Any trip to the Great Victoria Desert is not to be undertaken lightly. It is vast, remote and there are few facilities. You must be totally self-sufficient. Please see out self-drive section for further information on vehicle preparation. The roads are all-rough and require a high clearance four wheel drive. You will require a number of permits from Aboriginal and Government bodies, depending on your intended route.
There are four main routes into the desert, the Ann Beadell Highway, the Vokes Hill Corner to Cook Road, the Connie Sue Highway and the Great Central Road from Laaverton through to Warburton.
The Ann Beadell Highway is the only track with public access that allows a full east-west crossing linking Coober Pedy in the east with Laverton in the west. It is approximately 1325 km in length with one possible refuel area at the Ilkurka Roadhouse T:61(0)89 0371147. The roadhouse is 165 km west of the South Australian/West Australian border. It is open Monday to Saturday 8am-5pm. They have eftpos but not fuel cards or Amex/Diners.
The “highway” in reality is a rough dirt track suitable for high clearance 4X4 only. The Anne Beadell takes you through the Dog Fence to Tallaringa Reserve, Emu Atomic Site, the Unnamed Conservation Park, Serpentine Lakes, Neales Junction Nature Reserve and the Yeo Lakes Nature Reserve, finishing in the Western Australian goldfields at Laverton.
Vokes Hill Corner to Cook Road is a total distance of 280kms. The northern end is mainly sandhill travelling, running against the prevailing direction, the southern end opens up onto the Nullarbor. The track passes numerous Aboriginal wells, superb stands of black oaks, some marble gums and the spectacle of the Nullarbor, however there are no signposts and it receives little traffic.
The Connie Sue Highway was put in by Len Beadell and leaves the Great Central Road just south of Warburton, look for the white sign on the 44 gallon drum on the left hand side of the road, the track is not easy to spot. It travels firstly through sandhills and then opens up onto some wonderful breakaways that run along the edge of the Gibson and Great Victoria Deserts. Don’t miss out on Woods Gnamma Hole, where if you look about you may find a tree blazed by Hann in 1908. Climb to the top of Hann Tabletop Hill for a great view. Further south you enter the Great Victoria Desert, cross the Anne Beadell Highway at Neales Junction, travel through some more breakaway country before opening out onto the Nullarbor for a bumpy ride down to Rawlinna on the Transcontinental Railway Line. The Connie Sue is a total distance of 650kms. |
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