Kimberley 24.X
After saying farewell to our friends at Ellenbrae it was back onto the Gibb. About 40km west of Ellenbrae the road improved but there were occasional relapses to bone jarring corrugations. A night at the Manning Gorge campground then two nights at Birdwood Station brought us close to Derby.
As well as having a poke around Derby we bought screws at the well equipped Mitre 10. We needed to replace quite a few in the van! We were home in time for lunch the following day.
This was not our first rodeo on the Gibb River Road. We could have crammed in a bit more but now that we live in fairly easy reach we think it better to spend a few days at a time in chosen areas rather than be traveling significant distances every day.
If you are reading this with a view to planning your own trip consider including Tunnel Creek, Windjana Gorge, Lennard River Gorge, Mount Elizabeth Station, Drysdale Station, Mitchell Plateau and Falls. The landscape at the Home Valley bush camp is a must for the photographer. If completing the loop then Purnululu AKA the Bungle Bungles is not to be missed on the Northern Highway leg. We took our dog which ruled out the Mitchell Plateau and Purnululu. You can’t take a caravan up to the Purnululu campground and it is probably wiser not to drag one up to Mitchell Falls. Swags or tents for a couple of nights at a time will make the adventure all the more exciting.
There are other places that we haven’t got around to visiting yet, famous among them being Mount Hart and El Questro.
Passes and permits are needed for some areas and should be purchased in advance.
Mechanical failure on the Gibb is likely to be very expensive. Tyre and mechanical assistance is available at Over the Range Tyre & Mechanical Repairs and to some limited extent at Ellenbrae. Getting hauled out would be expensive and might entail some delay. An extra spare wheel is a sound investment. There is any amount of contradictory advice on what tyre pressures to run. It may be of benefit to drop to 20 to 30% below highway pressures (eg Highway pressure 42 X 0.75 = 31psi). It is certainly smart to drive at moderate speed and avoid the obvious rocks.
We had a compressor mounted on the van when we started our journey across the Gibb. It had fallen off by the end of the first day. If you come across it we’d like it back!
bobmcgee 