Gibb River Road

Gibb River Road is an unpaved road across the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. It stretches 647 km from Derby to the vicinity of Kununurra and Wyndham, and on the map it looks like a short cut, while the Great Northern Highway makes a great swing to the south. But it's rougher, slower going and demands careful planning.

Understand

Gibb River was named for Andrew Gibb Maitland (1864-1951); he and Charles Crossland were the first Europeans to sight the river in 1901. Cattle were raised here in the following years, and a drove trail was worn by their hooves plodding to the port at Wyndham, but it was a long slow route. From 1950 the trail was improved into a dirt road so that livestock could be trucked; then as now it was only passable in the dry season. The road does not cross Gibb River itself, but crosses three major tributaries and many smaller creeks that routinely flood in the wet season, often for weeks on end. The road traverses haunting lonely scenery and driving it has become a thing, a bucket-list Australian adventure.

Prepare

A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is essential. Could you bring your own? If so, you have a long journey just to reach the start point and then to get home, which perhaps you'd weave into a grand round-Australia odyssey.

If renting, check which companies will permit their vehicle to be taken on this road, and what are their pick-up and drop-off locations. Many will bar "outback" use, but Gibb River Road isn't really outback so they may be okay about it. One-way rental is expensive so one solution might be to start from Broome, traverse the road eastbound then return west to Broome on the Great Northern Highway. That makes possible a side trip to the Bungle Bungles, which likewise demands 4WD.

Caravans cannot traverse this road, and only very robust trailers can cope. The western 125 km and eastern 60 km are nowadays a sealed road but the rest is graded gravel, and there are no plans to seal it.

This road is not passable during the wet season, as it fords rivers that become churning muddy torrents. December to March is the worst of the wet, and given that you're probably coming from afar with a time constraint on arrival or departure, your ideal time is June through August. Those months are not just dry but reliably dry, with no risk of a downpour that could strand you. The same seasons apply to any other travels you intend in the tropical north of Australia.

The part-sealing has reduced the travel time somewhat, so reckon 3-4 days on the road at a leisurely pace, taking in the scenic detours and hikes. Fill your tank and a 10-litre fuel bowser at Derby or Kununurra before starting down the road. Once on it, fuel and supplies are only available at Imintji and Mount Barnett, and at Drysdale Station 59 km off it. They're expensive, but not as expensive as getting stuck. Likewise bring plenty food and water, with some to spare.

You can camp just about anywhere along the road, with due regard to private property, and most accommodation is in basic campsites. See below for places with cabins or lodges, which you need to book ahead.

Get in

Road train pounding the route

Broome is the obvious start and end point for this trip. It has flights from Perth and Darwin, a good range of accommodation and amenities, and car rental firms with 4WD fleets and familiar with their customers venturing along Gibb River Road.

From Broome to Derby is 220 km east on Great Northern Highway. That may be too soon for a first night's stop, but you must re-fill the tank here. The road starts south edge of Derby by the giant boab tree.

Drive

• 1 Derby is the town at the west end of the road.
• 2 Lennard River Crossing is 125 km east of Derby by a sealed road. Queen Victoria's Head is a prominent rock 6 km further on.

Turn off south bank of Lennard River for the dirt track to Windjana Gorge National Park, Tunnel Creek National Park and Leopold Downs, eventually rejoining Great Northern Highway between Mount Hardman and Fitzroy Crossing.

• 3 Imintji (227 km) has an art centre, camping and small store, but diesel fuel only. Bell Gorge is 1 km east.
• 4 Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge is a plush place 235 km east of Derby and 50 km north of Gibb River Road.
• 5 Adcock Gorge (277 km) is a scenic spot 4 km south of the road.
• 6 Galvans Gorge (292 km) is 500 m west of the road.

Charnley River campsite (300 km) was wrecked by an ex-cyclone in 2023 and Mornington Camp has closed down

Tunnel Creek

• 7 Mount Barnett Roadhouse (305 km) has fuel, supplies and camping. 10 km north is Manning Gorge.
• 8 Mount Elizabeth Station (373 km; 30 km north of the road) has camping. Nearby are Wunnamurra and Warla gorges.
• 9 Hann River Crossing (359 km) is a pleasant spot to camp.
• 10 Drysdale River Station (472 km; 59 km north of the road) has camping and fuel.

Kalumburu Road is the dirt track that gets you to the station and continues north for 208 km to Kalumburu on the coast, with a turn-off for Mitchell Falls. There's no reliable fuel or supplies beyond the station.

• 11 Ellenbrae Station (486 km) has camping and cabins.
• 12 Pentecost River Crossing (598 km) is where the sealed road resumes for the last 60 km east onto Great Northern Highway.
• 13 El Questro Resort and Emma Gorge (630 km) are an easy 30-minute drive from the east end.
• 14 Kununurra is the nearest substantial town to the east end of the road.
• 15 Wyndham is about the same distance but much smaller, and the main filling station has closed.

Stay safe

Upmarket glamping at Mount Hart

• Since you can only traverse this road in the dry, the risk is not of floods but bush fires. Don't light campfires, and never attempt to drive through a bushfire, which may turn out to be more extensive and fiercer than you reckoned.
• Don't drive at night, which falls quickly and hides the potholes, and every local animal chooses to parade along the road.
• Every animal except the crocodiles, which dwell in the semi-permanent river pools hoping a dog or small child will wander in. They're freshwater crocodiles that might or might not shy away from an adult; saltwater crocs (like the monster that greets you in Wyndham) routinely attack.
• Drive not too fast and not too slow, you need to cover the distance while economising on fuel. The graded surface becomes corrugated by traffic and you're aiming for the sweet spot that minimises vibration: 70 km/h is usually about right. If another vehicle (especially a road train) gets on your tail, pull aside to let it pass. See also Driving in Australia#Outback driving.
• Road maintenance is a never-ending task only possible in the dry season, so at some point you'll encounter road works, and might need to switch off awhile until they flag you through.
• Bring extra food and water just in case.

Connect

As of September 2024, there is no mobile signal anywhere along Gibb River Road, nor on the sealed highways at each end. If you're travelling independently you'd be wise to invest in a satellite phone.

Go next

• Eastbound you rejoin the regular road near Cockburn Junction, the last leg of the Great Northern Highway to the coast at Wyndham.
• Zag south on that road to Cockburn Junction to join Victoria Highway east into Kununurra and Northern Territory, or stay on the Great Northern Highway south back towards Broome.
• Westbound you rejoin the regular road near Derby, a spur off the Great Northern Highway towards Broome and Port Hedland.