Gibb River Road, WA

We were so keen for our adventure along the infamous and notorious Gibb River Road. What a blast! So little time, so much to explore. You could spend weeks in this area. However, we only had 6 days. Here’s what we got up to…

After stopping at Kununurra to refuel, have lunch & restock our fruit & veg, we began our trek along the infamous Gibb River Road. On the first night we stayed at El Questro Station & after settling in, we drove up to beautiful Branko’s Lookout to watch the sunset. It was stunning & we could see large crocs swimming in the Pentecost River below. Back at camp there was a great atmosphere with burgers & pizzas available at the station’s outdoor kitchen & live music from a really talented musician by the name of Chris Matthews. Kids played football with some other kids at the campsite while we cooked dinner. 

‘Durack Tree’ at El Questro Station, on the way to Branko’s Lookout. One of thousands of Boab Trees in the area.

Branko’s Lookout - so beautiful at sunset.

The next morning we got up early to visit Zebedee Springs which is a thermal spring & very picturesque. The water temp is about 28-32 degrees all year round. It’s only open from 7am-12pm each day & it gets very busy so we would recommend getting there for 7am if you can. We were keen to visit El Questro Gorge but ended up deciding against it as we did not have a snorkel on our car. We probably would have been okay, but weren’t willing to take the risk so early in our trip. Such a shame.

A short walk into Zebedee Springs.

Zebedee Springs at El Questro. Try and get there for 7am as it does get busy. It’s only open until 12pm each day.

Afterwards we went back to camp to pack up & headed to Emma Gorge. It’s about 3.2km (return) walk into the Gorge from the car park & there are two swimming holes. There is a lower pool & then the Gorge itself is a short rock hop from there. The water was cold but invigorating. There is a tiny thermal spring off to the right, tucked behind some large boulders once you enter into the water, which is a lovely contrast.

El Questro Station itself has great facilities & a lot of people were booked in for up to a week’s stay (some we spoke to weren’t sure how they would fill in the time). We only stopped for one night as we were pushed for time on this particular trip so needed to keep moving! However in our opinion, if we had not been in a rush, three nights would have been a good amount of time for exploring the area.

Lower gorge pool at Emma Gorge.

Lunch at a great spot on the Pentecost River. You can camp here too.

A lookout along the road. A view of the Cockburn Ranges.

The next night we stayed on Durack River at an unmarked campsite we found on Wiki Camps. Our favourite kind of camping! After breakfast, we were on our way again & stopped off about 20km down the track at ‘Ellenbrae Station’, famous for their homemade scones with jam & cream. Deliciously warm & fresh from the oven!

Ellenbrae Station is famous for its freshly baked scones with jam & cream!

We left our van at Drysdale River Station to head to Mitchell Falls & Honeymoon Bay for a few days. The track can be very rough & we didn’t want to risk damaging our van particularly when it is not a heavy duty off road van. A tent for 3 nights. Back to basics!

Drysdale Station have a ‘no fee, no responsibility’ policy but really, we felt the van was quite safe in a fenced off paddock, right near the store, fuel pumps and cafe.

The main road out of Drysdale Station (Kalumburu-Gibb River Road) was freshly graded so was not nearly as bad as we expected & made for a faster trip. However, the roads into Mitchell Falls & Honeymoon Bay were quite rough so we were very glad we left our van behind. 

The five of us sleeping in a tiny tent took some getting used to, especially after the luxury of sleeping in our comfortable beds in the caravan. We accidentally left the foam mats we were planning to sleep on back in the van, so we slept on hard ground one night & sand for the next two, but it was all an experience!
The first morning we did the 8.4km (return) walk into Mitchell Falls. We all managed it fine, but we do advise leaving camp early at around 7am as it gets very hot & it takes around 4 hours - particularly if you want a little swim & spend time looking at rock art etc. as well as the falls.

Early morning walk to Mitchell Falls.

The Mitchell Plateau is quite beautiful & diverse & the walk out to the different lookouts is stunning. You can choose to visit Mitchell Falls by helicopter (approx $450 p/p return or $150 one way if you want to walk in & fly back). We chose to walk the whole way so we didn’t miss anything - we did see some beautiful rock art & the kids enjoyed swimming in the rapids in the swimming hole just before we reached Mitchell Falls. Mitchell Falls itself is beautiful & we could have stood there & looked at it all day. 

There is a small section of water you will need to cross just before reaching the falls, so be prepared to remove your shoes if you don’t wish to get them wet!

Near the top of Mitchell Falls. No saltwater crocodiles up here, but there are at the bottom of the falls.

Picturesque Mitchell Falls.

Some of the rock art on the walk.

From here, we headed off towards the remote Aboriginal community of Kalumburu to re-fuel and head to Honeymoon Bay which is right up the top of the Kimberley. 
It was rustic and beautiful & we spent a relaxing couple of days fishing & playing at the beach. Fishing and crabbing charters are available and had we known, we would have definitely pre booked a trip as they were booked out when we arrived.

We camped in our tent on the beach. After our first night, a ranger came around to chat to us and told us that we should not camp more than 3 nights in our little tent on the beach, as the Saltwater Crocodiles watch your routine and could make a move after a few days!

A sign on the road on the way into Kalumburu.

Sunrise from our little tent on the beach.

Sunset at Honeymoon Bay with the locals.

After a relaxing couple of days, it was time to head back to Drysdale Station and pick up our van before heading to Bell Gorge.

We arrived quite late in the day and decided to camp at Silent Grove. The campground had a caretaker who collected our camp fees, otherwise there is a locked box and payment envelopes provided.

The next morning we walked into Bell Gorge which was yet another beautiful place to visit & we really recommend you do! It’s about a 20 minute walk into the gorge and it’s so beautiful and peaceful, we really could have stayed there for the whole day.

Climbing up the walls of Bell Gorge.

A beautiful place to spend the whole day.

Then, we drove to Windjana Gorge, set up camp & set off on our much anticipated visit to Tunnel Creek. It did not disappoint. It was unreal. 2km of underground water-worn limestone tunnels beneath the Napier Range. We saw bats & waded through freshwater crocodile inhabited waters (they don’t harm you if you keep away from them & we could see them off to the side of the pools).

Tucked in behind here we found a cavern to explore!

Wading through a small section of the cave system. We could see freshwater crocodiles at the side of the cave but they kept well away from us. They are not aggressive like Saltwater/Estuarine Crocodiles and are more scared of us than we are of them!

Tunnel Creek was also the hideaway of Indigenous freedom fighter, Jandamurra, who was on the run from authorities after killing a police officer, freeing Bunuba prisoners, distributing weapons & leading the Bunuba Ambush in the late 1800’s. He & other warriors of the resistance used Tunnel Creek as a hideout for 3 years until Jandamurra was finally tracked down by police.

Definitely worth a visit & was a highlight of our 5 week trip from Brisbane to Broome!

The following morning we explored Windjana Gorge. Freshwater Crocs galore! All part of the fossilised Devonian Barrier Reef which was formed 360 million years ago. The rock formations are incredible & it was a really lovely morning walk - topped off with an equally as lovely champagne midway through the walk.

Part of the fossilised Devonian Barrier Reef, the rock walls look like honeycomb with smaller fossils embedded in the walls.

Windjana Gorge was full of freshwater crocodiles.

Plenty of ‘Freshies’ come right up to the waters edge but will swim away quickly if humans are near. We snuck up on this one and we think it might have been asleep!

After our visit to Windjana Gorge, we packed up and it was time to get back on the Gibb River Road and make our way to Broome via Derby!

Note: Our trip along the Gibb River Road was part of a 5 week trip from Brisbane to Broome via Kakadu, Darwin and Katherine. The condition of the Gibb River River Road can be very rough at times. We were quite fortunate that a grader had recently been through the area. Regardless of the condition of the road, you will need to lower your tyre pressures to suit the terrain.

Happy Travels!