Kimberley Question

Hi there,

We just returned from the Kimberley a few days ago. I can only speak from OUR EXPERIENCE so please remember things can change on those roads fairly quickly. We did the entire Gibb River Road from the West (Kununurra) heading East. We had a 2wd high clearance Holden Colorado towing a Trak Shak camper trailer. Firstly i dropped my tyre pressure on both the vehicle and the tow down to around 28psi and drove to the conditions (slow). I would imagine if you did the same, you could also see most if not all of the Gibb. In my opinion having reasonable clearance is the most important thing on these types of roads to cross rivers such as the pentecost which we had no trouble doing. Im not sure how you would only do parts of the Gibb as most exit or entry roads are as rough or rougher then the Gibb itself. Heading East West, the first half of the Gibb is the worst. Once you get to around Mt Barnett the road improves and towards the Derby end it is great to travel on. Yes the dust will probably get into your van but then that just goes with this type of travel.

For the record we also did the Tanami road from Halls Creek to Wolfe Creek Crater, the Bungle Bungle and then the Savannah Way through Normanton etc right over to Cairns. The worst road out of all these was the Tanami, Halls Creek end anyway.

Not sure if you have to travel in Aug-Oct but if i was you i would try and go in June /July as it may get a little warm in October. As far as your time allowed, you should be able to see alot of the "big ticket" attractions in the area but you could spend alot longer.

When ever you go, enjoy!
Cheers Gary

Wow! Thank you Gary and Pop. Brilliant replies - so detailed and helpful.
Gary T.

You can do the GRR if you are careful with your speed and tyre pressures. We did it an 20 year old Evernew van (certainly not an off road van) and only lost a cupboard door. We went from Kununurra to El Questro to Drysdale, where we left the van and went up to Mitchell Falls and Kalumbaru. Called into most of the falls on the way and Windjana before going onto Derby. Go, you'll love it.

Hi Garytee

Although we were nine weeks in the area, we spent just over three weeks on the Gibb River Road including diversion to Mitchell Falls and Kalumburu. We took it easy but did not see everything, skipping further to access places such as Mornington. If you can camp out and do a loop to collect you caravan, you can include Purnululu (allow two or three days), and Geikie Gorge at Fitzroy Crossing. The Great Northern Highway driving time in between should only take two days.

If you do not want to camp out and still want a taste of the Kimberley, you can take your caravan to El Questro from the north eastern end. The road is now bitumised to the El Questro turnoff and although their access road can be corrugated it is only short and the river crossing near the village will be very shallow late in the season.

Motherhen

Hi Garytree,

Most replies have said it all and although I wouldn't take an expensive non offroader through it becomes a personal decision. So assuming that you are determined to see this magnificent region (I've been there 3 times) I invite you to read my blog(s) that I have posted "Roads and Tracks We Have Travelled - Pt 5" There are 3 blogs in part 5 and indicate some of the Kimberley features and places. On our last trip we were accompanied by a BT 50 towing a Jayco Dove --- no worries except the bumper bar fell off the vehicle.

They may have some interest for you.

Regards.


Mike.

I won't comment on the road conditions as other already have done so and they vary so much, as do personal opinions, it is hard to give accurate details. It depends mostly on when and where the graders have been through. If you drop your speed and tyre pressures and don't overload, your tyre problems should be minimal. Personally I would not travel that route on anything less than near new light truck (LT) tyres which are the equivalent of the old 8 ply tyres and make sure your tyres are not approaching their 'use by' date. i.e. 6 years old. I did see lots who were having type problems but this is mainly due to: too fast, too much pressure, too hot and too much load. I would recommend two spares for the tug + two spares for your trailer. If you use your trailer as a base station and travel the worst sections without it you should see a great deal of what the GRR offers. My best advice would be to come earlier in the year June-August as the time you propose can be getting very hot and humid with the possibility of early rain as well. The heat not only makes travel uncomfortable for you, but places extra load on your vehicle cooling system as well and is a tyre killer.