Kimberley trip timing
Submitted: Thursday, Aug 21, 2003 at 19:30
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mel
Hi
We are planning a two month
Kimberley trip for 2004, and are planning on starting the
Gibb River Road at the very beginning on June. Going by past experience does anyone think this is too early in the season? I know every year is different, but any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Reply By: Member - John- Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 00:39
Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 00:39
Monitor the
Kimberley wet season via the Bureau of Met web site and you will build a picture of how the wet season is closing and when and where. Try Table 3 on this page
http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/rainmaps.cgi?page=top
You need to look at nthn wet season cummulative rain (vs the long term average) and the weekly and month by month rainfall. This helps you build a good picture of how the season has run and how it is closing off.
This year the GRR was open about by
Easter. Apr-May can be really good because there is a lot more water and greeness around and not many tourists.
July-Aug it is just packed out in the towns, but if you are an independent bush camper you won't have much trouble.
The GRR is in a good a condition as you will find ... these days it is just a very long corrugated road with plenty of bends and creeks to catch out the unwary speeding driver.
As always my advice for this country is...
a) keep your weight down & ensure
suspension matches load
b) carry a second spare tyre (or used casing)
d) keep your speed down to match the very unpredicatable conditions
Have fun!
JohnS
Derby, WA
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Follow Up By: mel - Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 08:19
Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 08:19
Thanks for the website link
John! That should be a great help. We have been up that way before, but haven't travelled all the way along the
Gibb River Road, so we are really looking forward to the trip. Planning on doing
Mitchell Falls as
well, and maybe Bachsten Creek from Mt Elizabeth. Do you need to be a bit more "crocodile aware" earlier in the season, or are there still
places you can swim? We are stopping in
Broome at the end of June, and will book accommodation, as we know how busy it gets there (a bit of luxury for us girsl!) Other than that we will be camping, hopefully with a Heaslip tray-top camper on the back of the ute. Thanks again for all your advice.
Mel
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Follow Up By: Member - John- Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 10:10
Friday, Aug 22, 2003 at 10:10
Mel,
Bushtrax Safaris connected to Mt Elizabeth do some pretty interesting day tours and the Bacjeton
camp is theirs. Mt Elizabeth charges $50 per vehicle and donates to RFDS plus Bushtrax charges $50 per vehicle for track maintenance. Take advice from Mt Elizabeth before proceeding to Bacheston
camp, some parts of the track are fairly challenging and nearly all of it is rough.
Croc risk remains constant until the sun stops rising in the east. Usually pretty safe to swim or sit around in shallow clear water on sandy banks where you can see
well, but only in
bright sunlight. Definitely don't hang around the water at night without a decent fire going (good time to fish).
Whilst nearly all inland rivers and billabongs have freshwater crocs, large billabongs anywhere should be treated with the suspicion that a large salty may be living there.
There are some fantastic gorges with very swimmable water
well inland along the GRR, so ask the locals.
Derby Vistor Centre
http://www.derbytourism.com.au/ should be very helpful.
Have a great trip.
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