Gunbarrel Highway - Travel Feature

Tuesday, Nov 17, 2015 at 19:55

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The Gunbarrel Highway was the first road built as part of Australia's role in the weapons research facility called Woomera. The area of land designated between Woomera and 80 Mile Beach near Port Hedland was chosen as the most suitable area in the world for a rocket range, but it was an uninhabited desert waste-land in the most remote part of Australia. The first task was to construct a road running east-west across the centre of Australia to provide a major service access for the construction of all other linking roads. The Gunbarrel Highway was the first of the Len Beadell roads and so is a very historical journey for people taking the trip today.

The full stretch is an isolated desert track of 1400km. In general, washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains are all typical elements of the drive, but the track is graded occasionally by the Wiluna Shire Council from Wiluna through to 180km east of Carnegie. There are excellent bush camps, and many sites have bores with water.

To help you explore this region, ExplorOz has a dedicated Trek Note for The Gunbarrel Highway, which also features places to visit along the way including Len Beadell's Plaques, Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre, Mount Beadell and Giles Weather Station.

We also stock a range of products in the Online Shop that will help you get the most out of your travels in this region:

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