Gibb River Road

Here is a quick re-cap of our where-abouts for the past week or so...

After leaving El Questro we had to cross the Pentecost River. It is renowned for being a deep river crossing but we crossed it without any probs....



We arrived at Home Valley Station which is a camp ground with in ground pool, manicured lawns and bar. It was nicely set out and we found a great camp spot for 2 nights which we shared with our friends, the Rees family....



We took a drive on the station property back down to the Pentecost River, which is home to the saltwater crocodile and managed to see something resembling a croc floating further down the river. The view was magnificent over the river and the green river flats with the Cockburn Ranges beyond...



We also took a rough 4WD trip through the property to a lookout....



While we were at Home Valley the kids also completed some school work and swam in the pool.

From Home Valley we travelled 290km along Gibb River Road to Manning Gorge campground. We enjoyed staying at this remote campground for 2 nights, camped under a huge boab tree, cooking on a camp fire each night and beside the Manning River (sounds familiar???). To reach the gorge we were required to wade and swim across the freshwater crocodile infested Manning River and then hike 3km across harsh sandstone country to the gorge. It was beautiful and well worth it. It was lovely to cool off in the water after the hike. Rod and the boys jumped off the waterfall at different heights and had a great time.



We then drove a further 100km down the road to Silent Grove Campground where we spent 1 night. After setting up camp and went for the pleasant, mostly shaded walk to Bell Gorge, with a stunning waterfall and great swimming. I enjoyed laying on the sun-drenched rocks while a cool breeze blew through the gorge.



Finally we detoured off the Gibb River Road to complete the last leg of our Gibb River Road experience... Windjana Gorge National Park. We camped at Windjana for 2 nights. The first day we hiked the 7km return trip through the magnificent Windjana Gorge, which was completely different to the other gorges and home to over 100 freshwater crocs. We spotted many big freshies sun baking on the banks and needless to say, we didn't enjoy a swim in the gorge, but enjoyed the views and pleasant walk through the lush vegetation that lines the banks of the string of waterholes.





The next day we went to Tunnel Creek, an underground passage which was eroded beneath a limestone range. The cave is dark and about 750m long, we wore our head torches to light the passage. It was fun! At the end of the tunnel, the sun light beams in and opens to a sunny waterhole. To the left of the rear opening we found some Aboriginal artwork.



We left Windjana Gorge and drove towards Fitzroy Crossing and followed the sealed road back to Halls Creek where we stayed a night.

The Gibb River Road trip was a great adventure. We were looking forward to difficult corrugated roads and numerous river and creek crossings. Although we found some corrugations and water crossings, I think we very fortunate as the road conditions weren't too severe due to recent road gradings, nor creeks and rivers too full. We'll be back to experience this road again, however the conditions may be very different.