May was the month we finally ticked off one of the great Australian bucket list drives. The Plenty Highway had been on the list since before we left home — 367 kilometres of unsealed outback track, some of the most remote country in Australia, and a crossing into Queensland that felt like a proper milestone. It delivered on every front. So did the repair bill.
Here’s every dollar of what May cost us — the good, the expensive, and the lesson we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Where the Money Went 💸
May in a Nutshell 🕐
May was the month the trip shifted gear. We’d spent the tail end of April working through the Red Centre — Erldunda, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, then Alice Springs as our base — and on the 11th of May we pointed Ernie east toward the Plenty Highway.
The Plenty had been on the bucket list since before we left home. After missing the Oodnadatta Track earlier in the year due to flooding, ticking this one off felt like the universe balancing the books.
We crossed into Queensland at the Tobermory Crossing and stood at that border sign like the pair of idiots we are. Brilliant.
The lowlight was entirely self-inflicted. We knew to air down on dirt roads — what we didn’t do was air down early enough or far enough.
Running too much pressure on the corrugations transferred vibration straight through Ernie into Sunny. The damage showed up in Longreach: $650 in repairs, with a $750 insurance excess still to come in June.
Drop to 25 or 30 psi people — learn from our mistake. We’ve written the full experience in our Plenty Highway Caravan Guide.
From the border it was Boulia, then Winton, then Longreach — and outback Queensland delivered on every front. Winton alone accounted for a significant chunk of our Attractions & Experiences spend, and not one dollar of it felt wasted.
The Age of Dinosaurs. The Waltzing Matilda Centre. The Crackup Sisters on a cold outback night. These are the moments you leave the couch for.
Monthly Spend by Category 💸
Our Top 6 Expenses 📊
May vs April: What Changed 📉📈
May cost $717.61 less than April — which sounds like progress until you look at where the money moved rather than where it disappeared. We spent less on dining out, accommodation and fuel. We spent significantly more on attractions, caravan maintenance and leisure.
The Attractions & Experiences jump tells the story of outback Queensland doing its job properly. The Sunset Train, river cruise and dinner package in Longreach, Age of Dinosaurs in Winton, the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the Royal Theatre and the Crackup Sisters show — $942.46 across the month, nearly double April’s $503.90. No regrets whatsoever.
Caravan Maintenance went from $173 in April to $778.63 in May. That’s the Plenty Highway lesson right there — $650 of it landing in Longreach with another $750 excess still to come in June. The remaining $128 was routine small items that would have appeared regardless.
Dining Out fell $958 on April — the sharpest single drop of the month. That’s not discipline, that’s geography. The Plenty Highway has no dining options. Boulia is limited. Winton has its pubs and not much else. Longreach’s Chinese restaurant genuinely felt like an event.
Fuel spend dropped $438 on April despite covering 2,202 kilometres — similar distance to previous months but meaningfully cheaper diesel once we left the NT. Average cost per litre came down from 348.7c in April to 297.4c in May.
Accommodation averaged $46.63 a night in May — down from $55.33 in April. One free night at Marshall River helped, and outback Queensland station stays and caravan parks are noticeably better value than remote NT.
📈 Biggest Increase — Attractions & Experiences jumped $438.56 — outback Queensland’s cultural heartland doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.
📉 Biggest Decrease — Dining Out dropped $957.17 — the Plenty Highway has a lot to answer for, and none of it involves restaurants.
Year-to-Date Snapshot 📅
Five months in and the picture is becoming clearer. January was expensive for city reasons. February was held down by Travel Auctions vouchers that won’t repeat. March found its rhythm. April blew the doors off in the Red Centre. May brought us back toward the middle — still above where we’d like to be, but moving in the right direction.
The five-month average now sits at $8,552.42 per month. That’s the honest number — no cherry-picking, no excluding the expensive months. It includes everything we spend: travel costs, running costs, and our contribution to keeping the lights on in Brisbane.
Daily Averages So Far
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We share every dollar we spend so you can plan your own adventure. If you found it useful, a beer keeps us on the road and the numbers coming.
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May in Pictures 📷
Unexpected Expenses 💸
May had one unexpected expense and it was entirely our own fault. We knew to air down on dirt roads — we just didn’t do it early enough or far enough, and the Plenty Highway made us pay for that.
The corrugations on the unsealed section transferred vibration straight through Ernie into Sunny at a level that caused real structural damage. The repair bill in Longreach came to $650 — and that’s before the $750 insurance excess which lands in June’s accounts.
The lesson is a simple one and we’ve already written it up in detail in our Plenty Highway Caravan Guide. Drop to 25 or 30 psi before you hit the dirt. Check it again if the road deteriorates. Don’t wait until you can feel the vibration through the van — by then it’s already doing damage.
The rest of May was remarkably predictable. Caravan maintenance had a few small routine items outside of the highway damage. Attractions & Experiences was high but entirely intentional — outback Queensland’s cultural attractions are exactly the kind of thing we travel for, and not one dollar of that $942 felt like a surprise.
If You’re Travelling This Route Soon 🧭
May took us from Alice Springs east along the Plenty Highway, across the Queensland border and through the outback Queensland towns of Boulia, Winton and Longreach. A few things stood out that might help if you’re planning the same run.
Air down before you hit the dirt — and air down properly 🚗
The Plenty Highway isn’t one long stretch of dirt — it alternates between sealed and unsealed sections from Gemtree Roadhouse all the way through. That’s exactly what caught us out. Every time we hit a sealed section we thought the worst was behind us, and every time we didn’t bother dropping the pressure before the next dirt stretch.
The worst section is Jervois Station to Tobermorey — that’s all dirt, and it’s where the damage accumulated. Drop to 25 or 30 psi before you leave Jervois and leave it there until you’re back on sealed road past Tobermorey. Don’t let the alternating surface fool you into thinking you can manage it on highway pressure. We learnt this the expensive way. Full details in our Plenty Highway Caravan Guide.
Fuel up at every opportunity ⛽
Your fuel stops between Alice Springs and Boulia are Gemtree Roadhouse, the community of Atitjere, Jervois Station and Tobermorey Station. Atitjere and Jervois are both worth knowing about — but neither opens on Sundays and hours vary, so don’t rely on them without checking ahead. Fill up every time you see an open bowser regardless of how much is in the tank. Our Plenty Highway Caravan Guide has the full fuel stop breakdown with prices we paid.
Tobermorey Station is worth two nights 🏕️
Right on the NT/QLD border, Tobermorey Station is one of those stops that surprises you. It’s a working cattle station with genuine outback character — the bar, the fire pit, the 1959 Austin camp truck converted into a BBQ, and the NTB walks through the surrounding country. We stayed two nights and wished we’d booked three. Our full review is here: Tobermorey Station Caravan Park Review.
Boulia is worth a stop — don’t just fuel and run 🛑
Most people treat Boulia as a fuel stop. It’s a proper outback Queensland town with a pub, a pool and the Min Min Encounter — an interactive experience about the famous Min Min lights reported across this part of outback Queensland. Worth an afternoon at minimum.
Winton punches well above its weight 🦕
For a town of 900 people, Winton delivers an extraordinary amount. The Waltzing Matilda Centre is world class. The Age of Dinosaurs is genuinely jaw-dropping — book the full tour including the laboratory. The Royal Theatre is the longest continuously running open-air cinema in Australia and a bucket list experience on a cold outback night. And if Dusty Hour is showing while you’re there, drop everything and go. Winton has three pubs — the Tattersalls, the North Gregory and the Club — and all three serve meals.
Longreach is the highlight of outback Queensland ⭐
Give Longreach at least a week. The Qantas Founders Museum, the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, the Longreach Cultural Centre and the Outback Rail Adventure are all full-day experiences. The Sunset Train and river cruise dinner package is one of the best evenings we’ve had on the entire trip — book it ahead, it sells out. And yes, there is a very good Chinese restaurant. You will appreciate it more than you expect to after a week on the Plenty Highway.
Caravan Park of the Month 🏅
Tobermorey Station
An easy pick this month — and a genuinely different kind of stay. Tobermorey Station isn’t a caravan park that happens to be on a cattle station. It’s a working cattle station that happens to have a caravan park, and the difference is everything.
The bar, the fire pit built around the 1959 Austin camp truck, the NTB walks through the surrounding mulga country, the homestead that’s been here since 1913 — it all adds up to something you don’t find at a powered site in a coastal holiday park. We stayed two nights and it wasn’t enough. At $55 a night it’s fair value for what it delivers. Our full review is here: Tobermorey Station Caravan Park Review.
Wrapping Up May 🧶
May was the month outback Queensland reminded us why we do this. The Plenty Highway delivered everything we’d hoped for — remote, raw, and genuinely challenging in a way that sealed road travel never is. Standing at the Tobermory Crossing border sign was one of those moments that makes the whole trip feel real in a way that’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t done it.
The tyre lesson was expensive and entirely self-inflicted. We knew better and we didn’t do better, and $650 in repairs plus a $750 excess landing in June is the price of that. It won’t happen again.
What stayed with us most was Winton. For a town of 900 people it punches at a weight that would embarrass cities ten times its size. The Age of Dinosaurs is world class. Dusty Hour is one of the most genuinely joyful live performances we’ve seen anywhere. The Royal Theatre on a cold outback night with a paddle pop and a sky full of stars — that’s not a tourist experience, that’s just what Winton does on a Tuesday.
Longreach finished the month the way it deserved to — with the Sunset Train, the river cruise dinner, and a Chinese restaurant that felt like a Michelin star after a week on the Plenty Highway. We could have stayed another week and filled it easily.
At $9,061.49 May came in $717.61 under April — modest progress, and the five-month average now sits at $8,552.42. June brings the insurance excess, a new state, and whatever the road throws at us next. Sounds like fun.
☕ Did this help your planning?
We share every dollar we spend so you can plan your own adventure. If you found it useful, a beer keeps us on the road and the numbers coming.
🍺 Buy us a beer on Ko-fiNo pressure — every cent goes toward keeping Sunny on the road 🚐
Join the Conversation 💬
May was a month of bucket list moments and expensive lessons — sometimes in the same week. We’d love to know how it compares to your experience of outback Queensland.
Have you driven the Plenty Highway with a caravan — and did you get the tyre pressure right? If you’ve been to Winton or Longreach, what did we miss that we should go back for? And if you’ve found a way to make outback Queensland dining options stretch further than a pub meal and a Chinese restaurant, we’re all ears.
I’m excited to see this itinerary. That area is on our list. It’s awesome to see the places you stopped. Great to see a breakdown of where you spent your money. Thank you for the inspiring ideas.
Thanks for stopping by Margo and we are pleased you got some value from it. All the best for your travels.