Derby and Gibb
River Road
After Broome was Derby, which is an easy drive from Broome
where you stock up on food and fuel in preparation for the rugged Gibb River
Road, 600kms of rough rocky road, that’s without any side trips.
At Derby we enjoyed the fantastic sunset over Derby wharf
and also Dinner of Barramundi at the Wharf Restaurant. Jayne was all seafooded
out so she had mega Lamb Shanks.
Then all loaded up, we hit the GRR and our 1st
stop was Charnley River Station, which is 42kms off the GRR. The camping here
even had grass! We haven’t had a grass camping site since Perth, I think, so
this was a definite treat after all the dusty sandy experiences until then.
They have 4 gorges to drive to, and the three we did were
very good. Swimming at Lilly Gorge was an experience as it was about 30⁰C
hiking into there, but the water felt like it had ice in it. Jayne wussed out
and only got in up to her knees, I at least had a full swim, so be it that it
was very short.
We ended up staying there 3 nights due to the grass and
supplied firewood with fresh water at the van making the camping experience very
comfortable.
Our next stop was Mornington Wildlife Camp which is 90kms
off the GRR in the other direction. This place is owned by the Australian
Wildlife Conservancy and is a paradise for birds. It also has the Diamond Gorge
in it which is reportedly the best gorge in the Kimberley. It’s a further 25kms
on from the camp, but we at least didn’t have to tow the van there.
Jayne liked Mornington whereas I preferred Charnley as
the camping was more open and with more sunlight and grass, whereas Mornington was very
claustrophobic, shaded and dusty.
The road into Mornington was excellent for the 1st 70kms as this lead
to the Tableland Aboriginal Community (Yulumbu) but once you passed the turnoff
to Tableland, Mornington are responsible for the road and it was just rocks. The
last 20kms took us over an hour! This included a river crossing which had a bend
in it, so you drive into the creek (about 300mm deep) and then have to turn up
the creek before you get to the exit and you can't see the exit until you're
actually in the creek. It feels like you’re driving up the creek bed.
We drove the 25kms up to Diamond Gorge (1+ hour each way) and hired
one of their canoes for a paddle up the gorge. It was very nice and peaceful.
.
We took our gas BBQ and enjoyed chilli BBQ sausages in
bread rolls for lunch on one of the sandy beaches in the gorge. After two nights in
Mornington it was time to leave.
With all these extra side trips off the main road we were
starting to run low on diesel and I thought we may have to use what we had left
in the diesel heater to get to Mt Barnett Roadhouse. But we made it with a few
litres to spare in the car and didn’t have to dive into the diesel heater’s
reserves.
Then we went into Manning River Gorge and enjoyed a cooling
off swim after setting up the van in 32⁰
heat. The water was very nice and even Jayne got totally in.
The camping at Manning River is basic, no water but we
were able to get water at the roadhouse before we ventured the 7 kms to the
gorge. By this time we were running low on clean clothes so out came the
generator and Jayne did two loads of washing. She was worried what the other
campers there would think when they saw all our clothes hanging out to dry in
the middle of nowhere, but luckily they dried in minutes and she was able to
save herself from that shame.
Despite it being over 30⁰
during the day, in the mornings it got down to 5⁰C
so its rug up and have a coffee etc., then change into your shorts and
tee-shirts as it warms up by 7.30am. By 10am it’s time for a swim!
From Manning River Gorge we headed to the Gibb River
Crossing for a nights camping and on arrival we found the fridge door hinge was broken.
We were warned in Broome that this was weak link in this brand of refrigerator, so it
wasn’t surprising. A quick drive 60kms up the road to Drysdale River Station
with the hinge in hand and $10 later the hinge was welded and we were back on
our way to Gibb River Crossing. Luckily this 60kms of road had recently been graded and
this was a very easy drive.
We went to Russ Creek and camped the night there. We had
the whole place to ourselves except for the Rosellas which grow wild there. We
didn’t even know Rosellas were a plant, only knowing them as a bird. These
plants opened their bright red flowers in the sun and closed them up in the shade and you
could see them do this in front of your eyes.
We had a drink to Russ at Russ Creek.
It was then onto Home Valley Station for our last night on
the GRR. Overall the condition of the road was terrible, and after over 1,200kms of this
we are both totally over the dirt roads! However the Touareg performed
exceptionally well and
without further problems restoring my faith in them. Thankfully we don’t have to
buy a Landcruiser now.
It’s nice to have a car and van that are stronger at handling the dirt and rough roads than what we are! After these dirt roads we can't wait to wash the dust off the van and car. Every time we touch the outside of them we’re covered in red dust. At one stage we were down to 10kms/hour and our teeth were still being severely rattled from the corrugations and sharp rocks that make up what they loosely call a road. The condition of the GRR changes almost daily with the amount of traffic that’s on it during these peak times. We didn't get a flat tyre, whew that was a relief.
We’re now in Wyndham 10 days after leaving Derby and again
have phone service. Wyndham is a quaint little town at the
north-east end of Western Australia and we’re stay at the Parry Creek Farm
www.parrycreekfarm.com.au which
is alive with birdlife and just a nice place to rest with grass camping sites, well they were once grass!
Tomorrow we’re off to Kununurra for a few days of washing
the car and van, shopping and restocking the van.