We're currently planning a trip through the Kimberley from west to east. Madly consuming the Kimberley Australia website but still have some questions.
Our vehicle is an unmodified Holden Colorado ute (no snorkel, standard tyres) towing a semi-offroad camper trailer of about two tonnes axle weight. We'd like to leave Derby as early in the season as possible to get the best road conditions and lots of water in the falls and lakes, but I don't want to be stuck at deep water crossings wishing I had a snorkel. I don't know if those crossings are short enough to run with a tarp over the grill?
What is the earliest reasonable date to plan to begin the road and not be worried about deep crossings (including on the tracks into popular scenic spots off the road)? My thinking at the moment is 2nd or 3rd week of May? We need to plan ahead as we have 4-5 weeks of travelling before we get to Derby and only 3 months to complete the round trip from Brisbane.
We're allowing 10 days from Derby to Timber Creek. Current planned camping spots are Windjana Gorge, Bell Gorge, Manning Gorge and Home Valley Station. Are these the best options for us? They seem to be.
Thanks in advance. Tony
bill12 said
09:14 AM Feb 3, 2016
I think you should be alright, except for crossing the Pentecost river at the eastern end. It can be deep, and depends on how much rain they have had. Ring Kununara police.
The Phantom said
10:34 AM Feb 3, 2016
If water in a creek is so deep you consider that you need a snorkel to get through, you should not be attempting it, especially if you are towing a trailer.
I have been reading a couple of your posts and cannot, for the life of me, figure out why you insist on "doing a lap" in 3 months.
I can guarantee you that you will not see anything like what you think you will see and after the first 3 or 4 weeks you will be so tired of travelling consistently that you will begin to doubt why you took it on. That's when the arguments will start. And if kids are involved in the trip, I feel sorry for them.
Consider this. You will nee to drive around 14,500 kms in 90 days. You will need to set up and dismantle your campsite 90 times in that period. You will want to go site seeing. That means more kms.
I travelled the Gibb River Road and allowed 10 days for the 600 odd kms. I took 19 days and did not visit all the places I could have. And that is just one small portion of your intended trip.
Can I suggest that you scale back your plans and revise your itinerary. Try a half lap, say, Brisbane-Melbourne-Uluru-The Alice-Brisbane (via Tennant Creek and the Barkly Hwy to Brisbane). Something like that is about 6,000 kms and very "do-able" in 3 months with time to smell the roses.
My suggestion but, obviously, your choice.
Just be aware that driving long distances in short periods can be very draining and can lead to tiredness, inattention and, occasionally, catastrophe.
The Phantom
Bushpie said
10:48 AM Feb 3, 2016
My old home ....9 years at Barnett roadhouse and Manning Gorge....... Your choices are good ..... However if you have to plan ahead early it is quite tricky. We saw the roads open from anywhere from late march to mid June...... So it is a wild guess. Some years the road woul open to Mt Barnett only and you would have to turn back then cross to the bitumen.
It is all so dependant on the wet season, may should be good however if there is a late cyclone you would have to have a plan B.
I repaired many a tyre at Barnett...... However this option is no longer available and Neville the mobile mechanic is the one to see.... Even though I never needed two spares I always took two........ I hope your camper is inter changeable with the Colorado.
But it is worth the trip.... One more thing........ Be at your campsite before 4pm .....its basically dark at five and you dont wont to be driving around a campsite at that time
Peter_n_Margaret said
10:58 AM Feb 3, 2016
I agree that 3 months is a bit crazy for a lap.
For our first trips (6 and 9 weeks) to the Kimberley, we drove from Adelaide to the Kimberley, spent as much time there as possible and drove home again via the quickest route possible.
On the specific questions about the Gibb river road, we have travelled it on about 7 or 8 occasions and much prefer it early in the season. But the opening time can vary by a month or more, so I would not try and predict that.
All the water crossings are now concrete except 2. The Pentercost is wide and stony, but I have never seen it deeper than 300mm. The Durack is much more likely to be deeper.
This is 1995 in a Ford F350 (petrol) 4WD with a 'nappy' on the front.
You need to walk this first before driving or you may fall into a very deep hole, and of course there is a real possibility of crocs.
In all the trips we have taken to this area, we have never managed to get into Bell Gorge because it has always still been closed because of water.
I have been reading a couple of your posts and cannot, for the life of me, figure out why you insist on "doing a lap" in 3 months.
The Phantom
Yes, I can understand why you might question that but given that last year we spent 6 weeks covering 9,500 km on the wrong side of the road in Europe in a tiny 4 cylinder diesel sedan, it's not such a big deal. For us the pace is relatively leisurely. At this stage in our lives we don't have more than 3 months available and we may never have. Our worst driving day is 450 km I think and we don't do more than 100 km in a day without have a "no driving" day the following day.
But the short timeframe is why I dropped central Australia from our itinerary. That and the rotten roads and the cramped expensive campgrounds and the flies. Not sure we'll bother doing central Australia at all. I know some people will challenge that but I've been to Alice Springs, the Olgas and Tennant Creek, I've bused it from Darwin to Adelaide on a canvas seat rattler and we've previously done Darwin and Kakadu. I know what we're missing and I think there are other more significant places to enjoy a holiday.
Our ambitious plan could come tumbling down if we get stuck somewhere through weather or mechanical problems. We might have to drive Highway 1 south of the Kimberley if the Gibb River Rd is not passable. But we're pretty pragmatic and we'll deal with those things as they come.
My main concern about the north of WA comes from the stories my father told me of red soil and wet weather. I wouldn't be keen to try a deep water crossing without a snorkel either - that cost me a 12 month old Pajero about 10 years ago. Not that the water was all that deep either, it was more that the river rocks were a lot looser and slipperier than they appeared to be and we drifted sideways and sunk into them. I'd prefer to time the crossing so I don't have to think about doing that.
Travelling_Gilberries said
02:20 PM Feb 3, 2016
Bushpie wrote:
My old home ....9 years at Barnett roadhouse and Manning Gorge....... Your choices are good ..... However if you have to plan ahead early it is quite tricky. We saw the roads open from anywhere from late march to mid June...... So it is a wild guess. Some years the road woul open to Mt Barnett only and you would have to turn back then cross to the bitumen.
It is all so dependant on the wet season, may should be good however if there is a late cyclone you would have to have a plan B.
I repaired many a tyre at Barnett...... However this option is no longer available and Neville the mobile mechanic is the one to see.... Even though I never needed two spares I always took two........ I hope your camper is inter changeable with the Colorado.
But it is worth the trip.... One more thing........ Be at your campsite before 4pm .....its basically dark at five and you dont wont to be driving around a campsite at that time
All good advice, thank you. The variability is something we'll have to work with. If it means we have to take the bitumen we'll be disappointed but not devastated. Interchangeable wheels, now that is a clever idea, I'll look into that. We're getting a hard floor camper to replace our current soft floor model before we go. Soft floor would handle the tracks better, but it and I don't get along well on short stop trips.
Travelling_Gilberries said
02:23 PM Feb 3, 2016
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
I agree that 3 months is a bit crazy for a lap.
For our first trips (6 and 9 weeks) to the Kimberley, we drove from Adelaide to the Kimberley, spent as much time there as possible and drove home again via the quickest route possible.
I should point out that we are hightailing it from Brisbane to Adelaide in about 3-4 days to start the lap, then hightailing it from Katherine back to Brisbane at the end, so most of our 13 weeks is between Adelaide and Katherine. We've seen eastern NT and western QLD before and we'll do another short lap later on down through western NSW and the Riverina.
wendyv said
03:41 PM Feb 3, 2016
The state of the Gibb River Road will depend on the preceding wet season - how heavy it was, how late it ran, were there any cyclones? Once the authorities judge the wet to be ending, they put the graders onto the Gibb, and these tend to be regularly working along it somewhere after that, because the road is so heavily used these days in the dry season.
Re your tyres - we had light truck tyres on the Landrover (Dunlop Road Gripper etc). On our last trip, had two slow leaks, probably due to a really rough and rocky flooded crossing on way into Bungles; and one dead tyre - but it was a very old and worn tyre and that happened right at the end of several weeks in the area, not far from the bitumen! As always with tyres, those who have the problems are those who drive too fast in heavily loaded vehicles - especially hitting dips and gullies too fast. You see a lot of that along the Gibb!! But there are also sections on the Gibb where the graders turn up sharp stones when they are working, so it pays to take care on newly graded parts.
Have never seen the Pentecost crossing an issue - have always found it quite shallow. But under no circumstances try walking it!! If you camp at the river campground at Home Valley you will see lots of large crocs sunning themselves on the mud banks at low tide - and that is not far from the Gibb road crossing!!!
We have driven the Gibb in late May - and seen the Pentecost almost totally dry. On the last trip, had to wait 2 weeks in Kununurra for the Gibb and Bungles roads to re-open after a nasty little low pressure system came in from the NW - in JULY! So, you never know.
Your camping choices seem good ones. But every place is different, and you really only see the sights of that place. We really enjoyed Mornington on our last trip - especially being able to hire canoes and paddle on the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River through Diamond Gorge. We found Charnley to be less heavily used than many of the other places, and with some beautiful gorges. I know that Home Valley and El Questro are close together, but suggest you do also go to ELQ - there is the greatest variety of walks and things to do there and their private camp sites along the river are great.
Peter_n_Margaret said
09:21 PM Feb 3, 2016
Travelling_Gilberries wrote:
We might have to drive Highway 1 south of the Kimberley if the Gibb River Rd is not passable.
Maybe, maybe not? :) :)
This is Highway 1 south of Broome, on the way to the Kimberley in May or June 1999.
I'm convinced, I'm not even going to travel the Gibb River road anytime. I would love to see what is like now tho, I was up there in 1973 when the Manning River gorge was just a water hole beside the road.
Peter_n_Margaret said
12:02 AM Feb 4, 2016
The Kimberly is possibly THE most extraordinary area of Australia, and the most difficult to see.
The Kimberly is possibly THE most extraordinary area of Australia, and the most difficult to see.
Cheers, Peter
I am lucky I guess. I saw a great deal of inaccessible parts of the Kimberly from a helicopter. I'm sure the RAAF introduced mustering by helicopter but that is another story.
Bushpie said
09:55 AM Feb 4, 2016
NeilandRaine wrote:
I'm convinced, I'm not even going to travel the Gibb River road anytime. I would love to see what is like now tho, I was up there in 1973 when the Manning River gorge was just a water hole beside the road.
Oh go on ......just do it.......
now days its not that hard. Just need to be aware. The road now is well built and dosent present any of the issues it used to.
All water crossings are unlikely to be a problem from May owards ......unless there is a sudden storm around., in that case the crossing would water level would drop rather quickly anyway.
not sure which gorge you are referring to there Neil but there is no road near the actual Manning River Gorge now you can camp at the lower Manning which is a huge pool in the river and is 7 km from the road....... Get your entry permits at the roadhouse. The main gorge is a 3 hr return walk from the campsite..... Well marked and taken plenty of water
Inreckon its worth the trip out on the Gibb River Road just to visit that one
Travelling_Gilberries said
02:56 PM Feb 4, 2016
wendyv wrote:
We have driven the Gibb in late May - and seen the Pentecost almost totally dry. On the last trip, had to wait 2 weeks in Kununurra for the Gibb and Bungles roads to re-open after a nasty little low pressure system came in from the NW - in JULY! So, you never know.
Your camping choices seem good ones. But every place is different, and you really only see the sights of that place. We really enjoyed Mornington on our last trip - especially being able to hire canoes and paddle on the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River through Diamond Gorge. We found Charnley to be less heavily used than many of the other places, and with some beautiful gorges. I know that Home Valley and El Questro are close together, but suggest you do also go to ELQ - there is the greatest variety of walks and things to do there and their private camp sites along the river are great.
Thanks Wendy, so one of my brothers has been in my ear about how if I take the Gibb River Road I will miss the charms of the Bungles, which is making me wonder if I should rethink my plan? Do you have a thought about which is better for a first time lap that might never happen again? I think the Gibb road has more attractions, but I'm going on what I see on the internet.
Also, would I be right in thinking that if the Gibb River Road is closed, many of the roads in the Bungles will also be closed by the same weather? I think that's what you're saying.
Tony
Travelling_Gilberries said
02:58 PM Feb 4, 2016
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
The Kimberly is possibly THE most extraordinary area of Australia, and the most difficult to see.
Cheers,
Peter
And that is why I'm agonising over it just a bit. It's the big focus of this trip and a long way for us Brisbane types to get to it, so I want to make sure we see the right bits. It might never happen again. We have plans when we retire that don't include spending months on the road travelling, so this is a one-off before we retire.
The Phantom said
04:01 PM Feb 4, 2016
If you don't go to the Bungles as well you are doing yourself a grave disservice.
The Phantom
NeilandRaine said
04:02 PM Feb 4, 2016
Not sure, remember it was 1973, a lot of hangovers ago. I know we piled into the back of an Army truck and it took us to a river, was told it was Manning River. We were camped at Mt House Station
wendyv said
05:35 PM Feb 4, 2016
The Bungles are certainly unique. The track in from the highway is only about 50kms to the Ranger Station, then another 15 or so, depending on which campground you stay at. But.......it can be quite corrugated and rough, according to what I read. We went in there in 1993 and again on our 2007 trip and thought the track was pretty reasonable, both times. But we have done a lot of unsealed road travel! The problem in 2007 was the nasty low that had dumped a heap of rain all over the northwest, in late June/early July. Every unsealed road was closed, for a week or more. Travellers in the Bungles and up on the Mitchell Plateau just had to wait it out - I think there were some food drops done. The Fletcher River which the track in crosses is normally dry, or a puddle - but this time had become fairly wide, definitely flowing, and was muddy so the best path through the rocky bed could not be seen. I think the earlier strong flow may have rearranged the rocks! Normally it is not an issue! Top photo shows what it was like. So - go there if you can, BUT you really need to try to work your schedule so that it is not either/or, but you fit in both. If you can afford it, you can do a day trip tour flying into the Bungles from Kununurra. These tours do not really do it justice but at least you see something of it. It would be a good idea to make sure you have light truck tyres, if such are made for your vehicle.
Pic below shows the Pentecost crossing on the Gibb - early August 2007. At its deepest would have been no more than 30cm!!! Solid bottom of smallish pebbles - much easier than it looks!
-- Edited by wendyv on Thursday 4th of February 2016 05:38:32 PM
Re the choice between Gibb or Bungle....... And having done both in the 2012 and for a first time I would do the Gibb......it offers a lot to see over the few days with lookouts and jaw dropping scenery along the road.......well not the first 100k from Derby lol.
With the Bungle..".whilst impressive I think you actually need to allow 1 day to get in .1 day to get out and 3-4 days in there to get the most out of it......there is just so much to see in there but it involves lots of walking . We did four days in and it wasnt long enough. People look and see 53 k to drive in and think thats an hour........
Do the Gibb you will love it..........some how another day find away to do Bungles..... Even in retirement......
Travelling_Gilberries said
02:08 PM Feb 5, 2016
Bushpie wrote:
Re the choice between Gibb or Bungle....... And having done both in the 2012 and for a first time I would do the Gibb......it offers a lot to see over the few days with lookouts and jaw dropping scenery along the road.......well not the first 100k from Derby lol.
With the Bungle..".whilst impressive I think you actually need to allow 1 day to get in .1 day to get out and 3-4 days in there to get the most out of it......there is just so much to see in there but it involves lots of walking . We did four days in and it wasnt long enough. People look and see 53 k to drive in and think thats an hour........
Do the Gibb you will love it..........some how another day find away to do Bungles..... Even in retirement......
We all tend to look for a response that agrees with where our thinking is already at, but thanks for that advice. If I have to choose, Gibb River Road will be my preference. I've reworked the schedule a bit and scraped out another week that I can apply anywhere, so we may yet do both. See how it goes. Here's a link to my planning map if anyone is interested.
Bushpie is right about time needed in the Bungles, but even with only a day or two in there, a couple of the main sites can be visited.
In 2007 we were there for a week! Visited everywhere that was possible then, did all the walks. A couple of us walked up to Picaninny Gorge and stayed there two nights before walking out again - that accounted for some of the time.
That 2007 trip is written up in my blog, with some photos, if you want to get an idea of impressions and comments at the time.
We're currently planning a trip through the Kimberley from west to east. Madly consuming the Kimberley Australia website but still have some questions.
Our vehicle is an unmodified Holden Colorado ute (no snorkel, standard tyres) towing a semi-offroad camper trailer of about two tonnes axle weight. We'd like to leave Derby as early in the season as possible to get the best road conditions and lots of water in the falls and lakes, but I don't want to be stuck at deep water crossings wishing I had a snorkel. I don't know if those crossings are short enough to run with a tarp over the grill?
What is the earliest reasonable date to plan to begin the road and not be worried about deep crossings (including on the tracks into popular scenic spots off the road)? My thinking at the moment is 2nd or 3rd week of May? We need to plan ahead as we have 4-5 weeks of travelling before we get to Derby and only 3 months to complete the round trip from Brisbane.
We're allowing 10 days from Derby to Timber Creek. Current planned camping spots are Windjana Gorge, Bell Gorge, Manning Gorge and Home Valley Station. Are these the best options for us? They seem to be.
Thanks in advance. Tony
If water in a creek is so deep you consider that you need a snorkel to get through, you should not be attempting it, especially if you are towing a trailer.
I have been reading a couple of your posts and cannot, for the life of me, figure out why you insist on "doing a lap" in 3 months.
I can guarantee you that you will not see anything like what you think you will see and after the first 3 or 4 weeks you will be so tired of travelling consistently that you will begin to doubt why you took it on. That's when the arguments will start. And if kids are involved in the trip, I feel sorry for them.
Consider this. You will nee to drive around 14,500 kms in 90 days. You will need to set up and dismantle your campsite 90 times in that period. You will want to go site seeing. That means more kms.
I travelled the Gibb River Road and allowed 10 days for the 600 odd kms. I took 19 days and did not visit all the places I could have. And that is just one small portion of your intended trip.
Can I suggest that you scale back your plans and revise your itinerary. Try a half lap, say, Brisbane-Melbourne-Uluru-The Alice-Brisbane (via Tennant Creek and the Barkly Hwy to Brisbane). Something like that is about 6,000 kms and very "do-able" in 3 months with time to smell the roses.
My suggestion but, obviously, your choice.
Just be aware that driving long distances in short periods can be very draining and can lead to tiredness, inattention and, occasionally, catastrophe.
The Phantom
It is all so dependant on the wet season, may should be good however if there is a late cyclone you would have to have a plan B.
I repaired many a tyre at Barnett...... However this option is no longer available and Neville the mobile mechanic is the one to see.... Even though I never needed two spares I always took two........ I hope your camper is inter changeable with the Colorado.
But it is worth the trip.... One more thing........ Be at your campsite before 4pm .....its basically dark at five and you dont wont to be driving around a campsite at that time
I agree that 3 months is a bit crazy for a lap.
For our first trips (6 and 9 weeks) to the Kimberley, we drove from Adelaide to the Kimberley, spent as much time there as possible and drove home again via the quickest route possible.
On the specific questions about the Gibb river road, we have travelled it on about 7 or 8 occasions and much prefer it early in the season.
But the opening time can vary by a month or more, so I would not try and predict that.
All the water crossings are now concrete except 2.
The Pentercost is wide and stony, but I have never seen it deeper than 300mm.
The Durack is much more likely to be deeper.
This is 1995 in a Ford F350 (petrol) 4WD with a 'nappy' on the front.
You need to walk this first before driving or you may fall into a very deep hole, and of course there is a real possibility of crocs.
In all the trips we have taken to this area, we have never managed to get into Bell Gorge because it has always still been closed because of water.
Detail planning is simply not possible.
Cheers,
Peter
Yes, I can understand why you might question that but given that last year we spent 6 weeks covering 9,500 km on the wrong side of the road in Europe in a tiny 4 cylinder diesel sedan, it's not such a big deal. For us the pace is relatively leisurely. At this stage in our lives we don't have more than 3 months available and we may never have. Our worst driving day is 450 km I think and we don't do more than 100 km in a day without have a "no driving" day the following day.
But the short timeframe is why I dropped central Australia from our itinerary. That and the rotten roads and the cramped expensive campgrounds and the flies. Not sure we'll bother doing central Australia at all. I know some people will challenge that but I've been to Alice Springs, the Olgas and Tennant Creek, I've bused it from Darwin to Adelaide on a canvas seat rattler and we've previously done Darwin and Kakadu. I know what we're missing and I think there are other more significant places to enjoy a holiday.
Our ambitious plan could come tumbling down if we get stuck somewhere through weather or mechanical problems. We might have to drive Highway 1 south of the Kimberley if the Gibb River Rd is not passable. But we're pretty pragmatic and we'll deal with those things as they come.
My main concern about the north of WA comes from the stories my father told me of red soil and wet weather. I wouldn't be keen to try a deep water crossing without a snorkel either - that cost me a 12 month old Pajero about 10 years ago. Not that the water was all that deep either, it was more that the river rocks were a lot looser and slipperier than they appeared to be and we drifted sideways and sunk into them. I'd prefer to time the crossing so I don't have to think about doing that.
All good advice, thank you. The variability is something we'll have to work with. If it means we have to take the bitumen we'll be disappointed but not devastated. Interchangeable wheels, now that is a clever idea, I'll look into that. We're getting a hard floor camper to replace our current soft floor model before we go. Soft floor would handle the tracks better, but it and I don't get along well on short stop trips.
I should point out that we are hightailing it from Brisbane to Adelaide in about 3-4 days to start the lap, then hightailing it from Katherine back to Brisbane at the end, so most of our 13 weeks is between Adelaide and Katherine. We've seen eastern NT and western QLD before and we'll do another short lap later on down through western NSW and the Riverina.
Re your tyres - we had light truck tyres on the Landrover (Dunlop Road Gripper etc). On our last trip, had two slow leaks, probably due to a really rough and rocky flooded crossing on way into Bungles; and one dead tyre - but it was a very old and worn tyre and that happened right at the end of several weeks in the area, not far from the bitumen! As always with tyres, those who have the problems are those who drive too fast in heavily loaded vehicles - especially hitting dips and gullies too fast. You see a lot of that along the Gibb!! But there are also sections on the Gibb where the graders turn up sharp stones when they are working, so it pays to take care on newly graded parts.
Have never seen the Pentecost crossing an issue - have always found it quite shallow. But under no circumstances try walking it!! If you camp at the river campground at Home Valley you will see lots of large crocs sunning themselves on the mud banks at low tide - and that is not far from the Gibb road crossing!!!
We have driven the Gibb in late May - and seen the Pentecost almost totally dry. On the last trip, had to wait 2 weeks in Kununurra for the Gibb and Bungles roads to re-open after a nasty little low pressure system came in from the NW - in JULY! So, you never know.
Your camping choices seem good ones. But every place is different, and you really only see the sights of that place. We really enjoyed Mornington on our last trip - especially being able to hire canoes and paddle on the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River through Diamond Gorge. We found Charnley to be less heavily used than many of the other places, and with some beautiful gorges. I know that Home Valley and El Questro are close together, but suggest you do also go to ELQ - there is the greatest variety of walks and things to do there and their private camp sites along the river are great.
Maybe, maybe not? :) :)
This is Highway 1 south of Broome, on the way to the Kimberley in May or June 1999.
The Kimberly is possibly THE most extraordinary area of Australia, and the most difficult to see.
Cheers,
Peter
I am lucky I guess. I saw a great deal of inaccessible parts of the Kimberly from a helicopter. I'm sure the RAAF introduced mustering by helicopter but that is another story.
Oh go on ......just do it.......
now days its not that hard. Just need to be aware. The road now is well built and dosent present any of the issues it used to.
All water crossings are unlikely to be a problem from May owards ......unless there is a sudden storm around., in that case the crossing would water level would drop rather quickly anyway.
not sure which gorge you are referring to there Neil but there is no road near the actual Manning River Gorge now you can camp at the lower Manning which is a huge pool in the river and is 7 km from the road....... Get your entry permits at the roadhouse. The main gorge is a 3 hr return walk from the campsite..... Well marked and taken plenty of water
Inreckon its worth the trip out on the Gibb River Road just to visit that one
Thanks Wendy, so one of my brothers has been in my ear about how if I take the Gibb River Road I will miss the charms of the Bungles, which is making me wonder if I should rethink my plan? Do you have a thought about which is better for a first time lap that might never happen again? I think the Gibb road has more attractions, but I'm going on what I see on the internet.
Also, would I be right in thinking that if the Gibb River Road is closed, many of the roads in the Bungles will also be closed by the same weather? I think that's what you're saying.
Tony
And that is why I'm agonising over it just a bit. It's the big focus of this trip and a long way for us Brisbane types to get to it, so I want to make sure we see the right bits. It might never happen again. We have plans when we retire that don't include spending months on the road travelling, so this is a one-off before we retire.
If you don't go to the Bungles as well you are doing yourself a grave disservice.
The Phantom
Not sure, remember it was 1973, a lot of hangovers ago. I know we piled into the back of an Army truck and it took us to a river, was told it was Manning River. We were camped at Mt House Station
The Bungles are certainly unique. The track in from the highway is only about 50kms to the Ranger Station, then another 15 or so, depending on which campground you stay at. But.......it can be quite corrugated and rough, according to what I read. We went in there in 1993 and again on our 2007 trip and thought the track was pretty reasonable, both times. But we have done a lot of unsealed road travel! The problem in 2007 was the nasty low that had dumped a heap of rain all over the northwest, in late June/early July. Every unsealed road was closed, for a week or more. Travellers in the Bungles and up on the Mitchell Plateau just had to wait it out - I think there were some food drops done. The Fletcher River which the track in crosses is normally dry, or a puddle - but this time had become fairly wide, definitely flowing, and was muddy so the best path through the rocky bed could not be seen. I think the earlier strong flow may have rearranged the rocks! Normally it is not an issue! Top photo shows what it was like.
So - go there if you can, BUT you really need to try to work your schedule so that it is not either/or, but you fit in both.
If you can afford it, you can do a day trip tour flying into the Bungles from Kununurra. These tours do not really do it justice but at least you see something of it.
It would be a good idea to make sure you have light truck tyres, if such are made for your vehicle.
Pic below shows the Pentecost crossing on the Gibb - early August 2007. At its deepest would have been no more than 30cm!!! Solid bottom of smallish pebbles - much easier than it looks!
-- Edited by wendyv on Thursday 4th of February 2016 05:38:32 PM
With the Bungle..".whilst impressive I think you actually need to allow 1 day to get in .1 day to get out and 3-4 days in there to get the most out of it......there is just so much to see in there but it involves lots of walking . We did four days in and it wasnt long enough. People look and see 53 k to drive in and think thats an hour........
Do the Gibb you will love it..........some how another day find away to do Bungles..... Even in retirement......
We all tend to look for a response that agrees with where our thinking is already at, but thanks for that advice. If I have to choose, Gibb River Road will be my preference. I've reworked the schedule a bit and scraped out another week that I can apply anywhere, so we may yet do both. See how it goes. Here's a link to my planning map if anyone is interested.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zIMcm6oXFIKU.kRJ4BpUuOpq8&usp=sharing
In 2007 we were there for a week! Visited everywhere that was possible then, did all the walks. A couple of us walked up to Picaninny Gorge and stayed there two nights before walking out again - that accounted for some of the time.
That 2007 trip is written up in my blog, with some photos, if you want to get an idea of impressions and comments at the time.