Part of the fun of a road trip in Australia is what you eat between the camps: a hot pie from a country bakery, a sausage sizzle outside the hardware store, fish and chips on a jetty, a pub parmi after a long drive. Below are fifteen things worth trying on the way, where to find them, and the one rule that catches travellers out, which is carrying fruit across a border.
Bakery stops
1. A meat pie. The country bakery is the classic road-trip stop, and a hot meat pie with tomato sauce is the classic order. Many bakeries make their own, with steak, pepper steak, chicken or curry fillings, and some towns are known for theirs.
2. A sausage roll or a pasty. The other bakery staples, good hot or cold and easy to eat in the car.
3. A vanilla slice or a lamington. A lamington is a square of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut, and a vanilla slice is thick custard between pastry. Either goes well with a coffee before the next stretch of road.
- Pies, rolls and pasties
- Lamingtons and vanilla slices
- Stop at the small-town bakery
Barbecues, chips and the pub
4. A sausage sizzle. A sausage in white bread with onions and sauce, cooked by a local club or charity outside a hardware store or at a market. Buying one supports the club.
5. Fish and chips. Best eaten on the beach or a jetty in a coastal town, often with local fish such as flathead, whiting or barramundi depending on where you are.
6. A chicken parmi. A crumbed chicken schnitzel topped with tomato sauce, ham in some places, and melted cheese, served with chips and salad. Every country pub has one, and the name changes from parmi to parma depending on the state.
7. A burger with the lot. The Australian takeaway burger adds beetroot, a fried egg, bacon, cheese and often pineapple. Roadhouses and corner takeaways do the best ones.
- Sausage sizzle supports the club
- Fish and chips by the water
- Parmi or parma at the pub
Pantry classics for the campervan
8. Vegemite on toast. A salty yeast spread to scrape thinly on hot buttered toast, never spread thick. It is a good camp breakfast once you get the amount right.
9. Tim Tams. Chocolate biscuits that are a staple of every road-trip snack bag. Try a Tim Tam slam with a hot drink at camp.
10. Anzac biscuits. Oat, golden syrup and coconut biscuits that keep well for days in a tin, which makes them a good long-drive snack.
11. Damper. The bush bread of flour, water and salt baked in the coals. If you can have a legal campfire, the campfire cooking guide has the method.
- Vegemite, thinly
- Tim Tams and Anzac biscuits
- Damper on a legal fire
Regional produce worth stopping for
12. Tropical fruit in the north. Mangoes in the Top End and north Queensland in the warmer months, plus bananas, pineapples and other fruit from roadside stalls around the tropics.
13. Seafood on the coast. Oysters in Tasmania, on the New South Wales south coast and on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, prawns in many coastal towns, and fresh fish from the co-op or the wharf.
14. Farm-gate fruit, nuts and cheese. Orchards, dairies and growers in regions such as the Riverland, the Adelaide Hills, the Goulburn Valley and the Atherton Tablelands sell straight from the farm gate or at weekend markets.
Many of these are seasonal, so ask locally what is good that week rather than hunting for something out of season.
- Mangoes in the north
- Oysters and fresh fish on the coast
- Farm gates and markets
Something for the hot afternoons
15. An iced coffee or an ice cream from the servo. A flavoured milk or an iced coffee from the fridge at a country service station is a road-trip habit, and South Australians are loyal to their own brand. A paddle-pop or a Golden Gaytime on a hot afternoon is the other option.
On long hot days, though, water matters more than snacks. Carry plenty in the vehicle and refill at every town.
- A cold drink from the servo
- Ice cream on hot days
- Water first
Carrying food across borders
Australia's states protect their crops from pests such as fruit fly, and several of them, plus regions such as the Riverland and parts of Victoria and Tasmania, restrict what fresh fruit and vegetables you can bring in. There are quarantine bins and checkpoints on the main roads, and fines for carrying the wrong things.
Plan your shopping around the borders: run the fruit bowl down before you cross, eat what is left or drop it in the bin, and buy fresh again on the other side. The biosecurity guide covers the rules state by state.
- Run the fruit down before a border
- Use the quarantine bins
- Buy fresh on the other side
Eating well without spending a fortune
Bakery stops and pub meals add up over a long trip, so most people mix them with simple cooking at camp. Stock up in the bigger towns, where the supermarkets are cheaper than in remote general stores, and save the treats for the places they are famous.
The easy campervan meals guide has simple dinners for a small kitchen, and the eating out guide covers what to expect at pubs and cafes.
- Mix treats with camp cooking
- Shop in the bigger towns
- Save treats for the famous places
Plan the stops in AussieCamps
AussieCamps lists 1,838 campgrounds and 745 national parks from the state park agencies, plus 5,552 rest areas from road authorities, with each place's facilities, fees and rules as the agency publishes them. You can filter by cost, save places to a trip and see the driving distance between stops.
The iPhone app is free to download, with in-app purchases.
- Plan the drive between towns
- Save stops to a trip
- Free to download
Places along the way
Check before you go
Rules and conditions change. Recheck the official source and the page for your exact park or campground before departure.
Common questions
What food should I try on an Australian road trip?+
A meat pie from a country bakery, a sausage sizzle, fish and chips by the water, a pub chicken parmi, a burger with the lot, Vegemite on toast, a lamington and a Tim Tam, plus local produce such as mangoes in the north, oysters on the south coast and stone fruit from the farm gates.
Where do you find the best food on a road trip in Australia?+
In country bakeries, pubs, fish and chip shops near the water, farm gates and roadside stalls, and weekend markets. Roadhouses keep you fed on long empty stretches, but the small-town bakery is usually the better stop.
Can I carry fruit between states on a road trip?+
Often not. Several states and regions restrict fresh fruit and some vegetables to keep out fruit fly and other pests, and there are quarantine bins and checkpoints on the main roads. Eat it or bin it before the border, and buy fresh again on the other side.
What is a sausage sizzle?+
A sausage in a slice of white bread with fried onions and tomato sauce, cooked on a barbecue, usually by a local club or charity outside a hardware store, at a market or on election day. It is cheap, quick and very Australian.
Take it on the road
Save the stops. Plan the whole trip.
Build an ordered route from saved places, calculate the distance and keep dates, notes and to-dos attached.
