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Gibb River Road – ‘3’
Leaving our great camp on the Manning River was tough but hey there will be more (great spots), I am sure. Just after leaving Mt Barnett Roadhouse we came to a section of the road with conditions that I just do not like, give me dust, give me corrugations, but rocks that have been purposefully laid as ‘screenings’ to create a road surface is not good on tyres or other ‘bits’ underneath vehicles and vans. And it was not long before we saw a vehicle with a blown tyre and no less than a brand new Mickey Thompson, ouch, very expensive. These are great tyres, in fact we had them on the Hilux and loved them, so it just goes to show that even the mighty can fail.
This brings me to another point, or in fact a few! Most days we have seen people changing a tyre on the side of the road and some of these I have put down to inexperience, ie, not lowering tyre pressure. However, many are just people going just plain old too fast. Heat builds up in the tyres and bang! Speed, did you know that rental
Gibb River Road
..where we are headed 4WD vehicles, particularly Britz vehicles, are the fastest 4WD’s available? Well they are on the Gibb! Without a doubt the majority of idiots, sorry tourists, in these things are either on a 2 day ‘rip’ down the track as they have an itinerary to meet, or they just don’t care as it is not their vehicle. Do not buy one of these things second hand, I bet they can go 100klm in reverse as well and probably with no engine oil to boot! We heard later from a mechanic who does a lot of ‘recovery work’ that these are the people that mostly get into strife on the road as well. Today we saw one that looked like it had pretended to be a dog and ‘rolled in the dirt’, difference being the dog does it for fun and enjoyment, the occupants of this rollover were probably in Kununurra Hospital.
So apart from the ‘idiots’ that do not drive to the conditions, our trip was going smoothly and we were loving it. The drive north of Barnett to our proposed camp at the Durack River was mostly through savannah country, grass and light scrub (cattle country), we had left
the King Leopold Range behind us and were now heading across this plain towards the majestic Cockburn Range.
Just down from the roadhouse, we came to the Barnett River where it flows off the Gardner Plateau and 28km from here, a track veers off to the left in the direction of Barnett Gorge. It is a bumpy 5km down to the gorge, but we were advised not to tow into here so not wanting to unhitch to do the trip in we headed on. The next track to the left leads to Mt Elizabeth Station, another property that offers camping and specialised tours right across to the west coast. After crossing the Hann River, it was 14km to the Gibb River Homestead (no facilities) and another 40km to the Kalumburu road turnoff. Kalumburu is an Aboriginal community on the King Edward River, near the northern tip of the Kimberley. Access is via the heavily corrugated Kalumburu Road and although this 260klm one way round trip may have had some appeal to us, we did not do it this time. Well you have to leave something to do for the next trip! From the Kalumburu turnoff, the Gibb River Road
Gibb River Road
more water crossings passes through rugged range country with many creek crossings. There is little opportunity to free camp along this stretch, as it is Ellenbrae Station land and signs are stuck at most likely looking camp sites, advising, private property no camping, (you can camp up at Ellenbrae Station for a small fee however). It is not long before you drop down into the Durack River crossing and the debris left after the wet season showed us the ferocity and levels that this river must get to in the wet. Climbing up the north bank we took a side track to the left and headed off in search of a camp spot for the night and were we lucky, one site was left high above the river and overlooking a long deep (looking) section of the river, we were on our own and it was magic. These magical free camp sites do exist along the Gibb, but you have to be early or lucky to get them sometimes. Enjoy the pics….
The Durack River rises below the Durack Range then flows north discharging into the west arm of Cambridge Gulf. The river was named in 1882 by the surveyor John Pentecost,
Gibb River Road
wow...big country after explorer and Kimberley pioneer Michael Durack who was the first European to cross the river. Michael Durack (1865-1950), pastoralist, was born on 22 July 1865, at Grabben Gullen near Goulburn, New South Wales. After a childhood on Thylungra station, Queensland, he was sent with his brother John (1867-1936) to St Patrick's College, Goulburn, and then worked on Thylungra. After his family's 1882-83 overlanding expedition to the Kimberleys in Western Australia, he was sent in 1886 to the head-station, Argyle Downs, arriving just in time for the Halls Creek Goldrush. On his 21st birthday he made the first sale of Kimberley cattle to a Halls Creek butcher for £1200 in raw gold. The Durack family went on to pioneer the export of cattle in 1910 to the Phillipines after the local tribal herds were wiped out by Rinderpest disease. He went on to become a leader within the Kimberley community and entered the Legislative Assembly (Gov’t) for Kimberley. The Durack Stations of the Kimberleys , like most, felt the depression and were affected badly by low cattle prices and heavily in debt and despite post-war prosperity he negotiated the sale of most of them in 1950. Of his four children,
Gibb River Road
another crossing Kimberley Durack went on to become a significant pioneer of agriculture in the Kimberleys, while Dame Mary Durack Miller has gained distinction as an author, and Elizabeth Durack Clancy is a noted painter. You will hear more of Kimberley Durack when we hit the Ord River Scheme at Kununurra I am sure. An amazing family and significant in Australian history and Agriculture.
Can this part of the world get any better? Not possible we say but then again we have the Cockburn Range to look forward to yet...stay tuned!
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Matty
non-member comment
Perfect spot!
Beautiful camp spot!