The Sandover Highway is an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

unsealed track in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

between the

Plenty Highway The Plenty Highway is a outback mostly unsealed road in the Northern Territory of Australia between the Stuart Highway and north-western Queensland. Route description The road begins at a turnoff from the Stuart Highway north of Alice Spring ...

north of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

and the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

border.

Description

The highway's name is derived from the

Sandover River The Sandover River is an ephemeral river in the Northern Territory of Australia located in northeast Central Australia. It is the only major tributary of the Georgina River that does not rise in western Queensland. Instead it flows from the e ...

because its alignment follows that of the river. At its western end the road branches north from the Plenty Highway east of the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

. Its total length is and it passes through semi-arid spinifex deserts and blacksoil

Mitchell grass ''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass aft ...

plains. The designated highway finishes just east of Alpurrurulam at the Northern Territory/Queensland border, but the track continues into Queensland for where it joins the Camooweal Urandangi Road, which runs north to

Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 208 people. Geography The l ...

Accessibility

The track crosses Urapuntja lands, which is an Aboriginal homelands area. No permits are needed to travel on the track; however, they are necessary for travellers wishing to visit Aboriginal communities off-track. Although the first part of the track can be negotiated by conventional vehicles, use of a

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

vehicle is recommended after Ammaroo. Each year the wet season floods the black soil plains at the eastern end of the Sandover Highway and Alpurrurulam and

Lake Nash Alpurrurulam, from the original Aboriginal name ''Ilperrelhelame'', also known as Lake Nash, is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the territory's east about south-east of the territory capital of Darwin and about ea ...

become completely inaccessible, even to four-wheel drive vehicles. Flooding can also occur after brief but heavy thunderstorms during the dry season.

Stations and fuel

Ammaroo Station has a shop with basic supplies. Fuel is available but there are no camping facilities. Another fuel supply along the track can be found at Arlparra.

Woodgreen Station Woodgreen Station, also spelt Wood Green and also known as Atartinga, is a cattle station located in the Northern Territory of Australia, to the northeast of Alice Springs, extending approximately . It was also known as (Mer) Athatheng by so ...

, also known as Atartinga, covers approximately , and is located around north of Alice Springs on the Sandover Highway.

References

Australian outback tracks Highways in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub

Description

Accessibility

Stations and fuel

See also

References