If you’ve ever travelled to popular spots such as the Ningaloo Coast, Litchfield National Park or the Gibb River Road, you’ll understand the kinds of crowds those places attract in peak season. It’s peak for a reason, the weather is usually the best and conditions are the most favourable for travel, so everyone heads there to enjoy.
The issue is, you’re all there at once! In my opinion, there’s nothing worse than hiking to a beautiful, natural waterfall and feeling like I’m you’re Wet N Wild with new busloads of people rocking up every 15 minutes.
One way I’ve tried to get around the crowd surges that take camping from relaxation station to chaos is converting to a shoulder season or off-season traveller. There have definitely been times this has worked well for me, for example I headed to Winderabandi Point in November (considered off-season) and was one of five vans that lined the crystal clear, turquoise water with an immaculate beach-front view. (If you’re a part of any Facebook caravanning and camping groups you’ll know Winderabandi Point is booked out months ahead and in peak season there’s never a lick of space). The trade off for being there in the off-season was some windy days.
But what about the iconic Gibb River Road? Is it worth booking in advance, paying peak prices and braving the crowds during peak season?
Firstly, how do you define peak season and what’s off season?
When we’re talking about the Gibb River Road, it’s important to note it is closed for the wet season which falls between December and March. Unfortunately you don’t have the chance to be an off-season traveller here, but it’s for good reason as the region receives a significant portion of its annual rainfall in the wet season.
It then reopens in April and peak season will land in the middle of the season, which is roughly June, July and August.
I travelled the Gibb from early October to late October, so this is the time of the year I’ll be referencing in my experience.
Things you need to consider
The conditions
If you were to head there during April and May (considered shoulder season) you’ll be at the tail end of the wet season humidity and some river crossings may still be too deep to pass in your vehicle. However, given the area would have just received a heap of rain, you’ll have the chance to see the Gibb in its most glorious and lush appearance. Think full rivers, gorges and gushing waterfalls!
If you were to do what we did and head there in October (the tail end shoulder season), you’ve arrived at the very end of the dry season.
For us, this meant temperatures were hot and there was relentless humidity throughout the nights. We experienced scorching 46 degrees celsius temperatures during the day with the nights not dropping below 30 degrees celsius. This heat combined with an inability to swim in some of the areas, due to the threat of saltwater crocodiles, made for a pretty uncomfortable stay.
I definitely think if we’d experienced more bearable temperatures that we’d have been able to spend a lot more time on the Gibb. In the end, it was a relief to finish the Gibb because it meant we could find our way to air conditioning.
The stays aren’t all open
A big one to be aware of is the opening and closing dates of the station stays that are located on the Gibb. If you’re there in the early shoulder season most stations are still opening up from the wet season, so you’ll need to keep in mind that some may not be fully operational in April. Likewise with the late shoulder season, some stations close their gates at the end of September and others begin to wind down operations and stop offering things such as food services.
We found that heading to El Questro in October was an advantage as we received a discount of 30% on our accommodation and visitors permit. Sadly their restaurant was no longer operating, but we had this in mind before we left and had shopped for enough food and supplies to cater for ourselves.
Home Valley Station was one of our favourite stays as even in October they had their bar and restaurant operating (which serves an excellent chicken parmi). They also have a pool at their park which made our few days there very bearable as we were on a powered site which was pumping air conditioning throughout our van and we were able to chill in the pool during the day. I even sat around the pool with my laptop to get some work done as we were one of only three vans there at the time.
Sadly, we missed out on Mt Barnett and Mt Elizabeth which were two station stays that we were really keen to check out. They had already closed their gates for the wet season by October, however we now have a reason to go back again!
The free camps
One of the biggest advantages of travelling in the shoulder season is the access to the free camps. We’d heard horror stories of people having to get up at 6am and wait by the Pentecost River for hours on end for someone to clear out so they could quickly slot into their spot.
There are a bunch of incredible free camping spots that we headed to like the Pentecost River, Gibb River Free Camp and Lennard River Rest Stop, and naturally they get pretty packed in peak season!
We were lucky enough to never have to do a morning dash to search for a spot and even more so that we had the free camps mostly to ourselves. Camping along the Pentecost River as the only setup there was quite a surreal experience and allowed us to get the most out of the site.
As mentioned before, the heat was a downside again here as we were not hooked up to a powered site where we could run our air conditioning. We were battling with the humidity for the nights that we free camped with our sirocco fans working overtime and all our windows opened for ventilation.
There was one afternoon on the Pentecost River where we both sat in the shade so zapped of energy from the heat that we couldn’t even talk. Had we not been so hot, we’d probably have spent 3-4 nights camped there instead of just one.
free camp pentecost river gibb river road
The gorges and the hikes
Travelling out of peak season meant we had the gorge walks and swimming holes to ourselves, which gave us a sense of peace and meant we got to enjoy every inch of the area.
Keep in mind that some of these hikes can be quite strenuous and combined with the extreme heat in shoulder season, you’re going to want to head off to these hikes first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.
I hiked Emma Gorge on my own, pulled up as the only car in the carpark, didn’t see anyone on the walk and finished hours later, returned to the car and was still the only vehicle there. I can guarantee you’re not going to have that kind of experience in peak season and it’s now one of my favourite memories.
We also were the only people swimming at Bell Gorge and Galvans Gorge which meant we got to enjoy the serenity, even though the waterfall was starting to run a little weak.
lennard gorge gibb river road
el questro hike gibb river road
The verdict
Was it worth braving the heat and missing out on some stations to reap the benefit of no crowds? I personally would say yes. Should we return to the Gibb River Road to experience it during peak season? Maybe! I’ll be an entirely new experience and give use the chance to visit new stations that we're closed during our last visit.
To sum up the Gibb in one sentence, I’d say pick your poison. You can swap crowds for hot temperatures and/or experience it across various seasons, enriching your experience of travelling Australia for the better.
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