The Kimberley trip

We plan to be up that way in late June/early July, but our trip is already planned.

However, 3 places I would go would be Keep n/p, Bullita station in Gregory n/p and thirdly, take a run out on the Legune road from Kununurra, and camp at, or near the Keep River crossing. This road will take you through Stage II, or is it Stage III, of the Ord River Irrigation scheme, across the Weaber Plain.

I've read that you can drive from Bullita, down through the park to Humbert River station, and come out on Top Springs road near VRD.

Also, would plan to camp at Saddle Ck one night, as well as Dingo Gap, near the Duncan H'way turnoff. There's plenty of other good sites along the Gibb too, but as yet I can't comment on them.

Being Aug/Sept, you won't need many clothes, as will be quite warm through the day. Nights in August are usually cool.

Hope you enjoy the trip, it's magic country!

Bob.

Mike and Anne

I have travelled to the Kimberley and doing the trip again this year.

To answer your question I would be typing for ages as there is so much to see and do.

I suggest you look at this site:

http://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/

It is full of valuable information.



Regards

Watching this thread with interest as we are heading up that way ourselves towards the middle of september so much to see and so little time. But we would like to know of some kid friendly places we will have ou 4,5 and 1o year olds with us

Hi M and A, it will be a lot hotter in September and also less crowded. The extra 5 degrees on the daily maximum from July to Sept may not sound like much but IMO 35 is a lot more unpleasant than 30. The GRR will be a corrugated dustbowl.
Visit all these spots in places and read the comments for each pic. Mitchell Falls, Bell Gorge, Manning Gorge. Mornington Wilderness Camp, El Questro. If you want really rough then head out to Walsh Point for a day drive from Mitchell Falls............ W

Thanks everyone for the great information! We will be looking at all the links.

Anne

Hi Anne

In normal seasons the water in the rivers and waterfalls reduces during the season, so you will not be seeing them at their optimum. You are welcome to read My Blogs from our 2008 Gibb River Road and Kimberley trip. Our GRR trip included the deviation to Mitchell Falls and Kalumburu. This trip was the best of the best, but we went in June, before the worst of the crowds, and with June rain as well, there was plenty of water flowing.

Motherhen

Hi Anne,

The Kimberley area is fantastic and heaps to see and do. We have driven it 3 times now and will go back again. Last time we tried to fit in all the well trodden localities and I think only missed Mt Hart. In doing so we visited heaps of gorges/ rivers and I recollect swam in 17 of them. North to Mitchell plateau almost essential (in our view) as well as visiting the stations that offer camping accommodation as they tend to have gorges only accessable to their visitors. El Questo is a little pricey but well worth at least 3 days if you want to try all the gorges. Yes there will be plenty of people and vehicles but that reflects the beauty of the region, and the longer you leave it the more people will be accessing the region. You are welcome to read my blogs "Roads and Tracks we have Traveled".

You will certainly enjoy this part of Australia.

Regards,

Mike.

We are also looking to travel up there in August - September time frame. Towing a strictly road only caravan but hope to maybe leave it a few times for something a little more adventurous.

I have a number of places I want to see again - I lived in Kununurra in mid 60's and then worked on early stages of the main dam construction. Haven't been back since so know a lot will have changed.

From a video that I saw once I think that Home Valley has a ripper of a track on their property. It's the Carson River Track. I didn't know about it when we went there. Am going back to check it out. And a few other things that we missed.

Give them a call and see if they will let you on it. They may not allow single vehicles. I think that Graham of 4WD action dvd fame went up there on one of the videos. From memory it was a real challenge. There may have been some journalistic daramatisation but even so it could be a great drive.

I will try and find the DVD

Phil

Sorry about the disjointed post.

I just found this by searching for Oombulgurri, the name of an aboriginal cummunity on the track. It's caklled the Oombulgurri Track in this reference.

Phil

Oombulgurri Track

Hi we did the kimberleys last year, fabulous , Kununurra, lake argyle, el-questro , Mitchell falls, derby, broome, take your time , do a lot of research and write a rough itinerary , it will be worth it. enjoy every moment, we did.
cheers Judy and Laurie

We did not go very remote but: Purnululu was great, as was Windjana Gorge and the tour of Tunnel Creek with Aboriginal guides. Mornington Station (Wilderness Camp run by Australian Wildlife Conservancy) was also a highlight of our Kimberley trip last year. You must contact the station via the radio at the junction of the Gibb River road to gain access to the campsite as numbers are limited. It is a 90 km drive in - we planned 4 nights but stayed a week. The trip from Derby to the horizontal waterfalls was pricey but wonderful as was visiting Middle Lagoon / Whalesong on the Dampier Peninsula.
Enjoy!