It's marketed as the ultimate outback adventure and a trip of a lifetime, but a single mistake or poor preparation on the Kimberley's unpaved Gibb River Road can mean serious injury or death.
A car with French tourists rolled in an accident that rescuers say was caused by speed.
The Gibb River Road is on the bucket list of Australian and international tourists, but local authorities say too many travellers are underprepared.
The 700-kilometre stretch of mostly unsealed road is dotted with world renowned waterfalls, gorges and Aboriginal cultural sites, but rocks, corrugations and river crossings can turn the sightseeing adventure into a life-threatening disaster.
Dylan Daily, the acting sergeant of Wyndham Police Station, often tends to people in trouble on the road and said some tourists travel without adequate vehicles and equipment.
Unfortunately with a lot of overseas tourists, they are just so completely unaware of how vast and remote the outback is, and there are no checks and balances available to make sure that they are prepared for that.
In WA we are often having tourists getting into trouble in areas like the Canning Stock Route or the north due to their complete lack of understanding of what they are tackling.
Maybe there should be some sort of Permit issued by a responsible body, this Mob could make checks on the Vehicule and the persons preparations for the trip, before allowing them to travel this road,
Also have a gate across the road, only opened to people holding a permit.
I was talking to a Bloke the other day, who had just returned from "Doing the Gibb" as he called it,
He said that you would not believe the number of wrecks they came across on the trip,
I guess that gives us some idea just how bad the road is, or how stupid some drivers are.
K.J.
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From Coast to Coast, We'll see it all.......One Day
Even if the road is corigated or full of wash outs its not an isolated road any more, more like a national highway with the amount of vehicles. So if you drive to the conditions you are in no harm.
I worked out there for a while repairing bridges and causeways.
The amount of mad old farts towing their 20 foot off road van at 100kmh in speed restricted zones still leaves me shaking my head.
The gibb highway
cheers
blaze
It's a gazetted road that services several properties in the area. Just like any other gazetted road, it's the users responsibility to be safe . For example, there have been several instances of overseas drivers driving on the wrong side of the Great Ocean road.
I hope that these tourists have adequate insurance when they go on remote tracks, otherwise it is an expensive holiday!
Just back from up that way. Never drove the GRR. No plans to do it. I recon there is more Auto-Elecs in Derby (west end of the Gibb River Rd) per head of population than anywhere in Australia. Suspect they are rebuilding cars. A fellow camper near us at Kunnunara was rebuilding his car and van (he was lucky as he made it out). Two other family friends travelling independently had very expensive damage and had to get transported out.
On our trip, the most damage to the vehicles that we were travelling with was the Bungle Bungles road. The damage was electrical hence my comment about the Auto-Elecs in Derby. Can 110% recommend the Auto-Elec in Halls Creek.
There's nothing wrong with the road it's the idiot holding the steering wheel.
Next thing you know people will want it bitumen and that will totally destroy it.
We feel sorry for our grandkids as they will not be able to have the adventure
or see things in its pristine state as us, due to too many roads being bitumened.
The last time we done the Simpson nearly had a head on with a Terrorist when
cresting a sand dune, No flag, radio or permit, the Boss was very quick to let
him know the regulations after she got her heart out of her mouth. All I can say
is thank Christ I was driving.
It's like all roads. It's the idiots using them. Someone doing 140kph crashes a car in a 100kph zone. Then people want the zone changed to 80kph. Not sure about that logic as the 140kph driver will probably still do 140kph regardless. We get a lot of restrictions because of few idiots.
It's nothing new, sad as it can turn out. Folks encountered a family (Mum, Dad, toddler and infant - Aussies btw) stuck in Purnululu/Bungle Bungles during the mid-80s. Vehicle break down, no tools, plenty of canned food but out of milk, water and getting desperate. No one knew they where there and no one was looking for them.That story aside, there are equally dangerous places for the untrained and ill-prepared.
We've been bush camping in ''out of the way places'' since the early 70's.
There are a lot of recently retired folk out there that have never been anywhere outside of city limits & never towed anything but a 6x4 trailer to the local tip.
They buy a ''tough off road'' caravan & travel to remote areas totally unprepared & get themselves in the ****.
So be it.
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
Trip Reports posted on feathersandphotos.com.au Go to Forums then Trip Reports.
We have traversed the Gibb River Road and assorted side roads and tracks, four times, the first in 1993. Driven twice into the Bungles. Three times on the Mitchell Plateau.
I don't feel that the Gibb is really even a "remote" road, these days. Yes it is unsealed, yes retrieval from breakdowns can be costly, but through the dry season it is bloody busy. If you get into trouble, or break down, will not be long before someone comes along.
As others have said - it is a matter of driving to conditions - and in a manner where you can cope with the unexpected. Anyone with a modicum of common sense should realize that one drives more slowly on loose surfaces, slows right down when there is dust from an approaching vehicle, proceeds cautiously through water crossings etc etc.
Over all our Gibb trips, our casualties have been three flat tyres -and one of those was extremely elderly; a piece of brake fitting that rattled loose - was not an essential part; and a brake that came apart - where there was some question about whether a split pin had been put back after service.
We have come across a number of vehicles damaged by close encounters with roadside trees and sometimes other vehicles - most often on the road to the Mitchell Plateau, and by those who think they can speed up there from King Edward River, see it all, and get back - in one day. They have to go too fast for the conditions in order to do so. I guess that proves the ignorant bit above, in some cases; in others it is not ignorant, just stupid.
Yes - have met the odd Britz vehicles coming around corners on the wrong side. We were going slowly enough to take evasive action.
The incident that sticks most in my mond involved us going very slowly at the top of a dip down into a creek - flowing - so we could get a good look at the approach to it. Moron towing camper trailer came flying up behind us, pulled out to pass us, then had a look at what was ahead. Too late for him to slow down. He did some major bouncing as he bottomed in the creek gully, still at speed, and camper was airborne. Somehow, he kept it all upright, got it back into line, and sped off into the distance. No doubt, when damage became apparent, later on, he would have been yet another complaining about the bad road!
