Mackay to Darwin road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

Mackay to Darwin drive: Hughenden and Richmond

The highlight of the next leg, from Charters Towers to Hughenden, is White Mountains National Park. Alas, most of it is off-limits if you don’t have a 4WD vehicle. But for everyone else, there’s always the Burra Range Lookout on the Flinders Highway.

In Hughenden,  the Flinders Discovery Centre is all about locally-unearthed dinosaurs at the Flinders Discovery Centre. You can also take in the volcanic plains from the lookouts on Mount Walker or make a significant detour north to Porcupine Gorge.

It’s another 400km from Hughenden to Cloncurry and the first town en route is Richmond, a decent bet for an overnight stay. Here, you can look at marine and dinosaur fossils inside Kronosaurus Korner or splash to your heart’s content at the Kronosaurus Water Park.

The Midway Motel is the best bet for Richmond accommodation.

Click through to the next section: Julia Creek and Cloncurry.