Outback Safety

Australian outback conditions kill or injure unprepared visitors every year. Most of these deaths are avoidable, and almost all are caused by a small number of common mistakes. If you are travelling more than 200 kilometres from a major town or onto any unsealed road, read the following seriously.

Distance is the first thing to understand. Outback Australia is bigger than most travellers can imagine. The drive from Adelaide to Darwin via Uluru is 3,000 kilometres, much of it through country where the next fuel, water, or settlement is hundreds of kilometres away. Mobile phone coverage disappears within an hour of leaving most major towns. You cannot casually call for help the way you can at home.

Water is the single most important resource to plan around. The Australian Government recommends carrying a minimum of 20 litres of drinking water per person for any remote trip, plus enough to refill the vehicle radiator if needed. This is not a guideline for emergencies; it is a normal baseline for desert travel. Breakdowns in remote country can take 24 to 48 hours to resolve even with a rescue crew en route.

Vehicles matter. Do not drive on unsealed roads in a standard rental car unless it is specifically covered by your rental agreement. The Gibb River Road, the Tanami Track, the Birdsville Track, the Oodnadatta Track and the Great Central Road are all serious four-wheel-drive undertakings and not for first-time outback drivers. Even on sealed outback highways, dust from passing road trains can reduce visibility to zero for several seconds at a time. Carry two spare tyres, a recovery strap, a jerry can of spare fuel, a tyre repair kit and a first aid kit.

Heat is the second killer. Central Australia regularly hits 45 degrees in summer, and the walking tracks at Uluru, Kings Canyon and the West MacDonnell Ranges are closed when forecast temperatures exceed 36 degrees. Walking in the Australian outback in summer is genuinely dangerous: heat exhaustion and heatstroke can set in within an hour of starting a walk, especially for visitors not acclimatised to the conditions. Always start early, carry enough water (two litres per hour of walking is the baseline), wear a wide-brimmed hat, and turn back if you feel dizzy, stop sweating or develop a headache.

If your vehicle breaks down, stay with it. Rescue teams look for vehicles, not people, and a vehicle is easier to see from the air and provides shade. Every year a few people die walking away from their vehicles to find help. The car will still be there, and you can still use its shade and water supply. Raise the bonnet as a distress signal.

Fuel up aggressively. Never pass a roadhouse with less than half a tank in the outback. Fuel is significantly more expensive in remote areas than in cities (expect 30 to 50 cents per litre more) but this is not the time to economise. Calculate distances between fuel stops carefully, and add a 20 percent safety margin for detours, headwinds and soft-sand driving.

Carry a satellite communicator if you are travelling off the sealed highways. Devices like the Garmin inReach allow two-way text messaging from anywhere and have saved many lives. A phone is useless in most of the outback. Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are the backup option for triggering rescue but do not allow two-way communication.

Tell someone your plans. File a trip notification with the local police in any remote area if you are travelling alone or on unusual routes. They will check in on you if you do not arrive at your destination on schedule. In the Kimberley, the NT, and remote South Australia this is a standard practice and the local police expect it.

Wildlife on the road is the most common cause of outback accidents and injuries. Kangaroos, emus, wombats, cattle and feral camels are all active at dawn and dusk. Most outback drivers avoid driving between sunset and sunrise entirely. If an animal appears in front of you, brake in a straight line; never swerve. Many fatal outback accidents are caused by rollovers triggered by evasive manoeuvres.

In an emergency, dial 000. The Australian emergency number works on any phone with any signal, even if you do not have credit. If you have no signal at all, trigger your satellite beacon or PLB and stay with your vehicle until help arrives.