Rockhampton to Emerald road trip: Distance, driving time & stops
The Rockhampton to Emerald drive in Queensland covers a 271km distance, with a driving time of around 2h55m. Good road trip stops include the Blackdown Tableland National Park.
The Rockhampton to Emerald drive takes you away from the coast and into the Queensland outback, largely following the Tropic of Capricorn. Emerald is one of the larger towns on the Capricorn Highway, and makes a logical overnight stop if you’re planning a longer road trip – say from Rockhampton to Longreach.
Rockhampton offers fascinating history walks and cave tours. To source the best Rockhampton accommodation deals, go here.
For Emerald accommodation, book here.
Rockhampton to Emerald: Distance and driving time
The Rockhampton to Emerald drive is 271km long, with a driving time of around two hours and 55 minutes. Road trip attractions concentrate in the latter end of the journey, so it makes sense to floor it out of Rockhampton, through Gracemere and towards the junction with the Leichhardt Highway shortly after Westwood.
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.
Rockhampton to Emerald road trip attractions
Things start to get a bit more interesting after passing through Duaringa. The Duaringa State Forest is one of several you’ll encounter on the Rockhampton to Emerald drive. However, this one is not particularly set up for tourists.
The same applies to Taunton National Park, which comes shortly after the Dingo Roadhouse. This is set aside for scientific purposes, and to provide a safe habitat for the endangered bridled nail-tail wallaby.
Rockhampton to Emerald drive: Blackdown Tableland National Park
The Blackdown Tableland National Park is much more accessible. You can get to the Yaddamen Dhina day use area, home to a fine lookout over the sandstone ranges, with a conventional vehicle. A 4WD is needed to tackle the loop route that takes in other walks, lookouts and waterfalls, however.
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.
Click through to the next section: Blackwater.