Gibb River rd

Hi cooks, check out the Trek notes, look at all the pix in Places. Maybe the new vans should stick to the tar but if you stay under 80kmh they might survive the 600km of GRR... W

Depends purely on the weather and when the graders were through , the road can be perfect one day and a quagmire track the next after rain.

Cooks


This subject has been covered before. If you check this site you will find heaps of info.

It is a dirt road and very easy driving after the wet. As soon as the wet is over the graders work on the road.

Like any dirt road you have to drive to the conditions. If you do so you will have an enjoyable trip. Heaps of gorges and beautiful scenery.



Tjilpi

Hi Cooks

As aforesaid it depends on the time of the year. Unless you are sure the grader has just covered ALL of the route, i would not be considering any campers which are not dedicated heavy duty rough roaders.

We spent three and half weeks from Derby to Kununurra in June 2008. The road was quite good, and graders were working on the bad patches. The majority of caravans we saw were also Bushtrackers. It got very busy in July and another Bushtracker caravanner who came through just one week into July said it was the worst road he had ever driven on. Travelling early so long as the grader has been is better, and there is more water in the waterfalls, but the river crossings are also deeper.

Both in 2007 and 2008 (and maybe last year too) there was rain in June. Anyone already out there was stranded for a few days as roads are closed to avoid damage.

Unless your campers and caravans are up to the job, you may be better to leave them in Broome, Derby or Kununurra and take tents. Lots of people do this. It doesn't take long to do the loop back via the highway with a bit more to see along the way. Should you have a breakage, recovery costs from remote areas such as this are extremely costly. Purnululu is also well worth seeing, and although campers are permitted in, caravans are not. The road in is not good, so a tent or other means of camping out for the caravanners is needed anyway.

You can check out my blogs in the blog section here of where we went. It is a fabulous part of the country and should not be missed. With adequate preparation, you will have a wonderful trip.

Motherhen

My only comment is that having travelled that road on numerous occasions in the months of June, July and August I would say it is the most over rated 4wd road that I have been on and you would have to be Very unlucky to get conditions to avoid travel during those months.During the wet or in unusual rain periods off course the entire scene changes and common sense should prevail.

The BOSS,
If you read my post I said nothing about the scenery or other attractions being overated and there is a lot to see and enjoy on that road.Iwas referring to the general condition of the road at that time of year.Yes I have been to Kalumbaru, Mitchel Falls, Diamond Gorge and if you want a bit more of a challenge Walcott Inlet is a lovely spot to visit.

Easy guys.

Yes the road is terribly over rated. Its just a long dirt road. And of course weather and maintenance issues can change it from virtually a freeway to a mud hole.

But the area is ironic. The scenery is superb. Take any of the side roads and you enter a true part of Australia. The side roads and gorges are the main attraction of the area. At the right time you could drive the GRR in a limo but you wouldn't dare take it up the Kalumburu road for example. Not a good place for caravans up there either. Unless you like them "shaken not poured". Campers are a different matter.

We played around on it for 4 weeks and still did not see it all. Try the six hours to drive the 132Km Karunjie track. Fun and that's where they made part of the movie Australia. On the swamp shortcut. Check out the Mitchell Plateau. Awesome and don't forget a helicopter ride if the budget goes that far.

No Don't sell the road short. Its the gateway to an iconic area of this wide land.

catchyalatr

We did the GRR last "dry season". We towed our Kedron caravan and had no real issues. As stated by may Posters, the road is dead easy where it has been recently graded, but where it isn't, the corrugations can be incessant.

Unless the two caravans are reasonably robust, consider leaving them at Kununurra or Derby, or be prepared to drive very slowly in places. Our worst section was from GRR turnoff on the Kalumburu Rd to Drysdale River Station. (We didn't take the van any further). It took nearly 5 hours to cover this section.

So far as planning goes, we ended up taking 8 days longer than our original plan. Some places really grab you and you find yourself staying longer than planned. If you can afford 4 weeks, do it.

The road has a lot of traffic on it during the school holidays and some campsites can be very crowded. Silent Grove was absolutely packed to the gills when we were there. During the hols it is like this at most places so if you can travel outside school hols, do so, although you have stated that it is a "family trip" so I suspect that you will be traveling during the holidays.

Also, watch out for morons. We had people towing camper trailers at breakneck speeds pass us and shower us with rocks on several occasions. These are usually the ones that you find further up the road with blown shockies. The worst case we encountered was some idiot coming around a bend with his Trakmaster caravan almost at right-angles to his tow vehicle.

Another thing to watch out for is the "convoy mentality". You have the leader of the convoy overtake you and then the remainder of the convoy with do the most idiotic things to pass you so that they can remain in sight of the leader. You know the drill, passing on hills, on blind corners etc. We found it was safer to just stop and let them all through.

All in all, a great road with fantastic attractions and well worth the effort. Just take it nice and easy.

Cheers

Russ