Places to a avoid... Central qld and Northern Territory.

Where are you travelling from? What places where not to stop have been mentioned and why.
We have done that route and don't know of any places not to stop.

Wow. I must've always managed to stay in the good spots during our travels over these roads during the past few years because I have none to warn you of...
But then again we didn't stay in Mt Isa, no.
Oh yes...we once stayed in a pretty little central Qld town (I won't name them) that was gorgeous in the daylight and then we discovered that the trains came behind the caravan park at all hours at night (you could hear them coming for miles and miles!) and the road trains came along the road out the front all night (you could hear them coming for miles and miles too!)
My advice...check your map to see if you are between a railway line and major highway!!!
:)

We've just travelled from sunshine coast to Darwin.

Memorable stops were Chinchilla weir, Morven and Blackall. But that highway...bring sea sick pills lol

Hi , don't know about everybody else's thoughts but , every couple of years I visit places like the Alice , Katherine ,Tennant Creek ,Derby and Kal etc. Over time communications have improved out of sight ,same for roads and many more refuelling stops ,add to that the capabilities of Campertrailers ,Caravans and 4wd's those side of things are daylight ahead of what they were. Most country towns are still very friendly but with a lot less younger folk living there ,for whatever reason places like Katherine,Tennant Creek and host of others seem to have more and more homless ,itinerant tribal people living in them , no jobs little future prospects and unfortunately often in the grip of alcoholism . I have never been accosted or even seen anybody badly treated in these towns , but with it seems yearly more and more of these poor fella's roaming about some tourists get nervous,then spread the tales of places to avoid ,im sure isolated incidences do happen , but I reckon less so than in the big towns/cities , so how about we give the outback people a go and only repeet what we know to be fact , cheers.

Just spent a couple of days at Tenant Creek approx. three weeks ago. Use your common sense and you will have no problems. I understand that all bottle shops now are required to have a police presence whenever they are open. This approach, I believe, is also now policy in other centres such as Katherine. If you are unsure or uncertain check with the police, they are there to help and advise of which areas are perhaps best avoided at certain times. Incidentally, we had a fridge problem which was fixed at Tenant Creek by a very obliging local who came to the Caravan park and dealt with the problem on the spot
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So far, the only place we have had any problems is Broome, where the local humbuggers are gearing up for the holiday season. Smile, be firm, get out there and get on with it! Enjoy your trip - there are a lot of experiences out there to be had.

Written from our campsite under the stars on the way to Port Hedland. Absolutely amazing just where you can find internet coverage these days!

Hi all!
Great conversations, I didn't mean any pun at all to anyone. I am a big believer in common respect and understanding, I have travelled a lot of outback areas, as I was born in central Qld. I guess I am more cautious now that I have little ones in toe. By the comments and discussions, it's like anywhere else, ie. Cities/towns no matter where you go there is situations that occur.

A good story is, I will keep it short, I was camping with my family in a national park, and one night a group of 3 men pitched next to us, and decided to have a smoke session and play with different types of fire sticks. At about 1am they got rowdy, I managed to asked them to cool it, and surprisingly they were quite understanding... I think they thought I may have been a fairy or something... "Joke".

So thanks again everyone, I will take it easy and enjoy the trip, I reckon the best bet is if we are uncomfortable we just pack up and move on. We are all excited to go! And if you find us on your travels feel free to join us for a cuppa!

Chuckling to myself I couldn’t help but think you might just as well stay at home!

All places seem to have good and bad elements to them these days. Our major cities are probably the places that truly bring out the best and worst in people. Whilst always willing to listen to other people’s advice we have found that in many cases it wasn’t warranted and had we not visited we would have been poorer for it.

As someone said, just use common sense and always be alert – but apart from that, just get out there and enjoy our great country, above all else, look for the best in a place – not the worst…

Cheers, Baz – The Landy

There are places that are best avoided at certain times of the month out north and west just as there are places to avoid in the city on a Friday or Saturday night , pension day/night - royalty pay day in some communities [even though technically dry] can become a little intense [for want of a better word]…..

We as a couple haven't had a lot if contact with indigenous peoples. We are from ventral Vic originally from Melbourne

Last week we were at Barkly Homestead. In the store there was a young family. Indigenous mum dad and the cutest little 4yo boy I'd ever seen. I joked with the parents that I'd love to take him home with me as he was such a cute little fellow. After they made their purchase the mother turned to me, placed her hand on my elbow and said "thankyou, it means a lot".

In contrast while at MtIsa merely walking past maccas the dozens of indigenous people we felt not threatened but unwelcomed as a few deliberately blocked our path. This was uncomfortable but as soon as I joked with one of them they were fine.

Low income indigenous people watching seemingly well off middle and older aged " well off" travellers by the thousands heading north or south would seem like an invasion.

Let's try to bridge the gap with small tokens of respect.My 2c worth

I too have not found places to dodge. As said above you are safe in the roughest of places if you are respectful towards the locals.

However many places have areas that are no go after dark. Just keep out of those places and if you feel that the whole town is unsavoury after dark then retreat to your van for the night. When visiting those towns do not free camp, select a caravan park that looks to have good security. Do not free camp within 20 - 30 km of towns with suspect communities.

Another thing that has not been expressed is there are a lot of these towns where it is wise to lock your van door when you don't have the door in sight. That includes when you are sleeping. Everyone goes into a deep sleep after they get to sleep. During the first few hours you can sleep through intruders entering your van if they are reasonably quiet. There have been a couple of nights in Mt Isa where vans were burgled whilst people were sleeping (we missed out on the attacks as I often sit up late on the computer, that's when the burglaries take place.) In Broken Hill I saw the woman next door looking around her van in a disturbed state. She had gone over to the amenities to clean her teeth. Whilst she was away someone had slipped into the van and taken her purse, her husband slept through the incursion.

Just remember, lock the van door when you are not observing it in these communities. Large towns like Kalgoorlie, Port Augusta, Dubbo and Tamworth are included.

Avoid Broome if you don't like crowds.

hi
no where to avoid in the Territory but noticed a huge increase in outer control behaviour when I moved to Queensland . Qld police are limp wristed when it comes to control . To politically correct and all run from Brisvegas .They [Qld] have not got a clue by comparison .

Have not been for a while now but many many outposts are caged in . Many new buildings have only basic essentials . The buildings did only have short life span . I helped rebuild many with stacks of tax payers money . Even the football teams bus was stolen from the secure area . Found in a culvert after chasing roos. Drunken rampage .
Yes there huge drug problem and massive amounts of alcohol and after dark driving around I would be careful . The town camps are not as controlled as the media would let u believe

Stayed in Rose bay c/park ,a six foot fence did not stop the thieves . I got a good look at him , surprised him at 3 in the am. 17 offences and let off
bu--sh-t!!!!! weak as QLD .Cost me 200$.

swamp

Certainly never used to be that way , especialy in Qld , mind you the social workers have governed Qld probably half of the last 20 years , so you get what you ask for !