Traversing remote and lesser-known national parks and locations in the Northern Territory, the iconic Binns Track is a journey of discovery for well-equipped offroaders. In part of our trip, we look at the southern section of the track.
Running from Mount Dare just inside the South Australian border and up through the rugged Red Centre to finish in Timber Creek, the 2230km-long Binns Track has become one of Australia’s most epic outback treks for four-wheel drivers and offroad caravanners alike, despite only being officially 17 years old.
How the Binns Track came to be
Envisaged by Northern Territory park ranger Bill Binns, the Binns Track is a route through the heart of Australia that traverses a harsh and ever-changing landscape. Binns served in the NT Parks and Wildlife Service for 32 years, rising to the position of executive director. When the route was opened in 2008, it was named in his honour.
Binn’s vision was to create a route that linked less-visited national parks, opening up the areas for tourism and adventure. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of remote tracks and stock routes, Binns approached John Deckett of Westprint Maps to see if he could produce a series of guides for 4WD tourism. Binn’s original matrix of stock and station tracks is reproduced in Binns Track 4WD Adventure Guide.
When I spoke with Deckett from his home in western Victoria, he recalled that, on Binn’s suggestion, he and his wife Bev explored these remote tracks with mixed success. Often, the reception of station owners — who were keen on maintaining their privacy — was less than friendly, and many rejected the idea outright that a stock route was still in operation.
A series of nine maps was planned with the approval of the NT authorities, but a change of government caused the project to lose momentum, resulting in only the map of the East MacDonnell Ranges being produced.
The original Binns Track map thanks to Meridian Maps
How the track has changed
The original route for the Binns Track proved to be problematic. It had a more direct connection to the Barkly Highway and along the Barkly Stock Route to the Stuart Highway, but access was blocked over private station roads or lost due to wear and tear. Some also thought that missing Alice Springs wouldn’t be ideal for a tourist drive — though, if you’re short on time I wouldn’t worry too much. The current Binns Track still offers a worthwhile outback experience, and parts of it are remote enough to require a capable vehicle and careful planning. Most of it is suitable for offroad and camper trailers, provided you are well-equipped; however, some of the northerly tracks are only suitable for high clearance 4WD vehicles without trailers, so alternate routes are in place.
The journey spans approximately 2230km from Mount Dare in South Australia to Timber Creek along the Northern Territory’s Victoria Highway, featuring a combination of rocky, slow-going terrain, stretches through stunning dunes and a section of the Stuart Highway. Some parts involve slow, careful driving, but like many of our iconic tracks, you can hop on and off as you please or follow a set plan to try to complete the entire journey. All outback road conditions change with the weather and the time since the last grader showed up. On our trip, most of the roads were in excellent condition.
The central part of the track includes an optional detour to Alice Springs and a 470km section on the sealed Stuart Highway connecting Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and Dunmarra. This simplifies hopping on and off to break up the journey or returning another time to complete the trek if time is short.
Sign to Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve in NT
Getting to the Binns Track
Mount Dare and Timber Creek mark either the start or the end of the Binns Track, depending on your direction, so it’s a long journey from civilisation before you even start the track. Luckily for us, we were guests of NT Tourism, who organised flights into Alice Springs and out of Darwin, along with a 4WD Apollo Maverick camper for the trip. Beginning in Alice Springs, we drove 275km south along the Stuart Highway to Kulgera Roadhouse for lunch before heading east towards Finke.
We had previously visited Mount Dare, but not along the road through Finke, so we decided to join the Binns Track at Old Andado Station. For those keen to complete the track, Mt Dare Hotel is an isolated pub on leasehold land in the Witjira National Park and is a popular starting point for crossing the Simpson Desert. It’s 10km inside the South Australian border and 115km to Old Andado.
Visiting the true centre of Australia
As we drove towards Finke, the red dirt and struggling vegetation told us we were in the heart of Central Australia. But it wasn’t immediately clear how literal that was. Around 120km out of Kulgera, a sign pointed to the grand-sounding Lambert Centre of Australia, which turns out to be the actual centre of the Australian mainland. In 1988, the Queensland branch of the Australian Geographic Society, using then-modern computers, pinpointed the location and erected a stainless-steel flagpole based on the one atop Parliament House in Canberra. Named after Dr Bruce P Lambert O.B.E., the long-serving director of national mapping, the centre is located 13km off Finke Road. However, when we visited, the track was badly corrugated, so it took quite a bit of time to navigate.
The Lambert Centre marks the centre of Mainland Australia
Aputula (Finke) to Old Andado Station
In the days of the Old Ghan Railway, Finke was a busy settlement with a station, workers’ accommodation and cattle loading yard. However, when the line was relocated in the late 1970s, the town transitioned into an Aboriginal community known as Aputula, located alongside the ancient Finke River, which is said to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. Historic buildings include the old police station, the school and some remnants from the railway, but the standout is the sparkling white Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Finke is an Aboriginal community on the Old Ghan Railway
Aputula Store
A further 116km on was our destination for the day at Old Andado Station, and for the last hour or so in the late afternoon, we were in flat country amid distant glowing sandhills on the western edge of the Simpson Desert. When Old Andado appeared on a slight rise between two wide sandhills, its isolation couldn’t have been starker.
Old Andado Station — an outback museum
When they drilled for and found water in 1915, the McDill brothers, Robert and George, recognised the potential for cattle grazing and applied for the Andado pastoral lease covering 4200 square miles (10,800 square kilometres). By 1920, they had a two-room shack that grew into the old homestead we see today.
When Cecil Madigan passed through on his 1939 expedition of the Simpson Desert, he described “a typical Central Australian cattle station homestead, a corrugated iron house nicely whitewashed, some gum trees, well-built stockyards and a well and windmill nearby, with the usual black’s camp in the offing, all walled in between two high red sand ridges that stretched as far as the eye could see. Everything looked very arid and there was no feed to be seen round the station.”
Old Andado is a pioneer museum in the Simpson Desert
The property changed hands several times until Mac and Molly Clark took over in 1969, having worked there for 24 years as part-owners. They developed the property through tough and tragic times, but despite the hardships, it was government interference that ultimately brought them undone.
The Clarks had built a new homestead 20km to the west in the late 1950s, and the old place was used occasionally by their son and various workers. However, during the 1959-1969 drought, the relentless movement of sand completely covered the house, and it had to be dug out by hand.
Sadly, both Mac and the eldest son died in accidents in 1978. Although Molly and her family carried on, in 1984 the Northern Territory government ordered that their cattle herd be slaughtered due to the nearby South Australian brucellosis outbreak. Molly sold up, but in 1987 she was granted a 45sq km lease that included the old homestead, which she named Old Andado and operated as a tourist venture for many years. Molly died in 2012 and is buried on a hill to the east overlooking her home.
Communication in the 60s was by HF radio
The kitchen at Old Andado Station
Old Andado Station is now heritage-listed and managed by the Clark family and volunteers. A visit offers a walk through Molly Clark’s history, with the homestead and many outbuildings remaining as she left them. It’s quite a surprise to see the numerous items and photo albums available for visitors to enjoy. There’s interesting reading in the many books, copies of old documents and collections of Aboriginal history. Even the landline telephone still works! Molly must have been a remarkable character who, in later life, recognised the part women play by establishing the National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame — now the Women’s Museum of Australia — in Alice Springs.
The camping area close to Old Andado Homestead is by donation, and there’s water and a nearby bush toilet. Old Andado is a rarity because it’s unusual to find such an openly accessible part of our history, unspoiled by fences and cages and left in peace by visitors. Let’s hope it can stay that way. It’s quite an emotional experience sharing the hardships, joys and tragedies of outback life.
Old Andado Homestead is well-maintained
A detour to one of Australia’s rarest trees
After a couple of nights among Molly’s memories, we took the road north on open grasslands to the turnoff to the Madigan Line and the Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve. Here, a fenced-off area preserves one of our rarest trees, the Acacia peuce or waddywood, which is only found in two other locations. This hardy tree was prized for building and fencing, and thrives only after heavy rain, so the species is under threat. It’s worth an hour’s detour if plants are your thing.
Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve
Between Simpson Desert sandhills
Check out Google Earth to get an idea of the scale of the sand dunes in the Simpson Desert, which run nearly directly north–south for hundreds of kilometres. We drove for hours on good roads through the valley between two hills, with little change in the landscape and vegetation, consisting of low wattles, she-oaks, groves of spinifex and patches of wildflowers. Eventually, we emerged onto savannah country, surrounded by photo-perfect rocky red outcrops of the Arookara Range, and headed into Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte), around 80km south-east of Alice Springs.
Simpson Desert dunes
Outback art in Santa Teresa
Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte) was established in the 1950s as a Catholic mission, and the church still has a strong presence among the 700-strong Indigenous community. Set against low hills, the town is neatly laid out with a lively atmosphere. The Keringke Art Centre dates back to the 1980s, making it one of the oldest Indigenous art groups in the country, with about 60 artists represented, mostly women. The centre is open Monday to Thursday and welcomes travellers to explore. We were impressed with the colour and vibrancy of the contemporary artworks, which range from paintings on canvas to painted ceramics and furniture.
Keringke Art Centre in Santa Teresa
Chantelle Mulladad at Keringke Art Centre in Santa Teresa
Rock art and gorges
It’s an easy 80km drive into Alice Springs if you need to top up supplies. Otherwise, signposts divert onto the Ross Highway and the East MacDonnell Ranges. (Check out our 10 reasons to visit Alice Springs here.)
The 70km drive along Ross Highway leads to the next section of Binns Track at Arltunga Road. The campground at Trephina Gorge Nature Park, situated 5km off the highway, is easily accessible, and walking trails lead directly into the gorge from the campground. N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park, further along from Ross River Resort, is a more challenging 4WD adventure, but the rock art is remarkable, with 6000 petroglyphs visible on the 1.5km return walk through the gorge.
In part two, we’ll uncover some more gems along the northern part of the Binns Track, and that includes some actual gems!
Maps so you don’t get lost:
- Binns Track 4WD Adventure Guide (Westprint Outback Maps Published by Meridian Maps)
- Hema Maps Great Desert Tracks Atlas & Guide
Plan your Binns Track adventure
Kulgera Roadhouse
1 South Stuart Highway
Kulgera, Ghan NT 0872
P: 08 8956 0973
E: admin@kulgera.com.au
Mt Dare Hotel
Witjira SA 5734
P: 08 8670 7835
Witjira National Park
P: 08 8648 5328
Old Andado Station
Ghan NT 0872
P: 0411 667 110
E: info@oldandado.com.au
Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve
P: 08 8951 8250
Keringke Art Centre
Keringke Crescent
Santa Teresa NT 0872
P: 08 8956 0956
E: gallery@keringkearts.com.au
Trephina Gorge Nature Park
P: 08 8951 8250
N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park
P: 08 8951 8250
Respecting Indigenous culture, laws and protocol
Don’t be shy, say hello.
Be curious, ask and listen about language and culture; it shows appreciation and willingness to learn.
Seek permission from the Aboriginal Traditional Owners before going anywhere ‘off track’. Don’t be shy to ask where you should not go.
Dress respectfully and appropriately.
Ask for the consent of the person/people before taking their photo.
THE NEXT STEP
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Related articles:
10 reasons you should visit Alice Springs, NT
The Binns Track, Mt Dare to Timber Creek: Part 1