Great Central Road - permit required?

Yes. Click on the underlined Great Central Road link in your post for details, or look in Treks.

Yes you do.

Go here for details
DIA WA permits

cheers

They are available on line and are free.
The bonus is that if you show your permit you will save yourself the $25 Uluru access fee, but you won't be able to look at Uluru on the way through :-)

Cheers,
Peter,
OKA196 Motorhome.

Like everyone says you do need a permit to travel this road but I have to admit I struggle to understand why. In my 2009 trip travelling W-E I joined the GCR from the Heather Highway about 40km W of Warburton. The road then was in very good condition and despite the remoteness there was a reasonable amount of traffic. No one asked for our permits at any stage of the trip - even up in the Punmu and Kunawarritji Communities and we stopped everywhere to talk to folks etc. I would've thought that the more people who travel along here could only be good for the cash flow of the communities and perhaps create some more work for the locals - at least in the cooler months.

From memory the permits are free and this doesn't seem to do much for either the WA coffers or the local economy. Am I missing something?

Hi Peter & Ann,

I would suggest you apply for any WA permits well ahead because they can take a while for them to process.

Our permits for the Gary Junction Rd took a bit over a month for ours and longer for the other two couples travelling with us.

No one seems to check any of the permits we've ever had but it would be better to have them, and not need them, then to have any troubles down the track.

Merry Christmas,
Steve

Gday,
Unless something has changed recently, technically you don't need them on the NT side, but being they are free, no hassle to get and allow you to drive through the rock without paying an entrance fee you would be mad not to I reckon. WA side you do need them.
Ive never been asked for a permit anywhere but if you end up breaking down or something and need help, and dont have one you might end up in a bit of trouble.

Cheers

apologies for hi-jacking thread, but related question.

how flexible can one be with permit time frame, I intend travelling along some of the northern access roads april - may and GCR west to east in the later half of 2013,
is it possible to get an open ended permit ??

thanks Don