After over four months on the road, our Hema Nomad Explorers made it to the beginning of Australia’s greatest adventure drive: the Gibb River Road.
This wasn’t our first trip down the iconic Gibb River Road, but it’s a bit different with a caravan and a small dog!
Bear in mind this isn’t just any caravan, and just as well! We chose the Sunland Patriot because we knew that destinations like the Gibb were part of our dream travel itinerary. We needed quality design and engineering that could withstand everything Australia’s toughest terrain could throw at it. Nevertheless, we started out wondering just how it would be towing all this luxury where many fear to go at all.
With Max along for the ride, we researched the campsites where he would be welcome and planned our trip accordingly. While there is no doubt that some still just pull up and camp along the road and riverbanks, local property owners much prefer that official campsites are utilised, and so we respected this.
Our first destination was El Questro. After several photo stops along the way, the junction into El Questro was the spot to stop and air down, as the dirt begins there. It is necessary to cross the Pentecost River just before the resort campground, which proved to be another typically breathtaking photo opportunity. Although water levels are low this year, we were grateful that both the Ranger and the van are high clearance and have the luxury of quality airbag suspension, ensuring the contents of both vehicles remained safe and sound.
El Questro has everything you could ask for in a campground, with options to suit every traveller. The rightful drawcards are El Questro and Emma gorges and many other natural attractions. We were not disappointed, making the most of the time we had to walk as many tracks and swim in as many water holes as possible. Max was happy relaxing at camp, as are most nomad dogs. We took advantage of Happy Hour at the bar to engage with Hema users and other like-minded nomads, while catching up with Brett & Di (some travellers we had met earlier on our journey).