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    Cairns (QLD) → Broome (WA) via the Gulf and Katherine

    Savannah Way: the full drive guide

    The Savannah Way is a signposted tourist route across the top of Australia, from the Coral Sea at Cairns to the Indian Ocean at Broome. It is not one road — it is a chain of highways and station tracks, and how hard it is depends entirely on which variant you take.

    Distance
    ~3,700 km
    Time needed
    14 days minimum; 3 weeks is realistic
    Vehicle
    4WD required
    Surface
    Mixed. Fully sealed via the Barkly/Stuart alternative; the direct Gulf route has long unsealed sections
    Best months
    May–September (dry season only)
    EV suitability
    EV: not recommended
    Route style
    Point-to-point
    Savannah Way — Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia

    Route map

    Stops shown in driving order with a straight line between them, for planning only — this is not a turn-by-turn route. Always check current road conditions before you travel.

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    Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Route stops in order: 1. Cairns, 2. Undara Volcanic National Park, 3. Georgetown, 4. Normanton, 5. Burketown, 6. Hells Gate Roadhouse, 7. Borroloola, 8. Katherine, 9. Kununurra, 10. Broome.

    Seasonal gate & outback safety

    Check before you commit to dates
    1. JJanuary — High risk / cut
    2. FFebruary — High risk / cut
    3. MMarch — High risk / cut
    4. AApril — High risk / cut
    5. MMay — Caution
    6. JJune — Open — go
    7. JJuly — Open — go
    8. AAugust — Open — go
    9. SSeptember — Open — go
    10. OOctober — Caution
    11. NNovember — High risk / cut
    12. DDecember — High risk / cut
    • Open — go
    • Caution
    • High risk / cut

    Dry-season route only. The Gulf sections between Normanton, Burketown, Hells Gate and Borroloola flood from roughly November to April and stay cut for weeks at a time. May and October are transition months — passable some years, closed others.

    Wildlife warning: do not drive at night

    Do not drive at night, at all, on this route. Unfenced cattle, brumbies, kangaroos, wild pigs and road trains share the road, and much of the Gulf has no coverage to call for help.

    Live road conditions

    QLDTraffic live mapNT Road ReportTravel Map WA

    The critical fact: the direct Gulf route between Burketown, Hells Gate and Borroloola includes long unsealed sections that are impassable in the wet and rough even in the dry. The sealed alternative drops south to the Barkly Highway and adds distance but takes any 2WD.

    This is a dry-season-only trip. Roads across the Gulf country flood between roughly November and April and stay cut for weeks at a time. Do not plan this drive for the wet.

    The stops, in driving order

    1. 01

      Cairns

      0 km in · Start

      Critical supply point — Last major city for tyres, servicing and spare parts until Katherine. Carry two spares from here.

      The eastern end. Last major city with full vehicle servicing, tyre stock and spare parts until Katherine.

      Tip: Get tyres, spare fuel and recovery gear sorted here. Prices and availability get worse and thinner the further west you go.

    2. 02

      Undara Volcanic National Park

      275 km in · 3h 30m

      Lava tubes formed roughly 190,000 years ago — some of the longest on Earth. Access to the tubes is by guided tour only.

      Tip: Tube tours must be booked ahead; you cannot walk into them independently.

    3. 03

      Georgetown

      415 km in · 1h 45m

      Critical supply point — Fuel and water. The gaps west of here get long.

      Fuel, food and the Terrestrial mineral collection. Common overnight stop on the Gulf Developmental Road.

      Tip: Fuel here even if you are not low. Gaps widen sharply west of Croydon.

    4. 04

      Normanton & Karumba

      700 km in · 3h 30m

      Critical supply point — Last reliable supermarket before the Gulf track. Fuel, water and food for several days.

      Normanton has the Gulflander railway and the 8.63 m replica of Krys the crocodile. Karumba, 70 km further, is the only spot on this route where the sun sets over the Gulf water.

      Tip: Every waterway here is croc country. No swimming, no cleaning fish at the water's edge, no camping right on the bank.

    5. 05

      Burketown

      930 km in · 2h 45m

      Critical supply point — Limited fuel and expensive. Top up regardless — the next reliable fuel is Hells Gate.

      The decision point. West of here the direct route is unsealed. In September and October, Burketown is the best-known place on Earth to see the Morning Glory roll cloud.

      Tip: Ask locally about the road to Hells Gate before committing — conditions change with each grading and each storm.

    6. 06

      Hells Gate Roadhouse → Borroloola (NT)

      1300 km in · Full day on unsealed road

      Critical supply point — Critical fuel leg. Confirm Hells Gate is open and stocked before you commit — the next reliable fuel is Borroloola.

      The remote heart of the route: unsealed, corrugated, with river crossings that can hold water into the early dry.

      Tip: This is the section to skip if you are not in a properly equipped 4WD. The sealed Barkly Highway alternative is longer but safe in a 2WD.

    7. 07

      Katherine (NT)

      2050 km in · 1–2 days depending on route

      Critical supply point — Full services return. Restock everything before the run west.

      Regional hub with full services, and the gateway to Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) — thirteen gorges, best seen by canoe in the dry.

      Tip: Nitmiluk canoe hire is dry-season only and the gorge closes to boats in the wet. Book ahead in July.

    8. 08

      Kununurra (WA)

      2560 km in · 5h 30m from Katherine

      First WA town, and the base for the Ord River and Purnululu (Bungle Bungles).

      Tip: There is a quarantine checkpoint at the WA border — fresh fruit, vegetables, honey and nuts are confiscated. Eat or bin them before you get there. WA is also 90 minutes behind the NT.

    9. 09

      Broome (WA)

      3700 km in · 2 days via the Great Northern Highway

      The western end. Cable Beach, the pearling history, and the Staircase to the Moon on certain full-moon nights between roughly March and October.

      Tip: Staircase to the Moon only happens on specific dates each month — check the published dates before planning around it.

    Drive planning: legs, fuel and conditions

    Three paces, same road: highway pace, a towing or 4WD rig, and what the day actually takes once fatigue and photo stops are in it.

    Savannah Way — honest timings by leg
    LegDistanceStandard vehicleHighway pace, no stopsTowing / 4WD rig90–100 km/h cruiseRealistic paceFatigue + photo stopsFuel
    Cairns → Georgetown415 km5h6h6h 20mMareeba, Mt Garnet, Georgetown
    Georgetown → Normanton300 km3h 30m4h 10m4h 20mCroydon, Normanton
    Normanton → Burketown230 km2h 45m3h 20m3h 30mBurketown
    Burketown → Hells Gate300 km5–6h7h 10m7h 45mHells Gate Roadhouse only
    Hells Gate → Borroloola270 km5–7h8h 25m8h 55mBorroloola
    Borroloola → Katherine670 km8h9h 35m10h 20mCape Crawford, Daly Waters, Mataranka
    Katherine → Kununurra510 km5h 30m6h 35m6h 55mTimber Creek
    Kununurra → Broome1,040 km2 days——Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing
    Whole route37h 45m45h 20m48h 5m

    How we get these: standard is moving time at signposted highway pace. Rig time assumes a 90–100 km/h cruise and slower acceleration — roughly 20% longer. Realistic pace adds a 15-minute fatigue stop every two hours (the national driver-fatigue guidance) plus about ten minutes an hour for photos, fuel and legs. Plan daylight around the realistic column, not the standard one.

    Savannah Way — leg conditions
    LegDistanceFuelNotes
    Cairns → Georgetown415 kmMareeba, Mt Garnet, GeorgetownSealed. Steep Kuranda range climb out of Cairns
    Georgetown → Normanton300 kmCroydon, NormantonSealed but single-lane bitumen in places — give way to road trains
    Normanton → Burketown230 kmBurketownMostly sealed; the last stretch varies
    Burketown → Hells Gate300 kmHells Gate Roadhouse onlyUNSEALED. 4WD, two spares, dry season only
    Hells Gate → Borroloola270 kmBorroloolaUNSEALED, corrugated, creek crossings
    Borroloola → Katherine670 kmCape Crawford, Daly Waters, MatarankaCarpentaria and Stuart Highways — sealed
    Katherine → Kununurra510 kmTimber CreekSealed. Quarantine check and 1.5h time change at the WA border
    Kununurra → Broome1,040 kmHalls Creek, Fitzroy CrossingSealed Great Northern Highway; long empty stretches

    What can go wrong

    • Wet season closes this route. Between November and April, Gulf roads flood and can stay cut for weeks. Plan for May–September and check road conditions daily.
    • Estuarine crocodiles inhabit every river, creek, billabong and coastal waterway across the Gulf and the Top End — including water that looks too small or too far inland. Do not swim, do not stand at the edge, do not clean fish there, and camp at least 50 m back from the bank.
    • Fuel gaps on the direct Gulf route exceed 300 km with roadhouses that keep limited hours and occasionally run dry. Carry jerry cans and never pass a roadhouse assuming the next one is open.
    • Road trains up to 53.5 m operate on these highways. On single-lane bitumen, pull fully off onto the shoulder and stop as they pass — do not try to share the seal.
    • Coverage is Telstra-only across most of this route and absent entirely on the unsealed sections. Carry a satellite messenger or EPIRB; a mobile phone is not a safety plan out here.

    Conditions change seasonally and after storms. Check current conditions with the road authority before relying on any of this.

    Common questions

    Only if you take the sealed alternative. The direct Gulf route between Burketown, Hells Gate and Borroloola is unsealed, corrugated and includes creek crossings — it needs a high-clearance 4WD with two spares. Dropping south to the Barkly Highway keeps the whole crossing on bitumen.

    Realistically May to September. The Gulf country floods in the wet season and unsealed sections are closed or impassable from around November to April. Check state road-condition services daily, even in the dry.

    Fourteen days is the absolute minimum and leaves no slack. Three weeks lets you stop at Undara, Karumba, Nitmiluk, Purnululu and the Kimberley without driving eight hours every day.

    The unsealed Burketown–Hells Gate–Borroloola sections carry gaps of 270–300 km between single roadhouses with limited hours. Carry at least one jerry can and fill at every opportunity rather than at every need.

    Where this is researched from

    • Queensland Traffic (QLDTraffic) and NT Road Report — Live road closures and unsealed-road condition reports
    • Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development WA — Border quarantine rules on fruit, vegetables, honey and nuts

    This is a researched guide, not a firsthand trip report. How we research.

    Spotted something we should update? Let us know.