The Gunbarrel Highway, Tourism Western Australia
Want to test your skills on an epic 4WD adventure into Australia’s outback?
John Basham, author of the 4WD Survival Guide, picks ten of the best outback tracks for four-wheel drivers.
1 Anne Beadell Highway
Running mostly north of the east–west Indian-Pacific rail line, this Len Beadell–surveyed road crosses the edge of the Nullarbor Plain. Running from Coober Pedy in South Australia to Laverton in Western Australia, the very remote trip passes atomic bomb test sites, nature reserves and salt lakes. Travel permits are required, and human habitation is uncommon. Scrub varies from stunted trees to bare spinifex plains. Bird and animal life is minimal. Sandy soil conditions are poor, often with slippery surfaces and erosion washaways.
2 Birdsville Track
If you want to see the horse racing in September at Birdsville in far south-western Queensland, head almost north from Marree on this track. It passes Sturts Stony Desert, crosses the world’s longest dog-fence, and its remoteness and heat was responsible for the death of many travellers in early days. Now trafficable to most well-prepared vehicles in the dry season, this famous outback track begins in South Australia.
3 Canning Stock Route
Originally surveyed as an overland route to drove cattle from northern properties in Western Australia to southern markets, this difficult track issues a real challenge for drivers of properly prepared 4WD vehicles. It has big sand dunes, saltpans, great stony patches and washaways. Along its length are over 50 wells dug by hand to provide water for cattle. There are natural waterholes, some with good campsites. Aboriginal rock art, wildflowers in season and the Wolfe Creek meteorite crater are some of the points of interest. Fuel supplies for travelling vehicles must be arranged. The track runs from Wiluna, at the southern end, to Halls Creek at the top.
4 Cape York Peninsula Development Road
Probably the best-known Australian 4WD track, the Cape road begins in Cairns, Queensland. With some very difficult creek and river crossings (and with an expensive ferry alternative) this route is not trafficable in the wet season (November–March). In the tourist season the road is heavily travelled and becomes very corrugated. Passing through grass plains, mountains, patches of tropical rainforest and light scrub, this is perhaps one of the greatest wilderness areas on the continent. From the most northerly town, Bamaga, it is still over 50 kilometres to the actual top of Australia.
5 Chillagoe–Cape Crawford Road
Starting at Chillagoe, about 200 kilometres west of Cairns, in Queensland, the route loops up into the edge of the Gulf Country and back down via Normanton. Across savannah grass country, it heads west through giant anthills, over river crossings and past thermal springs. Other famous places like Burketown, Hells Gate and Borroloola are on the way to the western end, at Cape Crawford in the Northern Territory. For much of the wet season this area can be impassable, and in the tourist season the western end can be noticeably populated.
6 Gibb River Road
Three different groups of mountain ranges make the Gibb River route spectacular viewing. Dependent on road management, severe corrugations in some parts can make vehicular travel difficult. It has a reputation for damaging equipment but is quite trafficable to most well-prepared vehicles moving at steady speeds. As some river crossings are wide, access in the wet season can be restricted. Starting near Derby in Western Australia, the road ends 590 kilometres later at Kununurra.
7 Gunbarrel Highway
One of the earliest roads constructed by surveyor Len Beadell and his ‘Gunbarrel Road Construction’ crew as part of the early British atomic trials at Woomera, the Gunbarrel begins practically where the bitumen ends, just west of Yulara near Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory. About 120 kilometres into Western Australia the track heads off south-west and eventually ends at Wiluna, about 550 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie. This can be a long, difficult and tiring drive, even in well-prepared 4WD vehicles. (The Gunbarrel Highway should not be confused with the easier travelling Great Central Road between Leonora and the Northern Territory border. Both roads pass through quite remote areas.)
8 Oodnadatta Track
Running generally north-west from Marree in South Australia, this track passes the front door of the famous William Creek pub to end at Oodnadatta. Several western turnoffs will lead out to the Stuart Highway, and following the old Ghan railway through Finke goes on to Alice Springs. Some points of interest include unusual mound springs caused by artesian water, and a number of old building and railway ruins. Like any in this area, this track can be very slippery in any wet conditions.
9 Strzelecki Track
Beginning at Lyndhurst, 80 kilometres south of Marree, South Australia, the Strzelecki Track runs almost parallel to, but east of, the Birdsville Track. Fifty kilometres shorter, it ends at Innamincka on the bank of Coopers Creek, and almost on the South Australia–Queensland border. The famous ‘DIG’ tree, part of the story of the explorers Burke and Wills, is not far from there. A waterhole never known to run dry, abundant birdlife, the rebuilt A.I.M. hospital and Aboriginal rock art are some of the local attractions. The Moomba oil- and gas-field traffic has resulted in improved road surfaces.
10 Tanami Track
This track begins near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, leads north-west through Yuendumu and passes the well-known Rabbit Flat roadhouse. In Western Australia it joins with the Canning Stock Route, ending close to Halls Creek. It crosses the Central Desert, and has a considerable number of sandy patches which can make driving difficult in some places. Much of this track is in quite remote areas and help may not be readily available.
Find out more 4WD tips in 4WD Survival Guide, on sale now.
