Rest areas in the Northern Territory

Reading the numbers

In the Northern Territory one road shapes the list. The Stuart Highway carries 85 of the 211 rest areas in the national dataset, about two in five. Then come the Victoria Highway (21) and the Carpentaria Highway (20), with the Arnhem Highway and the Barkly Highway on 14 each. There is no locality field for these records, so the place name and the dot on the map are what you have to go on.

Drinking water is listed at 52 sites (25 per cent), more often than toilets, which are listed at 21 (10 per cent). Shelter is listed at 44, picnic tables at 48 and barbecues at 41, so roughly one stop in five lists each of those. Carry enough water for the gaps regardless, since a listing in the dataset cannot tell you whether a tank holds water on the day you arrive.

The top of the list below is the group of stops that list toilets, drinking water, shelter, picnic tables and barbecues together, including Attack Creek, Newcastle Waters, Prowse Gap, Finke River and the stop named NT/SA Border. Next come entries such as 41 Mile Bore, Connors Well and Central Mt Stuart, which list water, shelter, tables and barbecues without a toilet listed. Those are worth noting on long days when you want shade and a table more than anything else.

Sharing with heavy vehicles is the norm here: a heavy vehicle area is listed at 149 sites, or 71 per cent. A sealed surface is listed at 109 (52 per cent), so about half the stops have a seal on record. The dataset is silent on whether you can stay the night. Overnight rules vary, so read the signs at each stop, check the state road agency or council rules, and see the camping-rules guide for the Northern Territory linked on this page.