Under a desert sky

Perfect for first-time desert travellers, Sandy Blight Junction Road in outback Australia combines spectacular landscapes and gripping history.

Sandy Blight Junction Road, in outback Australia, is perfect for first-time desert travellers.

KEEN OUTBACK HISTORIANS and travellers will immediately recognise the name Sandy Blight Junction Road. It’s one of the famed outback highways constructed by legendary surveyor and road builder Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel Road Construction Party in 1960 (see page 119). Yes, the road’s name is odd but relevant, because poor Beadell was suffering a nasty eye infection while surveying the area.

Beadell described Sandy Blight Junction Road as a “scenic deviation” compared with other tracks he constructed, for which the most effective road-making method was often straight over diff icult terrain. Instead, he allowed the Sandy Blight route to wander and weave through a beautiful landscape.

Beadell’s foresight has resulted in a fantastic desert touring adventure that ensures travellers experience all the attractions of this spectacular arid landscape, which kept drawing him back long after his road-creating days were over.

Sandy Blight Junction Road is about 500km west of Alice Springs, and runs north–south along and over the Northern Territory–Western Australia border, starting from its namesake junction off the Beadell-built Gary Junction Road (now known by its Aboriginal name Kiwirrkurra Road) in the north, cutting through the Gibson Desert. The track follows a pleasantly meandering 320km course down to the Great Central Road, just west of Kaltukatjara (Docker River).

The track’s relatively short distance makes it a brilliant f irst outback foray for budding explorers keen on gaining experience in remote desert travel without jumping into longer journeys such as the Gunbarrel Highway (see page 119). You will still need to be self-suff icient in terms of water and food, although there is a water bore in the track’s southern section.

Walungurru (Kintore) is the northern fuel supply point and this community also has a great general store with a variety of food, drinks and accessories. Kaltukatjara is the southern refuel point and also has a well-stocked community store. You’ll also need two permits: see page 119 for details.

A special first day

The beginning of Sandy Blight Junction Road is reached via Kiwirrkurra Road, west of Alice Springs. If you’re travelling from Alice, as I did, I recommend an early start.

To link on to Kiwirrkurra Road, head west out of Alice and drive along Namatjira Drive, through the beautiful West MacDonnell Ranges, one of central Australia’s most recognisable landscapes.

With its mix of rocky terrain, large waterholes such as Glen Helen Gorge and Ormiston Gorge, and the ancient Finke River winding through it, the West Macs, as the range is colloquially known, offers a fantastic introduction to the Red Centre.

Glen Helen Lodge allows for a quick refuel and some snacks (and maybe a peek at the scenic waterhole just down from the store and homestead) before you continue west, along Kiwirrkurra Road for a few hours before reaching Sandy Blight Junction itself.

Here you turn left (south) and then travel not more than 10 minutes until you reach the turn-off to one of the Red Centre’s most magical campsites: Ngutjul Rocky Outcrop. This field of huge boulders, reminiscent of the Devils Marbles, hides a f lat, open area that’s an ideal place to lay down your swag or set up your tent or camper-trailer.

Watching the setting sun turn the immense rocks into a wall of blazing ochre is an extraordinary way to spend your f irst night on the track. The campsite also offers spectacular views of the nearby Kintore Range and Mt Strickland. The community of Walungurru is only 15 minutes drive from here, so you can either refuel before setting up camp, or duck across and do it the next morning before returning to the main track.

Soaking up the pioneering spirit

There’s a piece of Aussie exploration history along this track. After leaving Ngutjul Rocky Outcrop campsite, continue south towards the imposing Mt Leisler, with its distinctive bluff. It was named by William Tietkens, a member of the team on the second attempt by explorer Ernest Giles at an east–west crossing in the 1870s. Tietkens later, in 1889, led the Central Australian Exploring Expedition. He also blazed a tree here, which was rediscovered by Beadell while he was building the track.

Below Mt Leisler is the perfect place for morning tea. It is also worth looking around what is claimed to be Tietkens’ tree. I saw the ‘old’ tree, which was lying beside the track, with the remnants of a blaze still visible on one side. (When Beadell spotted it, it was still standing.)

There is also a Beadell marker on a nearby sign from 29 June 1960, stating he could clearly discern the markings T 5.89 (which stand for Tietkens May 1889) on the tree’s blaze. The tree and marker make a great memorial to two past explorers who shared the same space separated by the passage of 71 years.

A landscape full of surprises

The desert landscape in this region is surprisingly more than the vast barren f latness you might expect, with a number of ranges bordering the track. You will experience f lat, dry sections of the track followed by dune traverses and relatively deep sand, before you find yourself driving through magnificent stands of desert oaks, all the while shadowed by various mountainous ranges.

Rugged and imposing terrain – such as that in the Davenport Hills area, south of Mt Leisler, and the Bonython Range, straddling the NT–WA border – adds great scenic interest along this track. These ranges also hide water in secluded ravines and gorges – something Indigenous occupants have known

There’s a piece of Aussie exploration history along this track.

Beyond the variety of terrain on the main track, there are some not-to-be-missed side-trips.

for millennia, and which were a safeguard for those pioneering European explorers.

The best thing about desert travel is being able to select a decent campsite pretty much anywhere you please. Whether you’re after a totally open area, or one that is f lat and shaded by tall, leafy desert oaks, you’re spoilt for choice on Sandy Blight Junction Road. Nothing beats sitting by a desert campf ire after a day behind the wheel, and staring up at that clear, star-f illed night sky.

Beyond the variety of terrain on the main track, there are some not-to-be-missed side-trips, including one track to the high point of the Sir Frederick Range, along the central section of the route. The climb up the steep, loose and rocky trail to the top of the range is a little challenging, but within the reach of a competent driver. The effort is rewarded at the top with a 360-degree view over the vast western deserts. The huge cairn at this lofty point has garnered the nickname Two Can Hill, due to a rock cairn housing an old tin can containing visitors’ business cards and various oddments left behind.

Just a little further south from the Sir Frederick Range sidetrack is one of Sandy Blight Junction Road’s most memorable highlights: a collection of petroglyphs and sink holes. Just off the track you’ll f ind huge birds’ feet and other marks etched in stone by ancient ‘residents’ of this land. It’s a reminder of how long Australia’s Aboriginal people have been here and what recent interlopers Beadell and Giles really were.

One final secret

The final section south passes through seemingly endless stands of desert oaks. Also keep an eye open for the amusing and unexpected landmark of a long-deserted old bus, as you traverse – or more often loop around – a growing number of dunes near the track’s end.

This marks a return to what passes as semi-civilisation out here in the form of a left turn on to the Great Central Road and the final few kilometres to the spacious camping ground just outside Kaltukatjara (Docker River).

And then there’s that secret…

Mention Lewis Harold Bell Lasseter and most keen treasurehunters’ eyes will light up – and for good reason. In 1929 Lasseter claimed to have discovered a huge reef of gold in the NT–WA border region (see AG 150). Unable to remember its precise location, Lasseter launched an expedition in 1930 to search for it.

The expedition team fell apart through personal conf licts and Lasseter was left to survive on his own and attempt to get back to Uluru. He’s thought to have had sporadic help from local Aboriginal people but eventually died of dehydration and starvation while sheltering in a cave east of Kaltukatjara. His claimed gold reef has never been found, but you can visit Lasseters Cave, his f inal resting place. It’s a worthwhile side-trip and end-point to a fascinating story.

After spending a few days soaking up all Sandy Blight Junction Road has to offer, you can only tip your hat to Len Beadell’s reasoning behind its careful construction: the route is truly spectacular. The track itself, the beautiful, varied outback landscape it traverses, the aeons-old petroglyphs, and the true sense of remoteness all this invokes, combine to make an unforgettable experience for anyone wanting a first desert adventure experience.

Those memories will also no doubt encourage you to explore more of Len’s desert tracks.

Leaving the boulder-strewn Ngutjul Rocky Outcrop campsite, a fantastic first night’s camp on the Sandy Blight Junction Rd. From this campsite, you can see the nearby Kintore Range and Mt Strickland.

Our convoy descends from the top of Sir Frederick Range, where there is a huge cairn known as Two Can Hill due to an old tin full of visitors’ business cards and “we’ve been here too” notes.

Most, if not all, of Beadell’s original markers have been stolen or lost over the years. Replicas, such as this one (below) affixed to an old desert oak, have been produced and refitted by 4WD club members who are regular visitors to Beadell tracks.

Desert country can seem lifeless, but look closer and you’ll soon see it’s full of life, like this Graaf’s ring-tailed dragon.

You can refuel at Walungurru Community store (above). A star-lit night, and dinner cooked over an open fire (below) is a big part of the outback touring experience.

Lasseters Cave, where Lewis Lasseter died of starvation and dehydration when he returned for a reef of gold he claimed to have found in this area.

South of the Sir Frederick Range you will find an amazing collection of petroglyphs (including huge birds’ feet) and sink holes just off the side of the track.