The Red Highway
To call it a ‘highway’ is a colossal overstatement. In reality, it is a rough, unsealed bush track with the reputation of being the worst outback road in Australia. Despite that – or perhaps because of it – the journey offers an offroad desert experience of a lifetime and is popular among four-wheel drivers as an alternative to the Eyre Highway for crossing the continent's arid southern region.
Much of the track traverses a red sandy base but surface conditions vary widely from firmly packed to very soft and rutted. There are long stretches of corrugations, with some washouts, and in places the track is so narrow that vehicle paintwork and external fittings are threatened by the encroaching scrub.
In good conditions, the journey can be completed in five days but longer should be allowed for sightseeing or dealing with unforeseen circumstances. There are many points of interest, including Emu Field which was ‘ground zero’ during the ‘Operation Totem’ atomic tests in the 1950s. Opportunities for bush camping abound along the route, with nothing to disturb the tranquility of this remote outback setting under a sparkling Milky Way.
The Great Victoria Desert
At an estimated 424,400sq km, the Great Victoria is Australia's largest desert, ranking third on a world scale behind the Sahara and Arabian Deserts. Its vast, sandy dunefields blanket the southern inland from the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia to the Gawler Ranges in South Australia. On its arid
