Some questions regarding the gibb river road

Not only is it a hell of a distance but its a hell of a time to be there. Literally. Have you considered the heat and humidity ? The rainfall ? I know I'm sounding negative but the fact is that for most of us its not a great time to travel.

Hi Miki. I'm not an expert on that region at that time of the year, but have been there during the start of that season. Yes the GRR will definately be a bit umm....wild ...at that time of the year. My only concern is your safety and comfort, if you're too ambitious you could come to grief.
Just hang around this forum and I'm sure that someone from that area will give you expert advice.
Have a great holiday.

Miki, May I ask how you plan to get from Perth-Broome-Darwin etc?

Hi Miki,

I just got back from a trip along the Gibb River Road in early October. It was very hot (around 38-40 degrees celsius) and most of the stations and camping sites were preparing to shut down (or in some cases were already shut) for the wet season. Once the wet arrives the rivers will be impassable and you will have no hope of getting from Derby to Kununurra. December is just not the right time of year to be doing this trip.

If you must go in then I suggest go part of the way in from Derby to say Winjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek and then back track to Derby (or alternatively carry on to Fittzroy Crossing) and travel via the Great Northern Highway.

This link should take you to a site that has plenty of good information Gibb River Road

Also strongly suggest you purchase a Gibber River Road Guide from the Derby Visitors Centre.

regards and good luck with your adventure.

We just spent 5 months working in the Kimberly over the wet season. It was murderously hot, 48 to 50 degrees celcius most of the time and humid. The gibb river road is closed most of the season as is the road to tunnel creek etc.

hi Miki
welcome to the west
I havent done the Gibb as yet but plan to in the next year or so. The one thing that know one has said so far is that to treck any where in the north on foot at that time of the year is nearly always FATAL.
Yes there are plenty of sights to see just short distances from Perth someone sugested Wedge Island as a very regular tripper to Wedge I coudnt agree more some of the best beaches in Aus.
If you must go North at that time of the year stick to main roads.
Hope you enjoy your holls were in west

Hi Miki,
If you are planning to travel by road to the Northern section aof WA and Australia, during the summer months, make sure you have plenty of spare time.
You are likely to encounter the following :

Cyclones
Flooded roads
Closed roads
Flooded river crossings
Torrential rain storms
Likely to get bogged when off the bitumn roads
Etc. etc.

All the above are likely between the months of December to as late as May
OK to fly to Broome and stay there or drive along the bitumn roads but be prepared to wait or turn back when the road is flooded

Hope this helps
Cheers

Miki

The Gibb River Road will be closed in December/Jan/Feb and possibly March and even April depending on the wet. There are fines for attempting to enter upon closed roads for very good reason. The damage done to heavilly rain drenched roads/ impassable floodways and rivers, not to mention life threatening conditions of heat/humidity and mother nature in general.
Even travelling by bitumen is not guaranteed at that time year with flooded crossings etc. The Victoria River is known to cut any road travel east/west across the top end for many weeks at a time during the wet.
Some 4 wheel driving south of the 26th paralel may be more advisable at that time of the year.

Cheers
Wal

Yep - from my readings Miki, the above is very sound advice - and just remember that even though you can opt to stay on sealed roads and still see plenty, you can't camp on that selaed road ! The weather up there is so dynamic at times that you might get blown off the sealed road, or bogged when you pull off to camp, or may need to keep driving into the night because it won't stop pouring ! The dry season is for us tourists - the wet season gives the locals a rest.

I recently was in the Kimberlies (well, the Bungle Bungles).

Its an amazing part of the world, absolutely awe inspiring, but I didn't have a good time. It was HOT. I struggled to sleep at night, and in the mornings the flies were so bad I could hardly eat.

During the day it wasn't so bad, it was just plain hot, but in the mornings it was worse, the humidity was high, and the heat started before the sun even came up. There is no relief at night.

I'm from the NT, and I found it hot and oppressive. This was the first couple of weeks in November. Now that some rain has started falling, its only going to be worse.

The truth is, its not an enjoyable time of year. There isn't even any decent 4wding to be done. Its either bitumen or bogged, not much in between once the rain starts!

As I said, its an awesome part of the world, and I could do a dozen trips there and not feel like I'd even started to see it, but this is the wrong time of year to go there.

Dog

Miki

Further to my previous post can I touch on your second question about trekking off on foot. I really don't think so mate.
I live/work and play in this environment and a lot of the time it is just plain bloody hot and uncomfortable and thats being aclimatized to it.
Where I work have recently become obsessed with our hydration levels whilst performing certain tasks and have undertaken numerous tests to monitor our levels. The conclusion we are getting from that study is that even a fully hydrated person after an hour in the sun performing moderate tasks and consuming about a litre of water in that hour is becoming dehydrated. Once your out in that environment for any length of time, it's virtually impossible to keep the water intake up to the required level.
Definately not a touring holiday destination at this time of year.

Cheers
Wal

Hello All,

Well, I guess there is no hope to trek the GRR in December.
I think I got the picture, .... No, we dont have a death wish :-)

We'll take Pluto's and Chip's idea to do some 4WD near Perth even though, I guess that its not as adventurous as the GRR, but it will have to do.

Nevertheless, we'll go to Broome (by local flight) and wait / wish for an opportunity for a good day to do even a day ride in the area.

Afterwards, we'll stick to the main roads toward Darwin.
From there we'll drive to the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. I hope that things are not as bad as the GRR.

Thanks a lot to everyone.
The information I got here is priceless.

No worries :-)
Miki

Well done Gentlemen,

Your input into this thread may very well have prevented us from reading about these guys in the paper. At least they were willing to listen to local knowledge. Sadly some will go ahead with their plans anyway and pay the ultimate price.

Brett

Why not read the article from the owners of Drysdale River Station:

http://www.drysdaleriver.com.au/history.htm