BootsnAll Travel Network



The Gibb River Road and Derby

The comments have been pretty slow lately. Hopefully I didn’t offend any of my female readers with my last post. I did have fun with the all girl group, but I was being honest when I said it took a long time to make a decision. Enough of that though, on with the trip.

After spending one night in the new hostel, I was picked up by Paul in his Toyota 4WD. Paul was going to work in Derby as a pilot and had decided to take the Gibb River Road to get there. We headed out from Kununnura and was soon on a dirt road. Non-paved roads in Australia are normally just hard packed, very red, dirt instead of gravel. The terrain was what I had come to expect in this part of Australia, namely small stunted trees, large termite mounds, and large red rocky hills in the distance. The sky was a bit cloudy but no rain was immenent. I haven’t seen rain in nearly a month. The road was surprisingly well maintained and we were able to maintain speeds of between 80 and 100 km/hr for most of the trip. The first major river crossing was the Pentecost River. This river dwarfed any crossing that I had done while 4WDing to date. The water came up nearly to the doors of the SUV which was pretty high off the ground. Later after crossing the river, we turned off to view one of the gorges that line the road. I forget the name of the gorge, but the road there was nothing if not exciting. At one point the vehicle had to clamber over some pretty high rocks. It came slamming down on the other side bending one of the bash plates. We stopped for the night at the campround for Manning Gorge. Upon stopping we found that we had a flat (most people get at least one flat tire from sharp rocks while traveling the road) which we had to get repaired the next day. For the second time in Australia, I set up my tent and then went and had a “refreshing” cold water shower. Since we had no source of hot water, my supper that night consisted of a sandwich that I had bought earlier, power bars, and apples. Paul subsisted off of crackers and cheese.

Tuesday morning was spent changing the tire to the spare and then hiking to Manning Gorge. The first part of the hike involved another “refreshing swim” through a cold river and then a half hour walk over rocky ground. Once at the gorge, we went swimming in the beautiful green water below the falls. We also climbed to the top of the falls on some very slippery rocks with Paul slipping and breaking his watch in the process. Upon our return to the campground we packed up and went back to the fueling station (the only one selling gasoline on the Gibb Road). We were treated to paying Outback prices for the fuel. The fuel went for $AUD1.94 per liter or about $USD6.60 per gallon (remember the porngraphically priced fuel in New Zealand). Well this, by far, exceeded that. To top it off Paul’s SUV isn’t exactly a fuel sipper so I basically ended up spending twice what I had expected on fuel. We also got the tire repaired and were then on our way.

Today’s trip went through many small streams. We went through the Leopold and Napier Ranges which consists of very large red rock hills and formations stretching into the distance (including one that is called and really does look amazingly like Queen Victoria). Australia has one of the oldest land surfaces on Earth due to a lack of geologic activity so many of its mountains are now worn down stubs. The highlights of the day were the stops at Windijana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Windijana Gorge is a gorge that sits between two massive outcroppings of rock that stick straight up into the air forming high cliffs. The gorge has a watering hole that is home to 70 freshwater crocodiles. We could see many sunning themselves on the beach. Tunnel Creek (obviously enough) is a 750 meter tunnel through a rock face that has a creek running through it. You can walk from one end and come out the other. We only had my little cheap head lamp (more like a glorified reading lamp) to use to light the way and we were barefoot. Well my headlamp was not up to the task and we spent a good deal of the time in the cave stepping on sharp rocks. We did get an occasional respite when someone else came along with a brigher light. The end of the cave emerged outside to a nice swimming hole. On the way back to the car, we hopped in line with a tour group so that we could actually see this time.

We decided to go on to Derby that evening. We had originally intended to spend three days on the road, but with the nice road surface, we made much better time than expected. We arrived in Derby (pop. 5000) at night and first checked with the only Backpackers in town. They had $30 a night dorm rooms, but they were full. We ended up next door at the Spinifex Hotel and split the cost of a double room for $50. This room was considered a budget room and had such nice touches as holes in the wall, no shower curtain, and taps that wouldn’t turn off completely. Despite this, the room did have a refrigerator and a television. It was also cheaper per person than the dorm room across the street. It was, however, nice to sleep in a room with less than three other people.

There was a bar attached to the hotel where Paul and I played pool. It got somewhat interesting when a group of Aboriginees entered the bar. The Aborginal population in Australia, like the Native Americans in the US, has a large problem with alcohol abuse. It is such that the elders of the Aboriginal Tribes ask bars not to serve members of their clans. It is not uncommon to see signs saying that they will not serve Aboriginees (on the request of the elders). This group of Aboriginees wandered in already drunk and were eventually made to leave as it is illegal to serve already drunk patrons in Australia (I think).

The following day Paul went to check on his job and I set out to explore Derby (which took about two hours.). The town is on a pennisula surrounded by massive mud flats. Derby has some of the largest tides in the world in excess of 10 meters. The town is very dusty and deserted. The main attractions in the town are the Derby Gaol (jail) and the prison tree. The prison was built in the 1800s and consisted of open air cells with concrete floors. It was used to hold Aborignees who committed pastoral crimes (killing and stealing cattle, etc). They would be chained to one another and forced to sleep on the concrete floor. The prison tree is a large Boab tree. These trees have immense trunks which store water for the tree during the dry season. The center of this tree is hollow and was used in the 1800’s to hold Aboriginees that were being forced to work in the pearling industry. I didn’t go to the tree as it was 7 km outside of town. I also didn’t go to the jetty which once again is being used as a major export area due to the resurgence of mining in Australia (due to high commodity prices). That night Paul and I ate supper at the bar. He then left to go study for his test flight on Wednesday. I was soon joined by a crowd that probably couldn’t have better represented the cross section of Australia life at my table. There was a grey nomad from New South Wales on his way to meet his wife, a very flamboyant gay jewish man who spends the dry season in Derby, a cowboy from one of the cattle stations on the Gibb Road, a blue collar worker from town, and a Englishman who has been living in Derby for 14 years. The Spinifex bar is considered the working class bar in town and I was the only foreigner that I could see. This led to a few hours of very interesting conversation. Including, at one point, a very “friendly” Maori (New Zealand native people) lady who showed up and tried to get the gay man to feel her breasts (enough said). I assume they knew one another.

I still had one more day (Thursday) to spend in Derby. I couldn’t get a room earlier in Broome because it was packed. I spent most of it reading and watching television. On Friday, I got up at four and caught the bus to Broome. Broome is everything Derby wasn’t. It is lively and vibrant. Accomodations are packed. I am staying at a Backpackers on Cable Beach which is rated as one of Australia’s best beaches, and I agree. The town was founded as a pearling center. It used to have a large Japanese and Chinese population that would dive for pearls. I spent my first day walking around the vibrant, yet small, downtown shopping area and once again checking out the hostel boards for anyone going to Perth (everyone is going to Darwin). I spent the evening reading and swimming on Cable beach which has a broad white sand area and water with a color that I haven’t seen since leaving the South Pacific.

Today, in addition to typing this entry, I spent the morning at the local market. The market is similar to the one in Darwin and has live bands, shops, and food stalls. I ate lunch consisting of chicken stir fry while I listened to one of the bands. I will probably spend this evening again lounging on the stunning beach. I plan to stay in Broome no later than Wednesday. I am currently looking for people to share the cost of a car rental. As in Adelaide, it will be cheaper for me to take a tour to Perth than rent a car by myself, so I may end up doing that. There is a 10 day tour to Perth for $1120. Besides, it turns out that it will take at least 10 days to get a replacement driver’s license, so I can’t rent a car alone anyway.



Tags: ,

5 Responses to “The Gibb River Road and Derby”

  1. mark Vranderic Says:

    Barry, I continue to enjoy your updates. Mostly sending the comment to make sure you realize folks are still reading and following your exploits. You are certainly seeing the world a unique way.

  2. Posted from United States United States
  3. Niki Says:

    Hey Barry! Just wanted to let you know that I have been enjoying your travels! I hope all is well!
    Niki

  4. Posted from United States United States
  5. bayougenius Says:

    Well I Know us women can be complicated, but golly you didnt have to tell everyone in the whole cyberspace…..LOL….just kiddin! Well sounds like you’re having fun! Adios Amigo!

  6. Posted from United States United States
  7. Dogwood Dell Says:

    Looks like the adventure continues. A number of us in Cola are reading your accounts.

    When visiting the photos on Flickr, it appears that you are also acquiring a stronger photographic eye.

    BTW…you may wish to update your travel map if time permits. It still has you in San Fran.

    Safe travels and have fun!

  8. Posted from United States United States
  9. admin Says:

    I am probably going to remove the travel map. I have never got it to work right. After I update it either disappears or loses my places. I should just remove it I suppose.

  10. Posted from Australia Australia
  11. Preeti Says:

    As the closet feminist reader, I must say that I found your travels with women to be very amusing. Don’t you know that all decisions have life-changing effects? In defense of bathroom breaks, most of the guys I know take more of them than I do. Keep up the good writing…

  12. Posted from United States United States

Leave a Reply