Helen shares a bit about the realities of driving the Outback Way, especially in light of the stretches of bull dust that you can encounter. The Outback Way is 2700km long however much of it is not sealed and is in fact a gravel road only suitable for 4WD vehicles and off road campers/caravans. At the time of recording in September 2021, the gravel sections are from Laverton in WA through to Kata Tjuta in the NT, and then again from Hart’s Range in the NT through to Boulia in QLD. While there are some short sealed sections around the townships, there are hundreds of kilometres of gravel. The gravel sections can deteriorate quite quickly and pose a very real danger to travellers in unsuitable vehicles or who don’t know how to navigate bulldust. This is why the Outback Way is really only suitable for 4WD or high clearance all wheel drive vehicles and off-road campers and caravans. This is also why the Outback Highway Development Council is working hard to secure funding to seal the rest of the Outback Way, which is a large national infrastructure project expected to be finished in 2027/2028. In this episode Helen shares some suggestions on how to drive safely through bulldust sections and what is suitable for a successful trip on the Outback Way. Please take the necessary precautions, we want you to have a safe and wonderful trip on the Outback Way but we also want to ensure that you’re aware of some of the hazards that you may confront when you’re driving such a wonderful route. We want to be realistic about how the road can deteriorate and we want to warn you so can have the best possible trip You can find all notes and links on our website, www.outbackway.org.au where you can subscribe to our newsletter, buy our travel journal and download the app if you haven't already. Join us on Facebook and Twitter @OutbackWay1 Send your questions, comments and travel stories to [email protected] and if you share your story, we may even feature you on this podcast! Thank you for joining us through the heart of Australia, on Australia's longest short cut.