At a glance
- Date
- Sunday 15 November 2026. Lead bikes leave Appin at 8:15am, other bikes at 8:30am, then the kids and families buses, then the lead trucks
- Route
- Appin, Mount Ousley, Masters Road, Five Islands Road, Cringila, Warrawong, Windang, Warilla, Shellharbour Road, Oak Flats interchange, Princes Highway to Shellharbour Airport
- When it arrives
- Bikes should finish around 9:15am to 9:30am; trucks reach Albion Park Rail at about 9:30am to 10am. The organiser calls all times guides
- Where to watch
- Overpasses on the F6 to Masters Road, top of Mt Ousley, Bulli Tops, Masters Road Coniston, King Street Warrawong, Windang Road Windang, Warilla, Shellharbour and Albion Park Rail
- Who it’s for
- Families and fans planning to watch the trucks and bikes from the roadside, and drivers who need to avoid the route
- What to do now
- Pick a vantage point, stay off the roadway, and read the safety rules below before leaving home
- Last checked
- Monday 2 November 2026, against the organiser’s website
- Not yet confirmed
- Exact road closures and traffic control times. The organiser says its times are guides and may vary with traffic and weather
The i98FM Illawarra Convoy rolls on Sunday 15 November 2026, with lead bikes leaving Appin at 8:15am and the convoy finishing at Shellharbour Regional Airport, where a free family fun day runs from 9am to 3pm. The organiser lists vantage points along the route, from the top of Mount Ousley to Albion Park Rail.
This guide uses the organiser’s event FAQs, fun day page and home page, checked on 2 November 2026. Times are New South Wales daylight time (AEDT). For the fun day itself, see our separate Convoy fun day guide.
What is the i98 Illawarra Convoy?
It is a charity convoy of trucks and motorbikes that travels from Appin to the Illawarra each year. The event’s website says it has raised $30,070,914 since 2005, and a counter on its home page shows that figure. The money goes to community funding, and the website links to an Illawarra Community Foundation page and to a list of what it has funded.
Entry for trucks and bikes costs $50 per vehicle, which includes a free Convoy t-shirt, and registration can be done at the Convoy Shop in Albion Park Rail or online. The organiser says roadside supporters are part of the event, so the route is a spectator event as much as a procession.
What time does the convoy leave, and what route does it take?
The organiser’s FAQ gives this order of departure from Appin:
| Time | Who leaves Appin |
|---|---|
| 8:15am | Lead bikes leave Appin (GM3, Westcliff colliery) |
| 8:30am | All other bikes |
| About 8:35am | Kids and families buses |
| After the buses | Lead trucks |
Non-lead trucks join at Maddens Plains after the lead trucks and follow them down Mount Ousley. The FAQ describes the rest of the route in this order:
- Down Mount Ousley, then left onto Masters Road.
- Right onto Five Islands Road, past BlueScope.
- Through Cringila, Warrawong, Windang and Warilla.
- Right onto Shellharbour Road near the McDonald’s.
- Along to the Oak Flats interchange, where the convoy turns right onto the Princes Highway.
- Finish at Shellharbour Regional Airport.
The organiser says the whole route covers about 80 kilometres and that its times are guides only, because traffic and weather can change them.
When will the convoy reach my suburb?
The organiser gives two sets of finishing estimates. The route section says bikes should finish around 9:15am to 9:30am, with the buses shortly after and then the trucks. The vantage point section says bikes should begin to complete the convoy on the Princes Highway at Albion Park Rail from about 9am and trucks at about 9:30am to 10am. Because the two estimates differ by a few minutes, plan to arrive early rather than aim for one time.
The organiser does not publish a suburb-by-suburb timetable. Work backwards from the 8:15am departure and from the finish estimates, and expect the front of the convoy to pass first and the trucks later.
Where is the best place to watch?
The organiser says the trucks and motorbikes enjoy the roadside support as they head down Mount Ousley to Albion Park. It lists these vantage points:
- Any of the overpasses on the F6 to Masters Road
- The top of Mt Ousley
- Bulli Tops
- Masters Road, Coniston
- King Street, Warrawong
- Windang Road, Windang
- Lake Illawarra Hotel, Windang
- The corner of Shellharbour Road and Lake Entrance Road, Warilla
- Shellharbour Road, Shellharbour
- Lake Entrance Road and New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour
- The Princes Highway at Albion Park Rail, between Bunnings and Wollybutt Road, which the organiser says has plenty of trees and shade
- The Princes Highway in front of Albion Oval, the Open Hearth Hotel in Warrawong, the Lake Illawarra Hotel in Windang and the Warilla Hotel in Warilla
The FAQ suggests packing a picnic and picking a spot along the route.
What are the safety rules for spectators?
The organiser says it loves the community support on the route but gives six messages it calls very important, and warns that one major incident could seriously affect the future of the convoy:
- Stay off the roads.
- Do not high five motorbikes or trucks. The organiser says this is very dangerous and illegal.
- Follow all police and traffic controller instructions.
- When trucks and bikes are rolling in, be careful crossing the road. Normal road rules apply.
- Watch your kids.
- Because of the dry weather, be aware of fire hazards and dispose of cigarette butts thoughtfully.
NSW Police will escort the truck and bike convoy through the Illawarra, according to the organiser.
Will roads be closed?
The organiser’s pages do not list closures. They say police will escort the convoy and ask spectators to follow traffic controllers. This article does not guess at closure times, because the organiser has not given any.
Who leads the trucks and bikes, and when are the auctions?
The convoy places its lead trucks and bikes by auction, and the auctions run on i98FM in the week before. The organiser’s FAQ gives these 2026 dates:
| Auction | Date and time on i98FM |
|---|---|
| Lead bikes | Wednesday 11 November, 7am to 9am |
| Lead trucks, smaller bids | Start on the Breakfast Show on Monday 9 November |
| Lead trucks, medium bids | Thursday 12 November, 7am to 9am |
| Lead trucks, big bids | Thursday 12 November, 11am to 12 noon |
A minimum bid of $1,000 is required for a place in the lead truck pack or the lead bike pack. The organiser says each bid is paid even if another bidder outbids it, and that a bidder must still register the vehicle and pay the $50 fee. A lead truck bid gets one truck in the pack, and the order down the line follows the amount bid. A lead bike winner has 20 bikes ride at the front, separated from the other bikes by police. In 2025 the winning lead truck bid was $305,000.00, according to the organiser’s list of last year’s bids.
Where can I buy merchandise or ask a question?
The Convoy Shop is at Croome Lane, Albion Park Rail. The FAQ says it is open Monday 26 October to Friday 13 November from 8am to 4pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 2pm. The home page lists different hours for part of that period, so check before travelling. The organiser’s phone line is 1800 266 869, and it also lists an email address on its contact page. The 2026 Convoy t-shirt is charcoal grey.
What if the weather turns bad?
The organiser says the times depend on traffic and weather, and that the Cars for Convoy display at the fun day goes ahead “weather permitting”. It has not published a wet-weather plan for the convoy itself, so check its website and the i98FM broadcast on the morning.
Sources
- i98 Illawarra Convoy — Event frequently asked questions
- i98 Illawarra Convoy — Free Family Fun Day information
- i98 Illawarra Convoy — home page
Featured image: Lake Illawarra seen from Sublime Point lookout, photographed in June 2015 (photo: Maksym Kozlenko / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added).
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the i98FM Illawarra Convoy. Event details can change; check the organiser’s page before you go.