The Gibb River Road Experience

  Derby, Western Australia, Australia
Friday, October 10, 2008

corrugated road surface

It is possible to drive from Kununurra to Derby in a day on a tarmac road.  But it's also very boring, I should think.  The more interesting alternative was the one we took, taking several days to traverse the Gibb River Road which cuts through the heart of the harshly beautiful Kimberley, peppered with towering rockfaces, deep gorges and swimming holes carved out by waterfalls.  Impassable in the Wet, it is often not in a pretty state in the Dry either, liable to deep creek crossings and a churned up road surface, the track is described in one of the guide books as "637 km of gravel, dust and corrugations..." - sounded very enticing to me!
 
I stayed clear of the driving seat but for an hour or so, allowing John's 4WD experience to guide us safely through,  and while we met others who had suffered flat tyres, various other mechanical issues, and in some cases had rolled their vehicles, we emerged unscathed... 3 cheers for the Johnmobile and the chief driver!
 

The turn off to El Questro

Our first stop was a couple of nights at El Questro, a million-acre cattle station part of which is leased out as a 'wilderness resort', in which the accommodation ranges from $2,000 a night in the Homestead to $30 for a tent pitch... no prizes for guessing which we opted for!    We worked up a sweat, walking through  'El Questro Gorge', then delighted in the chilling waters of the swimming hole before getting all sweaty and dusty again on the return walk; while Zebedee Springs

fire risk sign

(Magic Roundabout connection maybe?) was very pretty but the thermal waters were far too warm in this heat!  The afternoon we walked into Emma Gorge, exposed for much of the way, with the heat bouncing off the rocky surrounds, the heat finally got to me and I had to take it pretty slowly... I was a bit disgusted at my wimpery until learning, the next day, that it had been 52 degrees in the sun!  I had been somewhat disappointed that many of the national parks on this trip had lacked longer full day hiking trails, but in the Kimberley climate a couple of hours is plenty!
 

Mick with our drinking mates

We had great company when happy hour arrived, relishing coldies with Tim, Ralene, Chris and Leo (pictured here with Mickaroo), with whom we swapped stories of our respective road trips, and with John and Dawn, on their long and varied adventure, and whom we would run into further down the trail.  We met some terrific people on the road, as colourful as the landscape around them.  Top of the list came the next day.
 

Me, Mick and Hubert at Ellenbrae

Mick piloting the diamond chopper

We had only called into 'Ellenbrae' station for a cold drink but ended up spending the afternoon sitting chatting to the incredible couple who are running it, then staying the night in their deserted bush camp.  Although they are nearly 70, German Hubert and Dutch Mareko, are brimming with life and, after nearly forty years in Australia, much of it in the Outback, their passion for this area is undiminished.  I could have listened indefinitely to tales of their bush adventures and descriptions of the wildlife and the local characters.  The only disturbance was the whirring of blades as a chopper landed and a diamond prospector stepped out into the flying dust, here for a few days to try and strike it lucky... it is truly another world up here.
 

Mount Barnett Roadhouse

It was also a great insight to talk to the couples running the roadhouses attached to stations and aboriginal communities, many of whom are grey nomads who fell into jobs on their travels and stayed longer then they planned, for love of the region.  They talked of how high the floods have risen in the Wet; the wildlife they have observed; their relationships within the community; the marvel that is the Flying Doctor Service; the naivety of foreign tourists treating the Gibb like a motorway and paying a high price.  I quizzed them about teaching possibilities in the communities and did the same to a young graduate teaching in a remote Kimberley community and loving it... hmmm, more possibilities! 
 

Heading into the creek

Fire ahead

 I had driven through my first serious creek two days into the Gibb, and John had negotiated the long but thankfully shallow Pentecost River, but there was an opposite element confronting us on one stretch of road... we saw the black smoke in the distance, then heard the ferocious crackling of consuming fire and suddenly a line of orange flame came into view just ahead of us.  Although it is deliberate burning, and is controlled, I found it pretty intimidating (well, I am a fireman's daughter, after all!) and was relieved when John suggested backtracking and waiting for it to burn down.  
 

Manning Gorge in early morning

Mating lizards

 It was one gorge after another from there on.  Mount Barnett was a long, tricky, hot walk; Manning was memorable because we started at 6.10 am and had the blissfully tranquil waterhole to ourselves in the early light, swimming over to where the waterfall was reduced to a trickle, with a rainbow shining out of the spray;  Bell was

Walking into Windjana

Spoonbill at Windjana

unfortunately closed as a fire had entered the gorge itself; Galvan's was perfect and provided entertainment in the form of a pair of mating lizards on the path; Windjana hosted what is Australia's highest concentration of freshwater crocs, some of whom were lying on the banks, mouths open to cool themselves, while camping at Windjana, we experienced a dust storm and dramatic sheet lightning behind the rocky walls, and possibly the hottest night yet.  
 

Ghost bat

Tunnel Creek Gorge involved wading through water in a cave system, the heart of which had a hole in the 'roof', allowing us to observe the bats circling outside, the sun glinting on their black wings, then swooping low into the cave to join the colony hanging from the rocks above us... it was an incredible sight and sound (and smell...), they were so close to us as they made their dramatic entrance, their wings translucent

Galvan's Gorge

in the bright light, their outstretched limbs giving them the appearance of tiny humans with wings strapped on.  The other key creature present was a freshie whose red eyeshine   John picked out with his torch, as we waded nearby... freshies won't harm you, though, we had been told, they eat fish, not meat... I mean, they will rip your arm off if you bother them, but really they are harmless... did walking through their cave constitute disturbing them, I wondered, as I waded faster...  
 

Aboriginal dancing at opening ceremony

 
By the time we lad left the Gibb to enjoy a boat trip through Geikie Gorge, the bar had been set so high that this one really didn't come up to scratch!  But our stay in the nearby town of Fitzroy Crossing provided great entertainment, coinciding with a big Aboriginal sports festival, with teams arriving from up to 1,000 km away for the gathering.  Sitting on the grass amidst the players, we watched the opening ceremony with dancers in vivid yellow loin cloths and tall headdresses, their bodies smeared in ochre, moving in line and stamping their feet before the chanting musicians.  I hadn't bothered to see any of the contrived aboriginal culture shows performed at several of the tourist centres we have passed through, but this was a fabulous and unexpected authentic experience.  
 

'He's Back... and he's Black!!'

It's not just the ancient culture that's celebrated at the aboriginal festivals though, as I realised when we called into an art centre near Derby at the end of the Gibb River Road.  A poster on the wall advertised their big community shindig, which unfortunately we had missed, and in there with the traditional performance pictures was a sight that made my eyes pop out: headed by the caption "He's back... and he's black!", was a picture of an Aboriginal Elvis, resplendent in cheap black plastic jumpsuit and dark shades!  Now that is a festival I would love to have been at!