Stuart Highway
Photo: Prince Roy, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Stuart Highway known as "the Explorer's Way" is a highway running north to south through the middle of Australia, linking Darwin (Northern Territory) with Port Augusta (South Australia).
UnderstandThe highway spans 3,200 kilometres, a vast magnificent country of arid lands in the south via Central Australia to the tropical Top End.
PrepareThe route leads through very sparsely populated outback, so while there are services every 100 km or so, there are some basic precautions to take:
Get inEntry in the south from Adelaide 305 km away via Port Wakefield Road (Princes Highway A1) or from cities further east such as Melbourne and Sydney.
DriveWhile this section of the route is not part of the Stuart Highway, it is still a major waypoint to go to the Stuart. This section is about 300 km, so don't underestimate how long it will take to travel.
PrecautionsThere are services around every 200 km along the highway, but not all are open 24 hours. In many cases you will have to plan your trip so arrive at fuelling stops when they are open.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Stuart Highway" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Prince Roy, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons