Is a trip to Western Australia in your sights? If you're a keen 4wd-er you may dream of driving the Gibb River Road. Back in 2017 we spent 4 weeks adventuring from Brisbane to see as much as the Kimberley as we could! We had friends living in Kununurra at the time so we beelined for them and saw as much of the Kimberley as we could fit in! Here is our Kimberley Adventure itinerary, keep in mind our driving times include stops and we had a 3 & 1 year old at the time - so if we can do it, so can you!
Day 1: Brisbane to Tambo
*893kms. Approx 12hrs
*Leave home 4am. Breaky stop at Kumbia. Lunch w/ playground at Mitchell.
Day 2: Tambo to Gunpowder Rest Area
*60kms north of Mt Isa. Red dirt. Lots of space to set up camp, right next to the highway.
*1082kms. Approx 13.5hrs
*Breaky stop at Longreach. Lunch around Cloncurry.
*We saw lots of wildlife today - 2 donkeys, lots of emu's, brolgas & kangaroos and some cattle on the roads. A rabbit was the only casualty.
Day 3: Gunpowder RA to Dunmarra Wayside Inn
*900kms. 11hrs.
*Clocks turn back 1/2hr for NT time.
*Hot showers
*We had a bull & a pack of buffalo wander through the campground while we were here! We also saw a few pigs on the side of the highway this morning.
Day 4: Dunmarra to Kununurra
*829kms. 13.5hrs
We originally planned to stay at Mataranka today but after spending the morning swimming at the Bitter Springs we decided to keep going after lunch. We stopped at Timber Creek for fuel & dinner then kept driving through the night to our friends place at K-town!
*Quarantine Station at WA border - must surrender all fruit, vege & honey.
*Turn clocks back a further 1.5hrs. WA is 2hrs behind QLD time.
Day 5: Kununurra
*Ivanhoe Crossing, Fishing at Lower Ord River
Day 6: Kununurra
*Lake Argyle - Fishing, spot a freshie, check out the view & infinity pool at the resort.
Day 7: Kununurra
*Lake Kununurra, Durack House (Local history)
Day 8: Kununurra
*Fish the Pentecost River (catch a barra!)
*Hoochery Distillery for morning tea, Sandalwood Cafe for lunch, Pump House overlooking Lake Kununurra for sunset drinks.
Day 9: Kununurra to The Bungle Bungles
*3hr drive to the turn off.
*Track into the Bungles is 53kms of winding, corrugated, dusty rocky gravel & creek crossings. It took approx 1.5hrs to drive in.
*Hiking - The Domes, Catherdral Gorge & Picaninny Creek walks. Approx 5km of uneven terrain.
*Payment to camp can be made at the ranger office on the drive in.
Day 10: Bungle Bungles to Rest Area 100kms west of Halls Creek
*Pack up camp before more walking.
*Echidna Chasm, Osmand Lookout & Mini Palms Gorge. Approx 6kms of walking.
*Leave bungles and drive towards Broome and find somewhere to camp along the way.
Day 11: RA to Broome
*6.5hrs.
*Palm Grove Caravan Park *Hot showers & washing facilities.
*Sunset on Riddell Beach at Gantheume Point.
Day 12: Broome
*Cable Beach, Sunset camel ride.
Day 13: Broome to Cape Leveque - Kooljaman
*2.5hrs (The Cape Leveque road was not sealed in 2017 so may be a quicker drive now. Kooljaman is now closed.)
Day 14: Cape Leveque
*Fishing, beach day
Day 15: Cape Leveque
*One arm point, Hatchery Tour, Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm
*Fishing Charter
Day 16: Cape Leveque back to Broome
*Middle Lagoon, Beagle Bay Sacred Heart Church
*Staircase to the moon & Broome markets
*Food - stock up for the Gibb
Day 17: Gibb River Road - Windjana Gorge
*Derby jetty - spot a croc? Derby Boab Prison Tree
*Start the Gibb River Road!
*Windjana Gorge - 2km gorge walk - spot all the freshies
*Payment honesty box *Cold showers
Day 18: Gibb River Road - Silent Grove campground
*Tunnel Creek - take a torch
*Bell Gorge - short walk with some creek crossings
*Camp at Silent Grove campground - spacious & grassy, showers (they were closed for reno's on our trip)
*Payment honesty box
Day 19: Gibb River Road - Mt Barnett Roadhouse
*5km hike to Manning Gorge. Hardest walk of the trip - lots of climbing up and down boulders.
Creek Crossings and a freezing cold swim at the waterfall.
*Cold showers at Mt Barnett Roadhouse (get in early before the solar hot water runs out?)
*Payment made at the roadhouse upon entry.
Day 20: Gibb River Road - El Questro Station
*Lunch at Home Valley Station
*Pentecost River Crossing
*Hot Showers & washing facilities at El Questro
Day 21: El Questro
*Zebedee Thermal Springs
* Saddleback Ridge Lookout for sunset
Day 22: El Questro
*Amalia Gorge walk/swim
*Branco's lookout via Explosion Gorge - overlook Pentecost River - spot a croc?
Day 23: El Questro - Kununurra
*Leave El Questro campsite. Emma Gorge 3km hike, freezing cold swim at the waterfall.
*Gourmet lunch at the resort restaurant at the base.
*Drive on to Kununurra
Day 24: Kununurra to Dunmarra Wayside Inn
*829kms. 11hrs. Back on NT time.
*Quarantine Station at WA border - must surrender all fruit, vege & honey.
*Breaky at Timber Creek. Lunch and swim at Katherine Hot Springs.
Day 25: Dunmarra to Clem Walton Park/Corella Dam
*1036kms. 13.25hrs.
*Breaky & lunch at rest areas. Not much to see on this stretch of road.
*Back on QLD time.
*Corella Dam - Open paddock, big dam. Cows everywhere. Surprisingly busy free camp.
Day 26: Corella Dam to Augathella
*1015kms. Approx 12hrs.
*Lunch w/ playground at Longreach.
*Augathella/Warrego River camp - across the road from the pub.
*Payment honesty box.
Day 27: Augathella to Brisbane
*770kms. Approx 10hrs.
*Breaky at Roma. Lunch w/ playground at Blackbutt.
So that is our Kimberley adventure itinerary, what a jam packed month! Originally we didn't plan on such big driving days but once we knew our limits we covered as much ground as we could in order to see more places. As long as we could set up camp and have dinner before sunset we were happy. The kids handled the early mornings with extra naps in the car along the way. Are you keen to do The Gibb? Check out our breakdown of Our week along The Gibb River Road!
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