Gary Junction Road - best start route.

G'day JB. We traveled west to east a couple of years back after coming out of the sandy Blight Junction Rd. The GJR was a race track it was in such good condition heading east. can't comment on points west of the intersection near Kintor. We headed into Alice via the main track passing Haast Bluff (16km east of Papunya) which takes you onto the Namatjira Drive Rd. Really pretty drive and the dirt roads were in excellent condition. We traveled in July.

After Alice we headed to the Kimberley via the Tanami Rd which was also for the most in good nick. The section of the Tanami to the GJR is all sealed.

Enjoy the journey.

Dunc

We might see you there jb2211. We're doing the same trip leaving Alice mid-June (via Glen Helen etc).

We travelled from Alice cross to Glen Helen, Haasts Bluff etc, onto the GJR, all the way to just short of Marble Bar.
Fuel is fine, just make sure you do not arrive on a weekend or public holiday.
Camping along the side of the road may be a bit tricky if you are towing, as the "windrow" on the side of the road is pretty high so you can't just pull over anywhere (and you want/need to camp well off the road)
We did it in April 2017 and it was in good condition.
Juniper Bore has water and a lovely shady camp but firewood is becoming scarce there so pick some up beforehand.
The permit does not (theoretically) allow any camping because it has some crazy requirement to travel through within a limited time (a day I think but not the point). We did not worry about this at all, we had a permit and IF (big IF) we were questioned I would just have replied that we had to stop for an emergency or something.
It is a nice stretch of road, the best way to get from the eastcoast to the west for us.

Here is a link to a friend's blog. They have come up the SBJ Road and west from there on the GJ Road. They broke a rear leaf on the SBJ Road and have been nursing it. They are probably at Carawine Gorge tonight.
http://www.epicycles.com/ Go to the bottom of the page.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Either way. We went west to east and continued via Haast Bluff and the West Macdonnells. My Blogs (2009) describe, and I have links to a friend Blog of a more recent trip. The best way out of Western Australia.

Hi. We’re thinking of doing this in late July. We will have 2 kids with us. Starting Alice springs heading towards WA coast as we’re keen to get to Karijini and coral coast - eventually. How did you find the road ?

Have just finished the Gary Junction with our Toyota Landcruiser 200 series, towing 22 ft off- road Evernew van - really enjoyed the trip, & as long as you drive to the conditions, you will be fine! There are some stretches of heavy sand before Jupiter Well, & also some very rough corrugations past Kiwikurra, but otherwise OK. Enjoy the trip!

Thanks so much. Great to hear. Should we do it in a convoy do you think or will we be fine just us? Other alternative is to go from Uluru to Coast via gun barrel but I love the sound of the Gary junction.

We travelled with another couple - I think it is good to have company in case something goes wrong.Yes, agree that a sat phone is a good idea also. We found that we often drove for 3 to 4 hours without seeing another vehicle, so it is quite remote out there.