Guide to the Gibb River Road
Guide to the Gibb River Road
The Gibb River Roads is one of the most iconic roads and adventures in Australia. If you are setup for off road and off grid, completing this adventure has to be on your bucket list. We travelled the Gibb River Road for first time in June 2023, I say for the first time because it was so good that we absolutely plan to do it all again.

when to go?
The Gibb River Road in Australia typically opens for travellers around April or May each year. However, exact opening dates can vary depending on various factors such as weather conditions and road maintenance. It’s always a good idea to check with local authorities or road management agencies for the most up-to-date information before planning your trip.
My advice would be to plan to do the trip as early into the season as possible. Generally, the road is graded before being opened so by hitting it early you have the best chance of finding good road conditions. But on top of that, and perhaps more importantly, hitting the Gibb early means there will still be plenty of water in rivers, creeks and gorges so you have the best chance of experiencing it in all its glory.
Preparing for the dirt and corrugations
Make sure you are prepared for dirt roads and corrugations. We ourselves do not have the largest and fanciest setups with huge payloads so we prepared by purchasing a new set of heavy duty all terrain tyres (including our 1 spare).
As soon as we hit the dirt, we lowered our tyre pressures, for us we set the van at 35psi, rear of car at 30psi and front of car at 25psi. Everybody’s set up is different so don’t take our numbers as gospel and try to run pressures that are suitable for your setup.
The Gibb will be dusty, we don’t have a dust suppression system in our setup so to prepare for the dust ingress we took the following measures. We taped a plastic sheet over all of our vents. The locks on external hatches can be tightened up to increase the seal so I went around and tightened every hatch including the car canopy doors to increase the seal and reduce dust ingress. In addition, I installed a pre-filter on our snorkel.



Fuel
When we did the Gibb we didn’t have a long range tank and we were able to complete the trip. As you can see in the distances I outline below it is achievable, however, I would say if any of the fuel supply stations were out of service (which is often the case) we would have been in trouble. I would recommend carrying some spare jerry’s or having a long-range tank, particularly if you plan to take some detours and do some more exploring.
We travelled west across the Gibb and I will share where we found fuel and the approximate distances. We fueled up in Kununurra It was then approx. 100km to El-questro station and then approx. 340km to Mt. Barnett Roadhouse (Manning Gorge). Another 70km to Imintji Roadhouse and then another 227km to Derby. There is also fuel at Drysdale river Homestead which is about 60km along the Kalumburu road after you turn off the Gibb River road if you are heading out that way.
toilets
The only dump point we found on the Gibb River Road was at El Questro. So as you can imagine, this makes an extended trip along the Gibb a bit of a challenge. For this reason, we made sure the majority of our camps were at campgrounds that had toilets. Carrying an extra cassette or having a composting toilet would certainly be an advantage if your planning the Gibb.

Our Itinerary
We travelled the Gibb from East to West. So our journey started leaving from Kununurra. Kununurra has a reasonably stocked supermarket for you to make your preparations. Something else you might like to take into consideration are the alcohol restrictions, so if you want to stock for weeks on the Gibb you may need to plan a few days in Kununurra to build up your supply.
Day 1-2 (El Questro Station)
On the way into El Questro we got our first taste of what the Gibb has to offer with a stop at Emma Gorge. Emma Gorge is one of the most spectacular gorges on the Gibb and you could access this with a 2WD. The water was freezing but on the right hand side you can find a thermal spring and some warmer water.
After our first Gorge on the Gibb we continued to our first camp, El Questro Station. To get into El Questro its 16km of gravel road with some hard base creek crossings, the last of which is pretty decent and I wouldn’t want to do it without lift, a snorkel and an off road caravan. But its worth the journey as there is so much to do around El Questro.
During our stay we completed the famous El Questro gorge hike, which would have to go down as one of the most incredible hikes we have ever done and crossing the 1 meter deep water crossing to get there was an adrenalin rush and a massive achievement for us (note: you can walk in and avoid this crossing). The hike is around 6km if you complete the water crossing in (8km if you start your walk from the water crossing) and is very difficult, as you have to navigate slippery rocks and some swimming and even climbing up a water fall. But if you are fit and able this is not one to miss. As a bit of encouragement our kids were 7 and 9 and they managed just fine
We also spent some time bathing in Zebedee springs which are natural thermal pools that are consistently warm year round. As a regular guest, you can only visit the pools from 7am to 12pm daily as they are closed off for the VIP’s after that, so make sure you plan a morning visit.
We left a lot if things undone at El Questro and you could easily stay for 3 or 4 days and have a new experience every day. However a stay at El Questro is extremely expensive, our 2 nights on power and water set us back $267, which is why we kept our stay so short.



Day 3 (Pentacost river)
No journey along the Gibb River Road is complete with-out a free camp along the Pentecost River. And although it was only 25kms further along the Gibb River Road we pulled in for a night on the river. It was here that I made my preparations for the dirt road and corrugations, covering up our vents and tightening up all our hatches.
We soaked in the water to cool off (briefly and in the shallows of the crossing with a watchful eye out for crocodiles) and watched many other travelers attempt to cross the Pentecost. This is a great bit of advice as you can get a feel for the crossing and work out the best way to approach it.
At night we had a fire and sat out by the river, and listened to the sounds of nature while I soaked a line in the hopes of catching a Barra. I managed to get one in the bait net but diddn’t manage to catch one on the line.
Day 4 (Ellenbre Station)
The next day we crossed the Pentecost River and I’m happy to report it was drama free. The combination of momentum and correct tyre pressures got us through, though we were ready for recovery with the snatch strap installed and a convoy of other travelers that were ready and willing to help if we needed it.
We then got our first taste of the dirt and corrugations as we travelled approximately 130km out to the next camp. As we travelled early in the season, the road conditions were very good and we were able to cruise at between 60-70kph and it wasn’t long before we arrived at Ellenbre Station.
This place is famous for its jam and crème Scones and Mel gave them her tick of approval. Camping was basic bush camping though they did have toilets and showers and even a bath. Camping cost us $15 per person and one benefit of camping here is they will give you directions to their private gorge / swimming hole. This was a great experience for us and its likely the only place on the Gibb where you will get a swimming hole all to yourself.



Day 5-7 (HANN RIVER)
Our next camp along the Gibb was a free camp on the Hann River. Its approximately 125km further along the Gibb River Road from Ellenbre. The Hann river its self is sandy and shallow with lush vegetation and plenty of wildlife. We were even blessed with a visit from Mel’s favorite bird the black cockatoo.
As the scenery was so beautiful and the price was right, we decided to spend two nights here just enjoying the surroundings and our constant dips in the water.
Day 8-9 (Manning Gorge)
Our next camp was Manning Gorge, you stop in at the road house where you can fuel up and its here that you pay for your camping and your entrance fee. Camping rates were $25 per adult for the first night and then $15 for additional nights, children under 14 were free. The campground was very dusty but it did have flushing toilets.
After arriving and finding camp we set off to check out one of our favorite gorges on the Gibb, Galvins Gorge. Galvins Gorge is beautiful and it was a fantastic spot to swim and relax for the afternoon (far nicer than the camp ground). We sat underneath the water falls, swung from the tree swings and even spotted some aboriginal rock art.
The next day was the big one, it was the famous Manning Gorge walk which starts off with a swim where they provide some barrels to transport your bags across in. The walk in is approximately 3km through some typical Kimberly environment, plenty of Boab trees to be seen and the gorge and swimming area its self is sensational. Well worth the adventure if your up for that sort of thing.



Day 10-11 (Silent Grove)
If your familiar with our story you will know that it is here that our starter motor failed causing us to high tail it off the Gibb and into Broome for repairs. We did manage to get everything fixed and return to the Gibb to finish although our itinerary got messed up. For the sake of simplicity, I will just share our itinerary as how it would look if we didn’t suffer this setback.
The silent grove campground is a National Park camp ground and offers showers and toilets. It’s the best place to camp to check out Bell Gorge. But as a national park camp, you must book in advance and go through the some times painful WA parks system.
The day after arriving we made the trek into Bell Gorge. This is another of the spectacular gorges along the GIBB and well worth the effort of heading out to visit.
Day 12-13 (Tunnel Creek)
In 2023 when we completed the Gibb, the Windjana Gorge hike and camping area were closed due to cyclone damage. There is national park camping out near the gorge with toilets and showers and if it were open this is where we would of stayed to explore this area. Instead, due to the closures we stayed out at the Lennard river rest stop area (free). It’s dusty and can be hot with not much around but it’s the closest place to base and check out tunnel creek with Windjana being closed.
We set off to see tunnel creek early in the morning and I can highly recommend this, we were lucky enough to be the first people in the cave for the day which meant we got to see a lot of wildlife. We spotted several of the fresh water crocodiles that inhabit the cave. Make sure you pack your headlights and some dry bags as there is some swimming involved if you want to make it all the way through the cave. Exploring Tunnel Creek is one of my all time favorite experiences from travelling Australia.


Day 14 (Birdwood downs Station)
We chose to stay at Birdwood downs station outside of Derby as Derby has a bit of a reputation while the station is far enough out of town to avoid some of the negative things that you might experience in town. It’s also a good safe place to leave your van if you’re planning to head out and experience the horizontal falls.

Conclusion
The Gibb River Road is one hell of an adventure and if your setup for off road and off grid it really shouldn’t be missed. We didn’t make it up to Kulumburu this journey or get to see Windjana Gorge due to the closure, but one of our mottos is to “leave some things undone, so you have a reason to go back”.
I hope recounting our experience on the Gibb will leave you better prepared and excited for your own journey, thanks for reading.
Brett
OUR MOVIE LENGTH ADVENTURE
If you need some more information and inspiration to tackle the famous GIBB RIVER ROAD, we shared our adventure on our YouTube Channel in a movie length adventure.
You will get to see all the highs and the lows of our adventure.