Free Camping around Port Augusta

[Chanty]

Hi all,

We are travelling to the west in March and would like some comments/advice on where to free camp around Port Augusta, also any advice on free camping on the Nullarbor would be appreciated.

Regards,

Chanty

[RussnSue]

Hi Chanty,

There isn't a lot of free or cheap camping in the vicinity of Port Augusta, other than roadside stops. If you aren't in a hurry there are camp places a bit off the beaten track, some reasonably close, others not so. For example, Warren Gorge, 21 Km nth of Quorn, is really nice and it's cheap. Unfortunately bushfires, in the ranges between Port Pirie and Port Augusta, will have ruined some of the camp places there for the time-being.

Having said that, if you drive on to Kimba you will find a nice little stop right in town.

The WA side has lots of overnight stops along the highway. Many are set well back off the road and have some shade. We've done the "Nullarbor" three times in the last couple of years and stayed at different stops each time. They were all satisfactory. They are free and quite few at least have long-drop dunnies. There is one stop, about 90Km from Norseman, that even has a dump point(worth remembering, given that the Information Centre at Norseman charges $3.00 to use theirs.) In March you probably won't have to fight for a spot, but during peak tourist times you can see the roadside stops filling up from about midday!

Cheers

Russ

[Laurie and Helen]

Chanty,

If you are heading through Willmington, Hancocks Lookout is a free camp 3 km past Willmington and about 10km in off the highway, good gravel surface. The turn off is on the left as you start climbing Horrocks Pass. It is #305 in the old Camps 4 book.

On the cliffs plenty of spots west of head of bight, we stayed at the 38km marker post before the SA/WA border. Look at our blog, it has plenty of ideas once you get over west.

cheers