Port Augusta to Woomera road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time

By car, the distance from Port Augusta to Woomera is 181km, with a driving time of around 1h56m. The only fuel stop between Port Augusta and Woomera is at Spud’s Roadhouse in Pimba.

A Port Augusta to Woomera road trip takes you from the ultimate South Australian crossroads town to one of the quirkiest places in Australia – a once-secret outback military settlement. Many travellers will pass this way as part of a longer road trip from Port Augusta to Uluru or Port Augusta to Darwin.

To fix up your Port Augusta accommodation at the cheapest rates, look over here.

This guide should help you plan your perfect Port Augusta to Woomera road trip itinerary.

Click through on the individual places and attractions for more detailed, specific information.

If you need to hire a car, find the best rental deals. And don’t forget to do all your pre-road trip shopping.

Port Augusta to Woomera distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Port Augusta to Woomera is 181km. That makes for a driving time of roughly one hour and 56 minutes.

Port Augusta accommodation picks

Port Augusta accommodation tends towards the functional. Few people stay here more than one night. Booking site Wotif lists options for from $89, if you’d like to check what’s available.

However, these Port Augusta accommodation choices are particularly worth looking at:

For heritage and character: Pampas Motel.
For green credentials: Crossroads Ecomotel.
For overall quality: Majestic Oasis Apartments.
For cheap rates and a pool: Discovery Parks – Port Augusta.

Port Augusta to Woomera road trip: Port Augusta to Pimba

The best things to do in Port Augusta include the Wadlata Outback Centre, which looks at Aboriginal and outback life, and the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden.

Port Augusta is also where the Stuart Highway begins. Australia’s classic outback road heads all the way to Darwin, mostly through stark desert scenery.

The route north to Woomera starts by passing Lake Dempsey. Later on, the Kell Swamp lies to the east of the highway and the Ranges View Rest Area is a decent place to pull over to stretch the legs.

Further north, there are a series of ephemeral lakes, including Lake Dutton and the Pernatty Lagoon. The Ironstone Lagoon, however, is the one most easily seen from the highway.

Eventually, you’ll come to Pimba, home of Spud’s Roadhouse. Accommodation is available here, but it’s not particularly appealing. More importantly, Pimba is the only fuel stop between Port Augusta and Woomera.

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’s a 7.5km drive from Pimba to Woomera. Turn off along the Olympic Dam Highway at Pimba.

Woomera attractions

Woomera is deeply weird to wander around. The visitor centre doubles as a museum about the town’s space research and weapons testing. If it’s weapons you want to see, the Woomera Rocket Park showcases all manner of rockets and missiles.

There’s also a swimming pool and observatory in Woomera.

For Woomera accommodation, choose between the Eldo Hotel and the Woomera Travellers Village and Caravan Park.