# Painted silos, salt lakes and malleefowl – by camper through the Wimmera and Mallee in north-western Victoria

> Around 930 km from Ballarat via Ararat and Horsham along the Silo Art Trail, into the Little Desert and Wyperfeld national parks, to the salt lake Lake…

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/rf-490-vic-wimmera-mallee-silo-art/

**At a glance:** 8-day road trip of about 788 km (490 mi) with 14 stops, from Ballarat to Swan Hill. About 8 h 35 min of driving in total. Best time to go: February–April and October–December. Around 930 km from Ballarat via Ararat and Horsham along the Silo Art Trail, into the Little Desert and Wyperfeld national parks, to the salt lake Lake Tyrrell and via Lake Boga to Swan Hill on the Murray – a journey through wheat country and mallee scrub, with long straights, short nights under the stars and plenty of room to breathe.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | approx. 788 km (490 mi) |
| Driving | 8 h 35 min |
| Suggested days | 8 |
| Stops | 14 |
| Route | Ballarat → Swan Hill |
| States | Victoria |
| Best time to go | February–April and October–December |
| Updated | October 1, 2026 |

[Download GPX file](https://camping-spirit.com/gpx/rf-490-vic-wimmera-mallee-silo-art.gpx)

Practical guides for this route: [Driving the Outback safely: distances, water, road trains and emergency communication](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/oc-outback-driving-safety/), [Hiring a campervan or motorhome in Australia: what to check](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/oc-campervan-hire-australia/)

*Around 930 km from Ballarat via Ararat and Horsham along the Silo Art Trail, into the Little Desert and Wyperfeld national parks, to the salt lake Lake Tyrrell and via Lake Boga to Swan Hill on the Murray – a journey through wheat country and mallee scrub, with long straights, short nights under the stars and plenty of room to breathe.*

## The spirit of the route

Beyond Ararat, Victoria turns flat and wide. The road runs dead straight through fields of wheat and barley, and grain silos rise like church towers above villages with a pub, a petrol station and a football oval. Some of these concrete towers now carry portraits several storeys high of women farmers, shearers and Aboriginal elders. Further north the Mallee begins: low, multi-stemmed eucalypts, red sand dunes, buloke woodlands, dried-out lake beds. From the sliding door you see emus at the fence, eastern grey kangaroos at dusk and pink cockatoos screeching as they fly over camp. In the Little Desert and Wyperfeld, malleefowl scrape together their nesting mounds; at Lake Tyrrell the sky is mirrored in the salt after rain; and at night it is so dark that the Milky Way seems to cast shadows. This route demands planning for water and fuel and respect for heat and fire – and rewards you with a quiet rarely found in Australia's south-east.

## Stage-by-stage plan

### Stage 1: Ballarat to Horsham via Ararat (approx. 190 km)

- **The drive:** Ballarat is just the starting point: take the Western Highway (A8) west via Beaufort and over the saddle at Buangor to Ararat, then through open grazing and farmland via Stawell to Horsham. Much of the highway is well built, partly four-lane, otherwise two-lane with overtaking lanes; expect heavy truck traffic between Melbourne and Adelaide. About 2.5 hours of pure driving time. The Grampians (Gariwerd) lie south of the route – they are covered in the CampingSpirit travel guide from the Great Ocean Road into the Grampians and deliberately left out here.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Ararat: J Ward, a former gaol and later an asylum for criminally insane offenders, with guided tours; plus the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre, which commemorates the Chinese gold seekers who helped found the town in the 1850s (check opening hours in advance).
  - Mount Buangor National Park and Langi Ghiran State Park on either side of the highway: granite domes and eucalypt forest as a first break after Ballarat; Mount Buangor has been a national park since 2026, camping only in designated areas.
  - Horsham: the riverside path along the Wimmera River and the Botanic Gardens by the river, with cockatoos in the river red gums in the evening.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Horsham Riverside Caravan Park on the Wimmera River, within walking distance of the centre: powered and unpowered sites, amenities, washing machines; a good place to catch up on laundry and fill tanks and supplies before the Mallee. If you prefer something closer to nature, drive around 35 km further west to Centenary Park at Mount Arapiles (Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park, popular with climbers): three camping areas with toilets and tables, fees apply, book online through Parks Victoria; wood fires banned from 1 November to 30 April, firewood collection banned year-round.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** There is no general right to free camping in Victoria. Along the Western Highway there are rest areas where a short rest is allowed; whether an overnight stay is tolerated is shown – if at all – on the signs. In Ararat and Horsham, town car parks are for parking, not sleeping.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Fill up and do a big shop in Horsham: this is the last wide choice of supermarkets, workshops and gas bottle swap stations before the sparsely populated north. Horsham has several roundabouts – in left-hand traffic they are driven clockwise, and vehicles already on the roundabout have right of way.

### Stage 2: Horsham to Warracknabeal via Rupanyup and Sheep Hills (approx. 105 km)

- **The drive:** North-east out of Horsham on back roads to Murtoa, on to Rupanyup, then north via Minyip to Sheep Hills and on narrower country roads to Warracknabeal. All sealed, but often without a shoulder; the verges drop off steeply. During harvest (roughly November to January) you share the roads with grain trucks and wide combine harvesters. A good 1.5 hours of pure driving time, half a day with stops.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Murtoa: the Stick Shed, a huge Second World War grain store with a forest of timber poles inside – check opening hours in advance.
  - Rupanyup: the southernmost silo of the Silo Art Trail, painted by Julia Volchkova with two young local athletes – netball and Australian football as the heart of village life.
  - Sheep Hills: Adnate's portraits of two Aboriginal elders and two children against a starry sky, at their best in warm evening light.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Warracknabeal Caravan Park (Lyle Street) on Yarriambiack Creek, quiet and shady under eucalypts, with powered and unpowered sites, amenities and a free dump point. A solid base for the middle section of the Silo Art Trail.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The silo sites themselves are car parks by railway lines and grain depots, not overnight spots. Several villages in Yarriambiack Shire run simple, inexpensive sites with amenities, such as Rupanyup Memorial Park on the Wimmera Highway, Murtoa Caravan Park on Lake Marma and the Minyip Caravan Rest Stop; check conditions by phone or in WikiCamps and CamperMate.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Never stop on the carriageway or on rail access roads at the silos; the grain depots are busy during harvest and trucks reverse. The many level crossings on the grain lines often have only crossbuck signs without boom gates – stop, look, cross slowly.

### Stage 3: Warracknabeal to Lake Hindmarsh via Brim and Jeparit (approx. 80 km)

- **The drive:** Take the Henty Highway north to Brim, then west on quiet country roads through wheat country to Jeparit on the Wimmera River and on to the eastern shore of Lake Hindmarsh. Flat, straight, hardly any traffic; about 1 hour of pure driving time.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Brim: the first painted silo on the trail, by Guido van Helten in 2015 with four anonymous farmers – the image that started the whole movement.
  - Jeparit: birthplace of Prime Minister Robert Menzies and home of the Wimmera Mallee Pioneer Museum with farm machinery and settlers' houses (check opening hours).
  - Lake Hindmarsh: Victoria's largest natural freshwater lake, fed by the Wimmera River – depending on rainfall years, a wide expanse of water with pelicans or a dry, shimmering plain.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Four Mile Beach Campground on Lake Hindmarsh, about five minutes from Jeparit on the Nhill-Jeparit Road: a campground on Crown land run by Hindmarsh Shire with toilets, coin-operated hot showers (bring 20-cent coins) and a BBQ shelter, no power, no booking. Bring your own drinking water. If you need power, the council's Jeparit Riverview Holiday Park by the river in Jeparit has it.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Four Mile Beach is currently free of charge, with stays limited to 14 consecutive nights; the conditions of use are on the signs on site. Shoreline areas and sandy tracks around the lake soften quickly after rain – park only on firm ground.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Fill up with water before leaving Warracknabeal. If you'd like to stay overnight in Brim already: Redda's Park at the Brim Weir Pool has powered and unpowered sites. In some small Mallee towns, tap water at public taps is signposted as non-potable – read the signs and, if in doubt, buy bottled water from the shop.

### Stage 4: Lake Hindmarsh to Little Desert National Park (Kiata) via Dimboola (approx. 80 km)

- **The drive:** Back to Jeparit and south along the Wimmera River via Antwerp to Dimboola, then west on the Western Highway to Kiata and around 10 km south on a well-maintained gravel road to Kiata Campground. A good 1 hour of pure driving time; the access road is suitable for two-wheel drive and caravans, but drive carefully after heavy rain.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Ebenezer Mission near Antwerp: ruins and cemetery of a Moravian mission station founded in 1859 on Wotjobaluk country – a quiet place that invites reflection on the history of the region.
  - Pomponderoo Hill Nature Walk around 4 km south of Dimboola: a 1 km loop with views over the Wimmera River and the heath of the Little Desert.
  - Sanctuary-Keith Hately Nature Walk, around 10 km south of Kiata: 1 km through mallee heath, with a little luck a malleefowl scraping at its nesting mound; orchids and wattle flower in spring.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Kiata Campground in the north of Little Desert National Park: simple bush sites with toilets, fireplaces and tables, no power, no drinking water (at most non-potable rainwater in the tank). Starting point for several walking tracks and the 4WD Salt Lake Track. Unlike for Horseshoe Bend and Ackle Bend, Parks Victoria does not state a booking requirement for Kiata; check the current rule on the campground's page before you go. Alternatives closer to Dimboola: Horseshoe Bend and Ackle Bend on the Wimmera River, both bookable and payable in advance only, year-round, without drinking water, with toilets and fireplaces; Horseshoe Bend can also be reached by caravans via a maintained gravel road.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** In the central and western Little Desert, bush camping away from campgrounds is permitted – but the tracks there are deep sand and only for experienced four-wheel drivers, off-limits for rental campervans. Dogs, cats and generators are banned in the park, and firewood may not be collected. On days of catastrophic fire danger (Code Red) the park is closed.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Buy firewood in Dimboola and have drinking water for two days on board. There is hardly any mobile coverage in the park – check in with family before leaving Dimboola. In spring (September/October) the Little Desert is a carpet of flowers; in high summer, by contrast, it is scorching hot.

### Stage 5: Little Desert (Kiata) to Wyperfeld National Park (Wonga) via Nhill and Rainbow (approx. 150 km)

- **The drive:** Back to the Western Highway and on to Nhill, then north on sealed country roads through the transition from wheat country to mallee to Rainbow and via Yaapeet to the sealed access road into Wyperfeld National Park. Straight roads, little traffic, lots of kangaroos and emus along the edges. About 2 hours of pure driving time.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Nhill: the Aviation Heritage Centre at the old aerodrome commemorates the training of aircrews in the Second World War; plus the small town lake with a lakeside path.
  - Rainbow: Yurunga Homestead, a farmhouse from the early 20th century, and the view over the mostly dry Lake Albacutya, which only fills from Lake Hindmarsh overflowing in very wet years.
  - Wyperfeld: the Eastern Lookout Nature Drive from the campground, a gravel loop over dunes and dried-out lake beds with river red gums and black box.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Wonga Camping Area at the southern end of Wyperfeld National Park, near the visitor centre: a large, open area under eucalypts, a fireplace with barbecue plate at every site, tables, toilets, no drinking water, no pets. Year-round, by advance booking and payment through Parks Victoria only; individual sites are not reserved, you choose on arrival. Sealed access from Rainbow and Hopetoun.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** In the north of the park is Casuarina Camping Area: free of charge, no booking, on a “first come, first served” basis, with drop toilets, tables and fireplaces, only non-potable water. Reachable in two-wheel drive via Patchewollock; the link from Wonga is a 4WD track. The sand tracks in the western part of the park are only for four-wheel-drive vehicles with plenty of ground clearance.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Fill up with fuel and stock up on water in Nhill or Rainbow: there is neither fuel nor drinking water in the park, and collecting firewood is banned. Malleefowl mounds also lie close to the tracks – don't step on them, keep your distance. There is hardly any mobile coverage in the park.

### Stage 6: Wyperfeld (Wonga) to Hopetoun with a detour to Rosebery (approx. 85 km)

- **The drive:** Back along the access road to Yaapeet and east to Hopetoun, then a short detour south on the Henty Highway to Rosebery and back. A short, relaxed stage – time for a morning walk in Wyperfeld and an afternoon at the lake. A good 1 hour of pure driving time.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Mornings in Wyperfeld: emus and eastern grey kangaroos on the lake beds, pink cockatoos (Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo) in the buloke trees, malleefowl tracks in the sand.
  - Rosebery: Kaff-eine's silo with a young sheep farmer and a horseman droving with his dog – a tribute to the farming generations of the Mallee.
  - Lake Lascelles in Hopetoun: a lake filled via the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline in the middle of dry country, for swimming, paddling and sunsets.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** In Hopetoun there is Hopetoun Caravan Park (Austin Street) with powered and unpowered sites and amenities, near Lake Lascelles and Lake Corrong, as well as the Mallee Bush Retreat right on Lake Lascelles. Check conditions and booking by phone in advance; it's full during school holidays and on long weekends.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Yarriambiack Shire permits free camping on the shore of Lake Lascelles – observe the signs on site. Roadsides and field access tracks, by contrast, are private or Crown land and not campsites. There is a free dump point in Hopetoun on the corner of Henty Highway and Evelyn Street.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Hopetoun is the last town with reliable supplies (shop, petrol station) for the northern silo loop. Fill up, empty the cassette, top up water. In summer, spend the afternoon at the lake and only drive on in the early evening – Mallee heat above 40 °C is not unusual.

### Stage 7: Hopetoun to Sea Lake via Patchewollock and Lascelles (approx. 140 km)

- **The drive:** North to Patchewollock on the edge of the Murray-Sunset area, then south-east on quiet country roads through mallee and wheat to Lascelles and on to Sea Lake; in the evening, around 7 km north to Lake Tyrrell. Sealed throughout, long straights, very little traffic. Just under 2 hours of pure driving time.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Patchewollock: Fintan Magee's portrait of a local farmer across two silos, his gaze reaching out over the dunes of the Mallee.
  - Lascelles: Rone's image of a local farming couple wrapping around two silos – photogenic in soft morning or evening light.
  - Lake Tyrrell: Victoria's largest salt lake; from the viewing platform on the shore you can see the famous reflections after winter rain, and on clear nights a starry sky free of light pollution. The Boorong people who lived here read seasons and stories from the stars.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Sea Lake Caravan Park on the edge of town next to the sports ground: a few powered sites, amenities, payment by honesty box. It is not on the lake – for night photography, drive the 7 km to Lake Tyrrell and back, slowly and watching out for kangaroos.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** There is no designated campground at Lake Tyrrell itself; no overnight stays on the salt or on the shores. Keep to signs and paths – the salt crust is fragile and often soft and wet beneath the surface. South of town on the Birchip-Sea Lake Road there is another campground at Green Lake with toilets and showers, for a fee; check conditions in advance.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Murray-Sunset National Park lies north of Patchewollock and Underbool: the Pink Lakes and large parts of the park can usually only be reached via sand and gravel tracks, much of it 4WD only – not an option for standard campervans, a project in its own right for equipped 4WD travellers. For the starry sky at Lake Tyrrell, choose a new-moon night and use red light; in summer, only head out after sunset when the heat eases.

### Stage 8: Sea Lake to Swan Hill via Lake Boga (approx. 100 km)

- **The drive:** East via Ultima through wheat country and extensive irrigation districts down into the Murray plain to Lake Boga, and on the Murray Valley Highway the last kilometres north to Swan Hill. A good 1 hour of pure driving time; denser traffic again along the Murray.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Flying Boat Museum in Lake Boga: here the Royal Australian Air Force repaired flying boats during the Second World War; on display are a restored Catalina flying boat and the heritage-listed underground communications bunker; open daily.
  - Lake Boga itself: a round lake with a shoreline path, pelicans and swimming spots – a relaxed contrast to the salt of Lake Tyrrell.
  - Swan Hill: the riverfront along the Murray and the Pioneer Settlement as a link to the river journey.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Lake Boga has a caravan park by the lake (check conditions in advance); in Swan Hill, BIG4 Riverside Swan Hill (formerly Swan Hill Riverside Caravan Park) offers sites right on the Murray with power, amenities, and water and waste facilities.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Along the Murray, the rules for river reserves differ from section to section – don't apply them across the board. How the journey continues along the river, with riverside sites, Gunbower Island and the paddle-steamer towns, is described in the CampingSpirit travel guide to the Murray River from Wodonga to the Riverland.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Swan Hill is the natural connection: here you join the Murray route upstream towards Echuca or downstream towards Mildura. If you're heading back to Melbourne, go via Kerang and Bendigo – around 340 km. Before continuing into the Riverland in South Australia, remember the fruit fly rules: use up fruit and vegetables before the border.

## Camping practice & local rules

### Wild camping & overnight parking

- Victoria has no general right to free camping. On council land the shires (here including Horsham, Yarriambiack, Hindmarsh, Buloke and Swan Hill) regulate by local law where you may sleep in your vehicle. Many small Mallee towns offer sites on recreation reserves or caravan parks with an honesty box – the signs on site are what count.
- Parks Victoria: many campgrounds in national parks must be booked and paid for online in advance year-round, including basic bush sites such as Horseshoe Bend, Ackle Bend (Little Desert) and Wonga (Wyperfeld). Since July 2025, prices have been halved for two years, i.e. until around mid-2027. Some remote sites such as Casuarina in Wyperfeld remain free of charge and without booking – the rule is on each campground's page.
- Bush camping in national parks is only allowed where expressly permitted (for example in the central and western Little Desert) – and there it is almost always reachable only by 4WD. In all parks on the route: no dogs, no firewood collection, fires only in existing fireplaces.
- Fire: during the Fire Danger Period (declared by the CFA, in the Mallee and Wimmera usually from late spring to autumn), campfires are only allowed under strict conditions; on Total Fire Ban days all open fires are banned, gas stoves remain permitted. The route lies in the Wimmera, Mallee and Northern Country fire districts. On days of catastrophic fire danger parks close – change your plans and stay in towns.
- Apps: WikiCamps and CamperMate show campgrounds, rec reserves, dump points and user comments; VicEmergency for fires and Total Fire Bans. Mobile coverage largely drops out in the Little Desert, Wyperfeld and Murray-Sunset – download maps for offline use.

### Waste disposal & supplies

- Dump points: you can empty for free at Warracknabeal Caravan Park and in Hopetoun (corner of Henty Highway and Evelyn Street); the caravan parks in Horsham and Swan Hill provide dumping for guests. Check further public dump points in advance in WikiCamps. There are no dump facilities in the national parks.
- Drinking water: no park on the route has drinking water, at most non-potable rainwater in the tank. In larger towns tap water is drinkable; in some small towns public taps are signposted as non-potable. In summer, allow at least 5 litres per person per day and carry a reserve for two to three days.
- Gas: Australian bottles today mostly have the LCC27 valve, older ones POL. Swap them through the exchange system at petrol stations and supermarkets in the larger towns (Horsham, Warracknabeal, Nhill, Swan Hill); refills only with a valid test date. European bottles and adapters won't help.
- Fuel: there are petrol stations in Ararat, Horsham, Warracknabeal, Dimboola, Nhill, Rainbow, Hopetoun, Sea Lake and Swan Hill; in many small villages only card-operated pumps or nothing at all. There is no fuel in the Little Desert, Wyperfeld or Murray-Sunset. Rule of thumb: top up once you're down to half a tank.
- Firewood and supplies: collecting wood is banned in all parks – buy wood in towns. Shop in Horsham and Swan Hill; in between there are small shops with limited opening hours, often closed on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

### Vehicle size & traffic rules

- Left-hand traffic; roundabouts are driven clockwise, and vehicles already on the roundabout have right of way. On long straights after pulling out of petrol stations and rest areas, consciously keep to the left.
- Speed limits in Victoria: without signs, 50 km/h in built-up areas and 100 km/h outside them; 110 km/h only on signposted sections of the Western Highway. Slow to 40 km/h when passing stationary emergency, tow and breakdown vehicles with flashing or hazard lights. 0.05 blood alcohol limit; mobile phone only in a fixed cradle.
- Tolls: the route itself is toll-free. If you arrive via Melbourne, watch out for the electronically tolled roads (CityLink and West Gate Tunnel with Linkt, EastLink with ConnectEast); without an e-tag, buy a pass online no later than three days after your trip. The West Gate Bridge is toll-free.
- Animals on the road: eastern grey kangaroos and emus are out at dusk and at night on all country roads on the route, plus sheep and occasionally cattle on unfenced sections. Avoid driving at night; with animals, brake in a controlled way rather than swerving.
- Farm traffic: during harvest (roughly November to January) heavy grain trucks and oversize farm machinery are on the move, some with escort vehicles. Many level crossings on the grain lines are protected only by crossbuck signs.
- Rental campervans and unsealed roads: many contracts exclude gravel and sand tracks, damage from animal collisions and driving after dark – read them in advance. Maintained gravel access roads to Kiata and Horseshoe Bend are usually no problem; the sand tracks in the Little Desert, Wyperfeld and Murray-Sunset are. Foreign driving licence: a translation or international driving permit is only needed if it is not in English.
- Heat: in high summer, 40 °C and more is normal in the Mallee. The best times to travel are March to May and September to November; in the heat, drive in the morning, take breaks in the shade and check tyre pressure.

## CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist

- Extra water containers (20–40 litres): no park on the route has drinking water, and in summer your reserve disappears faster than you'd think.
- Reflective sunshades for the windscreen and windows, plus a good 12 V fan – against the Mallee heat in camps without power.
- A fly net for your head: Australian bush flies are persistent in the Mallee from spring to autumn.
- A head torch with red light and a tripod: for the starry sky and night reflections at Lake Tyrrell, without dazzling other photographers.
- Fire extinguisher, fire blanket and the VicEmergency app: fire danger and Total Fire Bans change daily in summer.
- Old trainers or sandals: salt and mud on the edge of Lake Tyrrell are hard on shoes; rinse thoroughly with fresh water afterwards.

_As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go._

## Sources

- [Parks Victoria – Camping in Little Desert National Park](https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/little-desert-national-park/where-to-stay/camping-in-little-desert-national-park)
- [Parks Victoria – Camping in Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park](https://sitecore-prd.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/mount-arapiles-tooan-state-park/where-to-stay/camping-in-mount-arapiles-tooan-state-park)
- [Parks Victoria – Lake Hindmarsh Lake Reserve](https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/lake-hindmarsh-lake-reserve)
- [Hindmarsh Shire Council – Camping](https://www.hindmarsh.vic.gov.au/Visit-Hindmarsh/Explore-our-Great-Outdoors/Camping)
- [Hindmarsh Shire Council – Four Mile Beach Campground Reopened](https://www.hindmarsh.vic.gov.au/Council/News-and-Media/Latest-News/Four-Mile-Beach-Campground-Reopened)
- [Yarriambiack Shire Council – Caravaning & Camping](https://yarriambiack.vic.gov.au/Engage-With-Us/Discover-Yarriambiack/Caravaning-Camping)
- [Buloke Shire Council – Tourism](https://www.buloke.vic.gov.au/buloke-shire-tourism)
- [Visit The Murray – Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum](https://www.visitthemurray.com.au/products/lake-boga-flying-boat-museum)
- [ExplorOz – Silo Art Sheep Hills](https://www.exploroz.com/places/49759/vic+sheep-hills)

## Which stops are on the route from Ballarat to Swan Hill?

1. **Ballarat** (Victoria)
2. **Ararat** (Victoria)
3. **Horsham** (Victoria)
4. **Rupanyup** (Victoria)
5. **Sheep Hills** (Victoria)
6. **Brim** (Victoria)
7. **Jeparit** (Victoria)
8. **Dimboola** (Victoria)
9. **Kiata** (Victoria)
10. **Hopetoun** (Victoria)
11. **Patchewollock** (Victoria)
12. **Sea Lake** (Victoria)
13. **Lake Boga** (Victoria)
14. **Swan Hill** (Victoria)

## When is the best time for the route from Ballarat to Swan Hill?

The most pleasant months are usually February–April and October–December. Still fine, with some compromises, in January, May–June and September. July and August are the busiest months: book campsites early. (Estimate from long-term temperature averages, terrain and pass seasons)

## FAQs

**How long is Painted silos, salt lakes and malleefowl – by camper through the Wimmera and Mallee in north-western Victoria?**
8-day road trip of about 788 km (490 mi) with 14 stops, from Ballarat to Swan Hill. About 8 h 35 min of driving in total.

**How many days do you need for Painted silos, salt lakes and malleefowl – by camper through the Wimmera and Mallee in north-western Victoria?**
We suggest 8 days: about 8 h 35 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.

**Where does Painted silos, salt lakes and malleefowl – by camper through the Wimmera and Mallee in north-western Victoria start and end?**
It starts in Ballarat and ends in Swan Hill.

**Which states does Painted silos, salt lakes and malleefowl – by camper through the Wimmera and Mallee in north-western Victoria pass through?**
Victoria.