Canoe and the Gibb River Road Gorges
Submitted: Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 19:54
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Member - Mark T (NT)
I am after some basic information please. We (Self, partner and 7yo son) will be travelling the
Gibb River Road during the period mid June to mid July 2009. We are driving a 4WD towing an off road Cavalier Camper trailer. We normally carry our canoe on the camper when travelling and would like to know from anyone who can assist if it is worth taking it on this trip. Particularly, can we use or own canoe and is it easy to access the water at
places like ElQuestro,
Home Valley, Mornington,
Bell Gorge etc. Alternatively is it better to leave the canoe at
home and just hire those available when available. Main concern obviously is that we do not want to cart it if it cannot be put in the water easily, particularly when looking at road conditions, including trip into Purnululu and coming up
the Tanami Track from
home in the NT.
Many thanks in advance.
Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 20:23
Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 20:23
Mark,
PLEASE consider CROCS!. Not a good idea to canoe in crock country, IMHO.
El Questro used to object to any boats except those hired from them in Chamberland
Gorge. That was a while back and it has changd hands since then, AND it is crock territory from memory.
Home Valley (the Penticost) is SERIOUS croc country and not that pretty there (tidal).
Mornington is safer, but they hire canoes in
Dimond Gorge. Not sure what their policy is now. Dimond is reat spot to canoe for the day.
Not sure about Bell, don't think the distance would warrant it.
The big opportunity is between the Diversion
Dam at
Kununurra and the Ord
dam in the upper Ord. It is a 65km trip through the gorges and is stunning. Worth taking it just for that. The downstream only (due to the current) trip is a comfortable 3 days. Drive to the waters edge at each end, but you will need a relay vehicle, (or maybe a tourist bus) to get back to the start.
There are hire
places in
Kununurra that offer all the
services that you would need and plastic canadians, but they charge.
There have been a few serious adventurers canoe the
Drysdale River from the Kulumburu Road to the ocean, but this is a SERIOUS expedition that would take a year or more to plan, and there are crocs again in the lower reaches, below the falls.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome
AnswerID:
363029
Follow Up By: Member - joc45 (WA) - Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 23:59
Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 23:59
Old Mornington (
Dimond Gorge) cost us $60 per canoe last year. The canoe holds 2 only, so if you have a kid, then you'll need another canoe. Have previously paddled this one in my 3.7m inflatable, no probs, no crocs. This is the only way to really see this impressive
gorge.
Recommend Mole
Gorge, SE of Mt House station, but you have to book and pay Mt House to
camp at
the gorge. But we managed to paddle about 5km upstream, portaging in a few
places. Only saw freshies on that jaunt.
Gerry
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Reply By: Member - Min (NSW) - Monday, May 04, 2009 at 10:10
Monday, May 04, 2009 at 10:10
Hi Mark,
We used our inflatable tandem sit-on-top on several occasions in the Gibb region including Diamond
Gorge and Cadjeput, both near Mornington
camp. It was very beautiful there. At
Bell Gorge we also paddled from our creekside
camp but it's only a short stretch of water.
Kununurra was also a great place for paddling as was
King Edward River but only about 1km.
We were requested by the
ranger at
Windjana Gorge not to put the inflatable in there as it scares the crocs (freshwater - we do not worry about them but respect them and keep our distance) and they disappeared for many days after someone had paddled there. That was in 2003 so I don't know if things have changed. I must say that the freshies there are BIG.
Check for croc safety with knowledgeable people at every place. Some folk are very gung ho.
AnswerID:
363111
Follow Up By: get outmore - Monday, May 04, 2009 at 12:50
Monday, May 04, 2009 at 12:50
souns like they change the story to suit themselves. In 03 I was asked to be out off the river at a certain time because seeing a paddler would ruin the ambiance of their cultural boat tour - no mention of scaring crocs and quite frankly it sounds like a croc
trying to say a paddler scares crocs for weeks on end but there big tour boat doesnt
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Follow Up By: Member - Min (NSW) - Monday, May 04, 2009 at 18:39
Monday, May 04, 2009 at 18:39
I was not aware of any boat tour in
Windjana Gorge when we were there for 2 or 3 days. However, I take your point that paddlers would scare crocs for several days (I'm sure he said for three weeks!) seems a bit sus. But if a
ranger requests something it seems reasonable to comply.
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