Perth to Yulara via the dirt
 

Hey Lovely HUBBers,
in August i will take a week to travel from Perth to Yulara via the dirt. Has anyone ridden:

• the Old Gunbarrel Highway that passes Rawlinson's Range
• The Sandy Blight Junction Rd or
• Stokes pass down to the Mereenie Loop?

Any info on general terrain would be appreciated. I understand the conditions change regularly but i'd appreciate any info about the area and riding.
cheers,
JB

I drove Uluru to Warburton on the Gunbarrel in May 2013 in a Morris Mini Van. No issues with that section. At that point we drove down the Great Central to Kargoolie. Probably not a lot of help though.

central deserts
 

Hi there, I am not a bike rider but have previously provided the support vehicle for bikes wanting to experience the central deserts..

I have spent a lot of time out there , travelling all of the roads your asking about. the only rough section is along the Rawlinson range but in my opinion if you take it easy it is not at all difficult. Permits are required for that section, if you need specific info it might better with a PM.. if you like:thumbup1:

You may run into some heavy rain and possible flooded sections that time of year, but it can just as easily and more likely be dry and dusty - if your are travelling off the central road carry some extra supplies just in case it does flood, a couple of days usually sees conditions dry dramatically..

Fuel is available at regular intervals other than the Rawlinson section, all basic tourist maps have the fuel locations but the Hemma Great Desert Tracks map for that area is very easy to use with gps coordinates and points of interest - guess you could find it online easy enough.

Hope that helps a bit..
cheers .. Justin

www.gwww.globawww.globatrol.com

The 'easy' way is the Great Central Road from Laverton through to Yulara. Bitumen / main roads from Perth out to Kalgoorlie and north, although north of Kal you can find dirt roads that parallel the main highway.

Great Central Road includes parts of the old Gunbarrel Highway towards the WA / NT border. Road condition depends on how recently the grader has been through, but I found the WA side not too bad (sections of corrugation, but keeping it over 80kph smoothed them out). The NT side on the other hand was much rougher, particularly the washouts leading up to creek lines.

Day 23 & 24 – The Great Central Road | The Path Less Ridden

I did it last year in about April, the weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold, no rain while on the road but there had been recently prior, so the desert flowers were blooming.

The Meerenie loop between the West MacDonnell ranges and Kings Canyon was a really interesting road, highly recommended, although fairly rough when I went through - not unmanagable though.