We are off end of June to do the West Coast. Going up to Katherine on to Kunanurra. Have'nt made up our minds yet whether to go Gibb River or not, then down to Broome, Perth and back on the Nullarbor. Would love to meet up with any Nomads on the same track.We have done the Darwin bit before but the West will be a new experience for us. We plan to do a lot of free camps along the way, so any advice from listers who have done this would be most appreciated.
Regards,
Magnarc. (Phil)
Birdy1710 said
11:42 PM Apr 9, 2013
Magnarc wrote:
Hi All,
We are off end of June to do the West Coast. Going up to Katherine on to Kunanurra. Have'nt made up our minds yet whether to go Gibb River or not, then down to Broome, Perth and back on the Nullarbor. Would love to meet up with any Nomads on the same track.We have done the Darwin bit before but the West will be a new experience for us. We plan to do a lot of free camps along the way, so any advice from listers who have done this would be most appreciated.
Regards,
Magnarc. (Phil)
G,day Phil, am leaving hopefully mid may to do a similar trip, i will go and have a quick look at Darwin as i,ve never been there. Not sure about the Gibb River either,
from what i,ve heard its a bit of a challenge to the unprepared, i,ll leave the decision untill i get a bit closer and maybe get a bit of local knowledge.
Looking forward to the trip though and hopefully meeting up with a few Nomads on the way.
Cheers Dave
Duh said
03:02 AM Apr 10, 2013
Magnarc wrote:
Hi All,
We are off end of June to do the West Coast. Going up to Katherine on to Kunanurra. Have'nt made up our minds yet whether to go Gibb River or not, then down to Broome, Perth and back on the Nullarbor. Would love to meet up with any Nomads on the same track.We have done the Darwin bit before but the West will be a new experience for us. We plan to do a lot of free camps along the way, so any advice from listers who have done this would be most appreciated.
Regards,
Magnarc. (Phil)
Hi Phil, you don't say what type of rig you have, some rigs are not suitable for the Gibb River road. There are a lot of free camps in Camps 7 between Katherine and Broome, some good stuff in Cindy's The Grey Nomads Guide too.
Don't rush and bypass some good spots along the way between Katherine and Broome, especially Lake Argyle, Gieke Gorge, Winjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek etc. Also don't be put off by what you hear about Halls Creek (ok in daytime, safe in the CP at night but place full of interest and a trip to old halls creek a must, but get info first from Tourist Bureau), like the other towns, Kununurra and Fitzroy, go to the tourist bureau there and get info on the areas you are in and ahead of you.
Monkey Mia is fine, can stay there or in Denham and visit from there. I didn't like Coral Bay (been there a couple of times, when road was unsealed and later), too packed with tourists, however the Mrs likes it, so each to their own. Suggest have a read of Yeoeleven's blog, especially for the south west.
-- Edited by Duh on Wednesday 10th of April 2013 03:13:55 AM
leevin said
06:05 AM Apr 10, 2013
Kununurra is good, Coral Bay is a must, Kalbarri is another great stop. Monkey Mia was a big disappointment. Lot's of beautiful places in the west. We will be back.
vk6tnc said
06:49 AM Apr 10, 2013
Don't miss the SW of WA. Follow the coast south of Perth, then head up to Norseman from Esperance, and hit the Nullarbor....
Magnarc said
08:34 AM Apr 10, 2013
Thanks to all for your input, will be reading Yeoeleven's blog. Duh, we have a stock standard 22' Jayco Heritage towed with Pajero diesel so from what I can gather the Gibb might not be such a good idea!! I thought that the road might be good enough to go down even if it was dirt but will not be taking chances at our age, we are well past the risk taking phase!!! Once again thanks to all for your replies.
-- Edited by Magnarc on Wednesday 10th of April 2013 08:34:52 AM
Gerty Dancer said
03:36 PM Apr 10, 2013
A very important consideration is the school holidays in NT and WA. During school hols the caravan parks and campgrounds will be full to capacity. You will need to book ahead for the 3 week WA hols. We tried to "hide" in Derby during that time, found it was absolutely packed, went out to Windjana Gorge, and the huge campgrounds there were also packed. We loved it anyway but I think we might have enjoyed it even more if it was less crowded.
Magnarc said
03:38 PM Apr 10, 2013
Birdy, look out for a Jayco Heritage hauled by a Pajero with two Nomad stickers on the rear van bumper bar, Would love to meet up with you somewhere.
Duh said
05:33 PM Apr 10, 2013
Definitely not a rig you would use for The Gibb River Road, I met up with a chap with a double wheeler caravan at Turkey Creek (Warnum) who had busted his springs taking it over there, also a friend who had taken his A'van A'liner camper trailer and ruined it, especially inside.
Some leave their vans at Derby (CP) and just take their 4WD and tent for the experience.
I was talking to Magic Bob yesterday and he mentioned what a great place Barn Hill was, he has a large caravan like yours. See;
However he said he came across two caravans that had broken the A frames on their caravans due to the stresses on the dips and rises on the road in, this was caused by the pressure exerted by their WDH (Weight Distribution Hitches) which need to be unhitched if using them for that type of road.
Magnarc said
05:53 PM Apr 10, 2013
Thanks Duh, We may decide to leave the van and do a bit of 4wd in there instead. A wrecked van is not what we need at stage!!!
Birdy1710 said
07:09 PM Apr 10, 2013
Magnarc wrote:
Birdy, look out for a Jayco Heritage hauled by a Pajero with two Nomad stickers on the rear van bumper bar, Would love to meet up with you somewhere.
Certainly will keep a lookout for your rig. I also have a Jayco, it,s an Destiny Outback & Colorado Diesel also have the stickers on the bumper.
Hi All,
We are off end of June to do the West Coast. Going up to Katherine on to Kunanurra. Have'nt made up our minds yet whether to go Gibb River or not, then down to Broome, Perth and back on the Nullarbor. Would love to meet up with any Nomads on the same track.We have done the Darwin bit before but the West will be a new experience for us. We plan to do a lot of free camps along the way, so any advice from listers who have done this would be most appreciated.
Regards,
Magnarc. (Phil)
G,day Phil, am leaving hopefully mid may to do a similar trip, i will go and have a quick look at Darwin as i,ve never been there. Not sure about the Gibb River either,
from what i,ve heard its a bit of a challenge to the unprepared, i,ll leave the decision untill i get a bit closer and maybe get a bit of local knowledge.
Looking forward to the trip though and hopefully meeting up with a few Nomads on the way.
Cheers Dave
Hi Phil, you don't say what type of rig you have, some rigs are not suitable for the Gibb River road. There are a lot of free camps in Camps 7 between Katherine and Broome, some good stuff in Cindy's The Grey Nomads Guide too.
Don't rush and bypass some good spots along the way between Katherine and Broome, especially Lake Argyle, Gieke Gorge, Winjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek etc. Also don't be put off by what you hear about Halls Creek (ok in daytime, safe in the CP at night but place full of interest and a trip to old halls creek a must, but get info first from Tourist Bureau), like the other towns, Kununurra and Fitzroy, go to the tourist bureau there and get info on the areas you are in and ahead of you.
Monkey Mia is fine, can stay there or in Denham and visit from there. I didn't like Coral Bay (been there a couple of times, when road was unsealed and later), too packed with tourists, however the Mrs likes it, so each to their own. Suggest have a read of Yeoeleven's blog, especially for the south west.
http://yeoeleven.blogspot.com.au/ Suggest start from the beginning and read it through....
Read these guides, particularly the bottom of this first one, Planning Your Trip;
http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Welcome_to_Western_Australia.aspx
This one from WA Main Roads has good info and also shows Rest Areas and 24 hour stop overs, see;
https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/UsingRoads/TouringWAMaps/Pages/TouringWAMaps.aspx
-- Edited by Duh on Wednesday 10th of April 2013 03:13:55 AM
Coral Bay is a must,
Kalbarri is another great stop.
Monkey Mia was a big disappointment.
Lot's of beautiful places in the west.
We will be back.
Thanks to all for your input, will be reading Yeoeleven's blog. Duh, we have a stock standard 22' Jayco Heritage towed with Pajero diesel so from what I can gather the Gibb might not be such a good idea!! I thought that the road might be good enough to go down even if it was dirt but will not be taking chances at our age, we are well past the risk taking phase!!!
Once again thanks to all for your replies.
-- Edited by Magnarc on Wednesday 10th of April 2013 08:34:52 AM
Definitely not a rig you would use for The Gibb River Road, I met up with a chap with a double wheeler caravan at Turkey Creek (Warnum) who had busted his springs taking it over there, also a friend who had taken his A'van A'liner camper trailer and ruined it, especially inside.
Some leave their vans at Derby (CP) and just take their 4WD and tent for the experience.
I was talking to Magic Bob yesterday and he mentioned what a great place Barn Hill was, he has a large caravan like yours. See;
http://www.barnhill.com.au/
However he said he came across two caravans that had broken the A frames on their caravans due to the stresses on the dips and rises on the road in, this was caused by the pressure exerted by their WDH (Weight Distribution Hitches) which need to be unhitched if using them for that type of road.
Certainly will keep a lookout for your rig. I also have a Jayco, it,s an Destiny Outback & Colorado Diesel also have the stickers on the bumper.