The drive from Perth and Darwin, of which Great Northern Highway forms the major part, is the longest capital city to capital city drive in Australia. At 4,042 km it is 100 km more than Perth to Sydney; 1,200 km more than Melbourne to Cairns; 1,015 km more than Adelaide to Darwin; 1620 km more than Darwin to Brisbane.
It passes through some of the most isolated areas on the Australian continent - if not on the planet - and only two towns along the way have a polulation of over 4,000 people - Newman and Port Hedland. Apart from perhaps the drive from east to west across the Nullarbor Plain, it is without the question Australia's ultimate road trip, taking in every kind of terrain, landscape and vista that Australia has to offer.
It is a long trip but it is a sealed road all they way, so it is not the sole domain of 4-wheel drive vehicles. Though most of the distance is through country with very limited services, there are roadhouses and small towns and accommodation all the way, so making the journey is by no means out of reach of the average motorist if care is taken.
The highway starts in Perth in the south west as National Highway 95, and passes through the tropic of capricorn somewhere north of Meekatharra, and becomes National Highway 1 after meeting North West Coastal Highway south of Port Hedland. Great Northern Highway terminates in the Kimberley town of Wyndham.
Handrail Pool, Karajini National Park
Starting from Perth, it traverses the Western Australian Wheatbelt and Mid West agricultural region before entering the Murchison, scene of many a goldrush in years gone by. Next it enters the Pilbara, known for its iron ore mines and the stunning canyons of Karijini National Park. It meets with the coast at Port Hedland, where some of the largest ship in the world load iron ore.
Iron Ore haulpack at Pannawonica
From Port Hedland, the highway treks north to Broome, then inland through the Eastern Kimberley region to Kununurra. Along the way are the spectacular Bungle Bungles, Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek, to name but a few of the natural attractions.
Emma Gorge, El Questro Wilderness Park
Wyndham is the oldest and northernmost town in Western Australia. It was established in 1885 as a result of a gold rush at Halls Creek, and it is now a port and service centre for the East Kimberley. Wyndham is located at the west arm of Cambridge Gulf, an inlet of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf of the Timor Sea. El Questro Wilderness Park is accessible from either the King River Road, or the Gibb River Road. Offers various forms of accommodation: luxury homestead, bungalows, tented cabins and camping. Meals, stores, fuel, gorge walks, thermal spring, gorge cruise, heli-flights, horse riding, bush walks, and Wandjina Aboriginal Art are also available.
From Kunnunura the route changes its name to the Victoria Highway. After crossing the border into the Northern Territory, it meets Stuart Highway at Katherine, home of the stunning Katherine Gorge. From Katherine it is a 300 km drive north along the Stuart Highway to Darwin.
Katherine Gorge, Nitmiluk National Park
The fourth largest town in the Northern Territory, Katherine is a regional centre that has retained its importance due to the growth in regional tourism. The town is the place from which to explore the stunning natural attractions of the region, which include Katherine Gorge, Edith Falls, Cutta Cutta Caves and Douglas Hot Springs.
Some people much prefer the coastal route to Port Hedland, closer to the coast, with more facilities and a route not so desolate. This follows the Brand Highway and North West Coastal Highway - aroute that is National Route 1 from Perth - through Geraldton, Carnarvon, and Karratha on the way to Port Hedland. There are plenty of excellent desinations to call on along the way, so allow plenty of time to see them all.
HMAS Sydney II memorial, Geraldton
The fourth largest city in Western Australia, Geraldton is a port city and an important centre for mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism. Geraldton is an ideal base for exploring the mid-west region - Dongara, Greenough, the Abrolhos Islands - and a well serviced stopping place for travellers heading north to Northampton, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, Carnarvon, Ningaloo Reef, North West Cape, the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.
Castle Rock, Kalbarri
The coastal town of Kalbarri (166 km north) has developed in recent years from an isolated community of fishermen and holiday shacks to a holiday destination offering a wide choice of activities and accommodation. The two drawcards that have made this so are the Murchison River gorges off the road leading to the town and the stark, dramatic coastline to the south. It is around them that most of the activities on offer to visitors revolve.
Kalbarri National Park is famous for its spectacular scenery, which features rugged coastal cliffs and towering river gorges, and its magnificent springtime display of wildflowers. The 80-kilometre Murchison River, rising in the west, has cut a 170-metre deep canyon through the park on its way to the sea at Gantheaume Bay.
Skipjack Point, Cape Peron National Park, Shark Bay
Shark Bay has become one of Western Australia's most popular travel destinations, but there are no resorts or man-made attractions here. That's because Shark Bay is all about coming face to face with nature and encountering flora and fauna in an unspoilt natural wilderness environment.
A World Heritage Area that covers more than 2.2 million hectares and has a coastline more than 1,500 km long, it is the westernmost part of Australia. Shark Bay features landscapes and seascapes both colourful and diverse, from red and white sands and turquoise lagoons to plunging cliffs and soaring dunes.
Carnarvon jetty
983km north of Perth, Carnarvon is the commercial centre of the highly productive Gascoyne region. The town's warm winters, hot summers and a tropical appearance, with bougainvilleas, hibiscus blooms and banana plantations, clearly announce to northern travellers that they have now entered Western Australia's tropical region. Carnarvon is located at the only point on the Australian coastline where the desert reaches out into the sea. Wildflowers abound in season; mulla mullas, starflowers and the Ashburton Pea intermingle with fields of everlastings.
Sights around Carnarvon Township include the sheep station that became a Carnarvon OTC Tracking Station in the 1960s. The disused tracking station, established by NASA, was part of its worldwide space tracking network between 1964 and 1974. Neil Armstrongs famous words upon landing on the moon in July of 1969 "One small step for man. One giant step for mankind" were made possible by this outback installation. The Carnarvon space-tracking station played a vital role in the Apollo Space Missions and was the means through which the world first heard these historic worlds.
A trip across near-desert landscape from Carnarvon to Point Quobba takes you to some of the most interesting sights on the whole of the Western Australian coast. There are superb coastal cliffs - the sea here is actively eroding the shoreline leaving jagged rocks, and little soil or vegetation remains up to 50 metres inland. But hat most people come to see are the point's blowholes, a look at an unusual salt loading facility and the wreck of the Korean Star. The coastline is characterised by spectacularly beautiful craggy cliffs, beautiful white sandy beaches and a dramatic variety of seascapes. During World War 2 the Air Force bombed the main blowhole to try and lessen it's effect. It was thought that the spout could be used as a navigation marker by enemy ships, even as far as 50 kilometres offshore.
Cape Cuvier (78km north) is a picturesque natural port close to the most westerly point of Australia. Driving along the spectacular rugged coastline you will be able to see the last remnants of the bulk carrier Korean Star that ran aground and broke up following a cyclone in the area in 1988. From high up on the sixty metre cliff, in the winter months, you can see whales and sharks pass by feeding on the schools of fish. Salt is stockpiled and a wharf provides mooring for bulk carriers, but this is all off limits to the public.
Ningaloo Reef, Coral Bay
Coral Bay is as idyllic as the name suggests. There, on white sand beaches, you're just a few steps from the world's largest fringing reef - the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. Dive, snorkel or fish in clear turquoise waters and immerse yourself in marine life encounters. Nearby are the ruggedly beautiful canyons of Cape Range.
Charles Knife Canyon, Cape Rank National Park
North West Cape is the large peninsula that separates Exmouth Gulf from the Indian Ocean on the north west tip of the continent. It is a locality full of contrasts; the traveller passes from high plateau shrub land to deep ocean, eucalypt woodlands to deep rocky gorges, within just a few kilometres of each other. The scenery is quite breathtaking. Many examples of Aboriginal art appear in the caves and rock overhangs of Cape and Rough Ranges on North West Cape.
The town of Exmouth on North West Cape came into being in 1964 when it was constructed as the support town for the former US-run Harold Holt US Navy Communications Base. Exmouth's claim to fame is the fact that it is the closest Australian mainland town to the continental shelf. This results in there being very rich fishing grounds within close reach. In addition, it has colourful coral reefs very close to the shore.
Dampier
The Pilbara Coast is a complex array of river mouths, iron ore ports, peninsulas, islands, and a tropical cyclone susceptible zone. Karratha and Port Hedland are the Pilbara coast's mining hubs – relatively large towns with good transport connections and plenty of services.
Burrup Peninsula
With over 700 historic Indigenous archaeological sites and 1,000,000 rock engravings (Petroglyphs), many dating back some 30,000 years, the Burrup Peninsula is the perfect place to discover the unique art, history and culture of the Aboriginal people of the Pilbara.
You can connect to Karajini National Park from any of the towns on the Pilbara coast, such as Dampier, Karratha, Roebourne and Port Hedland.
The area north of the Tropic of Capricorn is best seen between April and October when the weather is cooler and there are no cyclones to leave you stranded or washed out. During those months, the attractions along the way draw in local, interstate and overseas tourists, of which a large number use four wheel drives towing caravans, so if anything happens along the way, you generally won't have to wait long before someone to comes along and offers assistance.
The Kimberley and Pilbara receive periods of torrential rainfall between November and May. At some locations, it is not unusual for the road to be underneath metres of water. However as little as 100mm of water is sufficient to cause a major accident if driven into at high speed.
The Great Northern Highway passes through desert so you should take plenty of water and fuel with you on your trip. It is a good idea to take food with you too, because there are not many stops on the way, though your support of the roadhouses does ensure they stay in business.
Whichever direction you are travelling, it is essential that your vehicle is in good condition, you are stocked up with adequate supplies, at the beginning of these sections.
Bungle Bungles
Traveling this road along its more isolated sections requires planning, and careful preparation. There are sections that have differing hazards, and to be warned of them is well worth taking note. Feral and native animals tend to be near the highway at dawn and sunset. It is a case of if you do not have bull/kangaroo bars and you are driving the length of the highway is to plan your travel around the hazards.
Stray cattle and other grazing animals are particularly dangerous and prevalent throughout the Kimberley and Pilbara as potential roadkill. Kangaroos and wedge-tailed eagles, although smaller, are also very dangerous, with wedge-tailed eagles particularly immobile after gorging on other roadkill. These are most prevelant at dawn and dusk when they come out to roadside puddles and waterholes for a drink.
Driving at night is best avoided; being equipped with a good frontal roo bar and driving spotlights can help slightly, but is still very dangerous.
If you have not experienced being in a car being hit by an emu, camel, goat, kangaroo or other animals, it is well worth considering camping or stopping at night. If you do that, you should utilise allocated parking bays, away from the main traffic.
Mobile phone coverage along the route is varied and also if your have difficulty with a vehicle, recovery costs to the nearest populated centre can be expensive.
Design by W3layouts
