18 days · 3,700 km · Four-wheel-drive
Cairns to Broome across the top of Australia, 3,700 kilometres of tropical savanna, gorges and gulf country.
The Trip
The Savannah Way runs for 3,700 kilometres across the top of Australia between Cairns and Broome. It is a network of sealed and unsealed roads that strings together the tropical savanna country north of the Tropic of Capricorn, including Kakadu, Litchfield, the Kimberley and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Unlike the Gibb River Road, the Savannah Way is not a single track but a marketed touring route that offers several alternative paths depending on vehicle and season.
This 18 day plan takes the most popular full crossing from Cairns west through the Atherton Tablelands, across the Gulf Savannah, up through Borroloola and Roper River, into Darwin via Katherine, through Kakadu, into the Kimberley via Kununurra, and finally down to Broome. It requires a high-clearance four-wheel-drive, full recovery gear, a serious fuel range, and dry-season conditions (May to October). Many sections are impassable in the wet and the route is officially closed from about November to April.
Allow an extra 3 to 5 days if you want to add Mitchell Falls or the Mitchell Plateau as a side trip from the Kimberley section.
Day by day
Day
01
A short driving day to settle into the trip. Pick up the four-wheel-drive in Cairns, head west up the Gillies Range, and into the Atherton Tablelands. Visit Millaa Millaa Falls (the most photographed waterfall in Queensland) and Lake Eacham on the way. Overnight in Atherton, Yungaburra or Malanda.
Day
02
Drive west and south to Undara Volcanic National Park, home to one of the longest lava tube systems in the world. Book a guided tour of the tubes on arrival.
Day
03
A full day of driving to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria. Karumba sits at the mouth of the Norman River and is famous for its sunsets over the gulf water. Barramundi fishing is the local industry.
Day
04
Continue west along the gulf to Burketown, the centre of gulf country cattle stations and the best-known viewing point for the Morning Glory cloud in spring.
Day
05
The unsealed Savannah Way continues west into the NT. Hells Gate is the first roadhouse across the border and is a welcome sight after a long day of corrugations.
Day
06
The road improves slightly. Borroloola is the main settlement of the gulf NT, a fishing town on the McArthur River.
Day
07
Drive north along the unsealed Tablelands Highway and then west on the Roper Highway. Roper Bar is a Yugul Mangi Aboriginal community, where permits are required for some side tracks.
Day
08
Emerge back onto sealed road at the Stuart Highway and drive north to Katherine. Spend the afternoon at the Katherine Hot Springs in the centre of town.
Day
09
Drive 30 kilometres north-east to Nitmiluk National Park. Take a two-gorge cruise through the sandstone gorges of the Katherine River with a Jawoyn cultural interpreter.
Day
10
Drive north to Kakadu National Park. Visit the Nourlangie rock art galleries in the afternoon and book the dawn Yellow Water cruise for the next morning.
Day
11
Sunrise Yellow Water cruise to see the wetlands at their best. Drive up to Ubirr in the afternoon for the signature rock art gallery and the famous sunset lookout.
Day
12
Drive west out of Kakadu on the Arnhem Highway. Stop at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve to see wetland birds, then continue to Darwin for the night. Dinner at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets if it's a market night.
Day
13
Long driving day south on the Stuart Highway, then west on the Victoria Highway across the Kimberley border to Kununurra. Cross a timezone on the way.
Day
14
Drive south to the entrance track to Purnululu. The 53 kilometre access track is slow 4WD only. Set up camp at Walardi or Kurrajong and walk Cathedral Gorge in the afternoon.
Day
15
Walk Echidna Chasm at midday for the full lighting effect, then the short Homestead Valley walk in the afternoon. Another night at Purnululu.
Day
16
Retrace the 4WD track out of Purnululu and drive south to Halls Creek. A day of recovery and reprovisioning.
Day
17
Drive west to Fitzroy Crossing. Spend the afternoon at Geikie Gorge, taking a boat tour through the 350 million year old limestone gorge cut by the Fitzroy River.
Day
18
The final day, with the reward of sealed road the whole way. Arrive in Broome by mid-afternoon and finish the trip with a camel train and sunset on Cable Beach.
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