We can’t believe that it has been a year since we did this amazing journey. If you are currently planning your trip or about to head off to the Kimberleys, we hope you find some information here useful.
In short we started from home in Adelaide and travelled straight up to Darwin via the Stuart Highway. After a week in Darwin we travelled back down the Stuart Highway visited a few places along the way and onto the Victoria Highway towards the Western Australian border.
The Victoria Highway has plenty of places to stop and explore. Big Horse Creek Campground was one our favourite places. If you have a tinnie I heard that fishing for barramundi is really good in the Victoria River. There is even a boat ramp near the campground . The Ranger did advise that you need a reasonable size tinnie as there are reasonable sized salt water crocodiles!
Our other favourite place to visit along the Victoria Highway is Keep River National Park. Plus, this will give you the chance to consume of all your fruit, vegetables and honey. Also note, you can’t take any firewood over the border into Western Australia.
Although we didn’t have any fresh fruit and vegetables, we did have plenty of canned and dried food, so decided it was best to go to Lake Argyle before topping up supplies in Kununurra then onto Wyndham to regroup and prepare for our journey along the Gibb River Road.
We spent about 3 weeks on the Gibb River Road and we really only saw a small selection of places. We travelled to Mitchell Falls and finally ended up at Derby. Once we replenished our food, supplies and fuel in Derby we travelled to Broome.
We had only planned on 2 nights in Broome but ended up staying for 10 nights. Loved watching the camels on Cable Beach and those magnificent sunsets. Don’t forget to time your visit with the Staircase to the Moon!
Once we had left Broome, we headed along the Great Northern Highway visiting all that Highway has to offer and then over to Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) Once we finished exploring the Bungle Bungles we ended up back at Kununurra.
Our trip home was via the Victoria Highway and we turned off at Timber Creek to the Buchanan Highway (part of the Binns Track) to meet up with the Stuart Highway south of Daly Waters.
Accommodation and Fuel Costs plus Distance Travelled
We were away for 3 months and we travelled just over 10,000kms and spent just short of $2,000 on diesel and just over $2,000 on campsites.
Fuel Prices
To be expected, the most expensive fuel (diesel) was on the Gibb at $2.05/L which really is not that bad considering where it is. We also carried 2 x 20L jerry cans of diesel as back up.
Best Drinking Water
Our camper trailer can hold around 190 litres of water. We have 2 tanks and can keep one just for drinking and the other for cooking, general use and showers.
In my opinion the best tasting drinking water was from Keep River National Park (NT), Lake Argyle, Wyndham, Home Valley Station and Silent Grove Campground. We also filled up on water at other places but they were mainly treated bore water and not as nice as the places listed but certainly drinkable.
Grocery Shopping
We grocery shopped at Darwin, Katherine, Kununurra, Derby and Broome. We were also able to top up on fresh fruit and vegetables at Wyndham and Mt Barnett Roadhouse (the website gives more information on this) Also of interest, Imintji Roadhouse also has a great selection of food items plus fresh fruit and vegetables along with other supplies. A bonus was that the diesel was a slightly cheaper price here!
Solar Power
We relied on our solar panels and batteries for power. We only required a powered site in Darwin, Fitzroy Crossing and Wyndham where we plugged in and topped up the batteries. Not bad for 3 months away!
Our blog on this website has all the places we visited. The campsites we stayed at and the walks we did to all the beautiful waterfalls and gorges. Road condition and what the walks were like. Happy reading and enjoy your trip or planning.
Cheers
Chris and Sharon
Chris & Sharon's Camping Adventures 