How many days do I need for the Gibb River Road

Before you read the information on this page, here is one important rule of thumb to keep in mind: The best trips are usually not the ones where every box has been ticked, but the ones where the pace feels right. There are so many highlights between Perth and Darwin that you simply have to make choices. It is better to skip a few well-known places than to arrive tired and rushed every day. A relaxed 4x4 camper trip is safer, more enjoyable and, ultimately, far more memorable.

All recommendations on this page are based on four separate road trips through the Kimberley and the Top End, completed by Australia Campers.

Is 7 days enough for the Kimberley?

Seven days is enough to drive through the Kimberley, but not enough to properly explore the side tracks of the Gibb River Road.

How many days do you need for the Gibb River Road?

Based on our own experiences, we recommend a minimum of 10 travel days.

How many days do you need for Purnululu National Park?

At least 2 full days. To be able to visit everything at a leisurely pace, 3 full days is much better.

Is the long drive to the Mitchell Plateau worth it?

Yes, it is a beautiful area but please allow 3 to 5 days due to the rough road conditions and long hiking distances. It is certainly a highlight, but the drive there and back is time-consuming. Driving speeds on the Mitchell Plateau Track are low and it is a huge detour. If you only have a limited number of travel days, it is wiser to skip Mitchell Falls and allow for a more relaxed pace throughout the rest of your Kimberley route. This is not a “must” for every traveller. Driving all the way to Mitchell Plateau and back and the walk from there to the Mitchell Falls (flowing strongly from May to July) most is mainly worthwhile if you have plenty of travel time. If your itinerary is 32 days or less, it is better to leave Mitchell Falls out.

One of the biggest mistakes travellers make when planning a 4WD camper trip through the Kimberley is underestimating travel times. Distances may seem short on a map, but unsealed roads, river crossings, corrugations and hikes to attractions often require much more time than expected. On this page we explain how many days we recommend for the Gibb River Road, Mitchell Plateau and Purnululu National Park. Online travel time estimates are almost never accurate, as they do not take into account the various conditions you may encounter on unsealed roads.

Gibb River Road: We recommend allowing 7 to 10 days for this route.
7 days: travel the entire route, stopping at key locations such as Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Bell Gorge, Manning Gorge and El Questro Station.
10 days: you will have enough time to explore and enjoy the various gorges, waterfalls and attractions, including a couple of side tracks that leads to places like Mount Hart, Charnley River, Mornington Wilderness Camp and Mount Elizabeth. If you are staying at Mornington Wilderness Camp and want to explore the local sights, we recommend staying for at least two nights. 

Mitchell Plateau: The distance from the Gibb River Road is around 250 kilometres to the Kalumburu Road turn-off. The recommended journey time is 3-5 days. Please note that the driving speed is low, much lower than many had planned in advance. The track between King Edward River and Mitchell Falls is very rough with corrugations and river crossings. 3 days: travel to and from the Mitchell Plateau and explore the area for one full day. 5 days: highly recommended as hiking takes a lot of time, including Mitchell Falls, Surveyors Pool, Walsh Point and other attractions.

Purnululu National Park: the journey along the rough access track (Spring Creek Track) takes several hours. The national park is large and the attractions are quite far apart. Take your time and plan at least 2 full days for the park; a visit to Cathedral Gorge, Piccaninny Gorge and Echidna Chasm as well as the return journey via the Spring Creek Track to the Great Northern Highway. If you want to do Whipsnake Gorge Hike or the Mini Palms Gorge Trail, it is best to plan an extra day.

Combined itinerary: recommended minimum number of days travelling for the Kimberley: 10 days (Gibb River Road and Purnululu NP). Including Mitchell Plateau: at least 14 days.

Keep in mind that it can be a long walk from a campsite to a gorge for swimming!! To get an idea; El Questro Gorge, the walking round trip will take you about 3 hours and 20 minutes. The hike forth and back to Manning Gorge will take about 2 hours and 30 minutes of your time. If you add the swimming and photo stops along the way, you easily spend half a travel day on each of these gorges. And there are still a number of very worthwhile gorges. This includes also Dales Gorge in Karijini National Park for example. It is a major underrated point that many travellers don't think about beforehand. So take your time!!

We regularly encounter hirers who, whether through their own fault or not, cause damage to their 4WD camper while on the road, after which it has to be repaired. In a remote location, this can easily take 3 to 4 days. If you have a fairly tight itinerary, it will become even tighter due to the extra days you lose and you will have to remove some of the planned sights from your itinerary. Also know about the short days! At the beginning of July, the sun does not rise until around 7:15 a.m. for example in Denham and sets again at 5:45 p.m. So it is dark longer than there is daylight! Yet this is a very important point that is forgotten by the vast majority of travellers. Very important: driving in the dark is strongly discouraged due to the risk of animals on the road. If you are involved in a collision in a remote area, it could cause delays lasting several days. Stay off the road after dark!! 

The following is our travel time advice for 24 routes regarding travelling by 4WD camper, based on our own experiences. First the route is listed and then the minimum number of days you should best plan for it. Of course, the same number of days applies if a route is driven the other way round. 

The author of this text has personally travelled the route Perth-Darwin (or the other way round) 4 times, each time for 6 to 9 weeks. Once by 2WD car and three times by 4WD camper, so he speaks from a wealth of experience.

The buttons below will take you to web pages where you can find many more useful information for your trip through Australia.

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