Travelling in the Kimberleys

We have just travelled the length of Gibb River Road and found it to be in excellent condition with graders working on one part of it. Some sections where there are steep grades have been sealed, and in front of the 2 roadhouses the road has also been sealed. Speaking of road houses the price of Diesel is $1.55 per litre, and at both Kununurra and Broome it is 111.9 but with Coles voucher you can get 4 cents off. We travelled into El Questro Station and towed the vans up the Kulumuru Road to the Mitchell Falls turn off then into the camping area at King Edward River. To get to this camp it was necessary to drive through the tyre deep water, and we had a large crowd gather to watch the van go through without any effort. The road into the Mitchell Falls is a further 80km of un maintained road and this took 3 hours each way due to the wash outs, corrugations and water crossings. Then at the falls it takes a further 2 hours to walk into the falls and look around. Some people opt for a $60 return by helicopter but we walked both ways. Well worth the trip in but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TOW BUSHTRACKER ALL THE WAY IN. The track is too narrow in places and you would cause too many problems for other travels that you meet coming the other way with very few places to pull off. The road from Drysdale River Station north was also very rough and at times required speeds under 30 kph. Old Mornington Station was also worth going into 100 km each way, but we were too late to hire a canoe to paddle down Dimond Gorge which everyone says is worth doing. They have put the canoe hire prices up to $50 per day which I think is a bit high, but as you have no choice if you want to see it you have to pay. At Chamberlaine Gorge you have to pay a $12.50 per person entry permit to Mt Barnett Station, and as this includes your camping fee you may as well stay the night. Bell Gorge is also worth going to. Windjana Gorge road was affected by recent rains but open to 4WD vehicles, as was the road down to Tunnel Creek. The road from Tunnel Creek to the Great Northern Highway has numerous sharp dips that required heavy braking to avoid damage. The road from Windjana to Derby is in excellent condition and can easily travel at 90 or above with van on. We also did the Flight on a sea plane from Derby to Horizontal Water Fall. They land you on the water, take you by large shark cat to their large boat (previously Nimi McPhersons whale watching Boat) for refreshments and then through the whirl pools of the water fall. It was a really great day at $270 per person. While out there we learnt that for an extra $59 they have 10 guests stay overnight and that includes accomodation and both evening meal and breakfast. Had we known that before we would have stayed overnight in a magic location. The night before we were there they caught a 2 metre shark off the back of the boat. There are also lots of Salties so no swimming in that area. We are now in Broome and house sitting for Collyn and Maarit Rivers while they are away on a week long boat trip. They have a house full of windows overlooking the ocean with great sunsets every night. Their 15 month old Great Dane dog Vila loves going for walks on the beach and at 63 kg is a gentle giant who loves a cuddle. Brian & Margaret