Into the Volcanic Outback: A 7-Day Gulf Savannah Road Trip

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The Gulf Savannah places we visited are on Ewamian Country. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this area and their connection to Country, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

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One year we more or less unintentionally made it all the way to Gulf Savannah country for our winter road trip.

While the broader Savannah Way stretches some 3,700km from Cairns across the Top End to the Kimberley, this specific one-week itinerary focuses on a 670km inland loop through North Queensland’s Etheridge Shire.

It’s almost always hot up in the Savannah land—even in mid-winter, we hit 30°C+ every day—which is probably why we haven’t done much travelling around northern Queensland in the past (except for Cairns, the Daintree and Boodjamulla National Park).

While the coastal and tidal ends of the Gulf are famous for fishing, this inland loop is all about spectacular volcanic geology, hot springs and remote sandstone gorges.

Most of this route is accessible by conventional 2WD vehicles during the dry season, but if you want to complete the full loop as we did, a high-clearance 4WD is essential.

Here is exactly how to structure a week-long road trip around some of the most beautiful, crowd-free parts of the Queensland Gulf Savannah.

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GULF SAVANNAH: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Travelling in remote areas of Queensland requires a certain amount of preparation. That said, we never felt as remote on this trip as we have on other Outback road trips.

In winter, there are plenty of travellers up here, and the communities aren’t as spread out as further west. While we never felt that far away from help, we still carry a PLB, a spare tyre, and extra food and water as a matter of course.

BEST TIME TO VISIT & SEASONAL WEATHER

The dry season (late April to September) is the only realistic timeframe for exploring this loop.

Even in mid-winter (June/July), we experienced 30°C+ blue sky days every single day. While overnight temperatures can occasionally dip down to a comfortable 10-12°C, expect some steamy nights between 17°C and 22°C.

Wet Season Warning: Outside of the dry season, the Gulf Savannah essentially closes down. It’s stinking hot (40°C+ daily), road become impassable inland seas, and major tourist spots like Talaroo Hot Springs close completely between October to March.

OUR GULF SAVANNAH ROUTE

In Queensland, the Gulf Savannah region roughly covers the massive inland expanse from Cairns out towards the Gulf of Carpentaria and stretching all the way to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park.

People often take the standard Savannah Way as an alternative road to the Northern Territory instead of travelling via Mount Isa on the Barkly Highway. However, keep in mind that it isn’t a sealed highway all the way—large stretches are unsealed and very unexciting, especially as you head towards the NT border.

Coming from the South, we travelled inland via Hughenden and Charters Towers to loop around the Etheridge Shire for a week, exploring its national parks, lava tubes and hot springs before returning along the coast.

Because we travelled after a particularly long wet season, there was still a lot of water in the rivers, leaving plenty of shallow creek crossings on the menu for us. It is definitely something to keep in mind if you decide to do this trip early in the dry season.

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ESSENTIAL OUTBACK PREP & SUPPLIES

While you don’t need a heavy-duty expedition truck for the main stops, self-sufficiency is still absolutely required out here.

• The Outback Fuel Rule: There is plenty of fuel available along this loop, but supply chains can be unpredictable. When we rolled into Georgetown, a fuel truck had arrived earlier that morning, creating a massive queue of cars waiting to fill up. Fill up whenever you see a servo, even if you are still 3/4 full.
• Best Fuel Stops: Mount Surprise, Georgetown and the Oasis Roadhouse (The Lynd Junction).
• Food & GF/ Specialiy Diets: If you require specialised or gluten-free (GF) groceries, major hubs like Hughenden or Charters Towers are your last-chance supermarkets. Once you enter the Etheridge Shire, towns like Forsayth and Einasleigh only have basic corner stores or roadhouse pantries. Carry a week’s worth of specialty supplies with you from the south.

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7-DAY GULF SAVANNAH ITINERARY LOOP

Whilst the Gulf Savannah is a long way from southeast Queensland, it’s actually a fairly short drive from Cairns (about 250km). We met quite a few families who had just popped out from the coast on a school holiday trip.

This specific loop around is roughly 670km in total, and gives you a fantastic mix of sealed highway driving and proper outback dirt roads.

VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS

You can get to most places on this route in a standard 2WD vehicle—from Cobbold Gorge to Copperfield Gorge—as long as you’re willing to take care on the unsealed sections. However, for Rungulla National Park you will need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle to cross the sandy riverbed and reach the camping area.

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STOP 1: UNDARA VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK (~2 DAYS)

Undara Volcanic National Park is one of the popular spots in the Gulf Savannah. The national park’s not far off the Savannah Way, about 6km down a sealed road (with a further 9km to the Discovery Park Resort).

You’ll probably want to spend at least a day at Undara to explore the lava tunnels, maybe do a hike or just relax at the resort.

TOURING THE LAVA TUBES

The lava tunnels crisscross the country here, running for about 160km, and are only accessible on a tour through Undara Discovery Resort. This takes a bit of the fun away but that’s how it is.

There are multiple tours a day but book in advance as we saw a fair few day visitors who were unable to do a tour since they hadn’t booked ahead.

• Archway Explorer Tour: Mostly on boardwalks and best suited to families with small(er) children and those struggling with mobility.
• Wind Tunnel Explorer: Our choice; allows you to walk through an entire (dark) lava tube.

The Verdict: You can’t see the lava tubes without a guide, and walking through a dark tunnel was kind of cool. But overall, it wasn’t the greatest tour for us—just too slow. Your experience does really depend on the tour guide.

HIKING THE NATIONAL PARK TRACKS

There are also a couple of hikes you can do at Undara Volcanic National Park.

• Kalkani Crater Rim Walk (2.5km): Along the rim of, unsurprisingly, Kalkani Crater. Some nice views but not super exciting. Drive to the day use area in the national park to do this hike.
• Rosella Plains Lookout Track (12km): More interesting option of the two and starts from the resort. But go early, it’s very exposed.

If you’re staying at the Undara Discovery Resort, there are also a few marked trails to explore across the property, including to a historic pioneer hut.

STAYING AT UNDARA DISCOVERY RESORT

There is no national park camping at Undara Volcanic National Park so your only option is the Undara Discovery Resort. It’s located within the national park and perfect if you want to do a tour as they’re run from there.

For a tourist park, we had a lovely campsite and were lucky enough not to have neighbours either sides.

You can also stay in refurbished train carriages as one of the accommodation options. Check prices and availability for the train carriages here.

There’s a very small pool, and a bar and restaurant, which feature seating in the refurbished train carriages. Very cool.

After doing the Rosella Plains Lookout Trail in the early morning, we left late morning for Talaroo Hot Springs.

STOP 2: TALAROO HOT SPRINGS (~1 DAY)

From Undara Volcanic National Park it’s only about 100km to Talaroo Hot Springs along the Savannah Way. We left Undara around lunch time and took our time, getting to Talaroo in the early afternoon.

You wouldn’t think that hot springs are that awesome in hot weather but they are! Talaroo Hot Springs was one of the best spots we stayed at on our road trip along the Savannah Way.

They’ve only been operating for a few years, and are an Aboriginal-owned and run enterprise.

TOURING TALAROO HOT SPRINGS

The hot springs are only accessible via an organised tour or by booking a private bathtub. We only had one night and the bathtubs were already booked out so we opted for the 4pm hot springs tour. It was fabulous—absolutely no regrets.

Although you don’t get to bathe in the actual hot springs (far too hot and a culturally protected area for the Ewamin Indigenous owners), the main hot spring pool—at a relaxing 38°C—is large enough to not feel crowded.

CAMPING AT TALAROO

Even without the hot springs, we would happily return here.

There are powered and unpowered sites available though they are currently very exposed until the newly planted vegetation grows a bit more. Fortunately, there is a bit of separation between each site so you feel like you have a tiny bit of privacy.

The kitchen facilities are great as is the brand new toilet block and laundry facilities (ie. washing machine).

There’s also a café on site (fabulous, especially since they had gluten-free brownies) as well as a small but popular pool.

If you don’t fancy camping, you can also stay in eco tents here.

The Einasleigh River runs right through the property and is even more gorgeous. Just beautiful and perfect for a little swim.

You could easily spend a couple of very relaxed days here. Sadly, we only had enough time for one night.

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STOP 3: COBBOLD GORGE (1-2 DAYS)

From Talaroo Hot Springs, it’s about 150km to Cobbold Gorge if you’re travelling via Georgetown.

At Georgetown, you’ll leave the Savannah Way and head onto Forsayth Road to get to Cobbold Gorge. Georgetown is a good spot to stock up on any groceries or fuel as it’ll be your last bigger town for now.

Cobbold Gorge Village is on a working cattle station, and these days comes with a full on resort-style experience.

To be upfront, we didn’t love our experience at Cobbold Gorge. We were there in the school holidays, and it was just too busy for us. For a family with younger kids, this would be a great place to camp for a few days.

TOURING COBBOLD GORGE

Cobbold Gorge is a narrow sandstone gorge, and if you’re lucky you might even spot a freshwater croc in the permanent watercourse.

You can only access the gorge on a guided tour. The tour is three hours, and includes a 2km walk (across the new glass bridge) and a boat trip down the narrow gorge.

• Cobbold Gorge Tours: Multiple tours run each day, and it pays to book in advance. During the winter school holidays, they add additional tours, including a 7am tour.

The Verdict: For the price tag we found the tour underwhelming—the gorge is really quite small. And while the tour was slow, it was quite enjoyable and you kind of have to do it since you’ve come all this way.

If you haven’t travelled to the NT or WA and explored their gorges, you’d probably love this. It is a beautiful little ecosystem, but with three tours going at the same time, it was just a case of “too many tours and too little gorge” for us.

CAMPING AT COBBOLD GORGE

If you’re staying at Cobbold Gorge, you’ll be staying in the village where you’ll have plenty of accommodation options to choose from (including camping, huts or motel-style rooms).

The unpowered section is rather small and whilst they’ve tried to create some separation between sites, it was a bit cramped in the school holidays. Maybe at a quieter time, it would be lovely camping here. There are tons of powered sites, some shady, some not so much.

Our time was marred by people, yet again, playing music so loud that it was annoying, and just having so much hive and activity around us that it just wasn’t enjoyable camping. In the end we left early and forewent our second night.

In general, the facilities are good, especially the showers were great. There’s an infinity pool overlooking the lagoon—teeming with kids most of the time, a very small shop with basic groceries, and a few marked hiking/bike trails across the property.

We worked up a sweat going to Russell’s Lookout for sunset but sadly, the sunset was pretty obscured by vegetation. Great views over Cobbold Gorge Village though.

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STOP 4: RUNGULLA NATIONAL PARK (1-2 DAYS)

Heads up for 2026: Rungulla National Park camping area is fully closed due to storm damage until late March 2027. If you’re tackling the route this dry season, bypass the turnoff and plan to camp at Cobbold Gorge or Forsayth instead.

From Cobbold Gorge Village, it’s only about 60km to Rungulla National Park and will take about 1-2 hours depending on the state of the (unsealed) road.

Old Robin Hood Road had recently been graded so it was a pretty quick drive for us. There are a few river crossings along the way but they were all pretty shallow in early July and nothing to worry about in a 4WD.

You can spend a day at Rungulla National Park or an entire week.

It is simply blissful camping along the Gilbert River, and there is really not much to do other than nothing.

We loved it.

It felt like we’d stepped into heaven with our own private bush campsite, a gorgeous river nearby and not a person in sight. After two nights here, we did not want to leave.

There’s a very small rock art site at Rungulla, which is worth having a look at. The information sign says that it’s about 500m to the rock art site but you’ll be there after about 50m, you can actually see it from the road.

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STOP 5: COPPERFIELD GORGE (~1/2 DAY)

To complete our road trip loop, we headed back onto Old Robin Hood Road and drove towards Gilberton and onto Einasleigh (about 150km).

At Einasleigh, you can stop at the local pub for lunch or wander around Copperfield Gorge where the river has cut a fissure straight through an ancient lava flow creating the gorge.

It’s a popular swimming spot but since we had a long drive ahead of us to finish the loop, only the husband went for a quick swim. I made some coffee to keep us awake for the next few hundred kilometres.

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EXTENDING YOUR GULF SAVANNAH ROAD TRIP

With all this volcanic action, this region is also famous for fossicking and mining. You can camp and fossick at Flat Creek Station (gold), Agate Creek Gemfields (agate) or O’Briens Creek (topaz, quartz). There is also a huge collection of gemstones and minerals at the TerrEstrial Centre in Georgetown.

Another cool option for exploring this region, especially if you don’t have your own transport, is to take the Savannahlander Train from Cairns to Forsayth and back.

Happy exploring,

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