How To Get To Uluru / Ayer's Rock By Road

No trip to Australia is complete without visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Uluru / Ayer’s Rock, an 863 meter high sandstone ediface located in the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park of central Australia.   

The 1,326 square kilometer park is also home to the thirty six large domed rocks known as Kata Tjuta, or Mount Olga, situated just 40 kilometers away from Uluru / Ayer's Rock. 
And of course there's no better way to access these iconic landmarks than by way of a road trip through Australia’s desert outback.  

Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park 
 Image courtesy of - www.tourismnt.com.au 

The park is located 18 kilometers south of the inland resort town of Yalaru which is situated in the very south of Australia’s Northern Territory.   
Yalaru, which is served by the Connellan Airport for those who don't wish to drive there, is located along the Lassetter Highway, 428 kilometers south west of Alice Springs, the largest settlement located in Australia’s outback.

Alice Springs, which is also served by an airport and a railway station, is located along the Stuart Highway 1,696 kilometers south of Darwin and 1,500 kilometers north of Port Augusta. 
Visitors staying in Alice Springs can take a daily bus to Uluru / Ayer’s Rock, or they can drive to the small town of Erldunda and join the Lassater Highway to travel on to Yalaru and the national park.  
Erldunda is located 200 kilometers south west of Alice Springs where the Lassetter Highway links with the much longer, Stuart Highway.

  

The Lassetter Highway, also known as State Route 4,  is a 244 kilometer long, paved highway linking Erldunda with Yalaru. 

The Lassetter Highway makes it’s way westwards from Erldunda through the Desert Oaks Resort, Mount Ebenezer, Curtin Springs and the Ayer’s Rock Resort before terminating at Yalaru. 

Also along the Lassetter Highway is the 859 meter high, flat topped, horseshoe shaped, Mount Conner, another vast sandstone ediface similar to Uluru / Ayer's Rock.  

The Stuart Highway is a 2,834 kilometer long paved highway located between the City of Darwin in Northern Territory and the town of Port Augusta in South Australia.

The Stuart Highway, which is known as National Route 1 between Darwin and Daly Waters, National Route 87 between Daly Waters and the Northern Territory / South Australia border and National Route A87 between the Northern Territory / South Australia border and Port Augusta, can also be accessed by ten other highways - three national highways, four state routes and three unpaved tracks. They are -  

Alice Springs
Image courtesy of - freeaussiestock.com

The Barkly Highway, also known as National Highway 66, is a 755 kilometer long highway which links the Stuart Highway at Tennant Creek with Cloncurry in Queensland.

The Princes Highway, also known as National Highway A1, is a 1,898 kilometer long highway which links Australia's largest city, Sydney in New South Wales, with the southern most terminus of the Stuart Highway at Port Augustus in South Australia..  

The Victoria Highway, also known as National Highway 1, is a 524 kilometer long highway linking the Stuart Highway at Katherine in Northern Territory with Wyndham in Western Australia. 

The Arnhem Highway, also known as State Route 36,is a 230 kilometer long highway which links the Kakadu National Park in Northern Territory with the Stuart Highway at Howard Springs, located thirty five miles south of Darwin.

The Kakadu Highway, also known as State Route 21, is a 209 kilometer long highway which links the Stuart Highway at Tennant Creek with the Kakadu National Park in Northern Territory. 

The Plenty Highway, also known as State Route 12, is a 498 kilometer long, unpaved highway which links the Stuart Highway 68 kilometers north of Alice Springs with Tobermory Homestead in Northern Territory. 

The Roper Highway, also known as State Route 20, is a 298 kilometer long highway which links the Stuart Highway at Mataranka in Northern Territory with Numbulwa on the Gulf of Carpentaria on the Northern Territory's north coast.  

The Anne Beadell Highway is a 340 kilometer long dirt track which links the Stuart Highway at Coober Pedy in South Australia with Laverton in Western Australia.

The Buchanan Highway is a 401 kilometer long dirt track which links the Stuart Highway at it's junction with the Victoria Highway with Timber Creek in Northern Territory.

The Carpentaria Highway is a 381 kilometer long dirt track which links the Stuart Highway at Daly Waters in Northern Territory with Boroloola on the Gulf of Carpentaria on the Northern Territory's north coast. 
   

For the vast majority attempting this drive most will join the Stuart Highway at either Darwin or Port Augusta. 

From the port city of Darwin the Stuart Highway makes it’s way south through the towns and settlements of Pine Creek, Katherine, Mataranka, Larrimah, Daly Waters, Dunmarra, Elliot, Renner Springs, Tennant Creek, Wauchope, Wycliffe Well, Barrow Creek, Ti-Tree, Aileron, the large desert town of Alice Springs and Stuart's Well before arriving at Erldunda, some 1,696 kilometers, or a twenty hour drive away.

This well maintained and well sign posted highway, which also passes through Katherine Gorge, the Simpson Desert, the MacDonnell Ranges, the Devil's Marbles and Lake Hart, provides rest stops, motels, petrol /gas services and camping facilities about every one to two hundred kilometers along it’s route. 

From the coastal town of Port Augusta in South Australia, situated 305 kilometers north of the state capital of Adelaide, the Stuart Highway makes it’s way north through the towns and settlements of Pimba, Woomeera, the Royal Australian Air Force Base and prohibited area at Woomera, Glendambo, Marla, Kulgera and the mining town of Coober Pedy complete with kangaroo orphanage and underground churches, before arriving at Erldunda some 1,300 kilometers, or an eighteen hour drive away. 

There are motels and petrol / gas services located at Woomera,  Coober Pedy, Glendambo, Erldunda, Yulara, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs. 
At Pimba,  Woomera, Cadney Park, Kulgera, Mt Ebenezer, Curtin Springs, Kings Creek and Stuart Well there are also cabin, camping and caravan / motor home facilities. 

The Lassetter Highway
Image courtesy of - www.tourismnt.com.au 

There is also a shorter but much more isolated route to Yalaru from the west, travelling along the Great Central Road.

This road is a 1,126 kilometer long, unpaved outback highway located between Yularu and the settlement of Laverton, situated on the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert of Western Australia, which is located 124 kilometers north east of the state capital, Perth. 
  

The highway makes it’s way eastwards from the mining town of Laverton, which is served by a small airport, through the settlements of Cosmo Newberry, Tjukayirla Roadhouse, Warburton, Warakurna Roadhouse and Docker River, passing Lassetter’s Cave, the Peterman Ranges, Lake Thrassell, Lake Yeo, the Beegull Waterhole & Caves and Empress Spring along the way before terminating in Yaluru. 

Petrol/gas services, rest stops, camping facilities and other over night services are available at most of these settlements. Please be aware that the longest stretch of road without services is around 300 kilometers.

The road, which can be accessed by way of both four and two wheel drive vehicles, passes through large swathes of protected aboriginal land, therefore it is a legal requirement to obtain a valid transit permit before any journey along this road can be undertaken. 

The permits are free and can be obtained by visiting -  www.daa.wa.gov.au

The Great Central Road

Before you set off on your journey make sure your vehicle is up to the trip, book accommodation in advance, don't forget petrol/gas and water containers and tell some one where you are going and what route you will be taking. 

There are no speed restrictions in the outback of Northern Territory, but it is unwise to travel at high speeds along any of it’s highways due to animals wandering onto the carriageway.

Do not drive the above highways at night, as they are unlit and as well as the danger posed by animals straying onto the carriageway there are huge road trains and tourist buses also using the carriageway. 

Do not attempt a road trip in the Northern Territory during the rainy season (November – March) as unpaved roads become flooded. 

Do not swim in local rivers or lakes as they could contain fresh water crocodiles. 

Don’t forget to fill up with water, food and petrol/gas at every available location.  

Don't forget to adhere to the strict quarantine rules that exist in Australia, these rules not only exist at international borders but at state borders too. Quarantine bins are provided near borders in order to dispose of at risk items. The bins are well sign posted and will display a full list of at risk items.   

    

             For more Australian roads visit my page - National Highway 1 Austalia. 

                   MAKE SURE TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION IN ADVANCE