With all due respect to Cindy I seriously question whether that picture is the Stuart Hwy. I enlarged the picture and it appears to be an unsealed road. Also there is no sign of a centre line or fog lines. I think Cindy's source may have used a little journalistic licence.
The Stuart Hwy is an excellent road in normal times and I think there would be evidence of this in the picture even allowing for the damage.
I was going to start a thread saying I thought the Stuart Highway was sealed. Certainly doesn't look it in this photo. Was really surprised it wasn't a better road.
Gad Zeus!!! Would the same reputable journalistic source which brought you stories such as ‘Hairy Potholes’ , ‘Are you Ready for Holiday Chaos?” and ‘My Grey Nomad Travelling Companion was an Alien’ deliberately misrepresenta photo’s location? Hmmmm! Actually, please don’t answer that one! In all seriousness, the photo in question originally appeared in the Northern Territory News and is indeed reputed to be a section of the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Alice.Obviously, I can’t 100% guarantee its accuracy as I didn’t take the pic, but I believe it to be genuine … unless of course, you guys know different. Grey nomad forensic teams go to work … I’m sure we’d all be interested in your findings.
Theres a "10 meter long strip" mentioned in the story which had lost its tarmac, but the picture looks more than a 10 meter strip. You can alter appearances with a zoom camera, but if its genuine, its going to be an interesting drive!
The Stuart highway between Alice and Darwin was sealed during World War II, by (I think,) US Army Engineers. It's all been rebuilt since those days but one can get a feel for what it was like by taking the diversion via "Churchills Head" north of TC. One can get an idea of what the road south of Alice was like from reading Len Beadell's books.
There was no rail link between Alice and the North Australia Railway at Birdum Creek and the highway was an important link for troop movements and supplies during the war. There were many staging camps along the way and it was quite a logistical exercise. My father was involved in much of this and I recall him telling me about it.
The sites of many of these and the associated airfields are marked and in some cases the concrete plinths of the buildings remain. The Stuart Hwy does have quite a history
