Have been meaning to put a post on this since we returned from our three week journey along the Gibb River Road and then back along the Great Northern Highway. We started our journey in Broome. As we couldn’t get into the Cable Beach Resort we went to another one just down the road. I think in hindsight I would have preferred to have been in the town itself and gone out to Cable Beach for the superb sunsets and that cold glass of wine. We only had two days in Broome but would have perhaps liked four.

Anyway, we hired a Land Cruiser and left Broome early for breakfast in Derby, a nice easy drive on sealed road of I think around 200 ks or a bit more. It was interesting that our travel insurance specified we would not be covered on unsealed roads – why would you otherwise hire a Four Wheel Drive ?

The bitumen ended once you turned off onto the Gibb River Road, about 63 kms in. It was 56 kms on unsealed road to the turn off into Windjana Gorge (20 kms in).We viewed that and had a walk around, beautiful and lots of crocs, from there we drove to Tunnel Creek another 40 kms of very, very rough road. We then back-tracked over the ground covered to Gibb River Road once again. It would have been possible to travel at this point along the Great Northern Highway and go into Tunnel Creek from there and onto Windjana Gorge and out onto Gibb River Road, but sometimes that road is closed.

Windjama Gorge, WA

From there we travelled another 100 kms or so onto Imintji Safari Camp run by ATP which is used by its tours but also anyone can stay there but is inaccessible during the wet season. These Safari Camps are scattered along the road and offer good value for those who are not set up to camp. They are actually called Wilderness Camps The tents have wooden floors, two single beds with sheets and proper bedding. There is a toilet block and shower block separate. They offer dinner, bed and breakfast. The breakfast was great as was the evening meal. We enjoyed the company of our fellow travellers around an open fire – there wasn’t a tour bus in that night. We stayed two nights as by the time we got there we were pretty tired.

The distances are vast. You can really only travel at about 60 km/hour or less depending on the state of the road. The next day we enjoyed our walk into Bell Gorge, again a couple of hours drive to get there. Our next stop was Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. We left Imitiji (where there is a roadhouse and a fuel stop) and drove an easy 25 kms to the turn off to Mornington. A mere 80 kms. in but it took us two and three quarter hours to drive in.

Bell Gorge, WA

There is camping here and again permanent very plush safari tents. These are set up high and overlook Annie Creek where the kangaroos and other wildlife abound. The meals here are in an open style restaurant and were delicious. Again this is dinner, bed and breakfast and lunch comes in a small fridge lunch box. There are two gorges here, Diamond Gorge and Sir John Gorge. You can also hire canoes, no crowds and just so peaceful.
We spent four days here and loved every minute of it. It takes a couple of hours to drive to each Gorge but you can swim in each of them and they are beautiful. Back on the Gibb Road, we refuelled at Mount Barnett Roadhouse. Another 90 kms on (a couple of hours) we took the turn off to Mt. Elizabeth Station - a working cattle station – 30 kms. of very, very rough road. The only disappointment of the whole trip for me. They advertise as staying in the ‘homestead’ rooms tacked onto the side of the house, and ‘eating with the owners’ all a bit misleading – I know you are out in the never, never but it was very expensive and the meal was ghastly. In fact, being Australian it was embarrassing with Italians, Swiss, Germans etc. eating this absolute ’s t’ food.

There were lots of staff running around so really so excuse. If you were camping there it was $100 a double for dinner and I wouldn’t feed it to my worst enemy. Anyway enough of that. Our next stop was 150 kms down the road to Ellenbrae. Different story here. You can stop in for a Devonshire tea and be welcomed by two very nice people who seemed to manage dinner that night beautifully.

Sure it wasn’t the Ritz but it was a very nice meal with some produce from their garden. This is a permanent mud style tent set up. Very comfortable with double beds, nice clean sheets and a beautiful setting and alot more reasonable than the aforementioned. Ellenbrae 08 9161 4326. Only accept cash, won’t deal with travel agents, no deposit required.

From here we drove towards Kununurra, however we by-passed Home Valley but had good feedback from others on the road about it. Also can’t talk about El Questro as we couldn’t get accommodation there.

We spent five days in Kununurra. It was nice to have a break. We flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine and the Bungle Bungles and did a river cruise of Lake Argyle. Hidden Valley National Park in Kununurra is well worth going to and so accessible.

Bungle Bungles

We left Kununurra early in the morning and travelled 650 kms the next day to Fitzroy Crossing. I was dreading this journey but really it was a breeze.

The vegetation changes so many times and I enjoyed travelling through remote places that I have heard of since I was a child. Such vastness can only be appreciated when you travel them. There are plenty of places to stop and chill out along the road and quite a few free, of course unpowered, camping spots. We stayed at the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge but again in ‘tented’ accommodation.

The next morning we caught the early morning tour of Geikie Gorge run by an aboriginal group and it was beautiful. That night we spent in Derby before embarking on a sea safari of the Buccaneer Archipelago. This was for four days, three nights. A sea plane dropped us off near Horizontal Falls and after a quick ride on a small boat through the Falls we ventured off on our next adventure, four days of fishing, looking for oysters, swimming, mudcrabbing and generally having a great time. They have different tours, some four days, some more. Our’s cost approximately $1950 for four days.

We slept on the beach in mozzie dome tents and had huge fires on the beach at night. It was basic and only ten people aboard and three crew. The owner is a local fisherman and knows all the spots.

So we came to the end of our journey. We didn’t have any mishaps with our vehicle although we saw lots who did. Apparently its important to have low tyre pressure when travelling on these rough unforgiving roads (worth finding out about). Someone mentioned mozzies in a post, but no, we were prepared with products that could kill us before a mosquito did, but we didn’t get bitten.

No-one tells you anything and there isn’t any information in the vehicles. I felt sorry for overseas visitors who haven’t been advised of 1) tyre pressure and 2) speed. When you come from countries that travel a lot faster than us it must seem crazy to have to go slow, but you have to unless you want trouble. Look into it, talk to people, find out what your tyre pressure should be and what speed you should do. The commaradie on the road is fantastic, everyone waves to on coming cars and people help one another. It was an amazing trip and one I’m proud I have done. It’s pure Australia and I loved it. I hope this is of some help. I found it hard to find information and it would be great if others could post their experiences. We also hired a gas car fridge in Broome which was essential for that cold beer at the end of the day.

Cameron Corner, Qlds/NSW/SA

The Big Lap Route

Can start anywhere and go in either clockwise or anti-clockwise (check the weather prior make a final decision) but assuming you are in Sydney and traveling clockwise.

Sydney, Princess Highway south along the coast to Melbourne, following the coast, along the famous Great Ocean Road and then north to Adelaide. Follow Highway 1 west all the way to Perth via Port Augusta, Ceduna, Nullabor Plain and Esperance, bringing you up the Western Australia coast to Perth. Heading north its a long way to the Coral Coast and Broome. The sealed road then cuts inland and northeast to the Northern Territory and east to Katherine. Following the tarmac further east involves heading south to the prosaically named Three Ways roadhouse and then all the way east via Mt Isa to eventually see the sea again at Cairns. Now its all the way south to Sydney via the Great Barrier reef and some of the world’s most famous beachse, including the Gold Coast.

Advantages of the Big Lap route

Flexible – can start anywhere!

You’re see as much of the coast as is easy to do and take in all the major cities of Australia, the world famous Great Barrier Reef, wonderful, beaches, spectacular rainforest and other National Parks, remote outback towns and the true never-never country.

Disadvantages of the Big Lap route

You miss out a couple of big international destinations: Alice Springs, West Macdonalds, Kings Canyon and Uluru (Ayers Rock) are nowhere near the coast. Adelaide is the closest major town point at 1290km (800 miles) from Uluru.

You also need to dogleg north from Katherine to hit Darwin and the top end attractions of Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks – but you can loop through these 2 minimising the amount of backtracking.

Its a long way – if you have less than a year to complete it – consider only tackling a portion of the whole trip.

Advantages of a 4WD on the Big Lap

Add Cape York by heading north from Cairns

Take the dirt road of the Gulf Savannah from Normanton through to Mataranka.

Explore the Kimberleys via the Gibb River Road.

Why this blog

When I was planning this trip I found a real lack of information for the beginner who wanted to 4WD in Australia. There are several print publications and forums which will help you decide between the current model Land cruiser or Explorer, but little info on how to buy a decent second hand vehicle and how to choose what to put in it. No one told me that the $2 plastic striped bags would last 3 months even when overloaded, but that a top of the line camp bed would fail within 2 months. In some way it reminded me of the situation nearly 30 years ago when I started backpacking – then only one guide book catered for those who didn’t want to stay in hotels and take taxis every other book assumed that you had money to burn. The 4WD industry seems to be in the same place today. Even the Internet doesn’t provide much information for those who aren’t yet looking for a impermanent lifestyle i.e. the grey nomads but who aren’t hardcore off-road driving enthusiasts. So I’m hoping that this blog will fit a bit of niche for those who would like to get away into the great Australian outback but who don’t really know where to begin.

Why Australia?

Australia is huge, more a continent than a country. Yet it has a tiny population, almost all of whom live on the east coast and in cities. Its a first world country where its pretty easy to buy a vehicle as a non-resident Due to the spread out population lots of Australia’s most beautiful places are only accessible by gravel roads and often a 4WD or 4×4 will get you there in better shape than a 2WD. Escaping to the bush is an iconic Australian experience but ironically most overseas visitors come to the heavily populated east coast but quick flight to Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Why 4WD?

Australia is big, really really big, and very very empty. Telstra, the biggest mobile phone provider, claims to cover 98% of the population – which must be true because you can’t lie in advertising in Australia, however at the same time they only cover 5% of the land area – that tells you know that there is an awful lot of empty space out there – which is why you can easily drive for a week with no cellphone coverage, Carins to Mataranka via the Savannah Way if you are interested. The sealed roads, where they exist, tend to be excellent, but an awful lot of roads, including those to some of the most beautiful areas, dirt, ranging from good to very bad some aren’t even formed. So they are dusty and dry – that is until its rain- then they are almost immediately impassible. A high-clearance 4×4 will give you far more options than a city car. For us the price to pay, in initial cost, maintenance and diesel, was well-worth the freedom. Often the first question a local asks if you enquire about road conditions is “what are you driving” – the correct answer to this is a Land cruiser!

We started with little camping or 4WD experience. My partner and I are New Zealanders, I’d done a little 4WDing as part of my job 20 years ago, and as a geologist I’d lived in outback Australia, My partner had been to the East Coast of Australia on holiday but not inland. Neither of us are “handy” or mechanically inclined. We did a course for the basics of off-road driving but the rest of it we picked up the hard way and in the end I think we proved that if we could do it without any serious mishap then almost anyone can!