Gibb River Road Early Season: Rain, Gorges and the Pentecost
- Adventure Lifestyle
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
We took on the eastern half of the Gibb River Road early season, right on the tail end of the wet, and the country threw a bit of everything at us. A few days of rain, gorges running harder than we had dared hope, a string of camps we mostly had to ourselves, and the mighty Pentecost River crossing to finish. Early season on the Gibb is not for everyone, but get the timing right and there is a fair argument it is the best way to see it. Here is how the leg went.
Galvans Gorge
First stop on the back half was Galvans Gorge, a little waterfall a short walk off the track. A couple of days of rain had already had it running, and even under moody grey skies we were not hanging about getting in.
The water was perfect, the rope swing got a workout, and honestly the overcast made it. Not too hot, not too cold, and the whole place felt a bit wild with the cloud sitting low. We could have chilled there for hours.
Manning Gorge
From Galvans it was a short run up to Manning Gorge, one we had been looking forward to. The catch is you have to swim across the river just to start the walk, and after the rain it was colder and deeper than we expected. Worth it though. Manning was in full flow, pumping harder than any photo we had seen of it, and we spent a good hour just taking it in.
We also got some of the best people watching of our lives, including a few brave souls free climbing straight up the middle of the falls while it was running, which we will politely file under questionable.
We gave the swim a miss ourselves. The water was dark, freezing and frankly a bit eerie. A few tips if you are heading in: the walk is steep and rocky so wear proper shoes, it is a ten dollar per person day pass and well worth it, and in peak season they ask you to leave the falls by 3pm to get back to the car park before dark. Oh, and there is frozen garlic bread at the Mount Barnett roadhouse, which became very relevant to our dinner plans.
Rained in at Hann River
We rolled into Hann River late, and with free camping at a premium this time of year, we ended up on a grassy patch a safe distance back from the water. The crocs can have the riverbank. It was cold and drizzling, so we got the awnings out, lit a little fire in the pit and cooked up that loaf of Black and Gold garlic bread wrapped in foil on the coals. Gourmet stuff.
Then the rain properly set in. We spent the next day shifting camp a couple of hundred metres up the river to a better spot, playing cards, making jaffle cakes and keeping the fire going, because twenty degrees is genuinely cold when you are built for the west coast. The main reason we sat tight was the road. We were not about to go travelling on it wet and chopping it up like a few others had, so we waited it out, wandered up to check the conditions, and only moved on once it had dried off and the traffic was flowing again. Aired down, took it easy, no dramas.
Warla Gorge, Mount Elizabeth Station
With the road good again, we backtracked onto Mount Elizabeth Station to a spot the locals call the beach, and you can see why. Warla Gorge had little rapids running through it, red rock all around, and not another soul in sight. It was still too cold for a swim, shoulder season will do that, so we settled for some hummus, crackers and the view.
We weighed up pushing on to Wunnamurra Gorge, but with the clock against us and camp still to find, we let it go and dropped back down to the Gibb.
A camp to ourselves at the Gibb River crossing
We pulled into our next camp in the pouring rain, but it turned out to be a cracker. A spot right by the causeway with little falls splitting around an island, full of freshwater crocs, green as anything, and not another person there. The only sting was a gouged sidewall and a flat tyre, courtesy of a rocky spot we had camped on during the rain earlier in the week. Nothing dramatic, and exactly why we carry two spares.
Worth noting we did not actually cross the Gibb River here, because Kalumburu Road was still closed beyond Dale River Station. Another early season closure to add to the list, but that is the trade off you accept this time of year.
Home Valley Station and crossing the Pentecost
From there it was a couple of hundred kilometres east towards the Pentecost and a night at Home Valley Station, right on the river with the Cockburn Ranges filling the view.
We rolled in to find a row of very familiar rigs already set up, the 4WD 24/7 crew, which had Paul quietly fanging out. We wandered up to the bar that evening, had a beer, met a few of the boys and got a good look at the rigs. Good blokes, for the record.
The next morning we were up early to cross the Pentecost at low tide, which has been catching a few people out this season. We took it steady, picked our line, and it went through without any drama. The river put on a show on the way out too.
Is the Gibb River Road early season worth it?
Crossing the Pentecost, the whole early season gamble made sense. Yes, we got rained in. Yes, we copped a few road closures, Kalumburu Road and the Home Valley walking trails shut for burning off among them, plus a good few cold days when we would normally be swimming. But we had gorges to ourselves that are shoulder to shoulder by July, water running like we might never see again, and the Gibb at its greenest. If that is the price of early season, we will pay it every time.
Just up the road was the turn into El Questro, but that is a whole episode on its own, so we will pick it up there next time.
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