Driving through the Tjukaruru Road
Tjukaruru Road is a challenging drive in the Northern Territory of Australia. The unpaved road services many remote communities and tourism activities.
The surface of the road is gravel and sand. It’s 189 km long and links Kata Tjuta Road and Great Central Road. Though still recommended only for four wheel drive vehicles, the road is now graded to a standard suitable for two wheel drive vehicles and caravans. The ride is rather remote, so you need to be prepared. In case of a breakdown, there is very little in the way of passing traffic or inhabitants around, and no cell phone service in parts. It is recommended that communications equipment be carried while driving on this road. Expect some road closures due to heavy rains (river crossings).
This key regional road is not a 4WD road, but there are parts that need good ground clearance. One day the road can be ‘smooth and easy to drive’, the next, it can be full of washboards. Road conditions are always changing. It can be a reasonably easy drive in favourable dry conditions, but also has the potential to be a very difficult muddy and slippery track -and at times impassable- after wet weather. The Tjukaruru Road is part of the Outback Way, which is a national east-west link connecting Laverton in Western Australia to Winton in Queensland.