The Gibb River Road is a former cattle route that stretches almost 660 kilometres (410 mi) through The Kimberley between the Western Australian town of Derby and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the Great Northern Highway. Like its namesake, which does not actually cross the road but runs nearby at 16°06.108′S 126°31.075′E, it is named after geologist and explorer Andrew Gibb Maitland. The Gibb River Road is one of the two major roads which dissect the Kimberley region—the other being the extreme northern section of Great Northern Highway which runs further to the south.
The road is often closed due to flooding during the wet season, which is typically November through March, although delayed openings have been known to happen, frustrating the tourism industryas well as locals who rely on the road. Since the mid 2000s, the road has been upgraded to a formed gravel two-lane road including bitumenised sections, but 4WD vehicles are still recommended.
The Gibb River Road has scenic views of geological formations and natural scenery, aboriginal and pastoral history, as well as rare and unique fauna and flora. Attractions along the Road include Windjana Gorge National Park, Tunnel Creek National Park, Adcock Gorge, Manning Gorge, Galvans Gorge, Lennard Gorge, Bell Gorge, and King Leopold Ranges. Accommodation is offered by several cattle stations in the area including Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge, Mount Elizabeth Station, Drysdale River Station, the El Questro Station, and Charnely River Station.
From 1948, an Air Beef Scheme operated between Glenroy Station and Wyndham. An abattoir, freezing works, and airstrip were built on the station and the meat airfreighted twice a day to the coast before being shipped to the southern cities. To develop the beef industry further, a Commonwealth Government grant to build a road was given in 1949 and the following year construction of a road to Derby commenced, one of a number of roads built as part of the so-called "Beef Roads Scheme". This southern section, which is sometimes referred to as the Derby-Gibb River Road, was completed in 1956 at a cost of £713,677 and was used for trucking live cattle.
The northern section of the road was under the control of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley until 1996 when Main Roads Western Australia took over control and upgraded the full length of the highway.
The Gibb River Road is a dirt/gravel road which is formed 2 lanes wide. A bitumen section of the Gibb River road leading out of Derby, was recently extended all the way to Kimberley Diamond Mine. In addition most of the winding sections of road passing over the ranges are bitumenised, and nearly all the creek and river crossings have concrete bottoms. There is ample signage warning you of upcoming bends, cattle, creek crossings, tourist destinations,and roadhouses.
Some areas of the Gibb River Road are hilly and rocky, some are soft with bull dust, but the majority of sections have been upgraded in the last couple of years and are in relatively good condition. The Gibb River Road has improved dramatically in the past few years. Most tourists travel the Gibb River road in 4 wheel drives (often towing trailors or caravans), campervans, or large tour buses.
The locals travel the road in anything from tray back utes with 3 dogs on the back, to commodore station wagons. High clearance robust vehicles (4 wheel drive) are recommend throughout. Vehicles should be well equipped with at least 2 spare tyres, water and emergency provisions. Large sections of the road are unfenced so beware of wandering livestock & roadtrains. Vehicles should be in 1st class condition.
Depending on the wet season the Gibb River road is officially opened some time between mid April and mid May. Main Roads Western Australia only opens the road after they have inspected it. The rivers at the crossings must have dropped low enough that with caution vehicles can drive across safely. Any real problem areas like wash outs are also quickly fixed with what is known as an 'opening grade' . Once Main Roads feel the road is reasonably safe to traverse, they open the road, by this time the graders will be working to do a full grade of all the road. Be aware that even though the road may be ' open' caution is still required prior to the full grade being completed.
Gibb River Road conditions improve dramatically after grading is complete. Normally from this time onwards the Gibb River road is great to travel on, usually with hardly any corrugation or washouts. During the peak tourist season (June-August) when the corrugations get bad because of the amount of traffic, a maintenence grade is done to rectify the situation, before it becomes too extreme. Similarly later in the season between August-November another maintenence grade is done to improve the road conditions and help prepare it for the upcoming wet season. The tourism season usually finishes around the end of October and most accommodation & service providers along the road close down in preparation for the wet season. Travelling in the Kimberley in November is not reccommended due to the extremely high temperatures, bushfires and humidity at this time. Travel between Janurary till April/May (during the wet season) is also definately not recommended due to the heavy, unpredictable rains which make creek crossings impassable, and the road conditions are extremely slippery and dangerous. Did you know that if you drive on the Gibb River Road before main Roads have officially opened the road, and the 'road closed' signs are still up you can get fined $1000 per axle and your insurance is void.
* Be self sufficent - have your vehicle thoroughly checked prior to departure by a competent mechanic with specific attention to battery mountings and tyres.
* Tool kits, puncture repair kit, at least 2 spare tyres, and high lift jack are essential.
* There are no speed signs on the Gibb River Road, but the official speed limit is 110km. On some long stretches of the road you may be tempted to put your foot down on the accelerator. But remember you are not familiar with the road, and at high speeds the road can change very suddenly. So don't be a fool & endanger your life or your passengers life - you need to travel at a safe speed (between 60 - 110km per hour) and keep enough distance between yourself and the car in front.
* If you are too close to vehicles in front of you dust from the car in front will seriously limit your vision.
* Speeding through sections of cattle country is dangerous as there are often cows wandering across the road, or on the side of the road that can run out at the last minute.
* Caution is required at natural creek crossings - drive slowly through them to reduce erosion and silting of downstream areas.
* You need to watch out for cars, and road trains coming in the opposite direction - when you see a roadtrain it is advisable to pull over and let it pass.
* Keep an eye out for cars trying to overtake you from behind - make an effort to slow down and pull over slightly to the left so it is easier for them to pass you.
* You often see cyclists on the Gibb River Road as well - you should slow down whilst you pass them (so as not to cover them in dust).
Take care in crocodile areas. Fresh water crocodiles are relatively harmless, but you should treat all crocodiles over 1.5 metres with great caution(even if they are fresh water crocs). The main swimming holes and rivers around the station-stays, gorges and campgrounds along the Gibb River Road are 'land locked' which means they do not have any saltwater crocs in them, so you can swim at all of these locations safely. Except for Windjana Gorge - swimming is not recommended here due to the number of fresh water crocs. Salt water crocodiles are extremely dangerous and can be found some distance upstream of fresh water rivers and estauries with a salt water inlet. General rule of thumb: If there is barrumundi in the river - there are normally salt water crocodiles. You should not swim or use a small boat/canoe in estauries, tidal rivers, or mangrove shores, especially around Derby, Wyndham, Walsh Point (Mitchell Plateau) and Kununurra.
The Gibb River Road was known us 'The Mt House Road' up until 1962. It was a rough track that followed a different route to the current Gibb River Road past all of the old stations and ending at Mt House Station. In 1961 millions of dollars were commited to enable the construction of a new, improved road linking Derby and Glenroy Meatworks. As a result in 1963 the first load of frozen beef carcasses travelled to Derby by road. Within a short time, the road was extended to Gibb River, putting an end to the Air Beef Scheme.
In 1964 the Mt House Road was renamed 'The Gibb River Road', so named as it was constructed from Gibb River Station to Derby. According to the History of the Kimberley, Gibb River itself, was named by Charles Crossland (member of Frederick Brockman's North-West Kimberley exploring Expedition) who first came across the river in 1901. He named "Gibb River" after Gibb Maitland (a government geologist) who was a member of the expedition.The northern section of the Gibb River road remained in the hands of the local authority of Wyndham- East Kimberley. The lack of major pastoral leases and funding meant that the northern section was not as well constructed and maintained as the southern section. The Gibb River Road was eventually completed in 1967 - the hardest parts to complete were through the King Leopold Ranges especially 'Inglis Gap' and 'The Bench'. The roads linking the Gibb River Road to Wyndham and to Kulumburu were completed in 1977. In 1996 Main Roads W.A. took over responsibility for the whole length of the Gibb River road. This has lead to an upgrade in road conditions in the northern section of the Gibb River Road to equal the southern section, as well as progressive upgrading of the access roads linking stations along it's length.
