Gibb River Rd compared to Cape York
Submitted: Sunday, Mar 09, 2003 at 21:26
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Beddo
Planning a trip to the
Gibb River Rd area this year - did
Cape York last year. Comparing the two, is the
Gibb River Rd rougher generally and how about remoteness - is there less people travelling this area or about the same (planning to travel June thru to Aug).
Cape York we did alone and we were
well equiped and we thought it was like Pitt St almost - so I'm basically saying is this area safe to travel alone ? Is any of the area like the OTL slow interesting stuff with
creek crossings etc or just long corrugated stuff ?
PS. Mobile phone coverage CDMA was pretty good at
Cape York - what is it like along the
Gibb River Rd. I got coverage at Archer River, Punsund Bay, Chilli Beach for those interested.
Reply By: Coops - Sunday, Mar 09, 2003 at 23:33
Sunday, Mar 09, 2003 at 23:33
Beddo
Gibb River Road is a pleasant drive. I would have no hesitation in doing it solo as there's heaps of crew about the place everywhere you go. Take a couple of spare rims & tyres though.
Creek crossings depends on severity of wet season and what time of year you're travelling.
Pentecost River will be about 600 mm deep but can be higher and quite wide with strong flow. Again dependant on wet season or recent rains but June thru August should see little in the way of problems. Corrugations can be annoying in some
places ie. Pentecost to
Kalumburu turn-off but again nothing to lose any sleep over.
If you're doing Kalumburu/
Mitchell Plateau (and I recommend that you do) this is where you'll encounter more
creek crossings given this season's wet, Carson River can be an adventure/treat too.
Mobile coverage is non-existent for the entire GRR. I would suggest UHF as a minor safety precaution but there's usually help just around the corner.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Beddo - Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 15:43
Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 15:43
Coops, thanks for the reply - is there any real remote areas any more. Have a UHF and will take 2 spares and a tyre plug kit. Got a
snorkel just before
Cape York but it was very dry. CDMA phone coverage at
Cape York - we didn't expect any but while we were there they switched a couple of towers on around the place and bingo. Thanks for the advice on
places to visit, Cheers Beddo
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Willem- Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 12:14
Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 12:14
Check out my website www.kempen.id.au re article on The Far North
Kimberley. This was written some time ago but the roads are still the same. If you strike the road after it has been graded then it should be OK. On our trip to
Kalumburu and beyond I scored 12 punctures on new tyres in 2 weeks(Bridgestones). What fun. Pretty safe to travel alone. Should be lots of traffic. We did not see much traffic on our trip in 1986. Doubt if you will get any CDMA reception past
Kununurra. Take a
HF Radio with you. Cheers,W
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Beddo - Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 15:51
Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 15:51
Thanks Willem, will check your site out - sounds as busy as
Cape York or more so. Sounds like the Brigestones were not much good - which ones ? About to get new tyres myself - will carry 2 spares and a tyre plug kit. Maybe borrowing the works Satellite phone, Cheers Beddo
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Follow Up By: Member - Willem- Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 18:41
Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 18:41
Beddo
When we bought the Suzuki (new) it had ordinary Bridgestone Road Tyres and I was waiting for them to wear a bit before replacing them. After that trip we shod the Suzi with BFG Muddies and they were excellent. Funny though, I have recently put Bridgstone Desert Duellers 750x16 8-Ply rating Tube Type, on my old Nissan. Going up the Cape this year if the petrol prices don't jump too much. Will see how they perform. Tyres are tyres and depending on how you drive depends on how the tyres last. Obviously Coopers are at the top of the list. Bridgestone is somewhere in the middle, I surmise. Depends on what sort of money you have to spend:-) If carrying two spares you don't need to carry a second rim. This will reduce the weight by at least 25 kilos. Cheers,W
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Follow Up By: Beddo - Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 23:06
Monday, Mar 10, 2003 at 23:06
Willem, point taken with rim - went to
Cape York with 2 (went alloy spares to reduce weight). Going without a rim would save some and clear up some storage room. Interested in the Coopers as up in the Cape the tour operators swore by them compared to BFG AT - can be very heated these comparisons. Punctures - have you heard that apart from push bikes, motor bikes can get foam filled tubes - you add a little air to suit conditions or ride. No more worries you get a puncture and you can still continue. I wonder if cars will see these - shouldn't be too long !
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Follow Up By: Coops - Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:11
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:11
Willem- you shouldn't need HF for
Gibb River so unless you've already got one or have that desire to be contactable for those 2-3 weeks I wouldn't be rushing out and spending any money on that or a Satphone. There are plenty of phone boxes along the way. I can recommend getting a Telstra card that allows all charges to go back to your home phone as some of these boxes don't take coins or if they do you need quite a few.
Another place worth checking out that you may not have considered is Old Mornington
Bush Camp (lower end off GRR near Mt House)
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Follow Up By: Member - Willem- Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:38
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:38
Coops, Thanks for that info. Have not been up the
Kimberley way for a while and was unaware of all the phone boxes. Telstra is taking all the adventure out of the bush. I believe that there is even a phone box near
Well 33 on the CSR! Thank goodness that I was fortunate enough to see most of Oz before the RUSH !! Now we have to find other isolated
places to visit. Cheers, Willem
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Reply By: Member - Willem- Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 09:21
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 09:21
Beddo, Yep, have heard of the foam filled tyres. So when you split the sidewall on a stake out along the track the foam squirts out. We will be able to start a new "I spy" game for the kids looking out for white(or coloured) blotches of foam along the way :-) I'll stick to my tubes and
gaters and plugs and the hard yakka repairing them for the time being. At least then I know I can still get myself out of a tricky situation if need be. Enjoy your trip. Cheers, Willem.
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Follow Up By: Beddo - Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:57
Tuesday, Mar 11, 2003 at 18:57
The ones I've heard about for motor bikes basically is just a tube with foam such as the foam to put on your roof racks for surf boards etc with no liquid foam additive - not like the old fillyleak etc. Spent
well today ended up with Cooper ST's - hope the wife does not find out how much !! - anyway cheaper than BFG AT's (guy sold both & recommended Coopers) - thanks all for replies.
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