Newcastle to Mackay road trip: Distance, time & best stops
Newcastle to Mackay road trip: Banana and Mount Morgan
The next town on the Newcastle to Mackay drive is Banana, where you can stay the night at the Banana Hotel Motel. From here it’s another 127km to Mackay, passing through Wowan, which has a roadhouse and local history museum.
At Dululu, the Dee River makes for a scenic photo stop. This is also where you branch off along the Burnett Highway.
Road trip essentials that many travellers forget
Search on the web, and you’ll find ludicrously long lists of equipment to take on a road trip. Australia Travel Questions isn’t going to do that to you. But it is worth buying the following road trip items before setting off. Click through for a good range of options.
- Charging cables – yes, you’ll probably need a spare at some point.
- Car charger adaptor – in case your rental car has the old-fashioned cigarette lighter rather than a USB.
- Multi USB charger – for those hotel rooms that don’t have enough power sockets.
- Fold-up chairs – to make anywhere a picnic spot.
- A really good water bottle – go for a bigger one than usual to last the longer drives.
- Packing cubes – save space but, more importantly, avoid unpacking everything every night.
It largely follows the course of the Dee River towards Mount Morgan.
Attractions in Mount Morgan include the Mount Morgan Golf Course, the Mount Morgan Historical Museum and Mount Morgan Railway Museum. The latter doubles as this gold mining town’s visitor information centre.
You can also peer over the gold mine at the Arthur Timms Lookout.
The Mount Morgan Lookout, slightly further along a twisting section of the highway, also offers fairly good panoramas.
Newcastle to Mackay drive: Rockhampton or Yeppoon?
After Bouldercombe, the Burnett Highway joins the Bruce Highway and enters Rockhampton’s southern suburbs.
Things to do in Rockhampton include getting cultural at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre and the Rockhampton Heritage Village.
Top experiences to book in and around Rockhampton
- (Highly recommended ✅) Great Keppel Island day trip – with lunch.
- Cathedral Cave tour at Capricorn Caves. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- 90 minute Deep Vault Cave and Flower Pot tour at Capricorn Caves.
- Time Safaris walking tour.
The best places to stay in Rockhampton, Queensland
The best Rockhampton accommodation choices are:
- For character and charm: Denison Boutique Hotel.
- For heritage: Quality Hotel Regent.
- For well-equipped apartments: Quest Rockhampton.
- For really good value: Rockhampton Serviced Apartments.
- For a great pool: Korte’s Resort.
Coastal Yeppoon, a 35 minute drive away, is a more appealing place to stay, however. You can go birdwatching in Baga National Park on the way.
Things to do in Yeppoon include swimming at the Yeppoon Lagoon and catching the Great Keppel Island ferry for a Great Keppel Island day trip.
Where to stay in Yeppoon
The top Yeppoon accommodation options are:
- For a dependable motel with a pool: Coast Motel.
- For high quality apartments near Yeppoon Lagoon: Salt Yeppoon.
- For Mediterranean-style villas: Villa Mar Colina.
- For a centrally-located boutique resort: Coral Inn Boutique Resort.
Click through for the next section: Sarina and Mackay.