Gibb River Road Itinerary

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May River closer to Derby end is a great spot to camp.
We stayed at Michelle Falls and were able to do the walk nice and relaxed as well as going for an occasional dip in the river near the camp. Don’t forget to look at the Aboriginal art on the way up and look for the burial cave.
Do Mornington Wilderness Camp and hire a canoe.
Agree with Home Valley beside the river, excellent spot.
At El Questro try and get a private camp spot beside the river and if you can afford it, do a helicopter flight!
Kevin

May River



Canoeing at Mornington Wilderness Camp


Home Valley Station camping

Hi,

With regards to places that only warrant a single night I would suggest that both Ellenbrae and Home Valley fit this category.

I was last there in 2010 so I don't know if things have changed, but these are my thoughts:

Ellenbrae is worth a stop for the fresh scones with jam and cream. You'll see signs advertising them well before the turnoff. The campgrounds are OK but there are no other attractions.

Home Valley has excellent facilities, including bar, restaurant and swimming pool. There's also a campground with facilities on the Pentecost that is much quieter than the main one and has a lot more room. There wasn't much to do at Home Valley in the way of walks etc. I think they run fishing tours.

If you wanted to arrive at El Questro early to try and get one of the private camp sites, Home Valley would be good for that.

Graeme

I assumed from the order that you listed your itinerary in, that you were going west to east. If that's not the case, ignore my last paragraph.

Graeme

That's correct Graeme and your info about 1 nighters is great and I like the idea about staying at Home Valley to get to El Questro early so with that in mind I can refine my planning a bit more.

Lloyd

Re May River, we had a guide book, I cannot recall the name, and I am unsure if the camps book had it? From a web site it says - From Derby, May River Turn-off (Free Campsite/Barra Fishing) is 40.50 km, (turn-off at Meeda + 12km to campsite.)
I remember that from Derby the turn-off in on the left and you travel through private property (station) to the river, that also being part of the station. I think you basically just keep driving straight and then veer to the right and the track gets narrower and then a few bends and then the river crossing. The owners do not mind people staying there, as long as the place is kept clean. The water is nice and clean. The road can be found on Google Maps, here it is but it may not be clear for you to make out. Kevin

Hi Kevin, is there an crocs in that river? Always worry after that incident up Cape York beach a few years ago.

Hi Kevin, is there an crocs in that river? Always worry after that incident up Cape York beach a few years ago.

I have read on another site that there have been crocs there, but when we were there in July 2011 there were a few campers and no one mentioned any crocs. We felt safe camped beside the river and went exploring a bit and never saw any signs. Were we were camped it was shallow gravel, very clear and easy to see the bottom while up the other way it was deeper and harder to see, but people were also camped there and fishing off the bank. One of the other campers, who were in a caravan, were going up the river in the shallow end to fish for barra. Not sure if they caught any. Kevin

Thanks Kevin will check it out when we get over there.

Hi Grant and Linda,

Looking at spending a couple of nights in the Bungle Bungles, 1 night at Fitzroy Crossing, 3 in Broome at the start and then approx. 18 nights on GRR and probably skipping Wyndham and Kununurra as we'd rather spend our time on GRR.

We will have a camper trailer and be reasonably self sufficient so I don't imagine that dictating too much based on what I've worked out so far.

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd,

To miss Wyndham and Kunanurra would be to miss some top Kimberley spots. Five Rivers lookout at Wyndham is unique, and the croc farm (if it is still there) was very interesting. Between Wyndham and Kunanurra is the Parrys Lagoon wetlands with the ability to get close to the bird life of the area. In Kunanurra you can look around the Ord River scheme, do a wonderful cruise up the river to the Ord River dam, go out to Ivanhoe Crossing. Around Lake Argyle you can do a lake cruise, see the Durack pioneer homestead and have a look at Keep River NP, a real gem. Just soak up tht amazing scenery.

If you have not already done so, strongly suggest reading Mary Durack's "Kings in Grass Castles" to give you some idea of the early European history of the area and what it might have been like to live in such magnificent but isolated country.

More detailhere in our blogs from 2002, and also in our blogs from 2008.

Cheers ,

Val

Morning all,

Lloyd, as you are finding out, there's definitely a lot to see, and the trick is avoiding the need to move on every day. You would have seen from our blogs that in some places we did overnighters, and others we spent a couple of days. Thankfully we have the Tvan now so overnighters aren't a burden when packing up :-)

I don't want to tell you what to see and what to skip in your 18 days, as what appeals to me may not appeal to you, and vice versa. All I can say is that your list is comprehensive for the days you have allocated, and you will see some spectacular sights at those places. Just remember that you won't see everything, but that's ok, because then it gives you something to plan for when you next visit....

I also do agree with Val about Wyndham and Kununurra - if you had a couple of days spare at least, there is so much to see and do after spending nearly 3 weeks in the dust.

Have a wonderful and safe trip; we may see you on the road, and I hope you really enjoy all the magic that the region has to offer!

Hi Grant,

I will take on board what you and others have said about Wyndham/Kununurra. We may pick up a day or two depending on how things go as you found out with the road closures in 2011.

Your blog was a great read and helpful (some nice photos too) and I was happy to see the humble Paj as your mode of transport. We too will be taking a 2010 NT GLX for our trip and I was curious how the Paj went and what suspension upgrades you have done if any?

Out of curiosity which way did you come back to Adelaide once you reached Broome (we are also from Adelaide so am wondering if there is an easy option to get back without too much backtracking)?

Plan is to do exactly as you did via the Tanami but then do GRR West to East (with all the traffic by the sounds of your blog) and then head across to Katherine before heading straight back down the middle to home.

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd,

It's Linda here (Grant's definitely not the chocoholic!) :-)

Glad you liked the blog, the Paj has been a true workhorse and hasn't missed a beat during our adventures. We did upgrade the suspension for our initial trip with our caravan - it's a combination of Old Man Emu with 400kg constant load springs which can make the ride without the van a little hard but I guess I'm used to it now.

I've been travelling to the Kimberley for nearly 25 years, and managed to do the GRR in both directions on numerous occasions - my personal preference probably is to go east to west, but other than that there's no real advantage in my opinion.

When we came back to Adelaide last year we went the Great Northern highway as it was going to be the quickest (I had to get back to work), ie across to Katherine from Kununurra and back down the Stuart. There's only so many ways to get home so back tracking may be unavoidable.

Hope you enjoy the Tanami - I've heard many say that there's nothing to see. Maybe we took a different route as I thought it was fabulous! Can't wait to do it again.

Linda.

Hi Val,

I have already downloaded the free sample and was definitely thinking that the full guide will be worthwhile, the website alone is a great source of info.

Cheers, Lloyd