Travel & Itineraries
General Travel Information
Tobermorey Station Roadhouse & Caravan Park is located on the Plenty Highway, approximately 4km west of the NT – QLD border. It is centrally located between Boulia and Mount Isa in QLD and Alice Springs in the NT. The Station is accessible from the Plenty Highway as well as the Urandangi Road, with clear signage at both entry points.
The Plenty and Donohue Highways form part of the Outback Way – Australia’s Longest Shortcut. The Outback Way links Winton in QLD via Tobermorey onto Alice Springs, NT and all the way to Laverton in WA. There are many fantastic stops and tourist facilities along this route and the local Tourism Office should be your first stop, for the Plenty Highway check out Tourism Central Australia.
The Plenty and Donohue Highways form part of what appears to be the same road, the name change occurs as you cross the border. These Highways are not fully sealed. The Donohue Highway (from Boulia to the QLD/NT border) has approximately 70km of unsealed gravel road in good condition, the remaining 175km is fully sealed.
The Plenty Highway (from NT/QLD border to Stuart Highway intersection) is being progressively sealed, but is not yet complete. There is sealed road from the Stuart Highway intersection through to just east of Harts Range (Atitjere). From there there is approximately 70km of dirt road before a new section of sealed road that lasts for about 50km, the remainder of the road all the way to Tobermorey is a combination of dirt and gravel road. All up, the Plenty still contains about 300km of unsealed road.
When travelling from Mount Isa to Tobermorey the 270km journey will utilise the Diamantina Development road for 90km which is fully sealed. The Urandangi North road turns west, off the Diamantina Developmental road, about 90km south of Mount Isa. The Urandangi North road continues sealed for approximately 10km where it reverts to a graded gravel road for 80km until the township of Urandangi. From Urandangi it is another 90km of gravel road to Tobermorey Station with the QLD/NT border approximately 50km south of Urandangi township.
There is no phone service on any of the roads previously mentioned. Plan your trip, make sure you communicate your itinerary with someone not travelling with you. Have a Sat Phone, Starlink RV or personal locator beacon (PLB) for emergencies. If you travel these highways, make sure you travel with:
- 4WD vehicle and if towing an off road camper/caravan – with suitable clearance and suspension for gravel, bulldust and uneven roads.
- tyre plug repair kit (and know how to use it)
- 2 spare tyres & tyre changing equipment (and know how to use it)
- drinking water and food sufficient for 3+ days
- additional fuel (especially if travelling on the weekend)
- PLB or communication means other than mobile phone.
Mobile Phone reception is limited, only in townships and generally provided by a small cell tower as follows:
- Mount Isa – Telstra & Optus Mobile
- Urandangi – Telstra mobile
- Boulia – Telstra mobile
- Tobermorey Station Roadhouse & Caravan Park – Optus Mobile small cell
- Jervois – no mobile reception
- Harts Range (Atitjere) – Telstra Mobile small cell
- Gemtree – Telstra & Optus Mobile
Road Conditions & Rain Updates
Road and river conditions change quickly in the desert! Tobermorey Station Roadhouse & Caravan Park is in true ‘border territory’ as visitors often require information from both both sides of the border.
Tobermorey will of course post on our ‘News’ blog, Facebook and Instagram socials but if you are planning travel please contact the relevant agencies to confirm road conditions as follows:
- Boulia Shire Council – Urandangi Border Road & Donohue Highway
- Northern Territory Roads – Plenty Highway & Urandangi Border Road
Itineraries
The Station is currently working on detailed itineraries for this section but it is proving difficult getting accurate mapping with many roads still closed in the NT and WA due to flooding and cyclones – watch this space – Comming Soon!!
In the mean time here are some of the more popular routes from the East coast to Tobermorey:
Handy Sites & Links
It always pays to go to the source – the links below are some of the most reliable we have found for up to date information – they are the sources we give our information to!
- NT Government Road Report – https://roadreport.nt.gov.au/home
- Tourism Central Australia – https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/
- Northern Territory Tourism – https://northernterritory.com/
- Central Land Council – https://www.clc.org.au/
- Northern Territory Parks and Reserves – https://nt.gov.au/parks
- Boulia Shire Council – https://www.boulia.qld.gov.au/
- The Outback Way – https://www.outbackway.org.au/
- Avenza Maps – https://www.avenza.com/avenza-maps/
- Hema Maps – https://hemamaps.com/
For the latest on Events and Information in our region check out:
- Tourism Central Australia – https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/
- Tourism NT – https://northernterritory.com/
- Finke Desert Race – https://finkedesertrace.com.au/
- The Australian Outback Marathon – https://australianoutbackmarathon.com/
- The Big Red Bash – https://bigredbash.com.au/home/
- Boulia Camel Races – https://www.bouliacamelraces.com.au/
- Harts Range Races & Bush Sports Weekend – https://www.hartsrangeraces.org.au/
- The Mount Isa Rodeo – https://www.isarodeo.com.au/