Tuesday broke quite cloudy. Mike had an early run (with swim) on Cable Beach while Clare listened to local ABC and heard that most unusual heavy rain in patches around the Kimberleys had closed some of the roads we had recently travelled. Windjana Gorge and Bells Gorge access roads were closed, so we are lucky to have been there only a day or so ago.
Today we chilled out, but knowing that there'll be no restaurants over the next week and we'll have to live out of our van, we had breakfast out and will also do dinner at Cable Beach this evening. The overcast conditions made the beach suitable for Clare, so we walked along Cable Beach to a virtually deserted section and had a good swim there at high tide, when Cable Beach is at its best.
Today's rain (which we have not seen in Broome), makes one reminsce on the purpose of our holiday here, the Gibb River Road. It is about 700km long, running from the Kununurra to Wyndham road in the east, to Derby in the west, in Western Australia, and all but the 50km nearest Derby, and the odd steep pinch, is dirt. The road is "recommended as 4WD only", but based on our trip along its full length in the last week, this recommendation really only applies to the river crossings. The Pentecost River crossing is the longest and most daunting on the road, but there are numerous, dozens, of lesser rivers to negotiate. We had heard horror stories about this crossing at El Questro, but we found that Pentecost and all others are quite navigable with due care.
In wet conditions, such as might apply today, it is apparent that the road would be very treacherous. We traversed it just after the wet season, but the road was mostly dry and had been recently graded. There are long sections of very rough, dried up boggy bits, but most of the road is in quite good condition, and it is extensively maintained, apparently by the Wyndham and Derby Shires, which, we think, do a very good job. The dirt roads to Doug and Anne's farm at Glenrossal, and over much of NSW, are much rougher than most of the Gibb River Road, but as mentioned, it's the river crossings and bog potential which makes the Gibb special.
The bad stretches of the Gibb River Road are mostly in the eastern half. We felt, and confirmed with a destroyed tyre, that the greatest hazards were long stretches of grey coloured, very sharp stones. One of these tore a gaping hole in the side wall of our rear, passenger side tyre, forcing us to drive 300km or so on a sometimes very stony road with no spare tyre - this was quite a nervous time! Every private vehicle on this road carries at least two spare tyres, and we think the rental 4WDs should as well. We'll see what happens when we suggest that to Apollo.
The side tracks off the main road are notably worse than the Gibb. The roads to Gorges, or to Mt Elizabeth Station, are generally a degree narrower and rougher. Many of these tracks are not trivial, being up to 50km long. Even El Questro appears to maintain a policy of not improving the tracks on its property. The track to El Questro Gorge, for example, was a rugged affair definitely requiring 4WD. Even the track to our private campsite, Wren, was really rough and included a dry, very rocky, creek crossing. The hideous road to our dingy cruise on the Chamberlain River featured a very rough river crossing, and a really rugged rocky section which seemed to encourage all the young 4WD heros.
A lot of people travelling the Gibb, take the long excursion up to Kalumburu. Up there and back adds at least 600km to the trip, more if you do the obligitory side trips to the Mitchell Plateau. Even before we left Sydney, we had decided we did not have time to do this section of road, but we have spoken to many who have, or who will, and by all reports, it's a much rougher proposition than the Gibb River Rd (it crosses the Gibb River too!).
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