Gibb River Road

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States:

Western Australia

The Gibb River Road is a trunk road in the north of the Australian state of Western Australia. It connects the Great Northern Highway south of Wyndham with the Derby Highway at Derby. She runs right through the Kimberley region and also provides, in contrast to the south extending the Great Northern Highway, the direct connection between the two cities dar.

History

The history of the Gibb River Road begins in 1960 as a beef road. It was therefore created to transport cattle from remote ranches of the Kimberley region to Derby. First, there was only the southern section of the Gibb River Station, which owes its name the road until after the derby. 1962 finally got the Gibb River Road its present route, when the northern part was added. This northern part of the road was until 1996 administered by the local authorities in Wyndham, whose limited financial resources brought a bad road conditions compared to the southern part with it. In 1996 the Main Roads Western Australia, the maintenance work on the entire route, which meant an improvement in the road condition on the northern part of the Gibb River Road.

Course

The Gibb River Road branches off 48 km south of Wyndham from the Great Northern Highway (N1 ) to west - southwest. Passing the Emma Gorge it describes an arc to the northwest and reached with Home Valley ( south of the western arm of Cambridge Gulf ) its northernmost point. Initially at the Durack River upstream it runs in a southwesterly direction until it reaches the sheep station Gibb River in the center of Kimberley. There ends the younger, northern part of the route.

The southern part still leads to the southwest, past the Barnett River Gorge and Manning Gorge, after Kupungarri where a first tank possibility. Passing the Galvan's Gorge and the Adcock Gorge attracts the road continues southwest to Imintji Wilderness Camp at the foot of King Leopold Ranges, where is also a petrol station. The Leopold Ranges Conservation Park, a national protected area, runs through the Gibb River Road to the west a few kilometers distance from the Leonard River Gorge.

After leaving the park, the road turns again to the southwest until it absorbs the light coming from the southeast Fairfield Leopold Downs Road, which leads to Windjana Gorge National Park and Tunnel Creek National Park. After that, the Gibb River Road moves to the west to 124 km to reach the city of Derby. The last 74 km of the road are paved.

Road Conditions

The state of the Gibb River Road is heavily dependent on the weather. While it is possible in the dry season (May-October ) to complete the course with a car, the road, or at least sections, in the rainy season (November- April), is sometimes blocked to all traffic. The road surface itself constantly changes from rocky to sandy- earthy passages, short distance parts are also paved. Typical of the Gibb River Road as the dirt road is the formation of a washboard road.

Tourism

The main tourist attractions along the Gibb River Road are seven canyons ( from east to west):

• Emma Gorge
• Barnett River Gorge
• Manning River Gorge
• Galvan's Gorge
• Bell Creek Gorge
• Lennard River Gorge
• Windjana Gorge

Nearby points of the route are the Tunnel Creek National Park (55 km south of the Fairfield Leopold Downs Road ) and the El Questro Wilderness Park.

Tourists should be aware that driving on the Gibb River Road is permitted by the majority of car rental companies only with four-wheel drive vehicles because it is unsurfaced for long stretches.

Pictures

Road Train on the Gibb River Road

Overview of facilities along the Gibb River Road