Gary Junction Rd

Hi David,
I have travelled the GJ Rd road a couple of times in the Troopy, but not recently. And yes, it was graded and in good condition. A nice drive and It would be my preferred road to travel across the country.
I had intended to use it earlier this year in my Mercedes Sprinter but needed to get a suspension mod done first. That mod is now done so I look forward to the next opportunity.
But I won't be trying the Canning in the Sprinter. lol

David we drove the road from WA to the Western Macs in the first couple of weeks of June. Quite frankly it was rubbish. No it's not a graded road hasn't seen one in a year or more and definitely not in reasonable condition. TC Isla pretty much flooded that whole section and during our crossing there was no sign of any repairs being done let alone a grader at work. Give the road its due there are some relatively short patches in OK condition where the shocks get a chance to cool down a bit but unless things have drastically improved over the last 4 weeks that's what we found

Fuel was also problematical with Kiwirrkurra 24/7 pump not operational and the call out person not responding either. JC is required to cover at least one section without a refuel. Kintore on the other hand had their facility working properly which was great as we got in on the reserves in the tank.

The section from Papunya was a shocker all the way to the bitumen and certainly the very worst section.

Just a reminder on the need for permits as we did get asked once

Apart from that the countryside, thanks to Isla's rain, is looking excellent and really pretty

Rob

Here is our Gary Junction Rd Blog with tons of info and photos from last winter. Gary Junction Rd Blog

But as per the Trek Note we publish here, this road is very changeable but is just like any other outback unsealed track - amount of corrugations, and washouts will vary depending on any weather events and how much traffic it sees afterwards that cuts up the track before the grader is out. We saw the grader there last year in early August when we were on the track. We had one day of bad weather in the Kintore to Papunya area but didn't affect driving much - we towed a lightweight Ultimate camper trailer and only on that day did we need to take it a little slower and move across the road to avoid a few uneven sections. Mostly a typical outback highway you need to drive to conditions. Expect the unexpected.

However, if you did the Canning last year and saw the section of Gary Junction Rd near there, that is the best bit by far - the WA section closest to the Canning is in excellent condition generally. But there are some much worse parts to the east but nothing challenging. It's a worthwhile drive and def recommend if needed to get across east/west or vice versa.

Hope this helps,
Michelle

We left Alice Springs on 13 July and travelled the Gary Junction Road to Kunawarritji, and then to Punmu and Marble Bar. It took about four (easy) days.
The Alice Springs to Kunawarritji section was the easiest. Only small stretches corrogations. Lots of bog- holes on the track, but all of them had tracks around them. A small section has been graded and the grader was working when we went through. Overall this section was in great condition

I'd recommend you go straight through to the Tanami after you pass Papunya, rather than take the track down through Glen Helen.

George_M

Hi All,

Thanks heaps for taking the time to reply to my query , they were all very helpful! looking forward to getting out into the desert and those awesome night skys .

Cheers David S