Binns Track, Northern Territory — Part one
Words John Ford and Robert Crack, pics John Ford & Supplied
You know a track is special when it still feels wild, even after thousands of tyres have run it thin. That’s the southern end of the Binns Track — big skies, bigger distances and the sort of silence that gets under your skin in the best possible way. And if you’re the sort of traveller who loves driving into the middle of nowhere just to see what’s there, this is your kind of odyssey.
Old Andado Road (Credit: John Ford)
A ranger’s dream becomes an outback epic
Binns Track might be only 17 years old in official terms, but it feels ancient — a sprawling 2230km ribbon of red dirt stretching from Mount Dare, just across the South Australia border, to Timber Creek near the Western Australia line.
The idea came from legendary Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission Ranger Bill Binns, who knew the NT’s backroads like most of us know our backyards. His vision?
A long-distance touring route linking remote national parks and sleepy reserves that most travellers would never otherwise see.
He teamed up with John Deckett from Westprint Maps, who — along with his wife Bev — went out to ground-truth the maze of old station tracks and stock routes. It didn’t always go well. Some station owners were less than thrilled to have curious cartographers wandering about; others insisted the routes didn’t exist. But the bones of the track were there … and eventually, the NT government brought it to life.
When the route opened in 2008, it was named in Binns’ honour. A fitting tribute to a bloke who spent three decades carving a career out of the Territory’s rough edges.
Original Binns Track Map (Courtesy of Meridian Maps)
How the track evolved
The original Binns Track alignment tried to run straighter — connecting directly to the Barkly Highway and the old Barkly Stock Route. But reality intervened. Station access closed. Tracks eroded. And some argued it was madness to create an NT showcase drive that skipped Alice Springs.
So, the modern route bends and flexes a bit, but the payoff is huge …
Rocky climbs. Low, shimmering dunes. Slow-going creek beds. Big, rolling gibber plains.
Most of the southern and central sections are suitable for well-equipped camper trailers. Up north, it gets a bit more gnarly — high-clearance 4WDs only — but alternate routes exist if you’re towing.
As always, conditions swing with weather and whatever mood the grader driver was in last month. On this run, the roads were surprisingly good.
Getting there — starting the long way round
Mount Dare or Timber Creek — choose your champion. Either way, you’ll spend a long time getting to the start line.
This trip began in Alice Springs thanks to Tourism NT, who organised a neat little Apollo Maverick 4WD camper. After 275km of sealed Stuart Highway down to Kulgera and a decent roadhouse lunch, it was time to swing east toward Finke.
Kulgera Pub. (Credit: Robert Crack)
Kulgera Roadhouse / Kulgera Pub: 'The First and Last Pub in the Northern Territory' and 'The Most Central Pub in Australia'. (Credit: Robert Crack)
Having visited Mount Dare previously — though never via Finke — it was now time to join Binns Track at Old Andado Station. But for the traditionalists, the Mt Dare Hotel (only 10km into SA) remains a classic launch point for Simpson Desert crossers.
A surprise at the centre of Australia
Heading toward Finke, the colour shifts subtly: more red dirt, less grass, more space between the mulga. That’s Central Australia showing its spine.
About 120km north of Kulgera, a modest roadside sign points to something grand: Lambert Centre of Australia — the calculated geographic centre of the mainland.
A stainless-steel flagpole (a smaller replica of the one on Parliament House) marks the spot, accessed via a 13km corrugated detour that’ll test the patience of anyone who likes their dental fillings seated properly. But the symbolism is worth the rattle.
Named after Dr Bruce P. Lambert OBE, the long-serving director of national mapping, it’s a strangely moving stop: the middle of everything … and the middle of nowhere.
Lambert Centre of Australia (Credit: John Ford)
Finke (Aputula) — a town with old stories
Finke (traditionally known as Aputula, the name used by the local Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara speakers in the community) was once a thriving stop along the Old Ghan Railway, with a station, housing and cattle yards. When the line moved west in the late 1970s, the town became the First Nations community known as Aputula, resting beside the ancient Finke River — often cited as one of the world’s oldest rivers.
Historic remnants linger: the police station, the schoolhouse and bits of railway heritage. But the standout structure is the brilliant-white Seventh-day Adventist Church — a beacon against the red dunes.
Finke (Aputula) (Credit: John Ford)
Another 116km on, the track eases toward the Simpson Desert’s western edge, and Old Andado rises out of the sand like a time capsule left behind by sheer stubbornness.
Old Andado Station (Credit: John Ford)
Old Andado Station — heart, hardship and history
The McDill brothers struck water here in 1915 and staked a massive pastoral lease. By 1920, the first shack appeared, slowly expanding into the homestead seen today.
Cecil Madigan described it perfectly while mid-expedition in 1939: a corrugated-iron home, tidy and whitewashed, framed by windmills, stockyards and two enormous sand ridges. Stark. Isolated. Hungering for rain.
Ownership of the station changed hands several times until Mac and Molly Clark took over in 1969. They endured drought, shifting dunes and personal loss: both Mac and their eldest son died in separate accidents in 1978.
Then came the government order in 1984 to destroy their cattle due to a brucellosis outbreak across the border. It was the blow that forced Molly to sell.
But she wasn’t done. In 1987, she secured a lease over 45 square kilometres — including the old homestead — and turned Old Andado into a rustic outback tourism experience. Molly ran it with grit and charm until her passing in 2012. She now rests on a nearby hill overlooking her beloved home.
Old Andado Station (Credit: John Ford)
Today Old Andado is heritage-listed and maintained by the Clark family and volunteers. The homestead is exactly as Molly left it — photo albums, letters, boots, spanners, history books and even a working landline phone. You step through the door and are swallowed whole by a century of stories.
Old Andado Station (Credit: John Ford)
Camping is by donation, with water and a bush toilet. It’s one of the few places where outback history hasn’t been sanitised, boxed or fenced. Long may that continue.
Old Andado Station (Credit: John Ford)
A detour for the botany buffs
A short run north brings you to the Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve, home to one of Australia’s rarest trees — the Acacia peuce, or waddywood. These tough desert dwellers once made excellent fence posts and tools, but they only regenerate after heavy rain, and their range has shrunk to just three locations.
Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve (Credit: John Ford)
If you’re a plant tragic, budget for an hour. It’s worth it.
Mac Clark sign (Credit: John Ford)
Driving between the Simpson’s great red ridges
Pull up Google Earth later and trace the Simpson’s dunes — long, ruler-straight north–south ridges stretching to the horizon.
Hours were spent weaving between two of them, cruising along smooth valley roads lined with spinifex, low wattles, she-oaks and the odd burst of wildflowers. Eventually the land opened into broad savannah, revealing the beautiful Arookara Range glowing rust-red in the afternoon light.
Simpson Desert dunes (Credit: John Ford)
The road nudged our convoy toward Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte), an Aboriginal Community with deep Catholic roots and an unexpectedly strong arts scene.
Santa Teresa — colour, culture and quiet tracks
Established in the 1950s as a mission, Santa Teresa is home to around 700 people and one of Australia’s oldest First Nations art collectives — the Keringke Art Centre.
Keringke Art Centre (Credit: John Ford)
Open Monday to Thursday, it showcases vivid, contemporary works by mostly female artists. Painted ceramics, canvases and furniture, all bursting with colour and energy. It’s a must-stop if you enjoy art that tells a layered story in every pattern.
Santa Theresa Metal Camel (Credit: John Ford)
Rock art, gorges and East MacDonnell magic
From Santa Teresa, it’s an easy 80km back into Alice Springs for supplies — or you can swing directly onto the Ross Highway and into the East MacDonnell Ranges.
Trephina Gorge Nature Park offers fantastic campgrounds, walking trails starting straight from camp and classic red-cliff scenery.
John Hayes Rockhole, Trephina Gorge Nature Park (Credit: Robert Crack)
Further along, N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park delivers 6000 ancient petroglyphs on a rocky 1.5km return walk. It’s a 4WD-only detour, but absolutely worth it.
What’s next?
This is just the southern half of the Binns Track — the warm-up act, really.
Keep an eye out for part two, when we’ll take you north into stone country, spinifex plains and one of the NT’s richest gem fields.
Stay tuned — and start planning.
Because tracks like this don’t just give you a destination.
They give you a story.
Maps so you don’t get lost
Binns Track 4WD Adventure Guide (Westprint Outback Maps Published by Meridian Maps)
Plan your Binns Track adventure
1 South Stuart Highway
Kulgera, Ghan NT 0872
P: 08 8956 0973
E: admin@kulgera.com.au
Witjira SA 5734
P: 08 8670 7835
P: 08 8648 5328
Ghan NT 0872
P: 0411 667 110
E: info@oldandado.com.au
Mac Clark (Acacia Peuce) Conservation Reserve
P: 08 8951 8250
Keringke Crescent
Santa Teresa NT 0872
P: 08 8956 0956
E: gallery@keringkearts.com.au
P: 08 8951 8250
P: 08 8951 8250
Honouring First Nations traditions, laws and customs
Greet people warmly — don’t hesitate to say hello. Show genuine interest by asking questions and listening about language and culture; this demonstrates respect and a desire to learn. Always obtain permission from Aboriginal Traditional Owners before exploring areas away from marked paths, and feel free to ask which places are off-limits. Dress in a manner that is modest and culturally appropriate. Before taking any photographs, make sure you have the person’s consent.
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