Gunbarrel Highway: Difference between revisions

* '''Central Australia (Warburton) Aboriginal Land''' (WA) - obtain permit from Aboriginal Lands Trust, [http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/DIA/Contacts.aspx Contact details]; [http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/Land/Permits/ Entry permits]

* '''[http://www.clc.org.au/ Petermann Aboriginal Land]''' (NT) - obtain permit from Central Land Council, [http://www.clc.org.au/ Home page]

* '''Laverton''', ''08'' 9031 1000.

* '''WA''', 1800 013 314

* '''NT''', 1800 246 199

* '''Warakurna Roadhouse''', ''08'' 8956 7344.

Although this stretch of 350 kilometerskilometres was not part of the old Gunbarrel, it is now generally considered to form an integral part of a Gunbarrel Highway trip. [[Wiluna]] is a small settlement with a hotel, a caravan park and a small supermarket. It lies 183 km. east of [[Meekatharra]] and the [[Great Northern Highway]]. A sign with various distances points you in the right direction.

The Gunbarrel starts as an asphalt road but becomes a maintained gravel road after a few kilometerskilometres. It services stations in the area and deteriorates gradually the further you leave Wiluna behind you. However, there should be no problem reaching ''Carnegie Station'' after a day's drive. If you don't make it, you can camp at ''Harry Johnston Water'', 283 kilometerskilometres from Wiluna.

The homestead at ''Carnegie Station'' can offer homestead accommodation in cabins or you can put up your tent. Visitors can use the kitchen and take a hot shower. You can buy limited supplies and fuel. (The next fuel outlet is at Warburton, 489 kilometerskilometres away.) If need be, minor mechanical repairs can be done.

East of Carnegie the road gets rougher: it is not maintained and corrugations, stones and eroded sections are quite common on this stretch of 237 kilometerskilometres. On particularly bad stretches, you often see tracks on one or both sides of the road which are marginally better. This is also the remotest part of the Gunbarrel Highway as described here.

After 151 kilometerskilometres you arrive at the Eagle Highway crossroads, and shortly after that you have to cross the Mungilli Claypan. Normally, there shouldn't be any problem, but after heavy rain you should make a detour around the claypan (beware not to get stuck in the soft ground). Artesian water is available at the Geraldton Historical Society Bore, 205 kilometerskilometres from ''Carnegie''. One kilometerkilometre further you enter the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve. Another 31 kilometerskilometres brings you to ''Everard Junction'' where the Gunbarrel and [[Gary Highway]]s meet. A plaque with distances to various points marks the spot.

This stretch of 252 kilometerskilometres may contain some very eroded sections, but near the end the worst of the Gunbarrel is behind you. Continue east on the Gunbarrel and after 8 kilometerskilometres you see a track on the right that leads to Mount Everard. In reality this is not much more than a rocky outcrop, but if you care to walk a bit uphill you're rewarded with a panoramic view of the Gibson Desert. If you continue on this side track it will take you back to the Gunbarrel. About 33 kilometerskilometres further you leave the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve and after another 15 kilometerskilometres there is a second track on the right, this one leading to Mount Beadell. At the top there is a memorial for Len Beadell, the so-called last great explorer of Australia, who died in 1995.

91 kilometerskilometres from Everard Junction you arrive at Notabilis Bore. This is a well-known camping spot and if you're in need of water you can bring it to the surface by means of a hand pump. Len Beadells Tree, 25 kilometerskilometres from this bore is one of the many construction landmarks along this part of the Gunbarrel. The spot is marked by a plaque. Eleven kilometerskilometres further the old Gunbarrel continues straight ahead, but from here on it is abandoned. We'll follow the Heather Highway on the right.

For 38 kilometerskilometres the Heather Highway runs more or less in a southerly direction, after which you have to turn left. At this point the road surface improves dramatically and follows a straight line southeast. Another 46 kilometerskilometres brings you to the [[Laverton-Warburton Road]], which is part of the Great Central Road. Turn left again and after another 41 kilometerskilometres you reach Warburton Roadhouse.

From Warburton the road becomes more straightforward. On the 230-kilometerkilometre stretch to Warakurna you simply have to follow the maintained gravel road that lies before you. Be aware that on leaving Warburton, you'll enter the Central Australia (Warburton) Aboriginal Land, for which you need to have a permit. (See the 'Prepare' section above.)

The road lies more or less on the border of the Gibson Desert to the north and the Great Victoria Desert to the south. 213 kilometerskilometres from Warburton a track joins the road from the left. This is where the abandoned section of the Gunbarrel which started at the Heather Highway turnoff ends. For a short distance you'll be driving on the real thing again.

Sixteen kilometerskilometres further, you arrive at a T-junction. On the left lielies the Giles Meteorological Station, which might be open for visitors and Warakurna Community, which is off-limits. Turn right and after a few hundred meters you arrive at the roadhouse, which again has some basic facilities and supplies, except for mechanical repairs.

This last stretch is 332 kilometerskilometres long. Continue past Warakurna Roadhouse for 29 kilometerskilometres, where you'll have to turn left and leave the real Gunbarrel behind you. After another 36 kilometerskilometres you pass the southern end of the Schwerin Mural Crescent. Thirty kilometerskilometres further, you arrive at the Western Australia-Northern Territory border. From this point the Great Central Road is known as the Docker River Road. Here you enter the Petermann Aboriginal Land for which you also need a permit. (See the 'Prepare' section above.)

Ten kilometerskilometres from the border you pass near Kaltukatjara (Docker River) Community, which is off-limits. A possible camping spot is Lasseters Cave, 38 kilometerskilometres further, situated on the eastern bank of the Hull River. In the beginning of the 20th century, Harold Lasseter claimed to have discovered a gold reef in this area, but he couldn't remember its exact location afterwards. In 1931, on one of his searches he sheltered in this cave and died shortly after. Lasseter's gold reef was never found, and now it is one of the many legends circulating in outback Australia.

135 kilometerskilometres past Lasseter's Cave you enter [[Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park]]. If you want to visit Kata Tjuta (formerly known as ''The Olgas'') at this moment, turn left 6 kilometerskilometres past the park border. To continue to Yulara, head right. After about 1350 kilometerskilometres of gravel, sand and stones, you're back to driving on asphalt. Fifteen kilometerskilometres past the intersection you pass the Kata Tjuta viewing area, and another 25 kilometerskilometres brings you to another intersection. To visit Uluru (formerly known as ''Ayers Rock'') you have to turn right, while [[Yulara]] is 8 kilometerskilometres to the left. You can now rightly say that you've 'done the Gunbarrel.'

<tr><th align="center"! colspan=5>| Gunbarrel Highway distance table</th></tr>

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