Gibb River Road and the Pentecost River

[isaynor]

Hello,
Im looking for some advice. Im about to purchase a 2021 Subaru Forester and a camper trailer and travel up the west coast of Australia in 2022. I want to do some beach camping as well as caravan park camping. The plan is to travel along the Gibb River Road. has any one done this and what didi they think of the creek and river crossings, particularly the Pentecost and the road into the ElQuestro. How good is X Mode in these situations?

Interested in your thoughts.

Many thanks

Ian

 

[Kevin]

G'day & Welcome @isaynor
Beach camping with a trailer may be an issue if the sand is soft and/or the trailer is heavy i.e. you may get on the beach but not get off. You'll be fine on the Gibb in the dry but you will need good tyres as the shale can be brutal on sidewalls. The road into ElQuestro is maintained in very good order; I actually preferred Home Valley Station but it's all a part of the experience.
if you want to see the Mitchell Falls I suggest do it by air from one of the stations as the Kalumburu Road was rough as guts when I did it in 2016 to Drysdale River Station and I believe it gets even worse to the Falls so check conditions. Can't recall if Home Valley offered flights but there are two things you must do in the Kimberley being the Horizontal Falls and a scenic fight over the Mitchell Falls and the archipelagoes. Kingfisher do a lot of air tours up there: Scenic Air Tours, Amazing Land Tours, Spectacular Cruises | Explore the Kimberleys with Kingfisher Tours
As for any of the crossings you will need to keep yourself up to date on the conditions.

 

[isaynor]

Thanks Kevin for your feedback. With the beach camping I was thinking more think just off the beach but with a view. Ive been told that river and creek crossings are okay up to 50cm or so. Is this correct? Im thinking of getting a small camper trailer nothing too heavy.

 

[Kevin]

@isaynor Without further research I don't know the wading depth of the 2021 but you'll probably be surprised how deep a Foz can go after adding a blind

 

[ABFoz]

Welcome to the forum!

How good is X Mode in these situations?

Subaru's Dual X-Mode is ridiculously useful but tyres and tyre pressure adjustments are your best friend in soft/loose surfaces.

Which tyres do you plan on putting?

Ive been told that river and creek crossings are okay up to 50cm or so. Is this correct?

That seems fine based on the wading depth of the Subarus here. I would still make sure that the diffs and the transmission have extended breathers just for insurance.

Cleaning/washing the underchassis is very important when driving on beach/salty terrain. If you are in a place where water is limited, you can treat your underchassis with lanolin and that will wick-off any salt/water that touches the treated surface.

but you'll probably be surprised how deep a Foz can go after adding a blind

Not sure, as well, but the BS9 Outback is rated to a wading depth of 800mm based on a local brochure.

 

[isaynor]

Thanks so far for all the feed back. The 2021 Forester has a ground clearance of 220mm. What are best tyres for a mixture of sand driving and the Gibb River Road?

 

[Kevin]

@isaynor I've recently been researching tyre replacement and unfortunately some of my preferred brands don't have the correct size and/or no stock for my 15" wheels however my shortlist is Falken Wildpeak AT3W; General Grabber AT3; Maxxis; Yokohama GO15. Of course BFG AT KO2 is an excellent tyre. I have been running BFG for many years, AT on the Foz and MT on the Triton, and they have never let me down but they are a bit too heavy for the Foz however I may get them again if I cannot obtain something else.

PS - forget to add - I will attempt to get General Grabber 22570R15

 

[Tedium]

As per Kevin, we did Gibb River Rd in 2016. Similarly, we found the Kalumburu Rd so bad we pulled the pin at Drysdale River Station. This was in my old (2001) Forester.
The river crossings including the Pentecost were a bit of an anticlimax though you should consult tide charts and try to manage that crossing at as low a tide as possible. All the advice about salt water crocodiles was a bit disconcerting but we returned with the same number of limbs that we left with.
Tyres were Maxxis AT's. We had no punctures though we did lower tyre pressures and drive at sensible speeds. We were periodically passed by heavy 4 wd's travelling at stupid speeds.
One Landrover driver was complaining to me at a campsite that he had experienced 3 punctures in 2 days. Conditions vary between and within seasons. How recently a grader has been through is also relevant. Seek current information on the web. Bridget Bradke has several very useful and informative guides.