Tunnel Creek/Windjana Gorge

Mick

Although it was a few years back I towed a 19ft on road van from Derby to Windjana Gorge then Tunnel Creek and out to Fitzroy Crossing, all without incident when the road from Tunnel Creek to the Highway was not much better than 2 wheel tracks.


Enjoy your travels,
Athol

You do not say which direction you are travelling but it is possible to camp at Windjana and then go the Tunnel Creek. Both are a must see. We came off the GRR then camped at Winjana then next day went to Tunnel creek and then we continued to a free camp a bit short of the highway. Then we went to Fitroy Crossing and then carried on to Derby. This was towing a van through there.

Hi Al and Athol,

Thanks for the reply. Will be travelling west to east. What condition is the track from Derby through to Fitzroy via Tunnel Creek? Ok for an on roader?


Mick

Thanks for your replies, I might play it safe first time around and set up camp at Fitzroy and spend a full (early start) exploring that area.

Regards

Mick

I haven't been on the Fitzroy Crossing to Tunnel Creek for several years ,However here are my observations. Conditions can change all the time depending on graders .

The road in from the GRR end is usually very corrugated from tour buses as far as Tunnel Creek.

The road from Fitzroy Crossing to Tunnel Creek is a bit less corrugated but there are several steep dips . You need pretty good clearance to not damage the back of a van. I spoke to 2 van owners in the general area, 1 had a fridge destroy itself, and the other had a low hanging step hit a rock and be damaged.
I think your idea of leaving the van at Fitzroy crossing is a good one and that caravan park, pub, restaurant was the best in the Kimberley IMHO.

My suggestion is in line with Alan's. Take your van from Derby and to Windjana Gorge camp for a few days. A nice campground and they have a generator section. Showers as well (were cold when we were there, but during the day the water was tolerably warm). GRR good to Windjana turnoff and to the camp should be doable at slow speed. Then take a day to walk the gorge and visit the old police station ruins at Windjana, another day to go to Tunnel Creek and walk through it. Take day trips to Bell's Falls (lovely) and Lennard Gorge.

From Fitzroy Crossing, be sure to take the boat along Geikie Gorge.

If walking through Tunnel Creek, wear shoes with a decent sole as the stones can be sharp. Plus and this is a must, take a torch you can hang around your neck to leave the hands free for getting through the rocks at the entrance.....unless of course they've made it easier under the "access for all" policies they seem to love these days.
Last time we were there a tour bus driven by a young bloke who failed to tell all the oldies he had on board about either of these two things before they got to the entrance. Needless to say their trip was totally spoiled but hey, he was a backpacker on holiday so it wasn't his fault, it was the tour company for flogging trips to people obviously not able to do the rough stuff.
AlanTH.

I wouldnt be taking a road van on any of the GRR. Came off it one week ago from west to east. It is now full season with mad offroad tour bus hurling around making the track far worse.
Your van will not survive.
Park van at Fitzroy Crossing and go in to Tunnel Creek and Wandja Gorge.
Bungles Bungles you can park at the entry caravan park and drive in (2hr trip in 50km) rough as guts as bad as the Tanami. If you want to Heli fly over the Bungles, book at Turkey Creek its cheaper.
Elquestro you have a 10km dirt track in which is not good for your van. Stay at Kununurra (Ivanhoe Park) and drive to El Questro.
Not much at Wyndham..........
The rest of the Gibb is out of your range.
Prices for Horizontal Falls and Mitchell Falls flights/heli can vary from $850 - $1100 pp depending where you book, so do your homework and never be afraid to ask for a better price, most will give you at least 10% discount for 2.
Barra fishing is over, water is too cold for them to bite, though operators won't tell you that until all you catch is catfish and and parted with your $240 - $700 pp.
You may have to start to enquire about booking sites as season is in full swing now.

Most of the road in from Derby to the Windjana turn off is black top.

Driven to the conditions, the drive on the dirt at the end of the tar is very doable.

It's no worse than getting out to King Ash Bay if you've been there?

As suggested above, the camp ground at Windjana is an excellent base from which to explore tunnel ck etc.

Re all of the horror stories about the GRR; the modern GRR is no worse than any other long dirt road in the country when it's open in the dry season. It's considerably better than some! We saw the NSW Variety Bash come down the GRR, they all got through in their 2WD's, no dramas.

Have a great trip! :)

If you’re only looking at a day trip I gather you have no plans to do the Gibb in its entirety? We’ve travelled up that way for donkey years and although we have a caravan and a camper, I wouldn’t take our on road van. There’s too many places you miss out on as it’s not the Gibb that’s bad it’s the station tracks that vary. Have you considered leaving the van in Derby or Kununurra to spend more time on the Gibb? Choose wisely where you leave your van for safety reasons.

If you had been contemplating accessing Tunnel Creek from the Fitzroy Crossing end (i.e. past the Blina oilfield and Leopold Downs station) I would caution about a creek crossing less than 1k past the homestead. In full dry season the waterhole is still deep with a very uneven rocky base, and there's no way I'd contemplate hauling an on-road van that way. (I'd be leery of any off-road van as the approach/departure angles may hook it up. Just my 2c worth).

Better off leaving van at Derby one closest to the jetty allows you for a small fee (insurance cover) to leave them on site making it a day trip ex derby is a longish day, but not as long as basing at fitzroy crossing

make it a 1 to 3 nighter leave van derby head to winjana have a gander stay night then have look at tunnel creek on way further south back to Gt northern hwy

crossing near the music school (name illudes me) is shallow to deep and before the highway is the old airstrip mine site from ww2 makes a nice lunch stop or similar