The Kimberleys - The Gibb River Road - Part One

We left Derby a little later than expected, but sometimes it takes a little longer than you think to get everything ready! We made our last phone calls for the next few weeks (out here there is no reception) and hit the Gibb River Road. The Gibb River Road, otherwise known as ‘The Gibb’, stretches from Derby to Kununurra with some 700 km of dirt, a mixture of rock, corrugations, sand and creek crossings (and probably a lot more other things). This road is the main route through the revered and iconic Australian Kimberleys and  as a result is considered a Four Wheel Driver’s ‘Must Do!’.  That being said we’ve decided to tackle it, as well as Kalumburu  Road and the track to Mitchell Falls (said to be one of the roughest tracks one can go on), because there’s no way we could miss this spot!

We were surprised to find that the first 100 kms of The Gibb were tar, and for once we welcomed this luxury. However soon after we found said corrugations and put the tires down to cope with the condition of the road. Along the way we saw cattle, some strange birds (we spotted a Curlew but luckily it didn’t cry) and a lot of Boab trees. Before we knew it we were at our first stop, Lennard River Rest Area, and just in time too as dusk was fast approaching. We pulled up near the peaceful and potentially croc-filled Lennard River. As the sun was almost setting we cooked tea and settled in for the night at this ripper of a stop.

The next morning it was up and at’em as it was Michael’s birthday! We celebrated in style with birthday toast, and the candles came out for most meals throughout the day. With a $20 win on the scratchie (note to self, redeem before crossing to N.T.), some yummy lollies, a “gift voucher” for a croc boat tour and a wicked card Michael was super happy. Settling back into the normal routine, we started off on a bumpy but well paced ride to Windjana Gorge. We set our sights on a shady area under the gums to set up camp, with a view of the spectacular rock walls of the gorge. Armed with a backpack and a lot of water we set off on what we thought would be a small walk to the gorge (we did get to the gorge very quickly, but then committed to a 5+ km walk through the gorge). This walk was great, with freshwater crocs sighted just a few minutes through the gorge in the remaining pools of the Lennard River. Most of these little guys were chilling out on both sides of the bank, with some floating on top of the water (and who knows how many were beneath the surface…). It was a bizarre feeling to see these creatures without a fence in between us, but was great to finally see them in their natural environment. The rest of the walk had more of a “we did it” sort of appeal to it, however the bushland, gums, boabs, pools of river and wildlife did keep it interesting enough for us to continue to the end.

Birthday Toast!

On the way back we saw a rock wallaby cautiously approach and drink from the river, but it looked like he managed to get away unscathed, the crocs seem mighty relaxed in the “cold” weather up here. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun, celebrating Michael’s birthday, played cards, chatted to some neighbours and enjoyed the supplied solar showers – thanks National Parks.

Looks like he's smiling!!

Day two at Windjana Gorge we decided to challenge ourselves to another 5km walk through the gorge and surrounding savannah plains. Again we marvelled at the crocs and various other fauna and flora through the gorge, including a crane that spooked all the crocs when it landed in the water – obviously not croc feeding time again. Once again, this took us through to lunchtime, after which we did some odd jobs, played Scrabble (Michael just won this time, and no cheating either – not his birthday anymore) and once again enjoyed warm showers. The campsite filled up a lot more compared to the night before, with a lot of campervans and some caravans doing laps to work out where to go, and some making it seem far more like a caravan park than a remote national park. However, with more people it meant more happy hours and people to talk to, including catching up with a family we met all the way back in Esperance!

Windjana Gorge.

One of the sand banks...anyone keen for a swim?

We left Windjana, briefly stopped in at some old ruins of a cattle station then bumped all the way to Tunnel Creek. We had heard that one of the water crossings on the walk was quite deep, so armed with boardies and good torches it was time to explore. We followed the 2km walk through the relatively dry creek bed of Tunnel Creek. It was obvious that at the height of the wet season this tunnel can easily be well underwater from the torrential rains. At this stage in the year, however, the creek is little more than a collection of pools with a couple of sections we needed to cross over, reaching halfway up our thighs. Water could also still be seen trickling through the roof from the rocks above, forming a small waterfall and numerous stalactites. The torches came in handy, with the length of the tunnel resulting in a couple of very dark patches before we reached where the cave roof had collapsed.

Some views of the tunnel.

We absolutely loved the walk, the coolness (compared to the heat outside) of the caves and the surprise aboriginal art we found at the end of the walk. We returned to the car park for a quick lunch and were rewarded by some fellow travellers with some watermelon - nb when you’re in the middle of nowhere watermelon is like ambrosia. The rest of the afternoon was spent travelling south on corrugated roads avoiding suicidal/stupid cows. This ended up being one of the worst roads we experienced, with loads of corrugations, rocks and corners meaning constant attention was required, and ended up ripping up the rear tyres a bit. Ten kms before we hit the bitumen we stopped off for the night at the now abandoned RAAF Boab Quarry and managed to find a spot overlooking what was once the old quarry and is now home to picturesque and pristine waters, quite a sight for the middle of nowhere. 

RAAF Boab Quarry - this picture doesn't do it justice.

We got up early the next morning, did some stretches and had a final marvel at the water before heading for town – Fitzroy Crossing. With plenty to do we arrived early and found ourselves waiting for the info centre to open (always the first stop). The main attraction for us here was Geikie Gorge, a stunning section of the Fitzroy River. After walking for about 15 minutes along the banks we realised we weren’t going to see that much, and knowing we were about to do a boat cruise we decided to turn back and have some morning tea. The $30 boat trip through the gorge, operated by National Parks, was great, we saw a few freshies, tons of birds and a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes within the rock formations. The guide had a wealth of information about the history and annual wet seasons (which can flood most of town) of the region.Back on land once more, we explored the park a little more then went to check out the sights of Fitzroy Crossing, which led us to the old river crossing, the Crossing Inn (a very old pub), IGA… and that’s about it really.

One of the many rock faces of Geikie Gorge.

We ended up staying in Fitzroy Crossing for the next few days as Michael needed some reception. So we stayed at a van park – not our first choice but there were no freebies or bush camps around! The Fitzroy Lodge and Caravan Park turned out to be quite hospitable with a you-beute pool, actual green grass and a camp kitchen to store all of the bargain bin stuff we’d scored from IGA. Woohoo. We spent most of our time soaking up the atmosphere (or potentially dust) of the area. We washed The Hulk – not exactly sure why considering that we were about to do a thousand odd kms of dirt – and got a few more odd jobs done and then stumbled upon a quaint gallery in town, Dr Sawfish’s Hot Glass Studio. Here Dr Sawfish had a range of funky glass works on display and also had a window into his workshop where we watched him create a giant hermit crab from glass. I found/bought an awesome boab pendant and that is our one souvenir from Fitzroy Crossing.

Eventually our time in Fitzroy Crossing had come to an end, so we excitedly headed back to the Gibb for more fun and adventures.

Lesson of the week: Whoever said “never smile at a crocodile” obviously never met these fellas.