Carnage on the Gibb....

To be or not to be, to take it or not to take it !

The decision of whether to take or not to take the notorious "Gibb River" road has been a well though one. On one side, the excitement of driving through uncharted territory, the unknown of its course and its unforgiving reputation, on the other hand, well, it can be a very costly exercise as it may destroy either or both our car and caravan… simple isn’t? Our trustworthy “travel agents” as they called themselves, I’m talking about G and Toni (from Pundsand bay) had done it 2 weeks prior and said that apart from the first 100 Kms which were pretty rough, it was not too bad, so, it was not hard to convince us, we decided to take it and on hind sight it was meant to be as you will later find out.

We protected the van as much as we could, we used Coreflute (a double-sided board with a corrugated layer in between, made of plastic ) on the front to protect it from rock chippings, tightened up bolts, put cable ties in anything that moved, arranged everything inside that could go flying and closed all the vents to try and the key word is “try” to stop the bull dust from entering the van, we were then ready.

We set off on a Monday, first a quick stop over Emma gorge. Been there before so we knew what to expect, like any gorge that is worth seeing, a very hard hike followed by stunning views. So, after rock hopping, river crossing and a good 7 km return hike, there it stood, as beautiful as I remembered it. As I stood right in-front of it, it was just stunning, a tall, thin waterfall surrounded by bright red rock, contrasting with the green on either sides and the clear water below, unfortunately what I also remembered was how cold the water was and yes, that had not changed either except that this time around we found a hidden hot spring type pool that had more or less “warmer” water, I had to jump in the main pool though, there was no way I had just walked through all those obstacles and not go in. Initially the shock of the cold water is numbing however the longer you stay there the less you notice the freezing temperature of the water and I am talking ice cold water.

We left Emma gorge and seriously started on the Gibb, it was gravel road and dust, Carlos and I did say that if it was too rough we will turn back, but realistically once you were in there it was no turning back.

The road progressively got worse, we are used to corrugations and bad roads, lets not forget Savannah way and Borroloola but it wasn’t just the corrugations it was the sharp rocks that made the road and its rutted nature, pot holes and mounds, we were hardly moving! We really couldn’t go fast and everything was shaking, to this day Carlos jokes that he even lost his tooth fillings but actually his Garmin watch recorded a personal goal of 5000 steps when most of the time we were in the car sitting! You figure, that is just how much we were been shaken in the car. on a positive, it must have had a soothing effect as the drive always seemed to put the kids to sleep, bonus :)

We arrived at our first stop, a free camp on the side of the Durack River, the first thing we did is check for damage and as we did a pipe was sticking out of the van from the water tank, a broken pipe we thought? Is that all? Overall, a broken pipe is not bad at all, “bring it on Gibb” we shouted as we did a bit of a victory dance however it was a premature celebration as shortly after Carlos discovered that the pipe was broken because one of our three water tanks (they hang underneath the van) had fallen off, we actually had lost a whole water tank! … we quickly took back what we had said about the Gibb. Although we only lost one tank, we really lost120 litres of water as that tank was joined to another 80 litre one. Not great news as we were limited to one tank (80 Litres) for the whole trip through the Gibb that largely consists of free camping. Luckily for us Carlos had the great idea of asking people that drove by whether they had seen a tank on the road and they actually did, not far too, so Carlos drove back and got the water tank back.

The site was perfect, on a river bank, clear water, no crocs but of course no toilets either, it was here where we seriously started our bush potty training. This is historically a well known art you know, you have to squat at the right angle, bend your knees at the right height and that is just the beginning. Finding an appropriate site, private if possible, if there is a tree or branch that you can hold on to, the better (for stability and grunt) and finally, making sure you you dig deep enough. We stayed there for a couple of days and it was so funny seeing the kids learning the “physics” of squatting, not missing and doing it right. What also happened at this site is that we met 3 couples travelling together, one of them had a flat tyre so their friends came over and asked to use our radio. We got talking and they told us about this amazing experience up in Dampier peninsula, near Beagle bay, a pearl farm. We got the contact and said good bye. Our time there was wonderful, apart from the backpackers with the flat tyre we spoke to no one else, kids did fishing and we put out our yabbies net and actually caught one, we were in heaven..again.

Our second stop, the Gibb river rest area, once again on the side of the river and once again we had the whole area to ourselves, we didn’t travel far, but really, you can’t because it is just to exhausting driving to the conditions. This site was beautiful and it had a lot of bird life including black chested cockatoos, very similar to palm cockatoos endemic to Cape York. We lit fires in the evenings and mornings, billy on and really, life could not get better. My daily ritual was morning cuppa, bird watching, ukulele practice, lunch, swim, schooling, fire, star watch and bed, being so isolated and having no reception at all whatsoever had so many advantages.

On our way to our next camp we stopped at Manning Gorge, unfortunately by the time we got there it was close to 1 o’clock and we had heard it was a very strenuous walk with no shade from the sun. The walk started with a quick ride on a Tinnie (a popular boat for Aussie fishing) across a small river, I knew then it was going to be a very interesting walk. We got started and we had to remain focussed as the markings for the walk were very poor, the sun was scorching and there were no signs of getting close to water for a long time until about an hour later when we came across a steep drop followed by huge rocks that we had to climb over, only after that, we saw the waterfall and the gorge, finally! The gorge was very pretty and the hike had been so hard that none of us thought twice about jumping in, the kids found a spot where you could dive from and went on jumping, probably about 5-10 metres high, they quickly learnt to keep their body straight and arms tucked in when entering the water, they absolutely loved it.

On our next camp, by another river, we met other people, young family with one son, Shannon and Paula, nice family from back home in Victoria, I didn’t get to talk to them or meet them but Carlos did. Once again serenity, warmth of a fire and nature’s beauty to recover from an exhausting day.

The following day we went on and stopped at Bell Gorge. So far our caravan had been doing quite well, apart from the tank incident, it had managed to not fall apart however the road to this Gorge was not recommended for caravans, well in reality, the whole Gibb River road is not recommended for caravans full stop. Did you know that if you break down in the Gibb they charge between $2500 to $5000 to tow it out of the Gibb and if it is your car you have to pay more to get your van as well! On that note we decided to leave the van at a station not far from the entry to the gorge. Without the van, it felt like you had wings, the car just flies and going through river crossings is fun not scary. We got to the gorge and once again the walk was not easy, this time though there was some shade. Lots of climbing over rocks but when we got there it was definitely worth the effort, it was stunning.

Kids of course jumped in straight away and like always manage to find a place they can jump from into the water. A man was standing right at the top of the rocks, contemplating what seem to be at least 20 meters jump and finally after a few minutes he jumped, a cheer from the crowd watching him and waiting could be heard, he smiled, we all did, but it did not last long for me as Noah decided to follow him and jump, my heart was in my mouth, I did not want to discourage him or put fear into him but at the same time it was so high, landing the wrong way could be very dangerous and we were in the middle of nowhere, literally, how could we get help. He walked to the edge, hesitated but it was too late, his weight pushed him forward and he jumped, I watched and as soon as he dived and came up alright I felt so sick, it was just the anxiety of watching him jump. To my great relief he only did it once, after that he kept jumping from a smaller height (still about 8 meters) with his brothers.

Our last stop before exiting the Gibb was at an intersection, a popular free camp as many people park their vans there and travel south to see another gorge, Windjana and Tunnel creek and then come back up and continue West towards Derby. We got there late and by the time we got there it was packed, we drove slowly, when we thought we would not find a place, a man comes out and waves at us and invites us to park in front of him. I was so touched by the gesture but it was only when I got back in the car after guiding Carlos in that he told me that was Shannon, the Victorian from the previous camp, very nice and kind.

Morning came and we did what everyone did and left our van, again, our car flew through corrugations and in no time we got to Windjana gorge, walked through it, this one is very different as it flows like a river.

We left and did the second attraction, Tunnel Creek. The walk through Tunnel creek is not long, maybe half an hour one way but you do walk through a tunnel, its dark and wet, you have to wade through some water, not deep though but there are bats and if you shine the torch through the surface of the water you can sometimes see the red reflection from the fresh water crocodiles… yikes, kids were of course excited.

We left to pick up our van, hooked up and drove to Derby, as we got closer the road got better, a sigh of relief and yet pity for all those that were going the opposite way as they did not know what awaited them.

The Gibb was definitely challenging, even for Carlos who is an excellent driver, however as rough and unwelcoming the road was, we experienced some of the best free camps so far in our journey and Bell Gorge has definitely become one of my favourites. We survived the Gibb River Road, in fact, the first thing we did when we arrived in Derby was to get a “I survived the Gibb River Road” car sticker.

We stayed a week in Derby at Savannah Retreat managed by Michael and Apples, they have a private property where they are allowed to have three caravans but they also have cabins and when we arrived they could only accomodate us in a cabin. For the price $25 dollars a night we did not complain and it was one of the best things we could have done as we did not realise how exhausted we all were from the adventures on the Gibb.

We did not only recover well, sleeping on a bed in our own room but also it gave us time to clean and repair our van. Michael and Apples were the most friendly hosts we have had for a while putting up a happy hour” spread of pies and nibbles providing the opportunity of meeting other travellers. This is where we met Megan and Luke and their boys and Ray and Maureen who we are still in touch as we are going south. I cannot fail to mention the beautiful Sasha, their dog, so gentle and loving and I do think she had a thing for Carlos.

We loved taking her for walks in the morning and cuddles in the evening during happy hour, we do miss her. Mike and Apples are members of a shooting club, so of course, the boys went on Sunday and loved the experience. We were very grateful to have met them and wish them all the best.

We left Derby, town of the Boab trees and continued our journey west towards Broome.