ACROSS the TOP
It’s the most exciting way to get from Karumba to Katherine — rattling off the bitumen across the Gulf of Carpentaria and taking the back way through Limmen to the mighty Roper River and Mataranka. Covering truly rugged ground, this is where solitude is found — dining on coal-baked barramundi on the edge of a pandanus-fringed waterway.
The adventure begins on the outskirts of Normanton, west of Cairns, where you should fuel and stock up for the 720km border run to Borroloola. More and more bitumen is sealing this first part of the route, but heavy summertime rains routinely scour out roads. Here, nothing can be taken for granted. Flooded river causeways, washed out tracks, and rigid corrugations combine to test the best 4WD vehicles and rigs, so make sure yours is sturdy with high-clearance.
SKIRTING THE GULF
From Normanton to Hells Gate, the Savannah Way skirts the Gulf of Carpentaria at a safe distance, staying well clear of the crocodile mangroves that challenged Burke and Wills
