Katherine to Gearldton in 50 days

Rich,what time of the year are you planning to travel?
Here is a good website for the part of the country I live in.Not to be missed if your timing is ok.Have a great trip.http://www.gibbriverroad.net

Rich - bit confused by your destination. Gearldton? Gearlton? Can't find either. Is it Geraldton on the WA coast???

Cheers

John

Hi Rich,
Plenty of info here http://www.kimberleyaustralia.com, covers top end through to the Kimberley's.
It's going to be an ambitious trip to cover all that territory in 50 days. Good trip though.

Easy!!!
Katherine - Gregory NP - Kunnunnurra - Gibb River Road (inc Mitchell Plateau) - Derby - Cape Leveque - Broome - Barn Hill / 80 Mile Beach / Pt Gregory etc- Point Samson - Dampier - Exmouth (inc Ningaloo + Coral Bay) - Kalbarri - Geraldton.
My only qusetion is why Geraldton????

It would be a great trip and heaps of time to do it

Drew

Hi Rich

My two priorities would be the Gibb River Road and Karajini NP. In Kununurra take the Triple J boat ride up the Ord (Lake Kununurra) to Argyle Dam. They give you heaps of information along the way too, and you can return by boat or bus. If you can, spend a couple of days at Purnululu. It is not too far to back track to get onto the Gibb River Road, and the drive there along the highway is lovely; we went from Kununurra as we left our caravan there. You can read my Blogs on the Gibb River Road and surrounds in the My Blog section; in fact you will probably find a dozen or so different people's perspective which will be good research.

As you are tenting, you can be flexible. Put everything that interests you on your list, then see how your time goes and prune of that which interests you the least. We often find out about the best places from others while we are on the road.

Depending on time, you can deviate from the Highway south of Sandfire Road House onto the Boreline Road (past the former Shay Gap) which is a lovely dirt road drive to Marble Bar. After seeing Marble Bar including a tour at the old Comet gold mine, return to the highway just north of Port Hedland.

You can head to Karajini on the Wittenoom Road just north of Roebourne which takes you through the scenic Chichester and not far to go to the very different Millstream NP. On nearing Karajini, turn south to Hammersley Gorge and then into the main part of Karajini, taking a least two days to see the gorges. The go back to the highway via Tom Price and a very scenic drive through some of the highest hills in WA. You meet the coastal highway at Nanutarra.

The Ningaloo coast from Exmouth is wonderful; like a pristine Great Barrier Reef right by the shore line. Check conditions if you can cross Yardie Creek, otherwise back track to Exmouth.

At Shark Bay, the shell buildings in Denham are worth seeing and the nearby shell beaches. Dolphins at Monkey Mia. Stromatalites. Old Telegraph station ant Hamelin Pool.

To the north of Geraldton, Kalbarri is lovely. River gorges and coastal cliffs. You can go along the coast from Kalbarri to Port Gregory and Horrocks Beach, then Northampton and on to Geraldton.

Lots more along the way than this, but they would be a few highlights i would choose.

Motherhen

Hi Rich

The Motherhen agenda about sums it up, so many choices but all worth inclusion.

Do yourself a favour when going through Kununurra - take time for a day trip along the Ord River into Wyndham to visit the 'Five rivers Lookout' atop 'the Bastion'. It overlooks the old townsite and the port of Wyndham and what remains of the old meatworks. The view is spectacular, particularly late afternoon & sunset.
The trek along the old road along the river is interesting, especially if crossing the 'Ivanhoe Crossing' of the Ord. It provides a comparison with the upper Ord which has been controlled for over 40 years. the lower side runs down into the Cambridge Gulf which is the main panorama from the Lookout.

Beware though - don't be tempted to go for a dip in the river along the way, the crocs are numerous and predominantly the dangerous salt-water species.

The return trip on the bitumen is a bit quicker and shouldn't present problems after sunset.

Regards - Phil

thanks for the help. those sites are handy

i've got some HEMA maps and have started making lists. Just a couple of quick questions....

is there fuel at Kalumburu?

whats the food supplies like, can you buy meat/veg on the gibb river road? or do you have to be fully stocked at Wyndam? Food & Diesel are my main concerns

is ice avalible at all the fuel stops? - Have to take a bloody esky. what i would give for an engel (maybe next trip when i'm older - & wealthier) - also, i'mthinking of geting a food dehydrator (anyone tried this)


- Geralton. well, i figure i'll prob do a trip to Perth & sourrounds & SA coast later on , but chances of me having the time and money to see north WA are unlikley for long while.... so I've got a week to get to Melb from Geralton which should be fine, and i want to conerntrate most of the time north of there

i'm leaving mid July

You should be able to get fuel at Drysdale River station, Kalumburu, Mt Barnett, Imintji Store. The last 3 all have some supplies of staples and frozen goods, but whether you will luck it for fresh stuff will depend on whether you coincide with the supply barge at Kalumburu, or supply runs on the Gibb. The store at Kalumburu supplies the small town there, so that will give you a bit of an idea of what you might be able to get.
As in most remote areas, you will find that fuel and supplies in those places are not cheap!

thats for the responses everyone.....

now i'm looking at getting a gps - i've done a heap of searching but am struggleing to figure it all out.

i'm looking at magellan triton 500 - is this compatible with all the maps available? ie HEMA, oztopo, etc?

also what would be a good gps map to buy for this trip? i'm hoping to go to the more remote areas on the trip.

is the triton 500 any good? i dont need any fancy features, a color screen, custom map loading compatibility and to keep a record of the route i've taken is what i need