Top 5 Must See Places on the Gibb River Road

The Gibb River Road is a notorious 660km unsealed road in the far north, Kimberly region of WA. It boasts an array of spectacular gorges, waterfalls and campgrounds. Many travellers every year brave the corrugated road to catch a glimpse of its beauty. Here’s my top 5 places we saw…

Manning Gorge

This was definitely the highlight of our stops on the Gibb River Road. It was so great that we even extended the number of nights we stayed here. The campsite is located alongside the Manning River, and it’s simply spectacular and picturesque. The hike into the gorge was fun, and it included a river crossing using tubs to transport bags and personal items to keep them dry (there’s no other way around it except to swim). The waterfall at the end of the hike was breathtakingly beautiful, with stunning clear water to swim in. We spent a few hours here jumping off the rocks and playing.

There’s a fuel station just outside the campground where you can stock up on essentials. I highly recommend their burger! The campground also has well-maintained showers and toilets available to campers.

Mitchell Falls

Although it’s an additional 172 kilometers off the Gibb River Road, the travel out there is highly worth it. This is WA’s tallest waterfall. This remote area of the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley floods during the wet season. We did the helicopter tour over the falls and could not recommend it enough. Whilst the helicopter tour is only 6 minutes, but it felt so much longer—we couldn’t believe it. The aerial view of the waterfall is something otherworldly. The hike was far less challenging than anticipated. We swam and played under the waterfall at Big Pond.

El questro station

A must-do and a “gateway” to the Gibb from the Kununurra end of the road. The campsite was fantastic with excellent service, the perfect place to stay and access some of the most beautiful walking trails, waterfalls, and hot springs. Check out my ELQ guide to see all the places we explored. This is definitely one you cannot miss!

Galvins gorge

This was one of my absolute favorite gorges! It’s a lot smaller with only a short walk from the car park. Galvin’s boasted the prettiest waterfall with a pool perfect for swimming at the bottom. There’s even a rope swing from one of the trees into the pool for a little more fun! Above the waterfall sits a spectacular boab tree. An indigenous rock art site is also found at this site. Something about this place just felt special.

Pentecost river crossing

The infamous 60m tidal river crossing at the Kununurra end of the unsealed track that makes up the Gibb River Road. We’d heard a lot about this and admittedly were rather nervous about the crossing before arriving. This was far from the deepest or most challenging river crossing we completed. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful, showing off the ranges in the background. Some of the ease of passing could be put down to crossing at low tide, so definitely check these, but I don’t think this was that much of a major factor at the time of year we traveled. Given more time, we would’ve loved to set up camp along the banks as many other free campers had. This is a popular spot for a reason.