‘Disturbs me’: Remote Aussie road sign shocks internet

An outback road sign warning how long drivers will go without phone reception proves just how big Australia is, and it is freaking some people out.

How does a six hour drive with no reception sound? You would want to hope you don’t break down.

An image of a sign on a remote Queensland road warning drivers there will be no signal for 630km has emerged on social media.

That is almost the distance from Melbourne to Canberra, and it would take you about six hours when driving at 100 km/h.

The sign is on Diamantina Developmental Road, which runs from Charleville in the south-central part of the state to Mount Isa in the north-west.

It is one of Australia’s longest roads (1344 km) and is mostly sealed, often single-lane. However, there are some long dirt sections.

Diamantina Developmental Road sign advising drivers there will be no signal for a long time. Picture: Reddit / @Rd28T

“Hope you packed your satellite phone!” the Reddit user captioned the photo of the sign, among other pictures of signs along the route, including one with tips for safe driving.

The tips include moving off the road for road trains (really long trucks) and being aware of cattle, horses and wildlife.

Another sign had tips for driving safe in the Aussie outback. Picture: Reddit / @Rd28T

The post attracted plenty of attention – and not just from Australians.

“I moved to Perth from SoCal (Southern California) and every now and then I get hit by how remote stuff can be here in Australia,” one person wrote.

“Is there any civilization in the outback? Like are there remote towns out there? Every time I’ve seen one of those ‘light maps’ of Australia it looks like literally the entire country is on the coast and the center is just a giant barren desert,” wrote another.

One said: “Imagine the USA with just cities on each coast with nothing in between.”

There are actually a few outback towns along the Diamantina Developmental Road, including Quilpie (with a population of 595 according to the 2016 Census and best known as an opal town), Windorah (115), Bedourie (122), Boulia (301 people and hosts annual camel races) and Dajarra (191 people and once the largest trucking depot in the world).

One Australian user, who said they had been on similar but smaller trips, said: “Routes like this and the Canning Stock Route just f***ing disturb me. It’s so hard to fully grasp the enormity of this country’s remoteness.”

Camels roam freely on the Canning Stock Route, another long and remote drive in Australia. Picture: Tourism WA

Another instructed, “10L of water per person per day, sleeping supplies cause half of Australia is a f***ing desert and it gets freezing overnight and a satellite phone are must have items.

“If you break down in the middle of nowhere on a back road that is only travelled once a month maybe and don’t have supplies it’s essentially game over.”

The Canning Stock Route, the longest historic stock route in the world, is a track that runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna in the mid-west region of the state.

It is 1850 km long and is popular with four-wheel drivers looking for an adventure. You must have a permit to drive the route.

Another top comment on the post said: “Imagine being the people building the road the first time.”

A perfect job for someone who doesn’t mind a break from technology and a lot of dust!