Barkly Highway, Australia: Length, towns and fuel stops
The Barkly Highway in outback Australia is 754km long, and is the only sealed road between Queensland and the Northern Territory. The only towns on the Barkly Highway are Cloncurry, Mount Isa and Camooweal.
The Barkly Highway passes through some of the most remote stretches of Australia’s outback. But it is the key link between northern Queensland and the Northern Territory. If you’re travelling from Brisbane to Darwin, or Mount Isa to Katherine, you’ll drive along the Barkly Highway. The same applies to going along the sealed route from Cairns to Darwin.
The Barkly Highway is the only sealed road between Queensland and the Northern Territory. It begins in Cloncurry, Queensland, where the Flinders Highway and Landsborough Highway terminate.
How long is the Barkly Highway?
The Barkly Highway is 754km long, and is badged as National Highway A2 until the border. Once in the Northern Territory, it becomes National Highway 66.
The biggest town on the Barkly Highway is Mount Isa. The drive from Cloncurry to Mount Isa is 121km long, with feasible road trip stops including the Burke and Wills memorial and the ghostly Mary Kathleen township.
Barkly Highway, Queensland: Mount Isa and Camooweal
Attractions in Mount Isa include the Riversleigh Fossil Centre and the Mount Isa Family Fun Park. The turning for the Boulia – Mount Isa Highway (aka the Diamantia Developmental Highway) towards Boulia is here.
The next town along the Barkly Highway – indeed, the only other town along the Barkly Highway – is Camooweal. Here, the Drovers Camp gives a good education on the cattle droving industry. Wiliyan-ngurru National Park, formerly known as Camooweal Caves National Park, offers wildlife-laced walks to a couple of cave mouths.
Camooweal is also the best base for exploring the Boodjamulla National Park – home to Lawn Hill Gorge. Access is along the Gregory Downs – Camooweal Developmental Road towards Burketown.
Barkly Highway in the Northern Territory
Shortly after Camooweal, the Barkly Highway comes to the Northern Territory border. Enjoy taking a picture of the border sign, because that’s all the excitement you’ll get for a long time.
Barkly Homestead, 260km west of Camooweal, is the only fuel stop before you reach the Stuart Highway just north of Tennant Creek. It’s 187km from Barkly Homestead to the Threeways Roadhouse. Again, there is absolutely nothing worth seeing along the way.
