After some much-needed repairs to the camper and a service for the FJ it was time to tackle one of Australia’s more famous outback adventures, the Gibb River Road, an old cattle route that runs almost 700km through remote north-west WA in the heart of the Kimberley region.

Because the road is closed during the wet season (November to March), it can only be driven in the dry season so you need to plan your route accordingly.

As well as crossing WA, the Gibb River road provides fantastic camping, usually at beautiful gorges with waterholes that are free of both fresh and salt water crocodiles and provide spectacular scenery and refreshing waterfalls to stand or swim under.

One 4WD trip we recommend is the Karunjie Stock Route which starts at the Pentecost River crossing and runs along the base of the Cockburn Ranges to Wyndham. The stock route has very impressive scenery and massive Baob trees, some so large they were once used as prisons in the frontier days!

Our last stop on ‘The Gibb’ was at El Questro, a 404,685 hectare (1 million acre) cattle station where you can book private basic campsites along the river and explore the station and its gorges, water holes and walks via a number of self-drive 4WD trips (a couple of which have river crossings at headlight level).

Finally we crossed into the Northern Territory and made a beeline for Australia’s largest National Park and another world heritage site, Kakadu. It is so big you need to shift campgrounds as you explore its 20,000 square km. It also has a little known uranium mine right in the middle of it!

On our way to Darwin we stopped at Mary River known for jumping croc river tours. Saltwater crocs can leap almost their own length out of the water to grab unsuspecting birds sitting in trees. 

In Darwin we sold our once brand new camper for $1500 less than we paid for it brand new just over four months earlier in Sydney, highlighting the fact of course that it had just one careful owner!

The Outback really gets under your skin, so much so that Carolyn and I have already started planning our next adventure across the ditch!

To read the full story in the March 2015 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale March 23) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.