Gary Junction Permits, Fuel and Supplies. All The Information You Need!

If you’re thinking of travelling the Gary Junction Road, you’ll need information on permits, fuel and supplies.

Note: This information is current as of April, 2024. Call a few of the communities before you leave to confirm they still have fuel and supplies, as they can close without notice.

Transit Permits

This can be confusing. Before you leave you’ll need two Transit Permits, as you’ll be travelling through Aboriginal land. They are:

• Permit to Transit Aboriginal Land for PAPUNYA TO WA BORDER TOWARDS KIWIRRKURRA. Go here to apply.
• Permit for 17614 NGAANYATJARRA CENTRAL RESERVE. This allows you to travel through Kiwirrkurra country and enter the community for fuel and supplies. Go here to apply.

If you plan to visit the Haast’s Bluff community, you’ll need a third permit. It is GLEN HELEN TO PAPUNYA (Glen Helen-Papunya Road). Go here to apply.

All of these are free and easy to obtain online… once you know which permits you need!

And if you think you won’t bother with permits, you might want to have a re-think. Our permit was checked at the office in Kiwirrkurra. If we didn’t have a permit, we wouldn’t have been allowed into the community to buy fuel.

Make sure your permit is accessible on your phone or tablet so you can show it when required.

Permits are easy to get and are free of charge. I often hear people saying they don’t understand why they need a permit and so on. You’re travelling through other peoples’ land, so to me a permit is perfectly reasonable.

You wouldn’t dream (I hope!) of driving through someone’s cattle station without asking first. Aboriginal land is no different.

One final comment to keep in mind. You need to specify a start and finish date, and the permit’s duration is limited (usually around 21 days). So you need to plan carefully.

Fuel and Supplies

Fuel is available at Papunya, Mt Liebig, Kintore, Kiwirrkurra, Kunawarritji and Punmu. Be aware they all have unusual opening times and they close at lunchtime. Weekends, they are only open for a few hours.

Check opening times before you leave. All quality maps should have contact numbers. So you can call before you leave, to double-check opening times.

One watch-out. Kiwirrkurra is in Western Australia, however they operate on Northern Territory time.

Another thing to keep in mind. Being only 4km from the Canning Stock Route, the fuel at Kunawarritji is up to $1 per litre more expensive than the next most expensive fuel along the Gary Junction Road.

And of course fuel is expensive out here. Hardly surprising given the distances involved, plus the maintenance bills after pounding a road train to pieces to get the fuel out here.

You can get basic supplies wherever you can buy fuel. Keep in mind though, their supplies are solely reliant on the delivery truck arriving on schedule. And out here, a delivery truck can easily be delayed by several days. Therefore you shouldn’t rely on these stores.

Telfer Gold Mine has no public access. This means no fuel, supplies or accommodation. 

In Summary

Gary Junction permits are simple to obtain once you know which ones you need.

Likewise, fuel and supplies are frequent enough to keep you on the move. If you find any additional places, please let me know in the Comments below, and I’ll add them to this article.

Most importantly, enjoy your trip across the Gary Junction Road. It’s difficult not to!

Gary Junction Road runs through Luritja, Pintupi and Mardu Country. We also travelled through Nyangumarda and Nyamal Country.

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Any errors or omissions are mine alone.

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Looking for more Western Australian Destinations? Then go here.

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