Avon Valley, Boorabbin, the Goldfields granite reserves) only at designated campgrounds; some DBCA sites are booked through Park Stay WA, and the park pass covers entry only. Rock art such as at Mulka’s Cave and granite domes with waterholes are protected.
- Apps and sources: WikiCamps and CamperMate for campgrounds, rest areas, water and dump points; the Main Roads WA Travel Map and Emergency WA for closures, fires and fire bans. Away from the towns, coverage is patchy – save maps offline.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Dump points: Tammin (Donnan Park Oval), Merredin Tourist Park, Bruce Rock and Narembeen (each at the caravan park), Westonia, Southern Cross (Achernar/Sirius Street), Coolgardie (Woodward Street) and caravan parks in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Never empty cassettes into drop toilets.
- Water is scarce in the Wheatbelt: many rest areas have none, and rainwater from tanks is not always drinkable. Fill up at caravan parks and visitor centres (Merredin by donation); in summer allow at least 5 litres per person per day plus a reserve.
- Fuel: Northam, Merredin and Kalgoorlie have large fuel stations, small towns often only card-operated pumps. The longest gap is between Southern Cross and Coolgardie at around 190 km; consumption rises in heat and headwinds. Never drive past a town with less than half a tank.
- Gas: Australian cylinders now mostly have an LCC27 valve, older ones a POL fitting. Swaps and refills in Perth, Northam, Merredin and Kalgoorlie, not reliably in small towns; European cylinders are not refilled. During a Total Fire Ban, outdoor cooking with gas is also restricted.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Drive on the left. Outside built-up areas the limit in Western Australia is 110 km/h unless otherwise signposted; in towns 50 km/h. There are no toll roads on this route. Blood alcohol limit 0.05 per cent, phone only in a cradle.
- Road trains with several trailers, depending on the section over 50 m long, run on the Great Eastern and Great Northern Highways. Only overtake with a very long clear view ahead; when being overtaken, slow down and keep well to the left, and on narrow Wheatbelt roads with soft shoulders stop if necessary. A UHF radio helps you communicate with truck drivers.
- Animals: kangaroos, emus and sheep cross especially at dusk and at night – do not drive after dark. If an animal is on the road, brake rather than swerve.
- Rental campers: many agreements prohibit unsealed roads, such as access roads to national park campgrounds or granite reserves; underbody, glass and tyre damage is often not insured. Get written confirmation of which roads are permitted.
- Heat and season: from about November to March temperatures above 40 °C are possible, along with bushfire danger, Total Fire Bans and the shires’ harvest and vehicle movement bans on hot days. The most pleasant time to travel is April to October, and wildflowers bloom roughly August to October. Winter nights inland can be around freezing.
- Quarantine only in passing: Western Australia checks fruit, vegetables, honey and plants at its borders with the other states; within WA there are no checkpoints on this route. If you later leave across the Nullarbor, you will be checked in South Australia at Ceduna.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- UHF CB radio (channel 40 for highway traffic) – for coordinating with road trains on long straights.
- Extra water containers (at least 20 litres) – Wheatbelt rest areas and free camps such as Karalee Rocks have no reliable drinking water.
- Sun and fly protection: a head fly net, hat and sunscreen – there is no shade on the granite domes, and bush flies are a nuisance from spring to autumn.
- Warm layers and a down sleeping bag – even after hot days, the interior cools down sharply at night.
- Sturdy walking shoes with grippy soles for Wave Rock, Merredin Peak and Kokerbin Rock; smooth granite becomes slippery with dew.
- A phone mount and offline maps plus a printed list of dump points and fuel stations – mobile coverage often drops out between towns.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
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