In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From the Dog on the Tuckerbox near Gundagai via Junee and Wagga Wagga, the verandahs of Lockhart, the koalas of Narrandera, Art Deco in Leeton and Italian wine in Griffith to the Cocoparra Range, across the Hay Plains to Booligal and via Darlington Point and Temora to Cootamundra: around 1,130 km along the Murrumbidgee and beyond.
The spirit of the route
The Riverina is not a region you go looking for on postcards – and that is exactly why it stays with you. The Murrumbidgee runs brown and sluggish through forests of river red gums; in the morning mist rises from the water, cockatoos screech in the canopy, and on the bank lies fine sand where children from Wagga swim in the evening. In between, immigrants and engineers have laid down a grid of canals: rice fields, citrus groves, rows of vines, warehouses with Italian names. West of Griffith the green suddenly stops and the Hay Plains begin – a plain so flat that the sky sits over it like an upturned bowl. At sunset, all you see from the sliding door is saltbush, a line of dust behind a road train and a horizon glowing red. This route demands full tanks, respect for heat and floods, and no driving at night, because that is when the kangaroos take over the road.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Gundagai to Wagga Wagga (via Junee) (approx. 115 km)
- The drive
- Coming from Canberra, you reach Gundagai via the Barton and Hume Highways in a good two hours; the route proper starts at the rest area with the Dog on the Tuckerbox at Five Mile Creek north of town. From there, country roads lead north-west through the hills to Junee – depending on your navigation, over narrow, in places roughly patched back roads, or slightly longer via Cootamundra and the Olympic Highway. From Junee the Olympic Highway (A41) runs around 40 km south down into the Murrumbidgee valley to Wagga Wagga. Around 1.5 hours of pure driving time, with a lot of grain truck traffic from Junee onwards.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Dog on the Tuckerbox: the small bronze figure of the bullock driver’s dog from the folk ballad, the start of the route and a rest stop with toilets right at the Hume exit.
- Junee Licorice & Chocolate Factory in an old flour mill: liquorice and chocolate making behind glass, café in the mill building.
- Roundhouse Railway Museum in Junee: a roundhouse with 42 tracks around a 100-foot turntable (around 33 m), locomotives and the workshop history of the railway junction; usually open Wednesday to Sunday – check times beforehand. On the hill above town stands the Victorian Monte Cristo Homestead, which markets itself as “Australia’s most haunted house”.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Wagga Wagga, the Wagga Wagga Beach Caravan Park on Johnston Street sits right on the river beach, within walking distance of the centre: powered and unpowered sites, amenities. Five more caravan parks are spread across the city. If you stay two nights, you have time for the river and the Botanic Gardens.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Wilks Park on Hampden Avenue on the north side of the Murrumbidgee is a basic council campground: free for self-contained vehicles, maximum 72 hours, with drinking water and a dump point. In the city centre and at Wagga Beach only parking is allowed, not overnight stays. During floods Wilks Park, being on the floodplain, may be closed.
- Insider tip for campers
- Motorhome parking for a stroll around town is available on the north and south sides of the Visitor Information Centre (Tarcutta Street) and at Wagga Beach. There are also free dump points at the Uranquinty rest area (Olympic Highway) and at the Truck Exchange in Tarcutta, and a paid one at the Showground. Use the second day for the Wiradjuri Reserve and the Wiradjuri Trail along the river: early in the morning, before the heat sets in.
2Stage 2: Wagga Wagga to Narrandera (via Lockhart) (approx. 135 km)
- The drive
- Morning by the river, then south-west out of the valley and onto the open plains: country roads lead to Lockhart, around 65 km through wheat and canola country with silos as landmarks. From Lockhart continue north-west to the Sturt Highway and along it to Narrandera. Two-lane roads, straight and easy to drive, little shade; around 1.5 hours in total.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Wiradjuri Reserve and Wagga Beach: a sandy beach on the Murrumbidgee in the middle of the city, river red gums, picnic lawns and riverside paths – swim only when the water is calm and low, and never after a flood.
- Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens on Willans Hill with a small miniature railway and views over the city; next door the Museum of the Riverina.
- Lockhart, the “Verandah Town”: an unbroken row of historic shop verandahs on Green Street and steel sculptures from the Spirit of the Land project at the town entrances.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Lake Talbot Tourist Park in Narrandera, on the slope above Lake Talbot and next to the swimming pool: powered sites, amenities, cabins, a quiet setting on the edge of the koala reserve. More basic: caravan sites at the Showground (ask at the Visitor Centre).
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Narrandera calls itself RV-friendly: at the Brewery Flat Reserve on the Murrumbidgee, a few minutes from the centre opposite the boat ramp, self-contained vehicles may stay free for up to 72 hours (toilets, barbecues, picnic tables). More basic is BB’s (Buckingbong) Reserve near Gillenbah, around 7 km along Buckingbong Road from the Sturt Highway, looked after by the local fishing club – the signs on site apply there. The campgrounds in Murrumbidgee Valley National Park south-east of Yanco (access via Graham’s Grave) charge a small fee, dogs are prohibited there and the tracks are unsealed. All sites: first come, first served, and do not drive onto the floodplain after a flood.
- Insider tip for campers
- Lockhart has a small caravan park, a petrol station and a bakery – a good lunch stop. Around 12 km north of Lockhart lies the Galore Hill Scenic Reserve with a lookout tower over the plain. At the Visitor Centre in Narrandera stands an oversized, genuinely playable guitar – and there is enough room to park long vehicles.
3Stage 3: Narrandera to Griffith (via Leeton) (approx. 90 km)
- The drive
- A short stage through the irrigation country of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area: via Yanco to Leeton, around 27 km, then on north-west to Griffith, past rice fields, citrus orchards and dead-straight canals. Good roads, with harvesters and trucks carrying rice or grapes in season; one hour of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Narrandera Flora and Fauna Reserve on Oakbank Street between Lake Talbot and the Murrumbidgee: paths through river red gums with wild koalas sleeping in the forks of the branches – look up early in the morning and with binoculars.
- Leeton: a town planned by Walter Burley Griffin with a circular centre and Art Deco façades, including the Roxy Theatre and the Hydro Hotel; SunRice has its headquarters here.
- Fivebough Wetlands on the edge of Leeton: a wetland of international importance with hides for watching waders, brolgas and ibises.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Griffith, the Griffith Tourist Park on Willandra Avenue is the main address: powered sites, drive-through, amenities. More parks on the edge of town; during the grape harvest and school holidays call ahead, as harvest workers take up many of the sites.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Overnight stays are not provided for within Griffith or in winery car parks. Around 12 km north of town the council runs the Lake Wyangan Free Camp: free, no booking, maximum three nights, toilets without showers, barbecues, tents allowed, no pets. Alternatively, continue to Cocoparra National Park the next day (stage 4). Some wineries offer motorhome travellers sites through membership programmes – only with confirmation.
- Insider tip for campers
- Leeton and Griffith were designed by Walter Burley Griffin, the planner of Canberra: the semicircular rings of streets are hard to navigate with long rigs, so it is better to park on the edge of town. Roundabouts are numerous here – driven clockwise, and traffic already on the roundabout has right of way.
4Stage 4: Griffith to Cocoparra National Park (Woolshed Flat) (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- In the morning through Griffith and up Scenic Hill, then via Beelbangera Road to Yenda and via Myall Park Road and Mount Bingar Road to the ridge of the Cocoparra Range. The last kilometres along Whitton Stock Route and Woolshed Flat Road are unsealed and, according to NPWS, passable only in dry weather, but then suitable for normal vehicles. Around one hour of driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Hermit’s Cave on Scenic Hill: rock niches, walls and paths built single-handedly by the Italian immigrant Valerio Ricetti in the 1920s and 1930s; plus the Sir Dudley de Chair Lookout over the town and irrigated land.
- Wineries around Griffith, Hanwood, Bilbul and Yenda: family businesses with an Italian character and large wineries, plus salami, figs and pasta in the delis – a legacy of the immigrants from the Veneto, Calabria and Friuli.
- Pioneer Park Museum at the foot of Scenic Hill with relocated timber buildings and the history of the irrigation settlement.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Woolshed Flat Campground in Cocoparra National Park: six sites for tents, camper trailers and caravans, unpowered, toilets, fire pits and barbecues. No camping fee, but online booking with a small booking fee through NSW National Parks. Tank water available – boil or treat before drinking; bring your own firewood.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Free camping outside campgrounds is not allowed in the national park – Woolshed Flat is the free alternative. If Mount Bingar Road is closed because of rain, there is no access to the campground; in that case head back to Griffith. The park may be closed during severe weather or high fire danger.
- Insider tip for campers
- Yenda or Griffith is your last chance for supplies: fuel, groceries, drinking water. Mobile reception in the park is patchy – install the Emergency Plus app beforehand. The Jacks Creek and Store Creek picnic areas, with short walks into the red sandstone gorges, are good for an afternoon stroll; in the evening kangaroos graze in the clearing.
5Stage 5: Cocoparra National Park to Hay (via Goolgowi) (approx. 215 km)
- The drive
- Back via Yenda to Griffith and north on the Kidman Way (B87) to Goolgowi. There turn west onto the Mid-Western Highway (B64): around 100 km with hardly a bend across the Hay Plains, treeless, with saltbush and grazing land to the horizon, until the river red gums along the Murrumbidgee appear at Hay. A good three hours of pure driving time. B-doubles use this road; crosswinds hit high vehicles with full force.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Hay Plains: one of the flattest landscapes on earth – a stop at the roadside is worth it to see the horizon line all around you.
- Shear Outback in Hay with the Australian Shearers’ Hall of Fame: shearing history, shearing demonstrations and a relocated woolshed at the junction of the Sturt and Cobb Highways.
- Hay Gaol Museum and the riverside paths along the Murrumbidgee on the edge of town.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Hay has several caravan parks with power and amenities, including the BIG4 Hay Plains Holiday Park (Nailor Street) and the Hay Caravan Park; ask about facilities and the dump point at the Visitor Centre on Moppett Street.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Sandy Point Camp Ground is a free, basic council campground among the river red gums on the Murrumbidgee, accessed via Brunker Street next to the skate park or via Water Street at the western end. According to Hay Tourism, two to three nights, dogs allowed. Toilets and barbecues are at the Visitor Centre, which also has coin-operated showers. Do not drive onto the floodplain during floods or after rain.
- Insider tip for campers
- There is no reliable petrol station between Goolgowi and Hay – fill up in Griffith or Goolgowi. On the Mid-Western Highway expect kangaroos and emus at dawn and dusk; plan the drive so that you reach Hay before sunset.
6Stage 6: Hay to Hay (day loop across the One Tree Plain to Booligal) (approx. 160 km)
- The drive
- Morning in Hay, then in the afternoon north on the Cobb Highway (B75), the “Long Paddock”: around 75 km across the One Tree Plain, dead straight, with stock troughs, emus and the occasional road train, to Booligal on the Lachlan River. Back on the same road, timed so that sunset falls while you are on the plain – then take the last kilometres slowly because of wildlife crossing.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Dunera Museum at Hay’s old railway station: the story of the roughly 2,000 German and Austrian refugees and internees who came from Britain on the ship Dunera in 1940 and were held in camps near Hay; complemented by the Interpretive Centre on the internment and prisoner-of-war camps.
- Sunset on the One Tree Plain: the curvature of the earth, lines of dust, an unobstructed sky – photo stops only in wide pull-outs well off the carriageway.
- Booligal: a short stop in the hamlet that Banjo Paterson mocked in “Hay and Hell and Booligal” – a few houses on the Lachlan River.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Second night in Hay, at the caravan park or at Sandy Point.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): On the One Tree Plain there are rest areas along the Cobb Highway for a break; stay overnight only where the signs allow it, and keep your distance from the truck bays. Travelling stock routes belong to Local Land Services – do not drive through gates and do not block water troughs.
- Insider tip for campers
- Fuel in Booligal is not guaranteed – leave Hay with a full tank. In high summer wait out the afternoon heat and set off only around 4 pm. The Dunera Museum and Shear Outback have limited opening hours; get current times at the Visitor Centre.
7Stage 7: Hay to Darlington Point (approx. 115 km)
- The drive
- East on the Sturt Highway (A20), following the Murrumbidgee, past the turn-off to Carrathool and through grazing and irrigation land to Darlington Point. A straight, well-built highway with a lot of heavy traffic between Sydney and Adelaide; around 1.5 hours. A short stage – time for a long afternoon by the river.
- Highlights & must-sees
- The Murrumbidgee banks at Darlington Point: sandbanks, river red gums, fishing spots under the bridge.
- Carrathool: a small town with a historic lift bridge over the Murrumbidgee, a short detour from the highway.
- If you like, take a loop via Whitton with its old courthouse and gaol, now a museum.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Darlington Point Riverside Caravan & Tourist Park, run by the council (Murrumbidgee Council), directly behind the Town Beach on the north bank: powered and unpowered sites, amenities; on the beach a public boat ramp, barbecue area and river access.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Willbriggie Regional Park on the Murrumbidgee around Darlington Point (NSW National Parks), free camping is possible on the riverbank areas Bunyip Hole and Whittackers Bend; access via Forest Road opposite the caravan park or via Beach Road. The tracks are unsealed – with a caravan only in dry weather. Follow the signs in the park. Never park directly under river red gums: they drop heavy branches without warning.
- Insider tip for campers
- Check the river level before setting up on the bank (WaterNSW Real-Time Data): the Murrumbidgee rises days later after rain in the upper catchment or after water releases from the dams. After rain, do not drive on clay tracks to the riverbank – the black soil quickly becomes impassable.
8Stage 8: Darlington Point to Cootamundra (via Temora) (approx. 255 km)
- The drive
- Back along the Sturt Highway to Narrandera, then north on the Newell Highway (A39) to Ardlethan and on the Burley Griffin Way (B94) via Ariah Park to Temora. From Temora south-east to Cootamundra; from there it is still around 50 km to the Hume Highway at Gundagai, and a good two and a half hours to Canberra. A long stage through the wheat belt – stay overnight in Temora if needed.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Temora Aviation Museum at the airfield: historic military aircraft, including Second World War warbirds; on certain flying days during the year they fly in front of an audience – dates on the museum’s website.
- Ariah Park: a small wheat town with timber verandahs and silos on the Burley Griffin Way.
- Bradman’s Birthplace in Cootamundra: the small house where Sir Donald Bradman was born (1908), set up as a museum about his childhood and cricket.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Temora and Cootamundra each have caravan parks with power and amenities; Temora works as a stopover if the stage gets too long.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): There are several rest areas on the Newell Highway; at some, travellers stay one night – the signs are what count. In Temora and Cootamundra, overnight stays on streets and in car parks are not provided for – better to use the caravan park or a designated RV site (check the current situation in WikiCamps).
- Insider tip for campers
- The Newell Highway is the main truck route between Melbourne and Brisbane – overtake only with a very long clear view, and give road trains and B-doubles plenty of room. If you want to continue into the mountains, you will find the continuation via Tumut, the Snowy Mountains and the Blue Mountains in the CampingSpirit travel guide “Sandstone gorges, gold rush villages and snow grass plains”; the Murray River is covered in the travel guide “Red gums, paddle steamers and river sand”.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- New South Wales does not regulate free camping statewide: councils decide about their land (here including Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional, Junee Shire, Wagga Wagga City, Lockhart Shire, Narrandera Shire, Leeton Shire, Griffith City, Carrathool Shire, Hay Shire, Murrumbidgee Council and Temora Shire), the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service about national parks, Forestry Corporation NSW about state forests and Local Land Services about travelling stock routes. In town centres, riverside car parks and lookouts, sleeping in your vehicle is generally not provided for; rangers issue fines.
- Free council sites are the Riverina’s strength: for example Wilks Park in Wagga Wagga (self-contained vehicles only, maximum 72 hours, water and dump point), Brewery Flat in Narrandera (self-contained, 72 hours), the Lake Wyangan Free Camp near Griffith (three nights), the riverbank sites in Willbriggie Regional Park near Darlington Point and Sandy Point in Hay (basic riverside site, two to three nights). Rules and maximum stays are changed when sites get overcrowded – check the current situation at the Visitor Centre or on the council website.
- National parks (Cocoparra, Murrumbidgee Valley): camping only at designated campgrounds, booked through NSW National Parks online or by phone; Woolshed Flat charges no camping fee, only a booking fee; Murrumbidgee Valley National Park charges a small fee. Generators, dogs and collecting firewood are prohibited or heavily restricted in national parks; drones only with a permit.
- Highway rest areas on the Sturt, Newell, Mid-Western and Cobb Highways are there for driving breaks; at many, travellers stay one night – the signs are what count. Truck bays are off limits, and awnings, furniture and fires have no place there.
- Fire: the Bush Fire Danger Period in the Riverina usually runs from October to March, longer depending on the council area and the weather. On Total Fire Ban days any open fire is prohibited, including in fire pits at campgrounds; the Hazards Near Me app shows bans and fires.
- Apps: WikiCamps and CamperMate for free sites, rest areas and dump points with user reports; Live Traffic NSW for closures and flooding; WaterNSW Real-Time Data for river levels before riverbank stays.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Dump points: free in Wagga Wagga (Wilks Park), at the Uranquinty rest area and at the Truck Exchange in Tarcutta, paid at the Wagga Showground; Narrandera, Griffith, Hay and Temora have further public or caravan park stations – check locations in WikiCamps. No disposal in Cocoparra or at the riverbank sites.
- Water: tap water in the towns is drinkable, and Wilks Park has drinking water. Boil or filter the tank water at Woolshed Flat and river water from the Murrumbidgee before use. In summer, allow for 80–100 litres on board and at least 5 litres of drinking water per person per day.
- Gas: Australian cylinders now mostly have an LCC27 valve, older ones POL. Swap at petrol stations and hardware stores in Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Hay; refills at gas filling stations only with a valid test date; European cylinders are not refilled – sort out adapters in advance.
- Fuel: reliable places to fill up are Gundagai, Junee, Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Leeton, Griffith, Goolgowi, Hay, Darlington Point, Ardlethan, Temora and Cootamundra. There is no reliable petrol station between Goolgowi and Hay or between Hay and Booligal – fill up beforehand. The FuelCheck app compares prices in NSW.
- Shopping: large supermarkets in Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Leeton, basic supplies in Narrandera, Hay, Temora and Cootamundra; Lockhart, Darlington Point and Booligal have only small shops or none at all.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Driving on the left: overtake on the right, roundabouts are driven clockwise, traffic on the roundabout has right of way; indicate left when exiting. In Leeton and Griffith many roundabouts follow in quick succession.
- Speed: 50 km/h in towns, generally 100 km/h outside towns, 110 km/h on upgraded sections of the Sturt and Newell Highways where signposted; school zones 40 km/h on school days at the times shown. Vehicles over 4.5 t maximum 100 km/h. NSW enforces with radar, average-speed and mobile phone cameras; blood alcohol limit 0.5‰, 0.0 for novice drivers.
- Tolls: there are no toll roads on the route. If you arrive via Sydney and use urban motorways without an e-tag, you must pay within 72 hours; rental vehicles add a processing fee.
- Road trains and B-doubles: long multi-trailer trucks use the Sturt, Newell, Mid-Western and Cobb Highways, and at harvest time also grain trucks and oversize farm machinery. Overtake only with a very long clear view, drive slowly on gravel when there is oncoming traffic, and do not cut in after being overtaken – a road train needs more than a kilometre to stop.
- Animals: kangaroos and emus cross mainly at dusk and at night, and on unfenced sections sheep and cattle stand on the road. Do not drive outside towns at night; if there is an animal on the road, brake in a controlled way rather than swerving.
- Heat and floods: from December to February, temperatures above 40 °C are not unusual on the Hay Plains; check coolant and tyre pressure, drive early, and never leave children or animals in the vehicle. After heavy rain the Murrumbidgee floods widely and can close roads and riverbank sites for weeks: take “Floodway” signs seriously, never drive through flooded roads, check Live Traffic NSW. In wet summers NSW Health warns about mosquito-borne viruses such as Japanese encephalitis – wear long clothing and use repellent.
- Rental campervans and unsealed roads: rental conditions often exclude gravel roads; the access road to Woolshed Flat is unsealed and passable only in dry weather – clarify in writing beforehand what is insured. A foreign driving licence that is not in English requires an International Driving Permit or an approved translation.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Extra water containers (at least 40 litres) and a water filter – the riverbank sites and Woolshed Flat have no treated drinking water, and the heat doubles consumption.
- Fly nets for your head and the windows, plus strong insect repellent: bush flies on the plains during the day, mosquitoes by the Murrumbidgee in the evening.
- Binoculars for koalas in the red gums of Narrandera, waterbirds in the Fivebough Wetlands and emus on the Hay Plains.
- Reflective sunshades for the windscreen and windows and a 12 V fan – this keeps the camper bearable at night on unpowered sites.
- Base plates or recovery boards and a folding shovel: clay access tracks to riverbank sites turn slippery after just one shower.
- A cool box with room for Riverina produce – wine, salami, citrus fruit and rice from Griffith and Leeton.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
