Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 13:15
Hi Ashley,
As others have suggested you need to read up on the area. If you go to our web site you will find a whole page dedicated to explaining why there is no way ANYONE can tell you in advance at all, either a date when any dirt road in the
Kimberley will open or especially what the condition of that road will be.
This page attempts to explain when & why the road is graded each year.
You need to remember that you are talking about approx one thousand two hundred kms of road maintained by 3 different bodies. Every trip some areas will be great and some will be bad.
We get calls with this question up to 20 times a day early in each season, frankly it drives us nuts because we can't help.
We can not answer this question any more than anyone else can, especially 8 months in advance, we can't even answer it a week in advance !
You need to check the main roads and the local shire sites just before your trip, links to all are on our site.
The other thing is the question we get ..........' how bad is the road ' this is in fact unanswerable because what to us after flogging along it for 27 years is great , is to a person unused to dirt roads simply terrible.
People do in fact get annoyed if we tell them it's not bad, they then come and think it terrible and go crook at us. Then turns out it is first dirt road they have ever been on.
Due to the fact I'm sick of being gone crook at by people whose opinion of the road condition differs to
mine, we will no longer be answering any questions regarding road conditions.
Check out all mentioned sites and the hope like hell it's open and that most of it has been graded not long before your trip.
If possible allow enough time if we get a big wet and have a late road opening, to be able to do others areas first. If your timing is critical don't plan for May especially not early May. MOST years it is open by the end of May. As you point out they are again saying it looks like another larger than average wet season is possible.
In all these years here we have not seen a normal wet or a normal time for the road to open, every single year is vastly different !
This last wet was amazing it fell heavy and fast and simply destroyed the road in
places leaving some holes you could put a 4WD in and not see it.
For 2011 the GGR road opened 23 rd May and the
Kalumburu Road on 30 th May to Drysdale only.
Mitchell plateau track was opened about 25 th June.
Right through from MP turn off to
Kalumburu was much later, don't recall exact date. Main roads had to do major work on that North section and the black soil was still wet anyway.
Sorry I do know what I have said doesn't give any firm answer.
cheers, Anne
AnswerID:
468445
Follow Up By: Ashley E - Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 13:45
Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 13:45
Hi
We in no way expect anyone to predict when the roads will be open next year. We were only asking about this years opening dates as a rough guide. We have done alot of reading and researching and were looking for people's experiences, what to do,
what to take, what not to take.
We arent first time 4wd so understand that people's opinions of tracks can vary widely. Now knowing that the road didnt open in parts till late May this year will help us work out a rough departure date.
We have a few people traveling with us. One lot will be in a Wicked 4x4 van and another on a bike. What are their chances of completing the road?
Thanks
FollowupID:
742720
Follow Up By: Drysdale River Station - Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 14:04
Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 14:04
re: a Wicked 4x4 van and another on a bike
IF the road has recently been graded and if the rivers are shallow no problem.
IF the rivers are still 600 mm plus deep and or the roads really corrugated you may drown the wicked and the biker may come a cropper , as countless other bikes have on the corrugations. Depends on what sort of motorbike of course as
well.
If you read my site on Road & Weather Conditions page you will see I say quote:
one year my eldest son and wife had no problem coming in with his falcon with our three grandsons, a trailer and a dog!
Honestly this is what I was trying to say, despite above comment about Peter's trip we have ourselves one time taken a truck to town and done over $1000 worth of damage.
There is no way to say what your chances are because it will totally depend on the roads conditions ( all the way) on the week you happen to do it.
Which no one can foresee.
cheers, Anne
FollowupID:
742722
Follow Up By: Ashley E - Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 15:04
Monday, Oct 24, 2011 at 15:04
Anne
Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the campers. I will relay this info to those that had planned on using them.
The bike shouldn't be a problem it is a off road designed bike with a competent rider
well used to
water crossings.
AS for the road conditions we ourselves always travel in the bush prepared for the worst that can be expected as that way there are less unwelcome surprises. We are planning on travelling with a group of 4-5 high clearance 4wds (1 of which is us) plus the ones that had thought of using a camper and the bike. The main information we were looking for was when the road opened this year which you have helpfully provided this was simply because we know last season was a wet one and this year is predicted to be something similar so we wanted to try and gauge when the road will possibly reopen next year as there is no point planning to go early if the road is likely to be shut.
Cheers Ash
FollowupID:
742724