The Kimberley in the north of Western Australia is one of the most scenic areas in the country. Nestled within Kimberley is Gibb River Road, the stuff of legends for all those overland adventurers.
We have rented a Land Cruiser Prado with a roof tent, and after a tour of Kakadu National Park we headed for El Questro Station at the very start of Gibb. Read here about car hire: Outback Australia – Car rental and practical tips., and here about Kakadu: Overlanding Australia North – Kakadu – Litchfield
Driving the Victoria Highway
Cruising the Victoria Highway was a dreamy joyride. From Kakadu, we trailed the Victoria Highway, via Katherin and Kununurra, a stretch of road that’s wide, straight as an arrow, with just a gentle curve now and then. Almost no traffic and a speed limit of 130. You could just pop on cruise control and zoom off. The only time it required a bit of attention was when you encountered, or passed, one of those enormous road trains—these 35-meter-long convoys with up to 4 trailers.
The landscape’s bush-clad, mostly flat, and frankly, a tad dull. Every now and then, some low mountain knobs pop up, a nice break from the monotony. It’s bugging us that we’ve traveled halfway around the globe and still haven’t laid eyes on a single kangaroo, except for a couple of dead wallabies, the smaller kind of kangaroo, lying by the roadside. Sure, there’s some cattle to be seen, but that’s slightly less exotic. The cattle belong to these massive farms we whiz by. Stations, as they call them here. There are miles and miles between each station.
Strict alcohol restrictions
It’s 700 kilometers from Kakadu to El Questro, so we stay overnight in Timber Creek, one of the so-called road houses that appear from time to time. Besides these there is not a house to be seen. Here there is a motel, camping and bar/restaurant. In the bar you will find tanned guys with wide-brimmed hats and a cold beer.
Here you can also buy wine and beer to take with you, so we wanted to take the chance to bunker up before the real wasteland. Interestingly, we had to identify ourselves and personal details were duly noted down. There are quotas, and right here we were only allowed to buy 1 bottle of wine per day and person. It might be ok for a day, but when you’re going to be in the wilderness for more than a week, it’s a bit thin. The solution could be to shop more the next morning. But no. The sale doesn’t start until two o’clock. The young bartender is an English guest worker and has been here for three months. Many young people experience Australia in this way by traveling and working. He says that the alcohol quotas are hopeless to keep track of, because they vary from place to place. So do the opening hours, and there is a long distance between the towns. We were saved by the fact that we were a little slow the next day and arrived in Kununurra, the last town in the area, just before 12 o’clock when the bottleshops opened here in town. So we lined up with a good deal locals and got today’s quota here, which was three bottles of wine per person.
El Questro Station
El Questro Station, as the name suggests, was initially a cattle farm but now feels more like a grand tourist hub. This colossal property operates as a private national park and offers a bunch of activities to travelers on Gibb River Road. You can horse ride, tackle one of the 4×4 trails in the area, or hike through the numerous marked trails. The most popular treks are, similar to Kakadu, into the many gorges. Inside, it’s humid, and you’re met with dense forests of trees and palms, which, apart from being breathtakingly beautiful, also provide a cool shade.
Indiana Jones vibes
We first ventured into Amalia Gorge, which started off easy as we followed the dried-up riverbed. But soon enough, it turned into climbing, partly assisted by chains set up as we crept high above pools of still water. Along the riverbed, tall palms grew with chirping birds, creating the perfect Indiana Jones ambiance.
The next day, we hit up Emma Gorge, much more accessible. There was a bit of scrambling over larger and smaller rocks, but nothing too challenging. At the top of the gorge awaited a large pool of ice-cold water and a short swim.
If you fancy a dip in 30-degree centigrade water, Zebedee hot springs are just a short jaunt from the road. These hot springs are like an exotic bathtub where you swim among palms growing smack in the middle of the pool.
Social neighbors
At the massive campground with space for several hundred cars, it was starting to thin out so late in the season. But Australians are easy to strike up a conversation with, and we got chatting with the neighbors. We were a bit concerned about the road leading to Bungle Bungles, our next destination. Googling gave us loads of hits describing the road as “bad,” but what does that even mean? Rental cars aren’t covered for damages underneath, and wading through rivers is a no-no, so you have to be cautious. But it turns out, our neighbor had just been there and could reassure us. Not a particularly difficult road and only a few shallow river crossings.
Helpful neighbors
As we’re about to leave El Questro in the morning, we suddenly discover that the cooler box isn’t working anymore. Quite a bummer when the thermometer’s hitting the mid-30s. Turns out, the cable to the cooler had slipped down into the tracks of the drawer underneath and short-circuited. It’s something we could easily fix, but we didn’t have as much as a roll of tape, let alone any tools. The campsite has a workshop, and we check there for help. But it’s a Sunday, and the one guy we run into there couldn’t be less interested in assisting.
So, we have to bank on help elsewhere and are fortunate enough to meet Jason, who happens to be an electrician and the epitome of helpfulness. He professionally splices the cable, and his wife even finds a spare fuse. Jason, his wife, and their 8-year-old son have been traveling for 1.5 years and still plan on another year on the road. They tell us they’ve met incredibly friendly people along the way, and we wholeheartedly agree that traveling and meeting folks this way is the best social glue in an increasingly tumultuous world. Surprisingly, many people travel around for years in this vast country, which is actually a continent. And it’s not
Gibb River Road
With a rental period of 3 weeks, it was unrealistic to tackle the entire Gibb. Plus, there were limitations in the rental contract regarding river crossings, and right after El Questro comes the infamous Pentecost River crossing with 70 cm water depth in a river full of crocs. So, we decided that El Questro would be the only stop for us. But it’s definitely one of the highlights.
The 1000-kilometer-long Gibb is a gravel road sans bridges, with numerous challenging river crossings. It’s only open in winter, during the dry season. The road sees a lot of heavy traffic, those road trains that can stretch up to 35 meters, making it extremely bumpy with severe corrugations, like driving on a washboard. But every so often, it’s smoothed out with graders, and then, it’s a pleasure to drive on. The speed limit is somewhat unrealistic at 110 km/h.
Along the way, there’s a plethora of detours you can take to lush gorges perfect for a stroll and cool pools to swim in. Otherwise, all rivers in the area are teeming with massive crocodiles and unsuitable for swimming.
Towards Bungle Bungles
Kimberly boasts more attractions than just Gibb River Road, namely Bungle Bungles, which easily measures up to, and perhaps even surpasses, Ayers Rock in terms of natural wonder. So, we set off southward on the Great Northern Highway. Read more here: Bungle Bungles – Purnululu National Park – Western Australia
Read more about the Kimberlay and the Gibb River Road: the-ultimate-guide-to-the-kimberley/
If you want a printed guide book, this can be recommended: hemamaps.com/products/kimberley-atlas-guide
All about Australia on inditravel: category/australia-en
