June 2025 -

2nd – 19th June 2025

To say I’m excited to be on the Gibb River Road (GRR) is an understatement. I have a long history of planning this adventure only to be thwarted. Not this time!

The Gibb is a track constructed in the 1960s to transport cattle. It stretches from Derby in the west to Wyndham in the gulf of Carpentaria. Due to the stunning scenery and gorges it passes through it soon became an adventure drive for the keen 4×4 traveller looking for a challenge. And here we are!

A bit confusing, but it means the main track is open to us all the way to the end.

Monday – Birdwood Downs

Our first campsite on the GRR is Birdwood Downs, a large pastoral station that offers camping, amenities and a shop that sells, amongst other things, their own beef, ready cryovacced for the traveller.

Tuesday – Friday: Lennard River

Ah! That’s upset our plans! It rained about a week ago; enough to close large stretches of the GRR. While the main road has reopened, the side tracks to some spots, such as Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek, have yet to dry out. But the ongoing promise from the Council is “could be tomorrow”. So, we stayed for 4 nights, finally leaving Saturday morning with the report that it would be “reviewed on Monday”. Oh well, I do like to have a reason to revisit an area.

However all was not lost. This was our campsite on the banks of the Lennard River while we waited. We became good friends with the other two campers here with us.

And once or twice a day we had a soak in the crystal clear, refreshing river.

Your interesting factoid for today: this is Podaxis pistillaris, also known as the Shaggy Mane Mushroom. It’s a rare find though not an endangered species. It’s native to the arid regions of Western Australia, only making an appearance after heavy rain. We spotted this little character right beside our camp.

Saturday, Sunday: Mt Hart Station

Leaving Lennard River we entered Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges (King Leopold Ranges) and stopped at the Apex River for lunch, then decided it was a great place to spend the night before the trip into Mt Hart tomorrow.

Mt Hart was a cattle station for about 80 years last century, though all Station owners struggled to make a living from it. In 2000 it was reclassified as a conservation park and since 2022 new owners are developing it as a tourist destination. The 50km road in from the GRR has been badly broken up after the recent rain and there are still many water crossings to negotiate on the drive in. It is a beautiful property offering everything from camping and glamping to lodge-style accommodation. There’s a bar and restaurant onsite and adventurous visitors can take a helicopter ride or do a 4×4 tour. At the moment there are two gorges open that you can drive to – we visited Dudungarri mindi, pictured above, and Dawungumen mindi.

Dawungumen mindi was a short hike from the carpark over huge boulders. The Barker River flows through the gorge and the rocks made for great rapids and pools where we spent several hours relaxing in our own private rock pool.

Challenging to get to, but worth every difficult step once there.

This fellow was snapped warming up on the rocks after a chilly swim. It’s a variety of Monitor Lizard; this one is about 60cm (2ft) long.

Leaving Mt Hart we camped at Dog-chain Creek, again in near solitude.

Monday – Silent Grove and Bell Gorge (Dalmanyi)

This morning the Gibb took us through the Wunaamin Miliwundi range with its striking cliffs and rock faces, occasional water crossings and beautiful trees, which was a delightful way to start the day.

The campground is at Silent Grove, about 20km off the Gibb, with Bell Gorge another 10km drive beyond that, followed by a hike. The road had only reopened a couple of days earlier, still scattered with long muddy stretches and water crossings through fast-flowing, though shallow, creeks. All part of the adventure for us — though, watching the owners of the big vehicle-and-caravan setups tackling the deeper crossings, I got the feeling they didn’t enjoy it quite as much as we did.

While the hike is only 3.5km to the bottom of the Falls the first section is Grade 4 taking you on a boulder strewn track to the top of the Falls, and the last section, a Grade 5, takes you to the base of the Falls. Lots of warnings accompanied this hike.

But WOW — what a view, what a waterfall! Five tiers of it, spilling down the cliffs like something straight out of a postcard. Up the top there’s a great pool for a swim, and the only way to start the hike to the bottom is to dive in and swim across it. Not a bad way to kick off a walk, if you ask me.

National Parks’ sense of humour. The hike descends straight over that cliff edge – I think the pole with the upward arrow indicates where you’ll be going if you misstep your first step.

Made it! We spent a couple of hours here swimming and relaxing. So beautiful.

Not my favourite hiking surface, or incline!

Tuesday – Adcock Gorge, Galvans Gorge, Mount Barnett Station

A gorgeous day full of gorges ;-).
Adcock Gorge is about 70km further along the Gibb, then a 5km side road, before a tricky, rocky but short, hike in to the Gorge.

Adcock Gorge. This deep green pool with it’s beautiful waterfall and overhanging ledges was very picturesque.

We both enjoyed a lovely swim and a shower under the waterfall at Adcock Gorge, before getting ready to head back. That’s when near-disaster struck!

I like to tell folks that my hero was wrestling a crocodile that had me in its jaws… but truth is, it was a slip, a loss of balance, then an absolutely world-class shallow dive back into the pool, not quite clearing the protruding rocks. It was impressive and anything less would not have ended quite so well.

Moving on to Galvans Gorge the short walk in initially took us past this pretty waterlilly pond, before the inevitable scramble over rocks and boulders.

Galvans Gorge, another stunning gorge. I loved the Boab tree taking pride of place at the top of the falls – probably ranking as one of the most photographed boabs on the Gibb.

Tonight we’ll camp at Mount Barnett Station. There’s a lovely big lagoon here with sandy beaches, right beside the campsite – no boulders! Top swimming spot.

Wednesday – Manning Gorge

Manning Gorge, on the Barnett River in Mount Barnett Station, is one of the better known gorges. The large campsite caters for lots of campers as well as tour buses. It can get very crowded in the ‘season’.

The warning sign at the beginning of the hike is explicit! This is a difficult walk and …
“There is no-one within 300km equipped for rescue operations …” OK!!
You’ll note the hike starts (and ends) at the lagoon, which is deep water in the middle. Plastic tubs, halved, are provided to put your hiking gear in to stay dry, then you swim across to the other side pushing your tub to begin the hike. As we left, at 8am, the swim was a chilly wake-up, but on the way back, after a hot walk, it was heaven!

The hike was up to WA standards – lots of ups and downs over boulders and stones, the path gnarly in parts and needing a fair degree of physical fitness to ascend and descend the big boulders.

Finally arriving at the river this is the view to the left, where lots of exploring could be done … not saying it was.

And to the right — this is what we’d all come to see. No other tourists around when I snapped this photo, though people drift in and out. Luckily, it wasn’t busy while we were here. The swimming was absolutely magic — cool, crystal-clear water, the perfect reward after that hot, sweaty, and energetic hike. We swam to the rocks straight ahead – the nearest resting place to the waterfall. I couldn’t resist trying to swim under the waterfall, but the force of the flow and the swirling current quickly pushed me back. It was so invigorating, and exactly what you hope for in a spot like this.

A memory etched on my brain for posterity.

Camped beside a huge multi-stemmed Boab at Manning Gorge campground.

As we left Mount Barnett we stopped at the Roadhouse to fill our tanks with water and diesel (different tanks) (diesel – $2.93/L!!!) and buy an ice cream each for the road.

Thursday, Friday – Hann River

The Hann River here was only thigh deep in parts, but the current was really strong. Soaking in this chilly, crystal-clear spa felt like the best full-body massage.

Our ideal campsite, just beside the river. Hann River

Couldn’t help myself – it’s such a good campsite. Wish we could have stayed more than two nights.

Saturday – Gibb River

Praise be to the Gods of the Graders! Before this glorious sight appeared before our weary eyes (please let it be real, not a mirage!), the road was a bone-rattling mass of corrugations. If you look to the left of the photo, you’ll see where the grader hasn’t reached yet — those ridges are brutal. Even where it’s passed, it’s really only skimmed the top off them. But we’ll take whatever relief we can get!

And here it is — the Gibb River itself, the namesake of this famous track. Ironically though, the Gibb River Road doesn’t actually cross the Gibb River. (Go figure.) Naturally, we couldn’t pass through without at least getting wet in it. We turned off onto the Kalumburu Road, which does cross the Gibb River, and set up camp — another beautiful, crystal-clear stream winding its way beneath the melaleucas and river red gums. Magic spot.

Needless to say we did have a lovely swim here, then enjoyed a chilled beverage as the sun set.

Sunday – Durack River

Things are changing! We’re travelling through hilly countryside now, with vistas across vast grassland plains. And, happily, the steeper sections of the road are sealed – but not for very far! Those corrugations are still with us.

Ellenbrae is a working cattle station. The grounds are very attractive – they remind you you’re in the tropics with their lush gardens of tropical flowering plants, and bananas and mango trees that provide shade and fruit. They run about 600 head of cattle that they sell only when cattle prices are high. The cost of labour to muster and then transport the cattle from this remote location has to be factored in.

We actually came here for a Devonshire tea – yes, true! Ellenbrae is famous amongst travellers for their fresh scones, jam and cream. Last year, during the 6 months of the season they’re open, they sold over 21,000 scones.

A little further along the GRR we crossed the Durack River – a frequent point for flooding that closes the road. The water across the road is still pretty deep, but having a firm base we crossed without incident. A road crew was working at the turnoff to the Durack River free camp, which is little more than a narrow track winding through grass and rocks. I suspect most travellers assumed the campsite was closed as only two of us stayed here. No swimming here; this river’s a haunt for crocodiles.

Our first campfire for the trip – we’ve shared others’ fires but this is our first.

Monday – Pentecost River Crossing

Exciting day today! Today we cross the Pentecost River. Everyone who does the GRR has a photo of their crossing. But first we have some pretty badly corrugated road to traverse …

And just to prove my point! No, not our’s thankfully; just a fellow traveller we stopped to assist.

The Cockburn Range comes into sight. A pretty stunning range with its ridges, cliffs and mesas.

Another lovely view of the Cockburn Range. The yellow-flowering trees are young kapok trees. Some of you may remember when kapok stuffed pillows and mattresses were used.

This is it! Crossing the Pentecost River. Stills don’t give you much of an idea of what it’s like. Please watch the Tracks and Horizons YouTube channel to view us crossing.

There are campsites scattered all along the Pentecost River, and we found ourselves a great spot right on the bank just above the water’s edge, joining dozens of others doing the same. We’re only staying the one night, but it seems many settle in here for a while — the barramundi fishing is said to be promising. That said, it’s very much crocodile country. A 5-metre croc was seen lurking on the far bank for several days, so no swim today.

Tuesday, Wednesday – El Questro

El Questro’s story began back in 1903 as a 1-million-acre cattle station. Like so many out here in the Kimberley, it battled tough conditions and isolation, and few owners managed to make it pay. In 1991, the owners opened the gates to tourists, offering everything from bush camping to outback luxury, and it’s been a popular stop on the Gibb River Road ever since. Since then the property has changed hands a few times and was even foreign-owned for a while. Then in 2021, the G’day Group took over and struck a new deal with the traditional owners and the WA government. The pastoral lease — which had legally required them to run cattle — was converted into a Reserve, along with a parcel of Freehold land. That Freehold was leased back to G’day Group so they could keep running the tourism venture, ensuring this remarkable place stays open for travellers keen to experience the Kimberley’s rugged beauty. The Reserve is now being managed by the traditional owners. A win-win situation for all involved.

Activities at El Questro include, hiking, swimming at select gorges that are croc-free, four-wheel-drive tracks to scenic lookouts, helicopter rides, tours, horse riding, etc.

Amalia Gorge was the first activity we chose to do. For those not in the know – fresh water crocodiles may nip you if you annoy them, but won’t eat you; whereas salt water crocodiles will not hesitate to eat you. And their names are misleading – both crocs can live in both saltwater and freshwater.

It’s not that we enjoy tackling Grade 5 hikes — we really don’t — but in WA, it seems like anything less than a 4 or 5 isn’t worth marking on the map. And this one was a tough slog! The photos above and below give you a bit of an idea, though they miss the hairiest part: a narrow, uneven ledge where we edged along, clinging to a chain bolted into the rock because the cliff face offered nothing else to hold onto. Heart-in-mouth stuff.

Happy me, not giving a thought to the return hike.

That afternoon we set off on the 4×4 track to Saddleback Lookout. I took this photo along the way, though it barely hints at the drama of the drive or the spectacular view waiting at the top. The track begins with a solid water crossing, then immediately starts to climb — a steep, narrow, rocky trail that winds sharply through rugged country. Low Range, first gear was the only way up (and down), with loose stones, washouts and dropoffs to oblivion alongside the track keeping us alert. As we neared the summit, the landscape opened up, and from the top, we were treated to breathtaking, uninterrupted 360° views of the surrounding ranges and valleys.

Tonight we dressed up and went to the El Questro restaurant for dinner. Quite the treat!

First thing this morning we headed for Zebedee Springs. These hot springs occur because of a fault line deep inside the earth providing a continuous supply of water heated to 28° to 32°C all year.

An easy 300m walk from the carpark through savanna woodland and livistona palms brought us to the hot springs. Zebedee Springs are only open between 7 and midday. The afternoons are for the exclusive use of the guests in the Homestead who are paying several thousand dollars a night for the privilege.

I found myself a delightful, warm, massaging waterfall to relax in.

Steve found a rock-lined pool to float in while enjoying the view above.

Steve’s view – the magnificent livistona palms.

After lunch and a wander around the Station, we made our way up to Pigeon Hole Lookout for sunset. I’ve no idea how it got the name, but it’s a 12km drive from the campsite along rough, rocky tracks with several water crossings — one of them was particularly long, deep and with a base of big, loose rocks. The final climb to the lookout wasn’t as hair raising as last night’s trek up to Saddleback, but the narrow, winding track still had us quietly hoping no one was coming the other way.

The spectacular view of the Pentecost River from Pigeon Hole Lookout.

The Pentecost as the sun set over the ranges.

Thursday: Our last day on the Gibb.

The Gibb has been a road trip that just keeps giving. Even on our last day we’re going to yet another beautiful gorge – Emma Gorge. Emma Gorge is a few kilometres further along the Gibb and is a part of the El Questro freehold lease offering more accommodation, though not camping. We had a coffee here at their lovely bar/restaurant before setting out on the 3+km hike to the Gorge. By now I hope you’re attuned to every hike up here in the north, regardless of length, being a challenge and, in keeping with the plan, Emma Gorge is classified as a Grade 4 hike.

Note how the cliff walls of the gorge continue to narrow as we walk in.

The gorge comes to an end here, with a waterfall tumbling into a serene, sheltered pool. The water was the coldest we’d felt so far — the kind that takes your breath away and makes you hesitate before going under.

Swimming under the waterfall was, as usual, an exhilarating experience.

The pool at Emma Gorge. Tucked away behind the rocky outcrop on the right was a tiny artesian spring, its warm water heating a little rock pool. A delight at the time, even though it made the swim back to shore all the more chilly.

One feature of the Kimberley which I didn’t expect was the sheer number of Boab trees (Adansonia gregorii). This particular species is endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia and into the Northern Territory. Yes, I expected to see a few, but there are a lot of boabs spread over the whole region. At El Questro they line every road and will be wonderful shade trees as they mature.
Boabs are surprisingly useful — their iron-rich leaves can be eaten like spinach, and the nut contains a sherbet-like pulp. Their swollen trunks store water, with some said to hold up to 100,000 litres — a clever adaptation.

Two boabs demonstrate their individuality in trunk design.

The end of the Gibb River Road. The official sign, which has no personality, seen in background.

Wow — what an adventure this has been. We set out with uncertain expectations, a few quiet fears about what might go wrong, and not much idea of what lay ahead. But those worries faded quickly as our confidence in both the vehicle and ourselves grew. In their place came awe. Moment after moment took our breath away, and that sense of wonder never left us. If anything, it built with each day, filling us with excitement and anticipation right through to the very end.

I found the following paragraph which describes our journey accurately. I only wish I had written it.

The Gibb River Road is more than just a track through the Kimberley — it’s a journey through some of Australia’s most ancient, untamed, and soul-stirring country. It’s a place where red dirt clings to your boots, waterfalls tumble into crystal-clear pools, and the night skies stretch endlessly overhead, heavy with stars. The road demands a little grit, a sense of humour, and a willingness to slow down and soak in the unexpected. It weaves through gorges, across rivers, and past landscapes so vast and varied they defy description. Every bump, every dusty kilometre, every water crossing is part of a story you’ll carry long after the tyres hit bitumen again. It’s a trip that reminds you how small you are — and how lucky — to stand in a land this wild, this beautiful, and this enduring.