A. The Great Central Road is 1,123 kilometres of mostly unsealed road between Laverton and Yulara and can be in variable condition. The wrecks that line the road and the broken parts on the road show the casualty rate. Fifty kilometres of this span between Kata Tjuta and Yulara within the National Park is a very good sealed road. See our Travelogue. It is part of heOutback Way, and epic route across Australia.
Serviced and powered campsites, motel style and back packer accommodation is available
at Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Warburton Roadhouse and Warakurna Roadhouse. They also supply meals and some mechanical repairs.
Your transit permits do not permit you to leave the road and road reserve (being thirty metres either side of the road) other than to visit the roadhouses in the communities. Camping is only permitted in authorised campgrounds whilst transiting Aboriginal land.
The longest distance between fuel outlets is 254 kilometres between Tjukayirla Roadhouse and Warburton. See distrances hereunder.
Rest areas and camping sites west to east
• 50 kilometres north east of Laverton; a
small rest area on south east side of road overlooking Giles Breakaway. Coordinates from Google maps -28.277664,122.698657
• 120 kilometres north east of Laverton; rest area on south east side which has a track heading south from the back of the rest area,
and about 600 metres along this track there are level cleared areas which appear to have been used as a roadworks camp. This
rest area is approximately thirty kilometres east of Cosmo Newbery. Coordinates from Google maps -27.911913,123.071182
• 195 kilometres north east of Laverton; medium sized rest area south east side.
• 253 kilometres
north east of Laverton or 53 kilometres west of Tjukayirla Roadhouse is a loop of old road which spans three or four kilometres. Close
to Lake Throssell.
• 310 kilometres north east of Laverton; Tjukayirla Roadhouse
• 409 kilometres north east of Laverton or 155 kilometres west of Warburton; rest area on the north side, known as Paradise Camp. Coordinates
from Google maps -26.892679,125.517151
• 432 kilometres north east of Laverton or 132 kilometres
west of Warburton, as rest area known as Desert Surf Central is two kilometres west of the hunt Oil Road Junction. Tracks go
around a Breakaway but I did not see it or know if it is easy to access. Coordinates from Google maps -26.839073,125.655494
and -26.837685,125.658034 both as entrances.
• 474 kilometres north east of Laverton or 90 kilometres
west of Warburton on south east side, track runs off to the west side of a red breakaway with a sort of small cave. There is
a network of tracks to old gravel pits over the ridge, and a track which returns to the road 500 metres west from what was at the
time an actively used gravel pit. We had an enforced overnight stay there after losing a spring hanger on the caravan. Coordinates
from Google maps -28.277664,122.698657
• 791 kilometres north east of Laverton; Warburton Roadhouse
• 653 kilometres north east of Laverton or 89 kilometres east of Warburton; Yarla Kutjarra Rest Stop and picnic area south side, over
the dune with plenty of room in a large flat area.
• 791 kilometres north east of Laverton; Warakurna Roadhouse. We stayed at this campground behind the roadhouse to be on site for the Giles weather station tour which was a real highlight. Unfortunately staffing cuts mean the tours are no longer possible, but balloon releases can still be observed from the car park. See times on Giles Weather Station
• 891 kilometres
east of Laverton or two kilometres west of the Docker River community turnoff and 5 kilometres east of the North Territory/West
Australia Border; Kaltukatjara (Docker River) campground. Kaltukatjara campground location amongst desert oaks against the backdrop
of the hills is lovely, and it is just off the road a few kilometres away from the settlement so quiet. As often happens,
facilities had been trashed, water not working so toilets and cold showers in tin sheds at each campsite useless. Honesty box
was also smashed. Fees were set at $5 per person per night. We chose not to stay.
In addition there are several
other strips of old road as well as disused gravel pits should you need to stop.
Distances are approximate and taken from
my travel notes, Google maps and other mapping sources.
Fuel – Diesel and Opal Petrol only with no gas available on the Great Central Road
Your permit allows you to enter the communities
for the purpose of purchasing fuel or supplies. We were travelling west and filled up at Yulara which was the cheapest in the
area at that time (September 2008), and that got us through to Tjukayirla road house (just, as we had to back track to find a spring
bracket). Should you have only a short range for your vehicle, you can check fuel availability a few days ahead, and to check
current fuel prices. You may need cash to pay for fuel in some communities.
Cosmo Newbery Roadhouse (08) 9037 5969 Currently closed to visitors due to Covid restrictions
Tjukayirla Roadhouse (08) 9037 1108 Open
Warburton
Roadhouse (08) 8956 7656 Visitors may access the roadhouse and visitor
centre only
Warakurna Roadhouse (08) 8956 7344 Visitors may access the
roadhouse only
Docker River Store (08) 8956 7373 Visitors may access the roadhouse
Websites for Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Warburton Roadhouse and Warakurna Roadhouse show fuel prices
and road conditions, but check date of last update as it can be spasmodic.
Distances between fuel outlets
are
Laverton to Cosmo Newbery (with a short drive in as now bypassed) 89
Cosmo Newbery to Tjukayirla Roadhouse 221
Tjukayirla Roadhouse to Warburton (about one kilometre from road) 254
Warburton
to Warakurna 227
Warakurna
to Docker River (about one kilometre from road) 102
Docker River to Yulara 230
Note closures due to Covid restrictions may no longer be in force
Permits
You will need two permits to transit the Great Central Road. These are free if cost, easy to obtain and are
for transit only. If you intend to stay on Aboriginal land for any other purpose, you will need to apply for an entry permit
which will take longer to obtain. There is a good Telstra phone signal at Yulara if you need to apply on line.
From
the Department of Aboriginal Affairs on line instantly for the Western Australian side, or from the Alice Springs office of the Ngaanyatjarra
Office in Alice Springs in person or by fax office hours only (eg from Yulara Visitor Centre or Tjukayirla Roadhouse). Allow
one working day for processing. This permit only allows for three days of travel, so time frames need to be known and accurate,
and three days is inadequate for extended sightseeing. If more time is required, a special application will need to be submitted.
From the Central Lands Council in Northern Territory (CLC), to travel the 185 kilometres you can select a travel window of up
to three weeks. This is helpful if you obtain the permit at the CLC office in Alice Springs and tour west on an uncertain time frame. The permit can be obtained on line and is usually available within 24 hours in weekdays. You may not camp other than at the
authorised campground Kaltukatjara near the Western Australian border.
You will also need a park pass to visit the Uluru-Kata
Tjuta National Park. This costs $25 per person (aged 16 years) and is valid for three days. Although you do not need to
pass the toll gate when coming in from the west, it is still a requirement to purchase a pass unless you are travelling through without
sightseeing. When travelling though from east to west, show your transit permits at the toll booth and explain you are
travelling not visiting.
See more about Permits
Giles weather station tour, outdoor display featuring the Len Beadell team grader and the remnants of the Blue Streak Rocket. In addition to room related displays there is a display dedicated to surveyor Len Beadell. The Giles Weather Station is one
kilometre north of Warakurna Roadhouse. The weather station operates on South Australian time.
Read about the weather
station, and see the times of tours and daily weather balloon releases.
What to see
Giles Breakaway fifty kilometres north east of Laverton, on the south east side of the road.
There are
numerous rock holes along the road. These can be hard to spot unless you see birds flying out of the holes, as they are valuable
but not reliable watering points.
Empress Springs are 64 kilometres north of the Great Central Road along the David Carnegie
Road (four wheel drive recommended), turning north 15 kilometres west of the Tjukayirla Roadhouse. The spring is inside a cave accessed
by a chain ladder into a seven metre deep rock hole.
Tjukayirla is a roadhouse with no town or community nearby,
owned as an investment by the Blackstone Aboriginal Corporation. Blackstone is a few hundred kilometres away heading towards
Surveyor General's Corner. This roadhouse is managed by a staff of three and that certainly is remote living.
At
Warburton visit the Tjulyuru Regional Arts Gallery.
Schwerin Mural Crescent. This range has the unusual name of Schwerin Mural Crescent. Discovered in 1875 by Ernest
Giles the range was named after the Princess of Schwerin (a province which is now part of Germany).
Lasseter’s Cave by the Hull River is forty kilometres east of Docker River, with a one kilometre drive to the parking area on the
south side of the road. Read the sad story of Lasseter’s last days
Len Beadell placed a plaque with the names of his team members on 9 April 1960 on this lone ghost gum. It is 65 kilometers east
of Warakurna. See more about Len Beadell
Road conditions
See the websites for the roadhouses for up to date road conditions. The Great Central Road may be closed following rain. This is a long, at present mainly unsealed route which can be very corrugated. Sturdy off road caravans or trailers recommended.
Parts of the Great Central Road are being progressively sealed. See schedules on News and updates at the bottom of this page.
Quarantine
If travelling east to west, don’t forget the quarantine as you enter Western Australia. There is a sign and
bin which is mostly unmanned twenty kilometres north east of Laverton. Note the advice re preparing fruit and vegetables.
Honey is not permitted into Western Australia, nor is soil or any type. Boxes which have carried fruit of vegetables will also need
to be discarded.
Communications
Telstra mobile phone service between Laverton and Yulara is confined to Warburton and Warakurna/Giles. For remote travelling consider taking a satellite telephone, PLB or other communication devise. See communications for options.
June 2014 and
Updated May 2017
Covid restrictions updated February 2021
Australia So Much to See
Our Great Central Road travelogue has taken us from Yulara (Uluru) to Laverton via the Great
Central Road. Preceding travelogues explore the areas in and around Alice Springs.
This route shares the Stuart
Highway for around seventy kilometres north of Alice Springs, which we travelled in 2009 before we continued north towards Darwin. The Plenty Highway commences and continues to the Queensland Border.
The route continues through Queensland on the now
fully sealed Donohue Highway to Boulia, terminating at the Diamantina Developmental Road (Boulia - Mount Isa Road) around ten kilometres
north of Boulia. From there the Kennedy Developmental Road (Winton Road) continues to Winton. See our travelogues commencing
here for Boulia to Winton.
Sealing is progressively continuing on these outback roads, with a target of having all but 900 kilometres sealed by 2021, and aiming for complete sealing of these roads by 2025/26.
As announced in March 2019, from the combined funding, Western Australian section of the route would receive a further $95.5 million and seal 155 kilometres; the Northern Territory section receiving a further $62.5 million and seal 97.25 kilometres; and the Queensland section a further $42 million and seal 58.7 kilometres. In total 310.95 kilometres will be sealed or widened.
Follow our updates on ourNews Pages
Updated April 2019