Darwin to Uluru - Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin - page 545

Changing State of Registration Note that registering a vehicle in a different state to the
one it was previously registered in can be difficult, time consuming and expensive.

REGISTRATION
'Rego' is usually renewed annually Australia-wide. This generally requires no more than
payment of the registration fee, but SA and the NT have some extra considerations to
think about:

» SA You can pay for three, six, nine or 12 months registration.

» NT Vehicle roadworthy inspections are required once the vehicle is three years old. Ve-
hicles older than three years, but less than 10 years old, require a roadworthy inspection
every two years until they reach their 10th year. Vehicles over 10 years old require an an-
nual roadworthy inspection.

ROAD TRANSPORT AUTHORITIES
For more information about processes and costs in central Australia:

Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure SA ( 13 10 84;

www.dpti.sa.gov.au )

Department of Transport NT ( 1300 654 628; www.transport.nt.gov.au )

Road Conditions, Hazards & Parking
Sealed Roads In SA, all major highways into Adelaide are bitumen in good condition.
Further north in the outback, the Stuart Hwy and the main roads into Lyndhurst, Roxby
Downs and Wilpena Pound are the only bitumen roads - the rest are unsealed. In the NT,
the Stuart Hwy into Darwin is sealed, as is the loop road through Kakadu and the main
highways into WA and Queensland.

Unsealed Roads Driving on unsealed roads requires special care, as cars perform differ-
ently when braking and turning on dirt. Conditions vary from well-maintained gravel to
rough corrugations, deep sand and dust. Heavy rain will quickly turn some roads into
muddy skating rinks, many impassable when wet. If a road is officially closed because of
heavy rain, you can be fined up to $1000 per wheel for travelling on it. Under no circum-
stances exceed 80km/h on dirt roads; if you go faster you won't have time to respond to a
sharp turn, stock on the road or an unmarked gate or cattle grid. Take your time and don't
try to break the land-speed record.

Road Condition Reports For up-to-date SA road conditions, call 1300 361 033 or check
www.dpti.sa.gov.au/outbackroads ; in the NT call 1800 246 199 or check
www.roadreport.nt.gov.au .
Animal Hazards Collisions with kangaroos, cattle, camels, brumbies and emus can be a
real hazard. The result of a collision with an animal at high speed in a car can be disas-