Gibb River Road
660 kilometres of red dirt, boab country and gorge after gorge after gorge. The big one — corrugations, creek crossings and the best swimming holes in the country.
Join to pin routes to your passport — then stamp them by checking in along the way.
Itinerary
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Day 1:Onto the dirt
Derby Windjana Gorge · 145 km
Last fuel-price shock at Derby, then the bitumen ends. Freshwater crocs line the Windjana sandbars by late afternoon.
Derby jettyWindjana Gorge walk -
Day 2:Tunnel Creek and on
Windjana Gorge Bell Gorge · 174 km
Walk through Tunnel Creek with a torch and wet boots, then push on to Bell — the Kimberley’s poster gorge.
Tunnel CreekLennard River lookoutBell Gorge -
Day 3:Gorge-hopping
Bell Gorge Mount Barnett (Manning Gorge) · 107 km
Galvans and Adcock if the tracks are open. Manning Gorge campground swim — pull the dinghy rope across the river to start the walk.
Adcock GorgeGalvans GorgeManning Gorge -
Day 4:Rest day at Manning
Mount Barnett · out and back · no-move day
The full Manning Gorge walk and waterfall. Barramundi water below the falls.
Manning Falls -
Day 5:The long middle
Mount Barnett Ellenbrae · 140 km
The roughest stretch — corrugations that find every loose bolt. Scones at Ellenbrae station are not a myth.
Ellenbrae Station scones -
Day 6:Pentecost crossing
Ellenbrae El Questro · 109 km
The Pentecost River crossing with the Cockburn Range behind — the photo you came for. Check the depth, commit, don’t stop.
Home Valley lookoutPentecost River crossing -
Day 7:Emma Gorge finale
El Questro Kununurra · 110 km
Zebedee Springs early (it shuts at noon), Emma Gorge swim, then bitumen — strange under the tyres after a week — into Kununurra.
Zebedee SpringsEmma GorgeIvanhoe Crossing
Good to know
- Best season
- May–Sep (dry season only)
- Grade — Serious remote
- 4WD essential. Remote-area travel: recovery gear, long-range fuel and water, and someone who knows your plan.
- The route
- WA · Derby → Windjana Gorge → Mount Barnett → El Questro → Kununurra
Leave no trace — pack it in, pack it out, fill your holes. And tell someone your plan before you lose bars.
Run it as a member
Members get partner rates on gear, fuel and stays, field days along routes like this one, and an Adventure Passport that keeps the score.