Brisbane, two kilometres from the river

The depot at Woolloongabba

The depot is at 46 Deshon Street, Woolloongabba. Office hours are 09:00 to 15:00 Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 11:00 on Saturday. The office is closed on Sunday.

Woolloongabba is an inner suburb, which makes this the most urban depot on the list. The streets around it are narrow and the traffic is real, so the first ten minutes of a long trip are spent in a queue rather than on a highway. The morning peak is the part to plan around, and campervan hire Brisbane sets out the Woolloongabba hours and what is kept there.

The depot lists after-hours collection and return as available. Confirm the arrangement when you book, and if you are collecting on a weekday, do it after the morning peak rather than before it.

What this depot is for

This is a collection and return point for trips that start in south-east Queensland. The natural short trips are north to the Sunshine Coast and south to the Gold Coast and the hinterland, and both are sealed roads with a lot of traffic on them.

The long trip is the one this site is about: Brisbane to the North West Cape is a crossing of the top of the country, and it is measured in weeks. Weeks of it also mean the drivetrain gets settled early, and campervan hire depots is the category to compare before the first week rather than during it.

Five things within a day of the depot

South Bank and the river. The parklands on the south bank of the Brisbane River hold the lagoon, the arbour, and the walk along the water into the city. It is the one place in Brisbane where the river is the destination rather than an obstacle.

Kangaroo Point Cliffs. A wall of old quarry stone on the south bank, with a riverwalk at its base and stairs up the top. Climbers use the face in the late afternoon; everyone else uses the path.

Mount Coot-tha. The lookout above the city, with the botanic gardens at the bottom of the hill and a sealed road to the top. It is the shortest way to see how the city sits in the valley.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. At Fig Tree Pocket, on the river west of the city, and the place to see koalas and platypus without a long drive. It is a zoo rather than a park, which is worth knowing before you plan a day around it.

The bay islands. Stradbroke and Moreton are both reached by barge, and both are sand. That is the point where this depot stops being useful: a two-wheel-drive campervan does not go onto a sand island, and the barge operators will not take it. Take the islands out and the trip is a mainland one, which leaves the finish open, and 4WD hire for the sand islands is where the possible ends are listed.

Before you turn north

The drive north from Brisbane is the start of the long climb up the Queensland coast, and the first decision is whether to take the coastal highway or the inland route through Toowoomba and Roma. The coastal route is busier and shorter between towns; the inland route is emptier and hotter.

Two checks belong here. The first is the wet season: the Queensland coast north of Rockhampton can close roads between December and March, and the Bruce Highway has a history of flooding at the same handful of places. Check the state road conditions before each stage rather than once at the start.

The second is the park pass at the other end of the trip. Cape Range National Park charges standard entry fees, and a valid pass covers them, so the pass belongs on the list of things to sort before the last leg rather than at the gate.