Savannah Way

Submitted: Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 17:41

ThreadID: 144580 Views:3825 Replies:4 FollowUps:2

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phantom

Does anyone know the current condition of The Savannah way between Normanton and Mataranka?
Heading that way in a couple of days.
Thanks in advance

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Reply By: Stephen L (Clare) SA - Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 17:58

Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 17:58

We are in Mataranka at the moment and the word from other travellers it is horrendous, but as we all know, what one person calls bad, an experienced driver will say it was not an issue.

Hopefully you may hear from someone that has just completed it.

Smile like a Crocodile

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Follow Up By: phantom - Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 19:24

Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 19:24

Hi Stephen,
Are you in the area for long as I’d love to catch up. We’ll be in Mataranka in about a week, then heading to Darwin, Litchfield, Kakadu and maybe a side trip to Nhulunbuy before heading West.
You have given me lots of advice and ideas from when we first bought our Ultimate (named Ursula) 6 years ago up until recently.
Cheers

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Follow Up By: Stephen L (Clare) SA - Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 20:25

Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 20:25

We are here for another 5 nights.

If you are going to Kakadu, can strongly recommend the sunrise cruise at Yellow Waters. This would have to be the best 2 hour cruise we have done on this trip.

A drive into Fogg Dam is great, so much bird life, and if you want to do a Croc jumping cruise, the best one is to continue on past Fogg Dam until you hit the dirt, then about 2 km of dirt until you get there.

Superior to other jumping tours that we did, guaranteed to see some massive giants.

A young lad Dylan was the captain, and he was full of knowledge.

If your on FB, look up my name : Stephen Langman and you can see some great images of Fogg Dam bird life and the jumping Croc cruise, as well as Yellow Waters sunrise

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Reply By: Bob A5 - Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 18:15

Friday, Aug 26, 2022 at 18:15

Hi
We went Mataranka > Roper Bar > Lorella Springs > Borrolloola > Doomadgee > Lawn Hill > Normanton approximately 3 weeks ago.
With the exception of dirt section between Mataranka and Roper Bar all dirt roads were ok (better than Gibb/Bungle Bungles).
The dirt section between Mataranka and Roper Bar was equal to Gibb/Bungle Bungle roads.

Bob

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Reply By: Member - Cuppa - Tuesday, Aug 30, 2022 at 09:17

Tuesday, Aug 30, 2022 at 09:17

If going up through the Limmen NP sounds too rough, there is always the option of going from Borroloola to Mataranka via Daly Waters - which is sealed road all the way .

It's 3 years since we drove the route from Mataranka to Cairns via the Limmen NP - it was a mix of constant corrugations , broken only occasionally by patches of bulldust. 'Pretty rough' would be a good description, but we drove slowly & wouldn't hesitate to go that way again. The lost cities & Towns River made it all worthwhile. Don't miss Garambarini (Caranbarini) just a short distance west of Borroloola, (& a couple of kms south of the turn off for the Nathan River Rd).

See 'My Profile' (below) for link to our Aussie travel blog, now in it's 6th year.

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Reply By: Member - Robert1660 - Thursday, Sep 01, 2022 at 22:02

Thursday, Sep 01, 2022 at 22:02

We drove the road in late May. We towed a 19 foot Bushtracker caravan. The issue occurs once you cross the border into the NT. The road does vary from quite reasonable to very corrugated. When you reach the corrugated sections the corrugations extend over the entire width of the road. Of course lowering tyre pressures and driving to conditions is the key. If you intend to travel to Lorella Springs be prepared for 30 km of savage corrugations.Lorella Springs is quite an oasis with excellent facilities but the roads are a challenge.