The Mereenie Loop Road

Driving Between Alice Springs/The West MacDonnell Ranges And Uluru/Kings Canyon

The unsealed Mereenie Loop Road lets you drive directly from Kings Canyon (Watarrka National Park) to the West MacDonnell Ranges - or the other way round - without backtracking.

You see it promoted everywhere as a "spectacular drive through striking desert country", but I think that's a bit over the top.

Sure, it is beautiful country, but so is every other bit of country around Alice Springs.

The Mereenie Loop Road

© Tourism NT

There isn't any special scenery along the Mereenie Loop that you can't afford to miss.

(But it is a nice drive.)

The Mereenie Loop Road is simply a short cut from the West MacDonnell Ranges to Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon).

If you want to visit not only Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon, but also want to see the West MacDonnells, or maybe Finke Gorge National Park (Palm Valley) and Hermannsburg, then you will probably use it.


What do you need to know?

The Mereenie Loop Road is an unsealed road and four wheel drive is recommended, but you usually don't need it. The only exception may be after rain, if the road has been damaged, or if it is still wet. If it rained recently the road may be closed.

But as I said, usually any old car is just fine. All you have to deal with are pretty bad corrugations (unless you are lucky and they just graded it).

The Mereenie Loop Road takes you through Aboriginal country, so you need a permit (see below) and you are not allowed to do anything here. Don't leave the road, don't park and go walking, no picnicking, no camping, no nothing.

The only place where you are allowed to pull up is the official "Jump-up" Lookout and rest area, not far north of the Watarrka National Park border.


Distances

The distance of the Mereenie Loop itself (the part that requires a permit, see below) is 93 km.

The distances between the nearest accommodation options / fuel outlets are as follows:


Map

This is a good free printable map of the whole area. (The map is a .pdf document and you need Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print it. If it's not installed on your computer get it here for free.)


Permits

The permit costs A$ 2.20 (as of 2007) and is only issued on the day you are driving! (I tried to get one the night before so we could leave early. No such luck...)

You can buy a permit at the Alice Springs Tourist Office, in Hermannsburg, at Glen Helen, and at Kings Canyon Resort.

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