Larapinta (Mereenie) road between kings canyon and Glen heelen

Gday Louis,

The service station at the resort issues the permits to travel the Mereenie Loop and will have up to date road conditions. You can also find road conditions on this forum under Trecks (Check road conditions). Resort will likely be more up to date.

I travelled this road in March 2010. Was fairly corrugated, but have travelled worse. We towed a camper trailer, with around 25 Psi all round, took it easy, and had no issues (its not a race).

Its a magic area.

Brett.....

Louis,

I travelled it a few weeks ago and it is in very good condition. Here's a link to my report on it.

Mereenie Loop to Kings Canyon

Mereenie to Alice Springs

Cheers Mick

Hi Louis, Mark from Ballina, done Central Oz a Few weeks ago, as said, the dirt road is in good condition, a few sections of short corrugations, just slow down, we dropped our tyre pressure 3-4 lb, most of the dirt is as smooth as a babys,just a beautiful place, allow time for Standley Chasm, Ochre Pits, Ellery Hole ( the dead fish smell shud be gone by now), Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen Resort, etc. Got permit from Glen Helen Resort, Kings Canyon had most expensive fuel & food, fill up everything in Alice.(Sorry ,you're going other way, KCR may have permits, Alice Tourist Info has), yell if you need phone numbers or more info.

As the others have said Louis, drop tyre pressures a little and take it slowly. Is it a hire vehicle? If so, will taking it on a dirt road breach the hire conditions?

You will need to purchase a Mereenie Loop permit and these cost only a few dollars and can be purchased from the Kings Canyon Resort fuel outlet. A Mereenie Loop (between Hermannsburg and Kings Canyon) permit costs $3.50 per car to cover the cost of the brochure when purchased at the Alice Springs tourist office, and they allow a three day travel 'window' with the permit being purchased up to five days in advance. Permits can also be purchased from Hermannsburg, Glen Helen Resort and Kings Canyon Resort. Fees may be higher at the out of town outlets and they may not allow the same flexibility of travel times. This permit is not available on line.

When at Kings Canyon, be sure to do the full rim walk, but start early in the morning if the day is hot as it is quite a steep climb at the start. A wonderful walk - but don't ignore the signs and go near the edge!

Motherhen

Thank you very much to all of you. It's my first trip to Australia and looking forward beeing there: Sydney, Red center, Darwin, Lichtfield, Kakadu and finally Cairns, Cape trib and the great barrier reef with a flight to Lizard Island.

Nice to get all those answers, looks like Australians are very friendly

Louis