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Got away from Darwin on the 13th July after some last minute modifications to the Toyota. John decided to make a rock guard for the back of the Toyota hoping to minimise any damage that rocks might do on the Gibb River Road.
We were only going as far as Litchfield National Park but wanted an early start as if you start arriving at the national parks after about lunch there is not much to choose from in the line of camping spots and shade is very desirable. Once we turned off the highway and headed into Batchelor the park appeared to be covered in a smoke haze so we were not sure what it was going to be like.
We headed to Wangi Falls camping grounds and decided to use this as a base to look around. The falls were stunning as was the swimming hole the only problem it was closed to swimming because of a salt water crocodile.
There were two waterfalls there, one was small the other one had a hugh amount of water coming down which you noticed it more at night because of the noise it made and the spray it left all over everything. There was a walk you could do up and around the falls that made for a nice start to the day.
There are a few old tin mime ruins around the place, Mt Tolmer Tin Mine which was attached to Blythe Homestead and the Bamboo Creek Tin Mine.
At Mt Tolmer the old Blythe Homestead was still standing and had quite a bit of information about the lives of the people who lived there. It stands as a reminder of the tough conditions faced by the pioneers in these remote areas. It was built in 1929 as an outstation on Stapleton Station to be used for both pastoral and tin mining and was abandoned in the early 1960s.
The Bamboo Creek tin mine still have a lot of equipment left insitu and was really interesting walking around looking at it all in most places there was an information board giving you some idea on what it was all about. The mine opened in the early 1900s and closed in the 1950s. The initial owners of the mine apparently died from respiratory issues due to the type of mining conducted, and with the heat, wet in the wet season, and the transport issues, the mine was closed and abandoned.
There was no shortage of creeks and water falls to look at and as luck would have it we found a cafe in the middle of nowhere which had pretty good coffees and smoothies.
After a couple of days we moved on as we had finally decided to do the Gibb River Road.
Next stop was Adelaide River north of Katherine. What we found there was a really big beautifully maintained war cemetery. It is the resting place of 63 civilians and 434 Australian, British and Canadian service men and women killed in the top end in World War 2. Definitely worth a visit when going through Adelaide River.
Short stop in Katherine to get fuel and some groceries and kept moving to a camp spot out of town on the Victoria Hwy.
Travelling west on the Victoria Hwy there are awe-inspiring land forms and colours which just seem impossible to catch with a camera.
With a diversion to Lake Argyle we stopped briefly to view the lake which is the largest constructed lake in Australia and is classed as an inland sea. On one bank of the spillway were a couple of very large fresh water crocodiles having a snooze and on the other bank lots of people wanting to throw a rock to see what sort of photo opportunity it would create.
Crossed the border at WA and had to pass over what fruit and vege we had left and also some very nice Byron Bay honey.
Arrived in Kununurra on the 16th July for a stay of a couple of days, gives us a chance to get the washing done and make the most of hot showers. Just remember when in Kununurra you can’t buy grog on Sundays.
We had a day in Wyndham though there is really not much there to see there is a very real sense of the history in the place. We went up to the summit of the Bastion Range to the Rivers Lookout which gives you a view of the Ord, Forrest, King, Durack and Pentecost Rivers which enter the Cambridge Gulf. Once again we took lots of photos but nothing showed just how enormous the whole view is.
Back in Kununurra there was a steady stream of people coming into the caravan park who were about to do The Gibb River Road and those who had done it. Tyres seem to have been the biggest causality on the road with some pretty impressive blowouts. Also the dirt/dust on the vehicles and people was a big give away.
We stocked up on food supplies and made sure jerry cans, gas cylinders and water containers were topped up before heading off.
Once we turned off onto the Gibb River Road it was time to pull up and let the tyre pressure down to 32 psi. We were the only ones there letting tyres down everyone else there were pumping tyres up. All said the same thing watch the sharp rocks on the road, and they were spot on, the stones in the wheel tracks were a real issue and required constant surveillance.
The first 60km were the worst off the whole road with corrugation that had you crabbing across the road while at the same time looking out for the sharp rocks of where there were plenty. Our first river crossing was the Pentecost River which was about knee deep and approx. 100 metres wide with a very rocky bottom. I’m assuming the rocks had been added for benefit for the tourists. The approaches on some crossings were a bit chopped up.
We spent the first night at Home Valley Station which even though is a working cattle station has also set up for the traveller with a couple of very big grassy areas, some with power for an extra $16. There was a restaurant, bar and swimming pool. The camping was pretty cosy and the photo will show. It was a good stop for the first night, gave us the opportunity to see how the car and camper stood up to the relentless corrugation. All was good and no causalities in the food and beer department.
Went down and had a look at the Pentecost River with a view to doing some fishing but the tide was out and some big salties were floating around.
Decided to move on due to the number of people that were there as it turned out it was school holidays in WA.
When we left Home Valley we had not made any decisions on where our next stop was going to be.
Crossed the Durack River which was uneventful all rocky bottom and easy out the other side. The road was rocky and rough but nothing like the first 60km. The scenery and colours were impressive so many photo opportunities but so far the photos we took did nothing justice. I think it is something you keep in your head.
After a couple of hours signs started appearing along the road to say you could get scones, jam and cream at Ellenbrae Station, the signs gave you a count down from 5km out right up to arriving at the station gate. It was a very good marketing ploy by someone as there were heaps of people enjoying the scones and fresh cream. The biggest problem was you only got one scone so we went back for seconds. The only thing that made them better than the scones in the camp oven was the fact they had fresh cream.
The loo was a lime pit looking out over a dry creek bed.
The next stop was the Manning Gorge where we stayed for a couple of days. John had some repairs on the trailers anderson plug and trailer lights which must have come to grief on some of the rather large rocks that are on the road.
The gorge itself was pretty impressive once you got over the walk in, it was about a three hour round trip which included quite a bit of rock hopping. The water fall and swimming hole there made the walk-in worthwhile. Wish I could say nice things about the camping area but in a word it was crap. It was a take or leave it attitude with the solar hot water system being out of action for years even though the sign in the showers would let you believe otherwise. I think some of the wording on the sign was “be patient”. They didn’t miss you with the dollars either.
Mt Barnett roadhouse is the place to pay before going into the camping area it is also a known refuelling stop on the road and it was out of diesel. The lack of diesel didn’t bother us but there were a few people having a forced stay at the gorge.
Next stop was Galvan’s Gorge which a 1km walk was in but no camping, it was a brief stop on the side of the road.
From here we moved on to Charnley River Station where we ended up staying for three nights due to the fact that we had broken springs on the trailer. Charnley was a 43km diversion off the main road but was definitely worth the trip.
Once again lots of gorges, lots of walks in to them. The caretakers at Charnley were very friendly and very helpful. The camp site was well maintained with plenty of fire places and wood supplied and a sausage sizzle on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
After Charnley we headed straight into Derby as we were not keen to go over any more rough roads than necessary. We missed a couple of places that we had planned to go into but that will have to be a next time.
The last stop for fuel at the west end of the Gibb Road – Imintji Road House was probable one of the busiest we have seen since leaving home and they had a queue up of about 10 vehicles waiting for tyre repairs and heaps of people waiting for fuel, food and loos.
The last range coming into Derby was the Leopold Ranges which weren’t the red that you associate with the Kimberley’s but none the less equally impressive.
The Gibb River Road was like Queen St there was just so much traffic. More than one person overtook us in the dust and one of those people had a caravan on. Scarey. The road in some places was really good in other places it was lots of sharp rocks and corrugation. The dust was something else and it got in everywhere though thankfully not the bed. Everyone looked the same, dirty.
When you first start you dust off any dirt that gets on you then after a while you just don’t see it....well you see it but there is no point dusting it off because that just puts more dirt on you. It pays to be self sufficient with fuel for the whole trip, some of the camping grounds have drinking water so we always made sure we topped up when we could, we also had a spare water container in case something happened to the one on the trailer.
Basic food supplies were available in a couple of place but you paid for it so thankfully we had enough for the whole trip, you get used to UHT milk, no you don’t. There were quite a few off road caravans, camper trailers but a look of people just had tents. Most people drove to the conditions but some just didn’t slow down when passing which made you keep your fingers crossed that you didn’t end up with a broken windscreen.
Arrived in Derby and almost straight away decided Normanton was a far better looking town. Got the trailer to the spring man first thing Monday morning hoping to get it fixed so we could get moving but as it turns out the springs can’t be sources locally or from Broome so we are waiting for them to come up by truck from Perth. Worst case they will be fixed on Friday.
When we are mobile again we will head back towards the Gibb River road and go to Windjana National Park then Tunnel Creek and then on our way back to Kununurra via the Bungle Bungles which we are told will take us about 2 hours to drive in to the camping area. Helicopter flights are operated out of the park so we are aiming to have a flight over and also spend about 3 days there.
From Kununurra we are going to spend a few days getting back to Katherine and then down to Alice Springs.
