Driving to Weipa

From April to November you can drive from Laura to Weipa without any issues. Just about any vehicle is capable of the drive, although most prefer four-wheel drives due to the suspension and comfort on the corrugations.

If travelling from Cairns or Mareeba, you'll make your way up the Mulligan Highway to Lakeland, before turning west towards Laura.

Once you arrive at Laura, there's 512km to Weipa. This is when the road becomes a mixture of sealed and unsealed.

The good news for travellers is that the Peninsula Developmental Road is the best it has ever been. The longest patch of dirt road is about 20km, which means if you get stuck behind someone and can't overtake due to the dust, you won't have to wait long until there's a sealed section.

Check out our Fuel in Weipa and Cape York page to find the details of roadhouses along the way, but you shouldn't go more than 200km without a fuel stop.

Once you get into the wet season (December to March) the road conditions change on a daily basis depending on the rain. Travellers are advised to check conditions before departing and to be prepared to wait for river crossings to drop.