8th -10th Aug - Gibb River Road - West

Monday morning and we were up early readying the move of the van into storage in Derby.  This is the day that we are setting out to explore the western end of the Gibb River Road.  We had chosen not to drive the full length of this dirt track because of its reputation for roughness so you might recall that we drove the road from Kununurra as far as Home Valley Station and returned.  Now we have planned to drive the other end from Derby as far as Bell Gorge and return.

As in all of our discussions with other travellers we have received mixed advice as to the condition of the road so we really are flying blind.  The stories of this road and the development / non development of this area has been a fascination for Ian and it is the subject of much writing and documentaries. 

The Kimberleys  is one of the last frontier areas in Australia and there has been much competition between Indigenous peoples, Pastoralists, Minerals exploration, & tourism for control of the area,  This is some of the most amazing country in Australia but much of it is inaccessible except by air.  Roads are just graded tracks with little more than annual grading knocking the tops off the corrugation but thousands are coming here each year to see its special sights.

Into the dust we head.

This trip we have planned to visit Bell Gorge in the King Leopold Ranges.  The drive there covers all assorts of road surfaces.  Initially we travel along a single lane width of bitumen which then improves to a full two lane width (One each way) then onto reasonable quality gravel road.  After the turn off to Windjana this surface deteriorates quickly to very rough corrugated.  We travel 90 klms along the Gibb from this turnoff and a little over half is in this rough state.  We slow to about 60 klms per hour max and it seems to take forever to reach the Bell Gorge turnoff.  Once off the Gibb we had been told by the Information people in Derby that the side tracks were in worse condition than the main road.  This was not actually the case for the first 20 klms but it did get worse for the final ten.



Glad the road was wide when we met this road train.



Approaching the King Leopald Ranges.



And there is the mandatory water crossing.



About lunch time we arrived at Silent Grove Camp Ground.  This is the only designated campground in the immediate area of the gorge.  It is managed byt the Dept of Environment and while it is dusty (what isn’t in Central Aus) the layout is quite good and they have flushing toilets as well as solar heated showers.  We set up camp here and rested our weary bones for the afternoon.  Late in the afternoon the camp filled up quite quickly and we were glad we had arrived early.

Every camp has its caretakers.  Here cleaning up the scraps.



And the overseer.



And then there is the Major!



Tuesday morning and we chose to explore the gorge.  It was another 10 klms from the campsite and the road was really rough.  Plenty of time though so we let the tyres down further and took it slowly.  The prize at the end was worth the cost though.  The walk from the carpark was about twenty minutes down a very rubbly path and then along the side of Bells Creek.  The creek babbling along was deceiving because one would never have dreamed that this amount of water would produce the volume crossing the falls we were to see ahead.  This little stream soon spread out into a series of wide pools and then cascaded some fifteen or so metres into a gorge.  The contrast of the sparse country changing into this marvellous water way was outstanding.  The path lead us to the top of the falls and then we had to wade across the stream and over a hill to climb down to the base of the falls where people were swimming.  It was a beautiful swimming hole but the water was a bit too cool for us.



Bell Creek Falls

 

In front of the falls at start of the gorge.



Looking down Bell Gorge from falls.





Looking west down the gorge.

We spent a while by the pool and then returned to camp.  The gorge was indeed a beautiful sight but like so many beautiful sights in this vast land the distance travelled to see it and the rough going to get there makes one think whether the benefit was worth the cost.



Time to fill in the Sensus Docs.

 Interesting night as it was Sensus night.  The Camp Ranger came around with the forms and we filled them out by torch light.  Bit different.  Especially different when we had to answer how many bedrooms we had in our tent.

Wednesday morning and we were up early breaking camp.  It had been a poor night for sleep.  The constant inconsiderate drivers  travelling through the camp too fast had filled out tent and bedding with dust affecting Alice’s asthma and Ian, s sinuses.  Then we headed back down the Gibb toward Derby again.  The rough road came first and we were a bit fresher to deal with it this time.  After about 30 klms we came to a grader working the road and conditions improved (although very dusty) vey quickly.  !20 klms along the road and we turned east toward Windjama Gorge.  This road was gravel surface also but was in very good condition.   By the time we reached the gorge we had experienced enough gravel road so we decided to check out the gorge and then return to Derby.  The campground there was really good but even this was not enough to entice us to set up camp.

 

Queen Victoria Head in the Napier Range.



Sharing the road with the Variaty Club Bash.



 Windjama Gorge was another beautiful example of God’s creation and the easiest gorge we had found for access.  Entering along a track across flat country we entered the gorge through a narrow crack in the rock.  Then the country opened up into the gorge with the walls approx 150 metres apart.  Down one side flowed the Lennard River.  Broad sand flats formed a wide beach at one spot.  The gorge walls towered some 200 metres high on each side.  We estimated there were about 30 sleeping fresh water crocs visible lazing in the sun either in the water or along the banks.  The scene was pure tranquillity. 

  


The entry to Windjama Gorge.

 

Inside the gorge.

Lennard River flowing through Windjama Gorge.

Looking upstream through Windjama Gorge.



Along the lower levels of the walls the limestone had been worn into various sculptured shapes by the annual flood waters.

The description given was that these hills were originally a Barrier Reef which had laid under a sea a couple of million years ago.  The water level  appears to have been quite a bit higher than where we were standing.  This was similar to the story we heard at Geieke Gorge  approx 200 klms away.  Imbedded in the limestone were fossils of fish skeletons.  Fascinating!!



Foscils in Limestone face.



We walked into the gorge for about one klm before turning back to the entry.  This was one of the most beautiful scenes we had witnessed on our holiday.  Just to see so much green foliage and grass in this desert land was marvellous.

After lunch we turned for Derby.  The road was vastly improved and being further improved with more construction under way.  Then we came upon this strange phenomenon called bitumen.  It was sooo  good to get back to the caravan and a more normal night even if we still had a vehicle covered all over in red dust.  The early return however meant that we had an extra day to wind down and clean up before we move on to Broome.