I've received an update on the condition of Kimberley roads via an email newsletter. This is the link but I don't know how to "link" it.
www.kimberleyaustralia.com
In this issue:
Roads and Parks Updates
It's taken until early June, but finally it looks like the last parks and gorges along the Gibb River Road are opening.
The Gibb River Road itself is already open all the way through, at least for vehicles under 15T, which my guess is pretty much all of yours are.
You should still take care at all creek and river crossings and the floodways. Many have been damaged, the Pentecost is still at about 450mm, and the Durack at 700mm. The road also has soft edges in areas, you may still encounter minor damage, and of course ongoing repair works.
Everything inside the King Leopold Conservation Reserve-- that means Lennard Gorge, Bell Gorge and the campground Silent Grove, as well as Mt. Hart Wilderness Lodge--is supposed to open today, June 6 (Monday).
Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek opened on May 20. The Fairfield/Leopold Road is open all the way through, but is restricted to high clearance 4WD vehicles between Tunnel Creek and the highway. A 4T weight limit also applies. The other end, between Tunnel Creek and the Gibb, is open to all vehicles.
As of June 1 all roads and campgrounds and most walks in the Bungles are open, only the Mini Palms Walk is still closed.
So that's all good. But now to the bad news...
The Kalumburu road is open for vehicles under 3.5T up to Drysdale River Station. That's it, and that may be it for the rest of the year.
That means no access to Kalumburu, and no access to the Mitchell Plateau, until 2012!
This is an absolute disaster, not only for tourists and the tourism industry. The cattle stations up there can't get any trucks in, not even fuel trucks. They will remain isolated for the whole year and they won't be able to get any of their cattle to market. They are really, really stuck. So are the Kalumburu residents.
__________________
20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
There's been an update on the road to Kalumburu. I'm attaching an excerpt of the latest update from the Kimberley Newsletter.
"The Kalumburu Road could remain closed, but the very bad parts of it are north of the Mitchell Plateau turn off.
Fixing the section from Drysdale to the turn off is a priority job. That's at least what Heliwork has been told when they flew the shire people around for the assessment. As far as Heliwork is aware the road is being worked on, and they are expecting to have tourists in there by the end of June.
The shire says they estimate it's gonna be four weeks, i.e. early July.
In any way, it's "only" access to Kalumburu and to the stations north of the turn off that may be impossible for the whole year. Still bad enough of course, especially for those who live up there, but not the disaster for the tourism industry that it has been portrayed to be."
Better news, but still not good for the locals.
__________________
20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
We are in Derby and have been on the Gibb a couple of weeks ago up till El questro from the East End. Oh yeah it was corrugated until there. The signs were that it was open only until Home Valley then. Some information places were so out of date even up until you got to Halls Creek. Please talk to other travellers as their info is different to the info places. I do now think that if you are an independent traveller and not a high paying tourist the only place to get your reliable information is from other travellers. I have been asking for updates lately and friendly and helpful GNs have provided a wealth of information. So thanks again! We are booked into Broome (for better or worse) from the 15th and will be at Cable Beach and will keep a look out for GNs.
I agree with your conclusion. When in doubt, aska local. When I lived up there the last people to know what was actually going on on the ground was the Main Roads Dept. Even the Shires at either end were a bit slow, but had more recent info. The other way is to phone a station along the way. They always know what it's like locally. My info come from the Kimberley website. They send me a newletter. Safe and happy travels. I'm sure you'll enjoy Broome, despite the cost of the caravan park. I get homesick for that country quite often, even though I'm a genetic crow eater.
__________________
20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
We have been staying longer in NT to hopefully allow the GRR to dry out a bit before we travel over it. Bit worried about those river crossings Chris! Thanks for the info.
Try this... 
