Home Our Trip WA - North 31-Gibb River Road
31-Gibb River Road

23rd September 2008.
The legendary Gibb River Road was originally constructed in the early 60's to provide the isolated cattle stations, a transport link to the ports at Wyndham and Derby. In more recent times, the road trains have been joined by the ever growing band of tourists as the route becomes known as one of Australia's last adventure drives. Like most of our destinations, we'd heard conflicting reports ranging from "the worst road anywhere" to "It's a doddle".

As we didn't know who or what to believe, we made sure we had plenty of food and water reserves, two spare tyres, puncture repair kit, extra diesel and so the list went on and finally set off on the 647kms through the heart of the Kimberley.

Gibb River Road:


We had already made the decision not to do all the gorges and side tracks as this can add over 3,000kms to the trip, and had planned where we were going to stop.
As we had left the caravan in Halls Creek, we back tracked down through Fitzroy Crossing then headed north past Tunnel Creek and camped the first night at Windjana Gorge.  An early start next morning got us on the GRR and we were pleasantly surprised by the good condition of the notorious dirt road.  Climbing up through and over the King Leopold Ranges was amazing and the scenic landscapes continued for over 50kms. The road is still reasonably good and we pass a few caravans on the way.
 

Bell Gorge:

First stop was Bell Gorge. The road in (29kms) is 4WD only and gets a little rough. Marlene was not happy when she saw how long the walk trail was to get down into the falls, but off we go and it's a long hard walk over the rugged terrain in the searing 41 degree heat. A quick dunk in the cool water brings the body temperature down so we can get on and take in the delightful falls. It was definitely worth the walk.

 As you can imagine, the walk back, all uphill, was even worse.

Back on the GRR:

The road is still surprisingly good and we doddle along at 80kms. You could easily travel a lot faster, but we don't know what's around the next corner and dips and creek crossings appear out of nowhere without any warning, so decide to be safe and stay at 80. Every now and then, the corrugations start but they're not too bad.

Imintji Store was next stop for diesel. (NOTE: they don't sell petrol) and Over The Range Repairs around the back is the only workshop on the GRR.  
 

Mornington Wilderness Camp:


The turn off is 26kms from Imintji Store and the 82kms trip in is mostly on perfect dirt road. The last 20kms gets rough so allow around 1.5 to 2 hours to get to the camp. As there were only two other campers, we found a perfect bush site with plenty of shade. The open air reception / visitor centre also doubles as a bar and restaurant and is a welcome sight at the end of a hot dusty day. Next morning, we're of to see the gorges and decide to hire a canoe for the day at $60.00, which was a bit expensive, but what can you do. The drive out to Dimond Gorge takes at least an hour and is over some very rough and rugged terrain. Once there, couldn't see the canoes anywhere. Eventually after searching for over half an hour over rough, rocky trails, we find them, but guess what, there's no #~^>??? oars or paddles. Walk as close to the gorge as possible, take some photos and do some filming and head back to the visitor centre. Don't really know what I'm going to say coz I'm now feeling like an idiot for not grabbing an oar and life jackets as they surely must be there.  Look everywhere and can't see them anywhere so ask the lady that took our money.
"Found the canoes, but there's no oars there"
"Sorry, I thought you were going later and would come back and collect the directions and a paddle or oar when you were ready. How did you manage to find the canoes without our directions?"
duh, not happy Jan. She then appologised profusely and said we could continue with the canoes the next day. It was now lunch time so decided to go and see Sir John Gorge and do our canoeing there.

A long rough drive then an hours hard walk over the rocks and we finally jump into the canoes and drift along the gorge
 

Back on the GRR:

Stopped at Mt Barnett Roadhouse to fill up with diesel and waited in the queue for an hour and a half to get to the one and only diesel pump. There were 2 problems, firstly, you can't move your car until you've paid for the fuel and secondly, there was a festival in the area and the store was packed out so it took ages to get to the till. Anyway, once fueled up, noticed the left rear tyre was looking a bit flat so checked the pressure and it was down to 20psi. Then heard the hiss of a slow puncture, bugger, so put the spare wheel on (new last week). We then paid the $25 entrance fee to get into Manning Gorge and off we went. Arrived at the lower pool and were told that the gorge wasn't flowing so it was a total waste of time and money. The road worsened in a few places as it turned to rough sharp stones.

Mitchell Plateau and Falls:

Turned off the GRR onto the Kalumburu Road to head north to see the Mitchell Falls and stayed the night at Drysdale River Station. The road was very good to Drysdale and there was only one other camper, so again had the pick of sites. Had the slow puncture fixed and bugger, $45.00 for a puncture repair????  Also noticed that the guard under the roo bar was hanging down and they offered to fix it, but I said no I'd do it myself. With the one bolt hanging on, noticed that no spring washers had been fitted so what do you expect. As I had a selection of spare nuts, bolts, spring washers and locking nuts, 10 minutes later everything was securely back in place. After dinner, wandered down to the bar to get some local info and tips on the tough trip up to the Mitchell Plateau and the Falls. "Sorry mate, it's all dry and there's no water flowing"

Bugger, another wasted diversion so next morning headed back down to the Gibb River Road. Pity coz I was looking forward to the challenging 4WD drive up to the plateau, but if there ain't no water flowing, we ain't gonna see the falls.

Back on the GRR:

The GRR now starts getting worse and we encounter lots of sharp rocks plus heavier corrugations. Never seen so many blown tyres strewn all along the roadside. We pass quite a few travellers changing tyres along the way and as always, slow down and check that they're okay before heading on. 

We then come across a grader doing road maintenance so assume that we're heading onto better road conditions. Wrong, although it's been graded, it's still very rocky and rough. Then out of the blue, Marlene shouts stop. We see a sign advertising morning and afternoon teas so we pull in. It turns out that it's the wife of the guy doing the grading and she's doing a mini cafe type thing out the back of her motor home, mainly just for something to do and for the company and someone to talk to. Her home made biscuits are a delight and the break from the corrugations are a welcome relief. 

Refreshed we head on and soon come across the escarpment heading down towards The Pentecost River and The Cockburn Range and stop for lunch. Give Tinkerbelle a quick once over and check all the tyres and again hear the hiss of a slow puncture plus notice the new tyre fitted yesterday has sliced though to the steel belting. Bugger, two tyres need changing so I won't have another spare. Decide to repair the slow puncture myself there and then with the emergency kit and change the other, so now only have one spare left, so fingers crossed.

The Pentecost River crossing is probably one of the Kimberley's most photographed landscapes, now it includes Tinkerbelle :)  What an awesome sight and drive down the escarpment and up round the Cockburn Range. The road worsens and is probably the worst encountered so far, plus a few road trains go past and we can't see a thing. Only option is to stop and wait for the dust to settle coz it's suicide trying to continue when you can't even see the end of the bonnet

El Questro:

All I can say is WOW, from the entrance into El Questro through a beautiful creek crossing and into the Station Township, the private campsites, the gorges and the 4WD tracks, absolutely awesome and has to be the highlight of our Gibb River Road experience. As at Mornington, the open air reception / visitor centre is also the bar and booking centre for all activities including the Steak House and all tours.

There is the normal camp site at the Township or you can choose to have a private site. Basically, the private sites are spread along the river bank approx 100 metres apart so you are in your own private secluded bit of bush and can't see or hear anyone else. Absolutely perfect and even better, it doesn't cost a cent more. Did a helicopter flight to capture all the gorges from the air. As I was the only passenger, the pilot made a good job of ensuring I got the footage I needed and even circled a few spots to make sure I got every angle. Then flying right down into Explosion Gorge just above the water with the cliffs towering up around us was unbelievable, what a buzz.

As a special treat after roughing it for a while, we decided to eat out for the first time on our trip and booked a table at The Steakhouse. No exaggeration, my steak was 10cm across and 10cm thick, cooked to perfection (medium rare) and it just melted in my mouth. It was without doubt one of the best steaks I have ever had, so tender and tasty.  Next night we were talked into the barby night at $29.00 each and were both disappointed with the meal. There was also live entertainment and a whip cracking / lasso show.

Back to the daytime activities, if you're short on time, the main sites to see are Emma Gorge, El Questro Gorge, Zebedee Springs and Chamberlain Gorge. If you've got time on your side, you could easily spend a few weeks here exploring and doing all the 4WD excursions to remote water holes. An unforgettable experience.

Back on the GRR:

The 33kms from El Questro to the blacktop and the end of the Gibb River Road, is very corrugated and bumpy and we see a few more people changing tyres.

Was it worth it? You bet

Although there is some really rough stuff where 30 - 40kms is maximum and your eyes feel as if they're going to rattle out of their sockets and when you stop for the evening, everything is still vibrating and shaking and your ears keep ringing, it wasn't quite as bad as we had anticipated. The gorges, the mountain ranges, the landscapes, the water crossings etc etc are awesome and finishing off at El Questro was a delight. Plus experiencing the raw remote outback, crocs and bush camping alongside rivers and creeks etc etc was unforgettable. You soon realise what a remote and unforgiving place the Kimberley can be.
 
One problem with all the creeks and gorges is the hard long walks to reach them in the 40 degree heat. Everything is at least an hour or so walk (some up to 3 hours each way) over very rough and rugged terrain and carrying all the gear is very hard, tiring and extremely tricky. The distances, conditions and terrain make it all extremely hard work. In fact, it was all very exhausting and we definitely need a few days break just to recover and catch up with things. 

Caravans: The guys at Imintji Store told us that people take caravans through all the time, just drop tyre pressures down to 25psi and slow down to 30 - 40kms. Although we saw a few caravans doing the GRR, glad we didn't attempt to take ours. 25% of it is just too rough and the corrugations too severe. Also, we wouldn't have been able to get the van into many of the side trips we did as they were 4WD only. 
 

Life on The Road:

Marlene hated the camping aspect coz she likes the home comforts of the caravan but yeah, an awesome enjoyable outback experience. 
Continued back down to Halls Creek to pick up the caravan and stayed the night there before heading back north to Kununurra
 



 
 
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