TO HELL'S GATE AND BEYOND...

BURKETOWN TO BORROLOOLA TAKES IN THE SOUTHERN GULF COUNTRY OF THE FAMOUS SAVANNAH WAY TOURIST ROUTE, A SERIES OF HIGHWAYS,, ROADS AND TRACKS THAT SPAN THE NORTH OF AUSTRALIA FROM CAIRNS IN THE EAST TO BROOME IN THE WEST

- KEV SMITH

THE Savannah Way is around 3700km of stunning, remote, isolated and historically injected areas all linked by bone-jarring corrugated roads. It’s an iconic drive covering two states and one territory in Australia (Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia) passing by five World Heritage sites, 15 National Parks, endless free camping and station stays making it a journey waiting to be explored.

From the east, your Savannah travel route can start at Cairns in thick tropical rainforest, then through the deep outback gorges and end in the historic town of Broome or even in Kakadu National Park. Top Savannah Way highlights include the amazing rock formations of the Lost City, ancient Aboriginal rock art, impressive waterfalls, remote driving and much more.

Now while there’s so much to see and do over the 3700km, I found an array of history and stunning scenery in a short 700km section between Burketown in Qld and Borroloola in the south-western gulf region of the NT. That’s the great thing about the Savannah Way, you don’t have to do the whole journey at once, its easy to break away from it to explore different regions.

Burketown, right in the dip of the Gulf of Carpentaria seems so far away from life and anything else, but back in the day (1860-90) this area was alive with industry and fellow pastoralists looking for new land to settle on. Wind the clock back to 1841 when John Stokes explored the gulf’s coastline in HMS Beagle and liking what he saw, described the area as ‘the plains of promise’. Then, 20 years on in 1861, legendary explorers Burke and Wills travelled by land to finally reach the area, opening it up for settlement in 1864.