Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Australia's Highway 1. The principal north–south route through the central interior of mainland Australia, the highway is often referred to simply as "The Track". The highway is named after Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart, who was the first European to cross Australia from south to north. The highway approximates the route Stuart took. Route description Overview Stuart Highway runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, in the north, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta, South Australia, in the south – a distance of . The Royal Flying Doctor Service uses the highway as an emergency landing strip and sections of the highway are signed to that effect. These sections of highway have been specially selected and prepared for the landing of aircraft which only takes place after the piece of road has been closed by the police. There are petrol and other facilities (meals, toilets, etc.) available at reasonable intervals (usually around ) and more frequent rest stops. Some of the rest stops are located at scenic points with information boards, but others are little more than a picnic table and a rubbish bin in an otherwise deserted area. Northern Territory The Northern Territory section of the Stuart Highway starts from the edge of the Darwin central business district at Daly Street and continues as a dual-carriageway to the Arnhem Highway in Howard Springs. The highway continues south passing the Kakadu Highway to the Victoria Highway at Katherine. At Daly Waters, the route number changes from A1 to A87. The highway then continues south passing the Roper Highway, the Carpentaria Highway and the Buchanan Highway to the Barkly Highway at Tennant Creek. The highway continues south into Alice Springs passing the Plenty Highway. It passes through the Macdonnell Ranges and finally crosses the Northern Territory/South Australia border south of Kulgera. The highway was only fully sealed in February 1987 as part of the Australian Bicentenary roadworks programme. There are no police patrolling the majority of this remote highway and until the end of 2006 there was no speed limit outside towns and other built-up areas on the Northern Territory part. The unrestricted limit has now been generally set at .