Plenty Hwy Travel Time

2 days is certainly doable, Tobermorey is a nice stop over. We did it in 2 days with the van.

It would be a very rushed time to do it in 2 days. I think, travelling that fast to get there in 2 days is a little ambitious. You may not get to actually have time to "smell the roses" especially as you are travelling with family.
We have travelled it more than once from Birdsville to Alice, via Bedourie...took us 3 days of unrushed enjoyable driving....we aren't too slow..just enjoy the outback life.
Another highly recommended place to stay is Gemtree near the western end of the Plenty (Stuart Highway)...from there it is a casual drive to Alice.
Research their website and you may be there on a day when they have one of their delicious camp oven roast nights!
Remember. The plenty is still dirt in sections. Driving with caution is recommended..Darn backpackers insist on driving too fast on the wrong side of the road!!!!!
However they are doing extensive bitumenizing of the road to the western end of the Plenty.

Like any trip, the more time you spend the more you are likely to see, mind you if you are travelling on a “time budget” it becomes more difficult.

The Plenty Highway is a great drive with a number of places to stopover. Others have highlighted Tobermorey and Jervois as overnight camps, you could also camp at Arthur River, not too far from Jervois (about 60klm east from memory). This is quite a pleasant free camp.

Travelling east, I have done Alice Springs to Arthur River, overnight, and a camp at Boulia the following night towing our TVAN. Quite doable especially given the better road conditions in the western parts.

Enjoy your trip,

Baz – The Landy

Road conditions can vary. We did the trip a couple of years ago towing a van and western parts were very corrugated with a lot of holes. Driving was quite tiring and very dusty. We were also slowed down more by a flat tyre near the border - spiked by a bit of wire on the best part of the road! We had the time and were happy to take 3 days from Boulia to Gemtree and reached Alice early on the fourth day.It was a great trip. Last year the road was quite a bit better according to friends. It would be wise to not cut your time too tight and take enough time to enjoy the trip more and go slowly if necessary. Tobermorey was a great stop as was Jervois. Should be interesting for the kids. Gemtree was a welcome oasis and the kids could enjoy a fossicking trip there too. You certainly need to watch out for oncoming vehicles that refuse to slow down as they pass. It is obvious why there are so many windscreen repairers advertised as you enter Alice! John and Lynne

After a late start from Winton, we camped at Bendgeacca Ck, just at the start of the Donohue.

Stopped numerous times the next day for Kodak moments, and had an ice-cream and a chat at Jervious, finally getting to Gem Tree about 4.30pm. Travelled along at 90-100 kmh, and weren't towing, in a Landcruiser ute.

Next day, we were in Alice before midday, fuelled up and at Yulara well before dark.

We found the Plenty generally good going, with some corrugations. There has been further bitumen work on the Donohue, and I'd suggest there'd now be over 100kms sealed, in sections. Not sure about the Gem Tree end, for any new work?

A good alternative return trip is along the Sandover Highway, if you were interested.

Bob

Thanks to all for the fast response and thoughts! More research to be done and some decisions made.
Cheers
Zaak

Hi Zaak, we were there 8 weeks ago, had to wait in Boulia an extra day, for the Plenty to open after rain. Quite a lot of mud, with diversions around the worst bits.
Had a lot of water over the road on the Winton side of Boulia through the dips as well. We were greatfull we only lost a day, as the trip progressed, this became common, think we got stuck four times with the rain.
We left Boulia, and camped at Jervois, then turned down the Binns track into Ruby gap, camping there the following night.. great drive.. enjoy!.. cheers Odog

A couple of years back I was driving Perth - Townsville. I did Alice - Mt Isa via Plenty Hwy in a day. Not a sight seeing trip.

Zaak
It is never a good idea to try and set a time limit on Outback unsealed roads because the conditions can vary so much. So much depends on the weather. the amount of traffic and where the graders happen to be working.

I drove over the Plenty last June. It was fairly good except for the corrugations down near the Alice end.

Your biggest danger though can come from a surface that is smooth because this can easily result in many drivers treating it like a sealed road and driving too fast. The roads can be wide flat and looking trouble free so down goes the foot but even the best of them can have unexpected sandy patches, washouts or short but bad corrugation sections etc. and the driver can't get the car down slow enough before it goes into them The result is often a roll over which is the most common accident out in those areas.

It is such a serious problem that Vic Widman from Great Divide Tours tours has written a book about it as well as a couple of magazines articles on the need for driver training on dirt roads. There is plenty available for mountain tracks but not good unsealed roads. driver training.

Mate, I not far from Jervois is the start of the Hay River Track. They have/ had a good though open camping area with facility's. The best part is the demonstration they put on of local culture --yes you do need a permit some people say expensive. If you have not had this experience it is well worth the break to smell the roses.