The girls at the start of the rd
What a unreal adventure!! After a brief discussion one night, we decided to head up the Gibb River Rd to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge. We decided that we would leave the rest of the Rd till after the wet season when we will again be back up this way. With plans to leave our caravan in Broome for the planned 5-7 days and taking only the car and our 4 man tent... Wow.. how our plans change!!!
To start from the the start we drove up Broome to stock up on supplies and started to drive to a nearby caravan park where we was told we could leave our van for $7 per night! Great!
Last minute Gary jumped on Wiki camps and discovered a lady in Derby who stores caravans for $3 a night or $10 for the week! Unreal!
So off we drive to Derby! Staying the night at a road side camp, we went check out how low the tide gets from the Derby wharf in the morning. (Derby is known for having a extremely large tidal movement from day to day.)
At 0.4m in the morning to 10.6m at 2:55pm that afternoon we was impressed with what we saw!
After dropping the van off and packing up the car with everything we would need, (a HUGE task!!) we set off along the Gibb River Road! Excited was an understatement!
Our first day on the Gibb River Rd we drove 110km before arriving at a gorgeous free camp along the river, Lennard River Rest stop.
After setting up our camp overlooking the river we then cooked our dinner on a campfire and sat back enjoyed the sun set.
Dinner by the river
That very night we made a decision. We are going to do the entire Gibb River Rd now.. AND possibly again later.. After the wet season... We want to compare the difference! Oh and we are also going to do the Kalumburu Rd right to the top of WA and Mitchell Falls also! Add atleast another week or more to our original plans and we are set!
That night the girls were so excited to be on "holiday." Yes, funny enough with our caravan feeling more like a "home" it did feel like we was taking a "holiday within a holiday," but in the tent!
The next day we headed off to check out Windjana Gorge. We didn't find this one that interesting but it was our first croc sightings and wow there was 100's! (Just freshwater crocs-not the big salties!!)
We also saw a handful of trees covered in 1000's of bats!!!
Croc spotting!
Next stop was Tunnel Creek. Wow... Now this was soooo cool!!!! After a short walk to the tunnel/Cave opening we climbed over a few large rocks before the cave opened into a MASSIVE caven! Complete with sand and water to wade through! We instantly noticed the temperature drop also which was a welcome relief as it was quite a warm day outside!! Brilliant!
After removing our shoes we soon turned our torches on and head off with other campers through the roughly 500m long cave, often wading in knee deep water. At the end of the tunnel we was surprised to see how large the opening was at the other end! We even saw a eel swimming in the water!
After a short stop we again ventured back into the cave the same way we had come.
Ella monkeying around ;)
That night we again returned to Lennard River Rest Stop for the night. Setting up camp in the same spot another lot of campers pulled in not long after us and we ended up sharing a few stories with them around the fire whilst having a few drinks overlooking the river that night.
Waking early (we tend to be up before 6am, but in bed by 7:30pm most nights!) we packed up and headed another roughly 100km to our next stop, Silent Grove camp site with the intention of visiting Bell Gorge.
Turning onto the Bell Gorge Rd we had a extremely corrugated/rocky 30km drive ahead of us!! This made the Gibb River rd feel like a freshly paved road!!!
After a couple of water crossings we came across 2 girls and their ute that had obviously become one of the many victims of the great river road.. Lucky for them a few other campers had already stopped to assist them. Unfortunatly nobody could fix the wheel problems they had.. (Basically some bolts to the swing arm that keeps the tyres in their rightful place had snapped and caused a couple of other issue.)
We offered to take one of the girls to the ranger at the campsite down the rd to see if he could be of assistance!
On arrival at camp, the ranger was nowhere to be seen.. After talking to another few campers we soon discovered he wouldn't be back till late in the day. Lucky one of the guys at the camp thought he may be able to at least get their vehicle to camp so they didn't have to spend the night out there! With nothing more we could do we left her with him and a few other campers and headed off to Bell Gorge!
After a short hike we came across a stunning waterfall with a huge pool at the bottom to swim in!
We spent hrs here jumping off the ledges into the water and climbing the waterfall. Gary quickly realised the water was very deep in areas. In true "Gary style" he climbed up onto some rather high ledges to jump off of.. Show off ;)
Arriving back at camp as the sun was setting we noticed the girls car limping extremely slowly into camp with the tyre at a odd angle and the guy we had left the girl with driving it. Atleast they had somewhere with other people around to camp comfortably, showers, shade and water now whilst they waited for help!
We found out from them that after they eventually spoke to the Ranger, the main mechanic who bases himself on the Gibb River Road (that charges a extremely high call out fee...) was away for the next 2 days.. And if he couldn't fix the car the fee for towing a vehicle off of the Gibb river rd is around the $2000 mark.. And that will get you to Derby... Ouch... Then you have to hope they can fix your car there.. The next day we packed up and left, so we are unsure what the outcome was for these two.. Here's hoping it didn't cost them too much!!! :-/
That day we drove 280km along the Gibb River Rd and also started up the Kalumburu Rd. Just a slight 650km return detour along more corrugated dirt rds with more creek crossings off the main Gibb River Rd!! We Stopped at Galvans Gorge along the way. Another beautiful spot for a swim!! We also had a Monitor join us for a swim! And a not so welcome snake slither by once we had finished out swim!!
On this part of the rd we came across some guys who had rolled their landcruiser!! Lucky for them no one was injured, but we can't say the same for the car! The roof and bonnet crushed, all windows broken and all the tyres of the car on different angles... Finding out they had actually rolled it 100km or so up the rd, and after some examination they realised the motor was still able to run, they roped their belongings down and had set off back down the Gibb River Rd in their car at walking pace with the hope they will make it back to Derby!! (At no more than 10km/hr and atleast another 400km to travel... They had a long journey ahead of them!) Gary and I reckon they are lucky they are driving a 80 series landcruiser (like us) else there's no way their car would still mine running!! Hehehe ;)
Not much further up the road we came across some odd looking tracks on the road. After trying to guess what they were for quite some KM we turned a corner and saw a guy walking pulling a cart! Pulling alongside him we just had to have a chat! After all... We was 100km's from nowhere and here was a guy in scorching heat pushing a sack truck?!?! What...?!?!
Rod, what can I say??? A true legend!!! Friendly with lots of great stories we really enjoyed talking with him! We soon found out he was on his 3rd walking trip along the Gibb River! He has also rode his bicycle across many a desert and pretty much most of the entire country! Awesome achievement! I offered him a lift (which he of course declined ;)
Water? Food? No, no and no.
In awe, we said our goodbyes and drove on!
That afternoon we pulled into Drysdale station, which has one of the most remote restaurants/bars in WA! After refuelling, $2.40 a litre... Cheaper that earlier in the day at Mt Barnett Road house.. $2.50 a litre.. Ouch.. We drove just up the road to our camp for the night. Surprisingly this camping area was quite empty! After a big day we had a rather early night and if I was to guess I would say we was in bed before 7pm! (Though it always feels like 10pm!!)
The next day we drove the remainder of the way to Mitchell Falls. More bumpy corrugated rds which just got worse the further we went! But the further we drove the more the country just kept changing! One minute we was in the desert, the next tropical palm tree filled forests! More creek crossings and lots of narrow winding roads! We loved every minute!
Finally we pulled into Mitchell Falls National Park campground! Yeah!!!
After setting up our tent Gary went to get something out the fridge.. Boo... 2 of the girls yoghurts had split and we had to wash everything in the fridge! (Lucky we just laughed about it!!)
Finally the fridge and it's contents sparkled and I breathed a sigh of relief! Thinking the girls could have some biscuits I opened our food drawer.. Noticing the peanut butter lid had unscrewed itself along our travels I picked it up to tighten it.. It was then I noticed a small puddle of milk underneath it.. Great... Further inspection revealed 1 of my 8 x 1 litre long life milks had sprung a slight leek and also caused the other 7 to turn into quite soggy messes! Argh!!!! Sooo.... Still laughing.. Just.. We clean out the entire food drawer and poured all the milks into empty water bottles and somehow found room in the fridge and freezer for most of them!
Ok, NOW we are ready!!! Hike time!!
As it was a bit late in the day we decide to head out on a short hike to Little Mertens Falls. A short 1.6km return walk. We saw lots of Aboriginal art on the underside of a rocky outcrop and had a swim at the bottom of the falls (these falls unfortunately weren't falling at this time of year,) but still a pretty place to visit and great for a swim! We even met another couple from Adelaide, having a dip there also!
That night we had yet another great campfire under the stars and yet another early night!
The next day we woke super early and headed out just before 7am to start our trek to Mitchell falls!!! A class 5, 8.6km return trek.
Several creek crossings, a stop to take in the views from the top of a gorge and after multiple wildlife sightings we arrived at Mitchell's Falls!!!
The view was well worth the trek! And we even managed a swim in a pool and waterfall at the top of the falls!! We spent quite a few hrs playing in the waters here with lots of other people who had the same idea, and Gary even managed to catch a Monitor that was peacefully lazing in the sun, minding it's own business on the rocks nearby.. (The lizard got it revenge though by scratching up his shoulder ;))
That night we tried to help a fellow camper find a replacement bolt for his car (seems to be a common problem along these roads!!) no such luck..
The next day we headed back 88kms to the main Kalumburu rd to again travel up the remaining 100kms of rd to the top!! Stopping along the way we came across what we can only assume was a aboriginal burial in a rocky ledge (it was fenced off but had no signed explanation to why there was 3 skulls and various other bones laying in a hole in the rocks, whilst checking out some more aboriginal paintings.) 
aboriginal remains...??
Creek crossings
Stopping for livestock to cross
After more creek crossings we arrived at the Aboriginal Kalumburu Mission. A basic town on the edge/end of nowhere! I would have loved to of taken tons of photos here as it reminded me a lot of villages in Indonesia!
Unfortunately there are many signs that request no photos are to be taken without permission from the local elders. So yes we did respect there wishes..
After our brief stop to buy a few extremely expensive groceries we drove the remaining 20km to Honeymoon Bay!
After approx 1100km of corrugated dirt rds, We made it! YES!!!
Just to top off our elation we realised it was exactly 5 months since we left home! Not a bad way to celebrate our 5 months on the road!
Setting up camp on the beach, well back from the waters edge (we are well and truly in croc country now and large salt water crocs are spotted off this beach frequently..) We instantly fall in love with this place! Aside from the fact we really can't swim unless you want to become croc food... With beautiful scenery - a massive Boab tree, rustic beach shack, mangroves and crystal clear water plus the feeling of accomplishment (well we still had to drive back down most the road we had just driven up, BUT we had atleast made it to the top of WA in one piece, so yes we felt pretty proud of ourselves!!) we was on cloud 9!
A large Boab Tree
After 4 days and after indulging in atleast 7 dozen oysters, it was time to start the long trip back down the Kalumburu Rd and to finish the final leg of the Gibb River Rd..
Not far down the road we came across yet another car that had rolled just that morning... Clearly not a landcruiser, that car was going nowhere! The owners we assume had got a lift as they was nowhere to be seen.
We covered quite some distance that day, passing 3 more cars that had recently rolled over and been well and truly stripped of anything usable we made sure we drove carefully!!
That night as we pulled into a river side camp we noticed a car well and truly bogged in the sand near the river. Lucky for them Gary managed to pull them out!
The next day we woke early to finish off the last few 100kms of the Gibb River Rd. Seeing some familiar tracks not far up the road we yet again ran into Rod! After pulling over for a chat we found he was only a couple of days out from completing his journey! Besides sore feet he was in high spirits and doing great! Legend!!
Finally after 1645km we reached the end of the road! Wow.. What a journey! It felt strange and eerily quiet driving back on the Bitumen road!
After leaving the Gibb River we came across Molly Springs. A beautiful little pool with waterfall, and with nobody else there, we had this beautiful little spot all to ourselves!
Refreshed, we headed into Kununurra to top up on must needed supplies. We only got slightly sidetracked when we came across Lake Kununurra and had to go for yet another swim!!! ;)
After fuelling up and getting out supplies we headed for a road side camp 50km down from Kununurra. We have no idea how long it will take us to get back to Derby to pick up our van as we have sights still to see along the way!
Once we arrive in Derby the plan is to move our caravan to a park in Broome and head with our tent still, up to Cape Leveque for a week or so! We wouldn't mind making it to Broome for Stairway to the moon in 5 days also... But with the speed we travel, we arnt sure right now if we will make it! Lol
One things for sure, this was truly our most memorable, amazing part of our trip so far! The ever changing country side, the remoteness, the beauty, the harshness and sheer heat (even in what is apparently winter!!) the people, all is something that needs to be seen to truly experience and hard to describe.
Hopefully we will be back again after the wet season as we would love to compare the difference and do it all again!
As I write this blog I am currently sitting out under the stars at a road side camp. It's a warm night, I'm in shorts and a Tshirt, there's bats flying silently above, the crickets are deafening (but I love it) and the sky is bright with thousands of stars. The girls are tucked up in the tent in bed, exhausted after a long day and Gary is off chatting with other campers.
Life's pretty good right now :)))
Xx
Stunning, spectacular and inspiring x
ReplyDeleteOmg, that sounds amazing. So jealous and can't wait to packbip and do the same one day. X miss you girl. X
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