The Gibb River Road is one of Australia’s iconic 4wd tracks. So how hard is it really? And what do you need to do to prepare?
Corrugations
- The corrugations on this road are the worst I’ve ever experienced. There is NO sweet spot. You cannot “skate over” the top of these corrugations. There are graders working full time on the Gibb, so I would have to ask why it’s so bad
- Check everything on your car every day. Every nut and bolt, every clamp, every hose, all your fluids. Your roof top tent, roof racks, awning, aerial. The corrugations make things rattle loose.
- Pack things in tightly so they can’t move. Having moved house numerous times when my kids were growing up I’ve become expert in packing. It’s the shaking and bumping against other things where you get breakages. I got 3 wine glasses and a gin glass across the Gibb with no damage. Mind you, as you use things (ie eat food or drink wine) you need to rearrange other things to keep drawers full. I left empty containers in my fridge just to take up room. By the end I was considering putting some recovery gear in my fridge to stop things bouncing around.
- Sustained driving over big corrugations is tiring. Don’t try to do much in one day. West of the Drysdale turnoff the gorges and stations are quite close together so it’s easy to stop and rest and soak up the amazing scenery.
Driving
The two biggest debates about driving the Gibb are tyre pressure and speed.
I know that driving at around 80k is probably best to even out corrugations, but the Gibb isn’t just corrugations. There are also stones, dips, bumps, sand, curves, floodways, loose surfaces. And the corrugations in some places are huge.
I found around 65k was where I felt best. Much slower than 60k and the effect of the corrugations got really bad. More than 70k and I felt like I didn’t have full control of the car.
Tyre pressure is a hill I’ll die on. DROP YOUR TYRE PRESSURE. I ran at 28psi (cold) all around.
And slow down when passing somebody. It’s common courtesy but apparently one not everybody knows. If you’re large or heavy or drive fast you kick up stones than can damage others’ windscreens. The bigger you are and the faster you go the more dust you kick up. I had to come to a complete stop a few times because I couldn’t see a thing in front of me. And that’s dangerous for anybody behind me who can’t see me stopped there so could run into me.
JUST SLOW DOWN.
TURN YOUR UHF ON. And use it. I tried to communicate with other cars either because I was in their dust and wanted to know when it was safe to overtake, or because I could see them coming up behind me and wanted to let them know when it was safe to overtake. And they didn’t respond. Both situations are dangerous.
I don’t know what my fuel consumption was. I gave up measuring that a long time ago. If I need fuel I get it. There’s nothing much else you can do. Bite the bullet and just pay the price.
How long will it take
It’s 660k from Derby to Kununnurra. The first 144k from Derby to the Windjana Gorge turnoff is tar. As is the last 120k from Home Valley Station to Kununnura. There’s a few other short bits of asphalt along the way. You can do it in a couple of days, but you miss out on so much that way.
I took 23 days from Derby to Kununurra and I still felt like I rushed it.
The gorges, particularly west of the Drysdale turnoff, are stunning. They deserve much more than a quick “tick the box” visit.
Breakages and successes
One of my driving lights broke off from the roo bar. Not lost a screw and came undone, broke off. The metal plate welded to the bar actually broke. That seems a little extreme to be from corrugations, but what do I know
The other driving light lost 2 bolts somewhere
The bracket holding the exhaust at the rear broke so the exhaust pipe made a hell of a noise rattling over the corrugations
One thong broke. My favourite pair
My coffee started grinding itself
The top came off a bottle of tea tree oil. The smell lasted in the car for days. At least I didn’t get a cold.
That’s it. No flat tyres, no holes, cracks, noises or obvious leaks anywhere. Importantly, all my new glasses that I bought in Broome made it across!
And not one broken nail. Amazingly, my finger nails survived all across the Gibb until Kununnurra where I got them done again, along with having an amazing pedicure
So would I do it again? I don’t know. Maybe. The drive can be shit, but the scenery is absolutely worth it. I’d like to spend more time in some of those gorges and swimming holes.
It’s certainly uncomfortable at times, but to quote one of my heroes “Like, it’s hard?”
