One of Australia’s iconic tracks is the Outback Way also known as “The longest Shortcut". It connects Cairns in Queensland and Perth via a number of roads. The fun of course starts with the off-road parts from Boulia to Tennent Creek (= Plenty Highway), the Docker River and then Great Central Road from Kata Tjuta to Laverton in WA. Unfortunately, more and more stretches are getting bituminised, turning the shortcut into a real alternative for travels between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The part west of Australia’s red center is an amazing journey into deserts and semi deserts, never ending mountain ranges and vast blue skies. Most of the territories we cross are Indigenous Lands, which means transit permits are required. But that just adds to the excitement.
Docker River Road
We leave the Red Center. One last time, the three of us check out Uluru and Kata Tjuta while crossing through the national park and then follow the Docker River Road towards the setting sun. The country we are driving through is stunning. Initially, I thought this would all be flat and desert-like, but it’s not. Thanks to this season’s rain it is green with Desert She Oaks, a type of Casuarina, and Witchety Bushes. Did you know, the Casuarinas have a juvenile and an adult version? The young She Oaks are slender and straight with few branches and leaves close to their stem thus reducing evaporation while funnelling sparse rain water directly to their roots. Only when the roots manage to reach ground water, do the crowns spread out and start to look like proper trees and not like a tall version of Cousin It. Mother Nature is pretty clever!
At our lunch stop, we stumble into clusters of nests that resemble the indigenous woven baskets we saw at GoCA, adorned with “feathers”, in this case Spinifex leaves. Very pretty. I read that the Spinifex Hopping Mouse uses the prickly clumps to protect the entry to its den, one meter under the hot desert surface. Not sure if this is what I see. If so, then the mice are very very arty.
Close by are vents of the region’s ground burrowing termites using sturdier grasses to construct scenic entrance ways to their underground cities.
Short time later, we come across the first camel foot prints and then a lonely bull. He moves shyly into the nearby scrub. He might have had already unpleasant encounters with our species. Afghanis and their camels were introduced about a hundred years ago to facilitate the first desert crossings. The introduction of all-terrain vehicles made beast driven transfers of goods obsolete. To date, the number of wild camels in Australia has risen into the millions. As desert inhabitants, they feel comfortable here. And multiply to plague proportions. As it is often the case, attempts to reduce their numbers to a tolerable level were mostly unsuccessful. This bull honours us with his typical throaty bellow and trots safely away.
Lasseter’s Cave, not far from the WA border, is a welcome stop. It is another telling story of white men perishing in the relentless environment. Harold Lasseter was after a legendary reef of gold he first noticed in 1897. In 1931, on his last attempt to retrace the location, he perished. After his camels bolted, he found rescue in a cave for 25 days and then decided to walk the 140 k’s to Mt Olga to meet up with his relief party. Carrying only 1.7 litres of water and aided by an aboriginal family he made it to Irving Creek, 55 k’s from here and finally died. His diary was found several months afterwards in this exact cave. Fact or romantic fiction? The legends of Lasseter’s Reef exemplifies the role, resource exploration played in opening up the inhospitable interior of Australia. And still does. Today, of course, with heavy equipment. Camels and Aboriginal people are at best, alien onlookers.
Towards the border, the countryside is getting increasingly scenic with low mountain ranges either side. This is truly an understated part of the country. The indigenous lands we are traveling through are preserving this awesome part of the world since 2015. A special permit is required to traverse it to the border and another one for the lands beyond. The paperwork reminds me of travelling from Hamburg to Berlin through the then German Democratic Republic. We are talking pre 1989:
The permit (that no-one checks) is paramount. It seeks to limit traveller numbers, allowing traditional culture and environment to exist in a world of increasing western pressure.
The permit gives you a fixed time in which to cross.
One is required to stick to the highway, no matter what its condition. Having said that, this part of the road has recently been graded and is in pretty good nick.
Camping is only permitted at a special site outside of Kaltukatjarra (Pitjantjatjara for “Gathering of Bull Ants”), nestled in the scenic Petermann Ranges. Luckily, no bull ants around!
And strictly no alcohol.
I hope we get that right!!!!
Continued efforts to seal this road as “Australia’s Longes Shortcut” will change everything. Improved access means more travellers coming through and increased exposure to what one seeks to limit. An interesting experiment…
But besides that, what a nice part of the world! We share the spacious camp with only four more vehicles. It is quiet. The surrounding ranges glow in the setting sun. Truly a hidden gem in Australia’s vast desert heart.
Kaltukatjarra - 200km westl of Kata Tjuta, the middle of Nowhere
Imagine how hard it is to celebrate a birthday in the middle of nowhere. Takes some serious planning. A couple of muffins, a candle and a heartfelt song have to do. And there goes my man, testing the early moments of yet another year in a brand new sweater. Are those tears in the corner of his eyes?
Warakurna - Wild wild West
And just like that, we cross the border, back into WA. We are driving through the Gibson Desert with the first sand dunes starting at Warakurna. It is our first diesel stop with prices an eye watering $2.40 per litre! Before entering one of the three settlements along the way, you have to announce that you are approaching and intend to refuel. Ideally by phone. In a region where there is no reception. Instead, you go drive in slowly while honking your horn. Yess!
Only one person is permitted to visit at any one time with all the protection measures such as face masks. Warakurna is very strict on Covid and permit checks. Fair enough! Being an indigenous community, I am surprised to see that the guys at the roadhouse are all westerners.
The fuel bowsers are caged in and locked up - not kidding! No way you are allowed to fuel up yourself. An old geezer stumbles across the road, writes down the start and finishing status of the diesel filling, carefully locks everything up and takes Paul into the building. To pay, I assume. Phone and Internet connection are pretty unreliable in the outback and so is electricity. EFTPOS and Paywaive being questionable services, it is a good idea to always have cash on you. You never know. Paul obediently drags our cash reserves into the store. I nervously stop the time in the car. If he doesn't exit in five minutes, I'll let go of the dog! Ultimately, O and I jump out of the vehicle. Pretend we are stretching our legs. And collect derogatory glances.
Five / Four / Three / Two / And there he is with a fat grin. And two bags. Hot breakfast included. I'll breathe out. And then race to the toilet, breakfast or not.
Warburton Roadhouse - 230k’s down the road
Not sure who is running the show here. A gaggle of dark faces is stocking up on smokes and chicken wings. Curiously, none of the mandatory restrictions or checks are enforced. 1.5 meters is measured in centimetres. Locals are breathing down my neck as I pay for fuel and basic supplies. The people, the rules are set to protect, obviously don’t give a damn about potential viral motherships passing through. Strange country!
The desert turns into an ocean of golden Spinifex, seed heads swaying in the breeze. And in amongst them crashed cars. Shit loads! The Great Central Way is like a drive-through graveyard with one every 5 k’s. That’s 110 since the border and does not take into consideration the ones that are hidden behind bushes and trees! Ok, they will have accumulated over the past decade or so - one hopes. The dry climate preserve them nicely and they will just sit here forever. Some of them may even have working engines. Has to be a treasure trove for gatherers of old automobiles and hunters of free spare parts!
Tjukayirla Roadhouse - another 250 kilometres of dust and dirt
Noticing yet another set of caged bowsers, I ask the manager if he has a lot of issues with travellers not paying for fuel. “Nope”, he answers monosyllabically while fiddling with something under the counter. Does he have a shot gun there? The way he looks at me, I don’t dare dropping any cheeky remarks. This is truly the Wild West. The roadhouse has got another fifty fucked up cars stacked in the back yard. Hot showers, clean toilets and a gaudily droning generator in between. Probably keeps the beer cold for his own use. What else does one need.
After 570 k’s on the road, Paul’s bangers & mash are most satisfying and so is the walk with O. Can’t complain. Unfortunately we ran out of booze, so no celebratory drinks tonight. And I don't dare to haggling with Shotgun-Bill tfor his iron reserves. So tonight is not a fusel-happy birthday. Sorry, Paul.
At some stage we crossed into the Great Victoria Desert. With 350,000 square kilometres, she is Australia's largest and one of the driest with 200 to 250 mm of rain per year. If anything. Victoria is quite a social butterfly and surrounds herself with five other deserts: Little Sandy to the northwest, Gibson and Central Ranges to the north, Tirary-Sturt to the east and the southern Nullarbor Plain. This area made it into the news from 1956 to the mid-1960s. England tested atomic bombs and sent a Blue Streak long-range weapon from Woomera into the desert in 1964. In order to collect flight and detonation data, tracks were ploughed into the test area. And as a sideline one removed the last nomads, twenty Martu, men, women and children who, so far never had any contacts with white people. For their “protection”, the were relocated to Jigalong. The book "Cleared Out" published in 2005 and the film "Contact" documented in 2009, part exciting, partly shocking, depicts the impressions of the people affected and especially of the then 17-year-old Yuwali, who was part of the group at the time.
Some tracks still exist today. They are frequented by Aboriginal people who returned to the desert to live and are cherished by few adventurers and four-wheel drive addicts. The Great Central Way has its roots in these very tests of the 60s.
The most exciting part of the morning? Overtaking trucks and listening to their banter on UHF. Lots of swearing, talks about weekend plans, picking up a toolbox someone lost on the side road and the best way of how to get it back to its owner. Yep, truckies do care.
Push bikers! I don’t believe it! We saw them a couple of men camping at Tjukayirla and assumed that they parked their car outside the barbed wire compound. And here they are: 30 k’s down the track, fighting corrugation, dust and the relentless wind on their bikes. We muse about the preparations it takes to travel in a such a remote area. With towns that far apart it is not only a challenge to access water, food and spare parts. But what about the psychological strain. You can’t talk to each other or listen to the radio, unless you are travelling with a headset. Is that even legal? We stop at White Cross and Lake Throssell Lookout for a pee, a cuppa and to cheer on our fellow pedlars.
Laverton, Goldfields - Zivilisation
First signs of civilisation are apparent some 300 k’s down the road, just outside Laverton, with mine sites popping up everywhere. Trees are as red and dusty as the road. Car wrecks are more frequent too, maybe one per dusty kilometre. The region is enjoying a resources boom on the back of gold, nickel, uranium and lithium. Which shows in Laverton with a mix of lovely old buildings and some brand new infrastructure projects such as a massive pool, a brand new police station, shop and fuel depot, ring road plonked into its middle. Smells eerily like Newman. Service at the tourist centre is great and so is their coffee. Didn’t expect that. We receive a nice personalised tour around the old police station & goal by a couple as ancient as the original building… and then we top up on probably the dearest alcohol in the world.
On the way to Leonora we stop at the now dry Malcolm Dam. Signs warn about submerged rocks. Don’t enter the dam blind folded otherwise you may hit your toe on the only sizeable stone in its middle. That’s a real risk! Otherwise, swimming is safe. Amoeba and red algae that may have caused water borne illnesses in the past moved out together with the water. We don’t see any crocodiles or sharks. Only silver perch that was recently released into the lake: it’s now fish jerky. No fishing rod required, just a rake.
Leonora & Gwalia - 130km following the bitumen into the sun set
The lake was a brith draughty to stay, so Gwalia it is for the night, the ghost town. We set up camp on the hill, right next door to the museum and the old managers residence. The abyss, caused by reestablishing a modern mining operation in the nineties, and the resulting 1000 meter deep hole, are just meters away. Supposedly it is bone chilling year round, given that ghosts might be breathing down your neck. Me thinks it’s just friggin cold...
The whole region from here down to Norseman is know as the Goldfields. After first finds of the precious metal, a town rapidly sprang up in 1896. More than 2.5 million ounces were mined underground until 1963. Hoover, a young version of the later 31st President of the US, was appointed mine manager, when Bewick, Morning & Company bought the operations in 1897. At 23 he was only a baby face. To look more mature and respectable he was urged to grow a mo. In the half year of his appointment, and despite his age, he implemented an impressive number of technical and administrative innovations. At the mine’s peak in 1911, Gwalia housed 1,114 people. The population dropped to 40 after it closed in 1963 and fell into disrepair. Literally over night. The majority of the population left. Today, about a dozen places are occupied, hence being Australia’s largest “living” ghost town. The museum is housed in the old administration building and the manager’s quarters. It’s truly captivating. Part is dedicated to the legend that kept Gwalia on the map: a tribute to locals and previous resident sharing the ghost town’s vision and to thousands of hours of volunteer work. Hoover’s house today is a cafe and a working B&B picturesquely located right on the edge of the pit. Yes, there is some old, rusty machinery on display, but the majority of the exhibition deals with life in the mines, the organisation behind it, and the maturing of an industry in the face of a growing awareness of OH&S issues.
Early next morning O and I are desperately looking for a tree along deserted lanes. There aren’t an awful lot of private corners other than the odd shrub. Very few beautiful properties stand out in the ancient part of the town like the old shop and the pub. The surviving worker cottages are pretty derelict. But then again, on historic pics it appears that even in their heydays they were not more than ramshackle huts, hastily put together from logs, corrugated iron and what else could be found. Surprising that some still survived.
Most of the workers are now based in Leonora, 5 kilometres down the road. It is a small town that has retained its pioneer charm. The shop fronts still look like what one would like to see in Maryborough: vast bough shaped awnings, old style shop fronts, moulded timber posts and fretwork. And refreshingly, no barred up windows or locked up bowsers. Took it easy with a coffee and fuel stop in town before hitting the final leg of our journey.
Track Notes
From Roadhouse to Roadhouse
Yulara Resort - 146.9 c/L (13 June 2021)
To Warakurna - 333 km, $240,8 c/L
To Warburton - 231 km, $212.0 c/L
To Tjukayirla - 249 km, $225 c/L
To Laverton - 310 km, $167 c/L
To Leonora - 143 km, $147.9 c/L
From Camp to Camp
Yulara Resort (Lat -25.2387 / Lng 130.9901)
To Kaltukatjarra (Lat -24.8650 / Lng 129.0615) - 200 km
To Tjukayirla (Lat -27.1553 / Lng 124.5746) - 613 km
To Gwalia (Lat -28.9147 / Lng 121.3323) - 435 km
Links worth noting
Outback Highway, Australia’s Longest Shortcut (https://www.outbackway.org.au), Great Central Road (https://www.australiasgoldenoutback.com/business/attractions/great-central-road), Kaltukatjarra (https://www.macdonnell.nt.gov.au/communities/docker-river), Warakurna (https://warakurnaroadhouse.com.au), Great Victoria Desert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Victoria_Desert), Warburton Roadhouse (https://warburtonroadhouse.com.au/attractions.php), Tjukayirla Roadhouse (https://tjukayirlaroadhouse.com.au), Laverton (https://www.laverton.wa.gov.au), Leonora & Gwalia (https://www.leonora.wa.gov.au)
Cool music and reads to keep you occupied
“Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert” by Sue Davenport, Peter Johnson and Yuwali, published as a book in 2005 and as the critically acclaimed movie documentary “Contact” of 2009
Things worth noting
When camping along the Great Central Road, be aware that poison bait is used to control the number of wild dogs. A dog that has ingested the deadly 1070 bait may be salvaged by inducing vomiting immediately. However, it is best to use a muzzle to prevent poisoning in the first instance.
The best time to visit the red center is Australia’s winter. Days can be in their low twenties. Expect frost as the sun sets. If hiking is your thing, prepare for early starts during autumn and spring. It is not advisable to hike at temperatures above and beyond 30 degrees.
Transit permits are required to traverse the aboriginal lands between Kata Tjuta and Leonora. These permits allow you to cross the land along the main roads but not to enter any aboriginal communities. It is not advisable to carry and it is illegal to distribute / share alcohol. Hefty penalties apply.
Central Land Council (www.clc.org.au) - Register online to obtain the four week transit permit for free allowing you to cross the region of the Peterman Aboriginal Land Trust between Kata Tjuta and the WA border.
Ngaanyatjarra Council (www.ngcouncil.org.au) - Register online for free to obtain the three day transit permit allowing you to cross the lands between Laverton and the NT border.
Handy Helpers
Staying connected - When travelling outback, Telstra and Optus are by far the most reliable providers. Vodaphone and Co are an option for metropolitan areas only.
Going online - If you are travelling for a longer period or, like us, change locations more than your sedentary friends and colleagues, make sure to change all your important contacts such as bank, credit card institutions, insurances, property agents, car and camper registration to online services, so you do not miss any vital statements and update requests.
AAR Registration - When travelling interstate with pets it is required to have them microchipped and have all vaccinations documented and up to date.
The Australasian Animal Registry AAR is an easy way to update your pets microchip and residence details. You may do this online via aar.org.au.
Organising your Trip
Hema Australian Road & 4WD Atlas - Nothing beats the good old paper maps (no power or batteries required)
FuelMap Australia App - Looking for the cheapest fuel in town
GoogleMaps App - Organise your trip. When available, satellite views are superb to find that little private spot for the night off the beaten track.
MainroadsWA App (https://mrw-aue-tvlmp--appsrv-prd.azurewebsites.net/Home/Map) - This is a great little tool that will keep you up to date with any road closures be it for road works or severe weather events. Seriously handy for travelling outback.
Travel & Transit Permits
ServicesWA - Allows you to stay up to date with any travel restrictions imposed by the WA government. It is home to your electronic proof of vaccination (in conjunction with the Medicare App), to electronically signing in for the purpose of contact tracing and your G2G passes (together with the G2G App). Hopefully no-one will ever need to use this one again.
G2G Pass (https://www.g2gpass.com.au) - Entering WA will need to register his intentions via G2G up to 60 days in advance.
Accommodation
WikiCamps App - Together with local intel, WikiCamps is our most valued companion in organising what to see and where to stay, wether it is for free or requires a fee. As you are travelling through pretty remote areas with little to no phone reception, do yourself a favour and download in “Settings” the offline maps for “Australia (West)” which includes WA, NT and SA. While using the app you may toggle to the relevant offline content for places to see and stay even if you are out of range.
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