27 May – 4 June. 11363kms – 12090kms.
Bunuba, Ngarinyin, Woddordda, Imintji & Wunumba Country.
The Gibb. Such a big reputation. We approach with anticipation, excitement and a little bit of trepidation. Unsealed roads for 700kms, no shops, minimal services, a 4WD trail originally built for droving cattle between Wyndham and Derby. Fill up the fridge and the fuel tanks in Broome and away we go!
NB – This post takes an alternate format, the Gibb being so expansive and made up of many different locations and experiences, I have divided it into sections.
Setting off – Derby, Boab Prison Tree & Mowanjum
Two hours up the road from Broome is Derby, the gateway to the Gibb, a place to post a card to dear Pammi not doing so well in Sydney, and stop for a lunch picnic. Eep, Talia got locked in the public toilet and for a brief moment we thought we’d never get her out! Problem solved and on to the Boab Prison Tree – a tree of 14m girth once used as a halfway stop by colonisers transporting Aboriginal prisoners in chains to Broome to work on the Pearl Luggers, blackbirding, slavery. The antidote to this grim piece of history is a visit to Mowanjum Art Centre, the home of artworks that homage Wandjina, the creator spirit for the clan groups of this area, remarkable for her big black eyes, spiky hair, lack of mouth – she communicates through hearts and minds. The art centre is rich with exquisite works and an incredibly comprehensive museum with interactive and audiovisual material, what a resource!
Bandilngan, Windjana Gorge
Bunaba Country, 11363kms
And now onto the Gibb proper, Windjana Gorge, Alex and I have visited before but that doesn’t diminish the awe-inspiring site driving into the campground, an expansive, sheer gorge wall, black with splashes of red, spikes at the top, part of the Napier range, an ancient coral reef system. It’s late in the day, we drop the camper and and wander straight down for a walk through the gorge. Dusk and peaceful, reflections of gorge rock and trees on the water, the odd freshwater croc lights up our eyes, floating motionless just under the water’s surface. We immerse in the fossilised remnants of times past preserved in the gorge walls and delight in the discovery of edible green ants!
Dimalurru, Tunnel Creek
Gibb day 2 takes us to Tunnel Creek, a site renowned for being the hideout of Bunaba freedom fighter Jandamara. We don our reef shoes and head torches and descend into the tunnel, light shimmers on the rock’s surface, we wade through dark cool pools, hear squeaking bats, navigate across sanding crests and eventually, a light at the end of the tunnel! A magical fairy garden, we wind around to the left and scramble up the rock a little to bask in the glow of ancient rock art. Spectacular.
Silent Grove & Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge)
Ngarinyin & Bunaba Country, 11538kms
Onwards along the Gibb we drive, through the majestic Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges (previously known as the King Leopold Ranges, renamed in 2020 to reflect a combination of the Ngarinyin and Bunuba traditional names) to Silent Grove campground. A lovely shady campground, though also the site of many an ugly, poisonous cane toad. From here on we are witness to these native wildlife destroying pests – we are saddened to hear of the rapidly diminishing goanna populations for instance. We lament this as we settle in for cheese and crackers and Backgammon.
Dalmanyi (Bell Gorge) the next day, what a treat! A short bush track for a swim in the upper pool and then up and over the rocky outcrop to a spectacularly enormous waterfall, deep swimming hole and ledges to jump from. In Poppy’s words, “we jumped from tall heights cannon balling smack bang on the water and swam through rushing waterfalls pelting on our shoulders”. We befriend a lazing goanna on the far side of the big pool and in mimicry also warm ourselves on hot rocks. After packed lunch of tuna wraps we explore the pools over yonder and this is our first encounter with ‘The Jumping Family’, daredevils with paramedic parents, we follow in their footsteps though Talia’s ‘liyaan’ tells her when it’s too high for her. Poppy and Alex adventure to the pools beyond pools while Talia and I take our time to meet frogs in crevices. After a full day blissing out we eventually take the bush track back and make our way home to camp. With solid Optus reception our lucky kids have their wish granted and the evening is spent indulging in the Voice Grand Finale.
Galvans Gorge
Ngarinyin Country
Gibb Day 4, on we go, heading for Mt Barnett and Manning Gorge, and also interested in a lesser talked about midway stop, Galvans Gorge. Fuel top up required at the Imintji Store, and Aboriginal community store, quintessential top end outback, red dust, diesel barrels, almost nothing in the shop. Ginger Nuts a treat through! We stop for cows crossing, becoming a regular occurrence, and seek out Galvans. At the carpark we chat to a quirky older couple from the Daintree, Talia in full tour guide mode, and then take the short kilometre walk to the gorge, along a babbling stream of lily pads and boabs, cossies on, we’re ready. Another spectacular find, exquisite pool, gushing waterfall , swinging rope, sun baking goanna… and Wandjina rock art. Heavenly.
‘At Galvans Gorge we flew off the sturdy rope swing, breaking the water’s stillness to then swim over and relax in the falls’ – Poppy.
Manning Gorge // Mt Barnett
Ngarinyin Country, 11636kms
A beautiful, sprawling (possibly snaky) bush camp managed by the Kupungari Aboriginal community, we arrive late in the day, stopping through the Mt Barnett Roadhouse to check in, grab some cold watermelon, fill up the water tanks and setup camp. Not enough time to brave the gorge walk (the sun sets early behind the ranges in these parts), we opt for a swim in the Manning River. Complete with rope swing, the kids join the line for turn after turn, with older ones lending their height and experience to teach our younger ones. Talia befriends yet another teenage girl happy to give her a leg up on every turn. That evening is all campfire and at last we make damper! Wrapped in foil and thrown in the coals, not before being dropped in the dirt by one Miss T though;-) Crisis averted, its delicious.
Next morning we pack up the camper and ready ourselves for the 5km gorge walk. We haul ourselves across the river in a pully boat and hike up the rock face opposite. It’s a long, hot walk this one, muggy, kids struggle, Alex attempts to occupy us by counting all the different plant species we see. Spotting little bearded dragons and chatting with walkers on their return journey also helps pass the time – they all seem to love Poppy’s ‘Coral Not Coal’ tshirt! Manning Gorge. We are so spoilt! Another expansive beauty. We find The Jumping Family and rejoice in scrambling up the waterfall, guided by them to the best jump spots. Poppy jumps from heights, Talia is brave too, Alex and I both jump and dive and bask under the pelt of the falls. Pure joy. We walk back with Jack and Nelly of The Jumping Family, indulging in some adult conversation about country and culture and music, while Nelly entertains the kids with bubbly conversation all the way. On return we must leave and push on, the camper is giving us troubles and power outages, Jack shares some battery intel that helps, but regardless we need the car to charge her up, and in any case, it seems there are big rains coming from the west, so we drive east!
Ellenbrae Station
Ngarinyin Country, 11840kms.
Day 6 and day 7, we decide to stop a while, to recharge our own batteries after 5 days of epic travel and beauty. Its so much to take in! Ellenbrae is a family run station, more famous for its scones, mango smoothies and customer service than for its cattle musters! We indulge, the girls delight in their first bath in months, and we shower under a boab tree, the shower head a repurposed watering can! We visit a nearby river swim spot, ‘sandy creek beach’ have it all to ourselves, its no spectacular gorge waterfall, just chilled family time, laughs and just what we need. We spend the afternoon at the cafe blogging and journalling, admiring the visiting ‘two bar’ finches, and using the car as a generator to keep the camper powered. Not ideal, but doing what needs to be done!
El Questro – Saddleback, Zebedee Springs & Emma Gorge
Ngarinyin Country, 12090kms.
Energy tanks replenished and camper headed for a powered site, our sights set on the East Kimberley and our final stop on the Gibb. The drive is stunning, the Cockburn Ranges tower ahead, grassy hills with rocky peaks lifted by shifting tectonic plates. We stop at an expansive lookout to take it in, nearly spoiled by a Talia meltdown, but savoured. Onwards across a mega river crossing, shallow, rocky and flowing, 100m long, thrilling. Along the turnoff road to the campsite, we endeavour to find a gorge swim spot – El Questro gorge sounds perfect, but not so, the river crossing too deep for our Prado sans snorkel! About turn and towards camp, yet another river crossing! This time into the camp, we must cross, we frantically research how deep our car can go, and watch others cross, 1, 2, 3 without snorkels. We can do it, and we do! El Questro is chockers, more people here than anywhere else on the Gibb die to proximity to Kununurra along bitumen. Sardine campsites are offset by the fact our neighbours Di and Shannon are true gems, Talia pulls up a chair, followed by Poppy, and the under 10s chat happily with the over 60s. Talia again in tour guide mode, imparting tips for the Gibb to her new pals, she has to duck off to the toilet, and on return sits back, legs crossed, ‘so, what have I missed?’
That evening we take the 4WD track up to Saddleback lookout for sunset, leave the car 300m from the top and walk the final section, joining some other beer swilling onlookers. Beautiful. The way down is a rocky road race against the descending darkness, followed by dinner at the vibey outdoor bar and restaurant. This is Talia’s first encounter with ‘Chris-o, a blue grass musician, she occupies the dancefloor solo, she’s going off and so is he!
The morning is an early rise for Zebedee Springs, open from 7am – 12pm, we are not the only ones trying to get there at gates open, some aggressive drivers zoom past us – seems it’s a race for some! The springs are awash with people but there are pools for all, we find one for us and its hot! We bliss out there and scramble further up to find another. Just divine. The minerals enrich our skin.
Back at the campsite, the kids take a beginner horse ride, their horses names Nos and xxx, and their guides young Victorian cowgirls. A nice ride if a little underwhelming for their level. After some chill time over lunch, the afternoon is a toss-up between Emma and Amalia gorge – we hear the waterfall at Amalia has dried up, and spoilt as we are for gorges with waterfalls, Emma Gorge it is! A short drive away, Alex and I are reminded of our stay at there14 years ago, memories foggy with the emotional time that it was back then!
Emma Gorge meets all expectations. A gorgeous walk over rocks, red cliffs towering on either side, gum trees and streams and blooms, after 2kms we arrive to a wide, round, deep waterhole with sheer mossy green walls and the tallest waterfall we’ve seen. It’s enchanted. We swim, splash, dive, and find a crevice to the side to scramble up and delight in a thermal flow. Just WOW.
Our last night on the Gibb, back to the restaurant. Chris-o is back on, and its open mic night. Yep, that’s right, the opportunity is there. Poppy builds up to it over the course of the vening and finally, belts out brave to an encouraging audience. And now Talia, she’s determined and convinced. We land on a duet with Poppy, ‘Cover Me In Sunshine’. The timing is out, but the passion is all there. What courage!
Next morning we’re up and out. We discover one of our gas struts on the camper is broken. The Gibb has taken its toll, and we’re off and out.
Majestic Boabs
We spent much time admiring the boabs and boab forests, spotting them from the car window, pointing out their quirky characteristics, naming them, finding fallen nuts, cracking them and eating their riches filled with vitamin c. Its no wonder they are so revered traditionally, they provide food, shelter and have an innate spirituality.
