Tennant Creek to Katherine drive: Distance, drive time & road trip stops

The Tennant Creek to Katherine drive is a tough 675km grind up the Stuart Highway. Northern Territory road trip stops and attractions along the way include Lake Woods, the Daly Waters Pub and the Mataranka Thermal Pool.

The drive up the Stuart Highway from Tennant Creek to Katherine in the Northern Territory is not an especially appealing one. However, as part of a wider Australian outback road trip, the Tennant Creek to Katherine drive has a somewhat hypnotic appeal. You can see how the landscape morphs from desert scrub to hints of the tropics along the way.

Tennant Creek to Katherine drive: Distance and driving time

The full distance of the Tennant Creek to Katherine drive is 675km. That’s an awful lot to cover in one day, and the Tennant Creek to Katherine driving time is an estimated six hours and 58 minutes. Ouch.

There is astonishingly little to see on the way, either. The Threeways Roadhouse is just north of Tennant Creek at the junction of the Barkly Highway. And the next stop is the Renner Springs Desert Inn, about 160km north of Tennant Creek. But the first dose of anything resembling joy comes at the Lake Woods Conservation Covenant a little to the north.

Tennant Creek to Katherine drive: Lake Woods and Daly Waters

Lake Woods is an ephemeral lake, which fills up during periods of rain. The surrounding wetlands are good for birdwatching. More importantly, however, it’s a change that the landscape is changing.

The shift from Red Centre to Top End becomes considerably more pronounced around Newcastle Waters.

But for somewhere to stay the night, plump for Daly Waters, just after the junction of the Stuart Highway and Carpentaria Highway. Here, the Daly Waters Pub is a notoriously good fun outback pub. Bank notes and underwear from around the world decorate the interiors, and live bands play in the beer garden. If you’re staying in the rudimentary Daly Waters pub accommodation, expect a sordid hangover the next morning.

Click through to the next section – Larrimah Roadhouse and Elsey National Park.