Gibb River Road - Part 1 (West to East)

The Gibb River Road is a must do when travelling in the Kimberley.  When we first began planning our lap around Australia, we were asked so often if we were going to 'do the Gibb' that we quickly researched what this legendary 'Gibb' was and it didn't take too much reading to decide that we would most definitely 'do' it.  

The Gibb River Road is a 660km track through the heart of the Kimberley.  It is only open during the dry season (April/May to November-ish) as the roads are impassable once the wet season rains start. 

It runs from Derby in the west to Kununurra or Wyndham in the east and is mostly corrugated dirt, very dusty and littered with sharp, tyre shredding stones.  Oddly, there are randomly sealed sections, generally around steep hills or outside the gates of larger cattle stations where trucks are turning in and out.  It is very expensive to get anything out to those remote areas and apparently it costs several million dollars to transport the people and equipment to lay bitumen over even a 10km stretch.  The road has a reputation for killing caravans and camper trailers so only travellers with offroad models should even consider making the journey (and we still saw plenty of those that were looking worse for wear after the corrugations).  Our van is rated 'semi offroad' but is also very low to the ground in the front so we had packed the tent and camping gear for this section of our journey, not willing to risk shaking the van to bits.

This is the route we have taken so far, and the story of our journey..

We set off from Broome for the start of the Gibb River Road, heading to Derby first to drop the caravan off at a storage facility. We initially planned to drive as far as Mitchell Plateau before coming come back to Derby from there, picking up the van, then heading around to the eastern end on the highway.  We'd then come into the Gibb River Road again from the other end to see El Questro and Home Valley (and  maybe Ellenbrae).  It meant missing the middle section of the road where there isn't much to see anyway and it would save us driving the same 1000km of highway twice (once without van on our way back to Derby and once again with the van to go back to the other end).

Our new great friends Ross, Barbara and Daniel were also heading along the Gibb from Broome via Fitzroy Crossing so we arranged to meet up at the Silent Grove campground and travel together until we headed up to Mitchell Plateau.  They have an offroad van and whilst it will cope on the Gibb, it won't be able to go up the hideous road to Drysdale Station and Mitchell Plateau or on some of the side roads to Mt Hart or Mornington Wilderness Camp that we wanted to visit.  We decided to travel with them as far as we could and then drop into Mornington and Mt Hart on our way back to Derby.

Our plan was to head straight into Windjana Gorge after dropping the van in Derby but the drive from Broome took longer than than we had anticipated as we stopped off to look at the Prison Tree (a giant Boab that they used to lock aboriginal prisoners in) and then we bumped into Ross, Barbara and Daniel after departing separately from Broome that morning.  We hadn't had lunch so we all grabbed a coffee together in Derby even though we had only said goodbye to each other 6 hours previously.

The giant boab 'Prison Tree'

The next thing we did was really dumb.   We have had some ants in the van since Exmouth so we decided to bug bomb it while it sat in storage.  We dropped it in the yard at the storage place,  set off the spray bomb (filling the van with toxic mist) and drove off.   Then we looked at the time and realised it would be after dark before we reached Windjana Gorge and that we really should stay in Derby overnight and start our journey the following morning.   It was THEN that our stupidity became apparent.  We had perfectly good free accommodation back in the storage yard (where we could have just stayed) but we had just rendered it inhospitable for several (preferably 24) hours!  Doh!

We drove around Derby (which is a bit of a shithole) hoping to find somewhere to stay that wasn't too pricey and where we wouldn't get murdered or our car broken into.  We tried the Boab Inn and although it was a bit grotty, it was ok.  Then the receptionist told us that there was a 21st birthday next door and the band would be blasting till midnight.   We looked for something else...

Jenny's magical negotiating skills resulted in us paying only $30 more for a room at Derby Lodge that was a million times nicer,  cleaner and more modern than the one at the Boab Inn.  So, instead of our first night on the Gibb being in the tent at a dusty campsite, we spent the night in Derby in a modern, comfy room watching the footy!

Our first night 'roughing it' on the Gibb ended up being in great digs in Derby.

As I mentioned above, the Gibb River Road has a reputation for being hard core and in terrible condition.   We dropped our tire pressures to 30psi to cater for the corrugated dirt roads but overall found the drive to be totally fine.   It certainly didn't trouble the car at all.  We made it in to Windjana and set up camp around lunchtime.  It took us about 50min to get unpacked and set up which is pretty good considering all the stuff we are carrying. 

The iconic sign at the start of the Gibb River Road.

Tunnel Creek

 

After we had set up camp at the Windjana Gorge campground, we drove down to Tunnel Creek to do the walk through the cave.  Ben was very reluctant as he isn't a fan of caves.  Once we got there though and he saw the 'dangerous' rocks we had to climb over to get in, he forgot about his aversion and wanted to lead the way. It is pitch black and our head torches barely pushed back the darkness, revealing shadowy waters, a huge dead underground tree, interesting rock formations and the sandy footprints of those who had walked here before us.  We had our water shoes and our powerful hand held torch which proved invaluable for spotting the freshwater crocodiles that live in the cave.  There are several sections that require you to walk through knee deep water and although the crocs won't bother you, it's nice to know where they are.   Many people we walked past hadn't seen any crocs because they were too noisy or didn't have a decent torch but we were able to see at least 5, including getting up close to one big one (for a freshie, about 5 feet long).  It was brilliant.  There are also bats hanging from the ceiling as they slept.

Big Freshie in Tunnel Creek

As we drove back to our camp at Windjana Gorge we hit a kangaroo but it bounced right off the bullbar and just hopped off into the bushes.  No damage to us and hopefully none to it.

Windjana Gorge to Silent Grove

Even though we were up earlyish, by the time we had made brekky and got dressed ready to pack up, it was 8.30am and already super hot.  We were both sweaty and covered in dust by the time we had finished packing up our campsite. 

We wanted to do the walk into Windjana Gorge so we drove over to the start of the tail in the day use area.   The path leads through some rocky walls and you find yourself walking along the inside of the gorge next to the water.  It's a beautiful spot and there were at least 40 freshies basking in the sun on the banks or just floating on the surface warming themselves.  We didn't get to close but we did walk down on the beach to see them, making sure we stressed to Ben that you would never do such a thing with a saltwater croc.

On the walking trail at Windjana Gorge.

Two of the many freshwater crocs at Windjana Gorge.

After Windjana Gorge we headed to Silent Grove campground near Bell Gorge.  We stopped at Lennard Gorge on the way, driving through our first river crossing on the way.  The walk into the gorge is a little longer than we wanted to do that afternoon so we decided to do it the following day.

The road to Silent Grove has 2 more water crossings which were fun to do even thought there isn't really that much water in them at the moment.  We set up camp next to a couple of families with lots of young boys so Ben had fun playing with them and getting very dirty, although he did cop an accidental frisbee to the nose.

Our campsite at Silent Grove.

The following morning we drove 8kms down the road to the Imintji Roadhouse where there was a remote early polling booth open from 8.15am to 9.15am.  It was the only chance we would have to vote as we had no idea where we would be on election day.   The roadhouse is run by the local Indigenous community and had recently re-opened along with a campground and shop. In another freak meeting, the booth was being manned by Rohan, one of the friends we had made on the fishing trip at Lombadina weeks before.  He and his wife had also bumped into Jenny's Mum at Karijini since then.  Small small world!

Voting at Imintji

After voting we we returned to Lennard Gorge to do the walk into the lookout.  The trail to the swimming hole at the bottom is super hard and is closed due to regular injuries.  It was a hard, hot walk and we were all pretty over it by the time we arrived.  Gotta say, the effort was not worth the reward.  The gorge is nothing special and there was not enough water for the falls to be flowing (maybe if we hadn't already been to Karijini and Windjana it would have been more impressive).  We were pretty bummed, but not as bummed as the Pommy tourists who staggered to the lookout shortly after us, red faced, in thongs and clutching towels, clearly expecting a swim.  

Are we there yet??

No swimming for you silly tourists.  They probably should have read the trail guide.

We went back to Silent Grove, hoping that Ross, Barbara and Daniel had arrived but there was no sign of them yet.  We were looking forward to seeing Bell Gorge but were too tired after the long morning hike to do another in the afternoon.  We made a campfire and the awesome camp host Barry took Ben for a ride on his quad bike/buggy around the campsite.

Buggy ride with Barry at Silent Gorge campground

We had an easy morning the following day and when the people next to us departed we spread out, taking up enough space for Ross, Barb and Daniel to fit in if they arrived.  As we set off for Bell Gorge, Barry said he would look out for them and send them to our camp if they checked in while we were out.  A couple of hundred metres down the corrugated road to Bell Gorge we heard a rattling from under the front of the car and when we stopped we found that a weld on part of the bullbar had snapped.  It is supposed to hold a covering plate in front of the car's forward sensor for cruise control and anti-collision assistance. It was rattling around now, only held by one corner so we got out the duct tape and made some on the spot repairs.  Before we left one of Jenny's work colleagues said to us that you only need 2 things on the road - WD40 to get things moving and Duct tape to stop things moving.  We had now used both for exactly those purposes (WD40 when the suspension ring needed lubrication at Karijini and duct tape to secure this broken weld now.)

Running repairs.  Duct tape to the rescue!

Bell Gorge is awesome.  It is a pretty easy walk to the top of the falls and then a much harder walk to get down to the swimming hole at the bottom. It is well worth the effort and we had a great swim there.  Luckily, about 15 mins after we arrived everyone there left so we had the place to ourselves for about half an hour before the next tour bus arrived.

Us at the top of Bell Gorge.

Jenny and Ben at the falls.

Resting on a warm rock.

We had met a family at Windjana and they also arrived at Silent Grove that afternoon.  Sophie and Josh are also from Victoria and Ben had a great time playing with their 3yo son and 10 year old daughter.  We had another campfire that night and made baked potatoes in the coals. Ben won't eat potatoes so we told him they were 'giant baked chips' and he thought they were lovely.  Josh, Sophie and their kids as well as the family camped next door all joined us around the fire for a great night.

Silent Grove to Manning Gorge   

We left Silent Grove, heading for Manning Gorge Campground.  Ross, Barb and Daniel still hadn't arrived and we hoped that everything was ok.  With no phone service or internet there is no way to communicate so anything might have delayed them.  We hoped it was something mundane.

We stopped at Imintji Rodhouse again and filled up.  Diesel was $1.95 per litre, which is the cheapest on the Gibb so we filled up.  We popped into the Arts and Crafts centre and spoke to the owner and artist, Edna.  She has 7 daughters and was telling us about the lack of things for the community's kids to do during school holidays.  She gets them doing as much art as she can to keep them occupied.

The Art Centre / Polling Booth at Imintji Roadhouse.

We stopped off at Adcock Gorge which is on Mt House Station.  The 4WD into the gorge is pretty full on but the car did it without any problems.  The drive in is not for everyone and we passed some people on the way out who had decided the road was too rough for them.  The poor condition of the road makes it ones of the less frequently visited gorges and the upside of this is that we were the only ones there.  The walking trail to the gorge is hard to find as it isn't marked and obviously doesn't get much foot traffic. It's a smaller, more lush gorge and there are water lillies, frogs, huge orb spider webs and lots of trees.  We really liked it.

Beautiful, remote and seldom visited Adcock Gorge.

Picking out a path.

In the wet, there is a waterfall cascading into the pool below.

We continued on to the Mt Barnett Roadhouse where you register and pay camping fees for the Manning Gorge Campground which is 7kms further down a side road.  We set up our tent and saw that we were again next to the family from Silent Grove.  Josh, Spohie and their kids were camped further away.

Manning Gorge is the most beautiful campground - we could have stayed there for weeks.  We camped about 50 meters from a section of the river with sandy banks like a beach.  It's great to swim in and there is a dinghy on a pulley system that you use to pull yourself across the river when you start the walk into Manning Gorge and the falls.  We cooled down and relaxed after a hot day.

Awesome swimming spot with the pulley dinghy.

We decided to do the walk to the falls with Sophie, Josh and the kids (Caspar, 3 and Esther, 11).  It's 2.5km each way and sections of it involve climbing over rocks and clambering up and down some steep slopes.  It was pretty challenging and it took us 1hr 45mins to get there.  It is absolutely worth the effort.  The falls are spectacular.  We swam, jumped off the rocks, sat under the waterfall and had a great day with our new friends.  The walk back was just as hard as the walk in but the bonus of the river crossing to get back to camp is that you can have a cool down swim as soon as you get back.

Manning Falls.

Our friend Mary-Jane works at Mt Barnett (and local communities) as a nurse and we were hoping to catch her while we were here.  The roadhouse staff directed us to her house and we were very happy to find her at home. We had a great chat and a cuppa while Ben played with her dog.  She does an amazing job - it would be hard going living out here, especially during the wet season when the roads are so dangerous, if they are open at all.

The following day we drove out to nearby Galvan's Gorge.  As we pulled up we were very excited to see Ross, Barb and Daniel's car and van!  As soon as he got out of the car Ben started yelling 'Daniel!' and we had to tell him that they were probably at the gorge and he would have to wait to see his friend.  We left a note on their windscreen saying "We are here. Don't leave!" just in case we somehow missed each other on the trail and set off down the to gorge.  The walk into Galvan's is much shorter and easier than the other gorges so it didn't take us long to arrive.  We saw our friends and called out to them - Daniel did a happy dance as Ben raced over to see him.  They were heading to Manning Gorge too so after a swim and a swing on the rope that is hanging above the water, we all headed back together.  They set up opposite us and told us that they had lost a wheel off their van on the road to Windjana Gorge so they'd had to head back into town to get a replacement.  Luckily they have a dual axle van and were able to limp back slowly on their 3 remaining wheels.

Galvan's Gorge.

We stayed an extra day and loved Manning Gorge so much that we did the long walk out to the falls again with Ross, Barb and Daniel the next day.  After we crossed the river in the dinghy, an Indian family behind us pulled the boat back to the campground side and all hopped in, ready to cross.  There were at least 5 adults and 4 kids in there.  I remember thinking "that's too many people" just as Ross said "oh, this is going to be interesting" as he pulled out his video camera.  What followed was comedy gold.  They were all standing up, the boat was rocking from side to side, they were holding bags above their heads, their kids were wriggling and it was general mayhem.  Then, about 15 feet from the bank, in waist deep water, one corner of the boat sunk below the water line and the whole thing filled up and sank to the bottom.  All we could see were hands holding expensive cameras up above their heads as they tried to get their footing.  A couple of guys on their side waded in and started taking cameras and bags from them and then pulled the boat out as the family walked back to the shore, dripping wet.  Ross got the whole thing on video and when we saw the family later on they were laughing about it, thrilled that someone had recorded it.  Ross gave them a copy.

Our second swim at the falls was as good as our first.  Ben got very daring with his big friend there and did a couple of really high cliff jumps that amazed us.

Ben got brave and decided these big jumps were fun!

Manning Gorge to Mt Elizabeth Station

The boys had become inseparable so when we all set off for Mt Elizabeth Station, we took Daniel in our car.  We stopped at Barnett River Gorge on the way and set off for what was supposed to be a 1km walk to a swimming hole.  We saw a sign to the Upper Gorge and went that way, thinking we would see the gorge from above before having a swim.  We got there no problem and then spent another hour trudging through the bush and over rocks before deciding that we must be going the wrong way to find the swimming hole.  Jenny walked ahead and found a way down to the water but we were pretty sure it was not the proper trail.  The kids, Jenny and Ross had a good splash and the boys started sliding down the rocks where the water flowed from one pool down to another.  A short time later Ross noticed that Daniel was covered in small leeches - eek!  He, Jenny, Ben and Daniel all had leeches that thankfully flicked off pretty easily.  It was pretty gross though and we decided to head back to the cars.  It took us WAY longer than anticipated and near the start of the walk we finally saw a side trail with a sign to the proper water hole.  Doh.

Barnett River Gorge.

Ben and Daniel playing in the leech filled rapids.

The road into Mt Elizabeth Station is pretty rough with 30kms of lots of corrugations.  It was getting towards dusk by the time we got there, ahead of Ross and Barb in their van.  We hoped they'd be able to make it down the road - especially since we had their son!  It was no problem for them although they did get slightly delayed by stubborn cows on the road.

Ah, farm life.  The Mt Elizabeth rooster is an idiot and started crowing at 4am while it was still  pitch dark.  There are also a lot of empty 44 gallon drums around the property and they expand and shrink in the heat / cold.  The movement of the metal shell causes a 'pop' that sounds very like a gunshot, which is slightly disconcerting when you are camped in a paddock.

Our campsite at Mt Elizabeth.

Mt Elizabeth Station has it's own gorge that you can only visit if you stay there.  It is called Wunnunurra Gorge and it is located at the end of the road from hell, the last km being the worst.  There are 2 options for getting there. You can drive the entire 9kms and walk 2 kms to the gorge or you can drive to a stopping place 8kms in (thereby missing the last km) and walk 3kms to the gorge. It took us 51 mins to drive the first 8km and after looking at the steep, boulder infested track that was the last km, we parked and did the 3km walk.  We had to climb down 2 unattached ladders to get to the bottom of the gorge but it was actually safer than it looked.  The pool and falls were gorgeous.  It took us another 50 or so minutes to drive the 8kms back to the campsite and Lou (driving) managed to ding the underside of car, so that now the side rail on the front left is bent up a bit.  Oh well...

Quality road on the way to the gorge.

Wunnumurra Gorge.

Mt Elizabeth and the new route....

The plan was to drive from Mt Elizabeth to Drysdale Station.  Ross and Barb were keen to head up there too if the road was ok so we all pulled into the rest stop at the turnoff to check it out.  The rest area was full of people either contemplating an attempt at driving on it, or putting bits of their vehicles back together after travelling from that direction.  When people turned off to start up the road you could hear when they moved from the initial bitumen section near the rest stop onto the corrugations.  It sounds like someone rattling a tin of coins.  Jenny took Ross for a drive of the first 5kms of road in our car and both came back saying that the caravan would definitely not be making that journey.  This decision was further supported when we inspected the inside of a caravan that had just arrived after coming down the road from Kalumbaru.  It looked like a bomb had gone off in there.  The fridge was hanging out and had only been stopped from smashing their table (and possibly the side of the van) by their 45kg generator which had slid 6 feet forward from the rear of the van and was wedged between fridge and table.  All the blinds had fallen off, cupboard doors were open or off completely and dust was everywhere.  Those poor folks had a big cleanup ahead.

We were pretty surprised that the road was so bad, as our friends Jo and Darren had driven up there a couple of weeks prior and hadn't mentioned that section.  We knew the road up to Mitchell Plateau was terrible but hadn't expected this part to be so dreadful.  We spoke to an APT tour guide and he said the road was graded 2 weeks ago but that it had since been trashed by lots of people trying to take vans and campers up there.  He said it gets worse each day and won't be graded again this season.


We had a discussion and decided that we would all continue on along the Gibb River Road to Ellenbrae, Home Valley and El Questro before re-stocking at Kununurra (we were well out of fresh fruit and veg).  Ross, Barb and Daniel would then continue their travels and we would head back along the Gibb east to west, assessing if we would go up to Drysdale when we got back there and then heading into Mt Hart and Mornington Wilderness Camp on the way back to picking up the van in Derby.  We'd broken another weld on the bullbar that morning so that pesky sensor cover was now being held on with two bits of wire as well as the duct tape.  We wanted to try to do a more sturdy repair in Kununurra before shaking the hell out of the car on the road to Drysdale.  So, with our re-planning, not only will we have 'done the Gibb', by the time we get back to the van, we will have 'done the Gibb' twice, once in each direction!  It will be well worth the extra tent time and dust to be able to hangout with our awesome friends for longer.

Ellenbrae to Home Valley

We continued on to Ellenbrae which is famous for its scones with jam and cream. The manager recommended a morning tasting as they would be warm from the oven so we set up camp and had another fire.  We made damper and it was great.  Again, there were toilets, hot showers and drinking water.  We feel slightly robbed as we were prepared for a rough, hard core camping odyssey along the Gibb and so far we have had good facilities, water and hot showers at every campsite.  We're not complaining but it feels a little less than authentic :)

Arriving at Ellenbrae with Ross, Barbara and Daniel.

We just stayed one night, which is a pain in the butt in the tent but Barb helped with the packup (they are much quicker being in the van) and we went up to the homestead to try the scones.  They did not disappoint!  They were delicious and are obviously in high demand as they bake and sell 12-15 dozen each day.

Our next stop was Home Valley Station and it blew our minds.  Not only were there toilets, water and hot showers but there was a covered playground, bar and restaurant, pool and washing machines (which got a very good workout after our clothes had had 2 weeks of occasional hand washing).  It is a resort and was a welcome touch of normality.  For the record, no amount of washing gets out Gibb River Road dirt.  I think we will all need new clothes when this is over.

We went to dinner at the bar and grill and were lucky enough to see a whip cracking show by The Kimberley Kid (who is from Queensland).  It was so corny it was brilliant.  He told us that "those scientist people" had measured the speed of a whip crack at "200 kilometers per hour ... per second" and almost 70% of his tricks worked.  He was a really nice guy.


There are lots of activities to do at Home Valley so the boys went on a horse ride (Ben's horse was called Pepper but he renamed it Jamie Junior after his friend) and Barb and I went on a Barramundi Fishing charter.  "Best Barra Fishing in Australia" said the flier.  We initially asked to do the shore fishing trip but the guy behind the counter upsold us by telling us the boat trips have far more success and can move around if the fish aren't biting.  We ended up on a tinny on the Pentacost River with 2 guides and 2 old guys who obviously hadn't come to terms with the modern idea of women fishing.  I was sure that if they'd made one more 'oooh, women fishers!' or 'come on girls, what are you doing?' comment that Barb would shove them overboard for the saltwater crocs to eat.  We spent 4 hours out there, trawling up and down with our lures out and nobody got a single bite for the entire trip!
We have both fished a lot and know that sometimes you just don't have success but given their advertising and the fact that we could have stood on the shore and had no bites for $110 less we were pretty annoyed.  To their credit, when we gave the manager this feedback she refunded us the difference between the shore and boat fishing trips.  According to some folks we have spoken to since, the water is getting too cold for barra now and we needed to come earlier in the season.  That would have been nice to know a week ago...

Little boy, big horse.  Ben on Pepper aka Jamie Junior.

We spent a couple of days swimming, hanging out and exploring the property and nearby gorge.  The walk to that swimming hole is fine once you find the trail markers (climbing over lots of rocks but that seems to be the norm now).  There is a freshwater croc living there but we swam anyway, Jenny going so far as to swim around the watering hole looking for it. We didn't see it until we had walked back to the top of the falls and looked down into the water below.  It had obviously waited until all the annoying noisy people had gone away before sneaking out for a sunbake.

The views of the Cockburn Ranges from Home Valley are spectacular.  It is a brilliant and beautiful area, with sunset and then the clear black nights being a highlight.  The Milky Way is clearly visible and we have never seen so many stars.  We feel so lucky to have been able to make the journey.

Clear skies and great views all around.

On our last night, we were surrounded by caravans full of kids.  It is school holidays in WA and NT and Home Valley is close enough to the end of the Gibb River Road for many people to make the short journey in to this point.  The people behind us had come from Honeymoon Bay up at Kalumbaru and they said it was brilliant.  Then we saw Ben's friend Jamie in the playground and found that Simon, Rachel and the kids had just arrived.  They too had been up to Honeymoon Bay and raved about it so we are thinking that since we have come this far, we might as well go there and see it.  So the plan now is to go from Home Valley to Kununurra to rest and restock.  We will enjoy a couple of nights in a hotel rather than the tent and can buy some more supplies.  We will then go to El Questro with Ross, Barb and Daniel before heading up the hideous road (carefully) to Kalumbaru and Mitchell Plateau and back along the Gibb to Derby making side trips along the way.  We are confident that we won't want to see the inside of the tent for a very long time after that!