Donohue and Plenty Highways

all you need to know is you drive to the road conditions
cheers mechpete

Did this about 10 days ago,

Plenty was excellent in places and quite bad in others so just take it as it comes.

The Donohue was rough from Tobermory to the border (only about 10K?) then much better than I expected from then on, only a few bad spots.

Donohue is better than the Plenty at present

What is bad to some drivers is good to others. They are both major roads that get maintained. Conditions can vary depending on where the graders are working but having said that the only thing that might stop you getting through is rain.

You must drive to the conditions on any dirt road and expect the unexpected. Most sections are wide, flat and look smooth. You could say the same thing about major sealed roads but you should never treat an unsealed road as though it was sealed. The dangers are often there but are not always clearly visible until it it too late.

Take it easy, never think about cruising speeds, don't set A to B time limits and you should not have any trouble.

Thank you for your help and advice. We are experienced off-road travellers, and regularly drive on bush tracks. It just helps to have recent information on a track.

Rain is the one thing which would bring us to a halt, and yes, we are praying for continued dry weather.

I will report back after we get to Alice Springs.

Hi Chris
There was a post about this very topic a few weeks ago. It will have extra information should you need it. If you are able divert through Arltunga. Well worth it.
Enjoy your trip

Conditions reports consistently put the Donahue above the Plenty which has generous amounts of dust.

Both have substantial stretches of bitumen at their far ends. The Plenty has now over a 100 kms.

But I would not like to tackle the Plenty dirt if it rained while I was on it. The dust turns to thick mud.

You should check the official road reports just before you commit to the route.