Great Northern Highway
- This article is an itinerary.
The Great Northern Highway is in Western Australia and runs from Perth in the south to Wyndham in the north.
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Understand [edit]
Distance. Its all about distance, the trip from Perth to the end of the highway in Wyndham is over 3,000 km. The Great Northern Highway goes through the Wheatbelt, Mid-West, Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia - it is a long trip. Most of the distance is through country with very limited services, big trucks that take up the road, and some very desolate landscapes in places. It passes through the Pilbara where iron ore is being dug up in the millions of tons and sent elsewhere. The highway starts in Perth, Western Australia - in the south west as highway number 95, and passes through the tropic of capricorn somewhere north of Meekatharra, becomes highway number 138 after Newman, and becomes highway Number One after it leaves Port Hedland and terminates in the Kimberley town of Wyndham. Some people much prefer the coastal route to Port Hedland, closer to the coast, and facilities and not so desolate. That is the North West Coastal highway that is highway number one from Perth, through Geraldton, Carnarvon, and Karratha on the way to Port Hedland.
Prepare [edit]
The Great Northern Highway passes through desert so you should take plenty of water and fuel with you on your trip. You should take food with you too, because there are not many stops on the way. Reading the map - you can see the sections where services/stopping places are minimal. Whichever direction you are travelling, it is essential that your vehicle is in good condition, you are stocked up with adequate supplies, at the beginning of these sections.
- Wubin - Mount Magnet section
- Meekatharra - Newman section
- Port Hedland - Broome section
Get in [edit]
You can get onto the highway from a number of locations. Initially at Perth on the south end and from Wyndham on the north end. The connection with Geraldton, is a drive across to Mullewa, and Yalgoo, and you connect at Mount Magnet. From the North West Coastal Highway at Port Hedland.
Go/Walk/Drive/... [edit]
The main centres along the highway all have their unique features that are worth exploring
- Wubin - small old railway town, and marginal eastern wheatbelt location on the Mullewa railway line
- Mount Magnet - current and historic mining town, former railway junction
- Cue - historic mining town with heritage buildings and streetscapes
- Meekatharra - end of the line of former railway line, and start of a long stretch to Newman across gibber plain
- Newman - current iron ore mining town
- Marble Bar - famous location of high temperatures and also nearby - the earliest known signs of life on the planet in local rock formations
- Port Hedland - important mining export port, and junction of the North West Coastl Highway and the Great Northern Highway
- Broome - Western Australia's northern holiday destination, significant heritage, world war II historical location, beach culture, ethnic melting pot
- Derby - Kimberley town
- Kununurra - Kimberley and Ord River town
- Wyndham - end of the highway
Road Trains [edit]
Road Trains (Big trucks with multiple attachments) are common on the Great Northern Highway. Take care, as it is extremely difficult for them to brake over short distances. Passing a Road Train is not a good idea, ever. Many cautious smaller vehicle drivers simply pull off the road and stop while they are in the vicinity, it can be worth it.
Stay safe [edit]
- See main article Driving in Australia
The Great Northern Highway is in Australia so you will be driving on the left, see the Driving in Australia article for more information.
More specifically to travel the road requires planning, and careful preparation. There are sections that have differing hazards, and to be warned of them is well worth taking note. Feral and native animals tend to be near the highway at dawn and sunset. It is a case of if you do not have bull/kangaroo bars and you are driving the length of the highway is to plan your travel around the hazards.
If you have not experienced being in a car being hit by an emu, camel, goat, kangaroo or other animals, it is well worth considering camping or stopping at night. If you do that, you should utilise allocated parking bays, away from the main traffic.
Mobile phone coverage along the route is varied [1] and also if your have difficulty with a vehicle, recovery costs to the nearest populated centre can be expensive.
