i.m. smith

Gibb River Road, Australia

June, 2000

2 weeks / about 800 km

I started this trip by flying to Broome, WA and seeing some of the sights there before taking a bus to Derby. I remember staying in a room behind the town pub to get my bike ready… that was interesting. Setting off from Derby (and seeing the old ‘Prison Tree’ on the way out), the road was chip sealed for the first 50 km or so, but was then dirt and sand all the way to the main highway near Kununurra. A fat-bike would have been nice… even 2.1″ mtb tires aren’t enough for much of the outback Aussie sand. I rode solo to Manning Gorge, but then met up first with a German couple, and then a Swiss/Thai couple, and we were a peleton of five for a few days. Teresa and Sigi and I continued all the way to Kununurra together, where I ended and got on a bus to Darwin.

The going was tough at times due to the sandy and washboarded road surface, but then all of a sudden you come across rivers with clear water and some really amazing little gorges and waterfalls (Manning Gorge was incredible) that are great to cool off in. These are the highlight of the ride. I don’t know what it’s like there now (I’m writing this in 2024), but I’d highly recommend this route to any semi-experienced bikepacker/tourer.

Photo of a postcard
Signs at the start of the Gibb River Road, outside of Derby
The first section of the road was chip-sealed in one lane down the middle
Adcock Gorge
A short hike from the campground at Mt. Barnett leads to the stunning Manning Gorge and waterfall
Sigi wading through the Pentecost River
Cockburn Range
I think the names are Teresa, Sigi, Joseph, Barbara… and I’m the dork on the road.
Sign at the eastern end of the Gibb River Road

Looks like I had my new rear Torpeako panniers for this ride. I still have these on my commuter every day and have used them on every trip up to at least 2024. I was anti-chamois back then… completing this ride in all cotton clothing. What a dirtbag…