Broken down ?

That is actually not a half bad idea at all ! Keep it sml to fit in glove box and have a spot at bottom for a signature to approve sending help.
If we had mobile reception out here it would make these things 100 % easier as the biggest problem lies in the fact we can't speak to the people unless they have a sat phone. To top it off even if they do have one half of them hardly work anyway, seems to be a dearth of satellites for some services in this area.
Had some folks today trying to book in for dinner ....... I think.
After a few tries where I got the odd word between the static they gave up.
cheers, Anne

Great constructive reply OREJAP.

Cheers Trevor.

I also agree OREJAP. Very well thought out. Hope a few suggestions can turn it into a useable product. Bob.

Hi Barnsey,

I never normally make a flat recommendation like that, there are simply to many variables .

Hundreds of people now take trailers, camper vans and even caravans up there.
While most get in and out ok, many also suffer damage ranging from minor to real bad.

The thing is all these dirt roads up here are never the same, they change from month to month. That is why there are so many varied opinions on if the North Kimberley roads are better than expected or a horror story. People do it once and think that that is what for example the Gibb River Road is always like.
Well it's not and neither is the Mitchell Plateau track.
The three roads I am talking about GR road, Kalumburu & MP track are cared for by different funding and different bodies.
This means that there is no hope of them all being graded at the same times or even the same number of times per year. Add this to the different base quality of each road in different areas of land types etc and even if it was all just worked on it will still be different in places.
Don't forget we are talking about over 1000 km of roads for the three roads.

Towing anything to Mitchell Falls depends on,
state of the road at the time ( no way anyone can tell you in advance)
Strength / build of what you are towing.
How much weight you have in it.
How hard your tryes are.
The speed you do.
How you drive ie crawl over a bad bit.

We have towed many things , many times in and out of plateau without damage.
On the other hand we every year repair damage done by the same track.

Just because a trailer has 4X4 off road stickers all over it and some salesman told you it would go anywhere doesn't mean it is well built or strong.
If the corrugations are bad and you go fast with hard tryes you will very likely do damage.
If the road has been graded and you take it easy you should have no trouble at all towing in to there.
Having said all that there are still sharp creeks to cross and at present water still on the road so again it comes back to each persons set up.
If for example you have a low hung rig and you don't angle over one creek crossing you will drag on the creek bed.
There is simply no way anyone can advise you on the correct decision.
The track is now done by 4WD tour buses, fuel trucks and many vehicles towing many things.
If you meet any vehicle especially a large one or one towing on one of those bends and either of you is going to fast or on the wrong side of the road you could well have a problem. The track is narrow in places, tree lined and often has a decent height windrow, so there is little choice of taking to the scrub to avoid each other. This is clearly seen from your photo.
Again having said that the track is now much wider than it used to be, many of the sharpest bends have been improved. It is also now graded at least once , sometimes twice per season.
In years gone by it could well not be graded at all during the dry season. The other thing to remember is that the grader can only do so much, in many places there is almost no gravel to grade it's just rock with a thin layer of gravel spread over by the grader. It takes no time at all for the traffic to return it to bare surface.

The corrugations do come back fast as well in peak season when the use is heavy.

What I normally say to folks is consider not making the final decision till you get up here. Hope to take it in but either have swag so you can overnight without the van ( leave it here for free) or as a last resort do a day trip from the King Edward camp ground.
This second option does make for a pretty rushed trip though, especially if the road is bad.
Thing is once you are in the area you will daily get to talk to other people that have just done the road and you will get a real idea of just what it is like at the time of your trip.
Sorry can't help more than that, we get the question constantly and there simply is no constant answer.
Might put this up as a new post while I'm at it, you clearly have done MP track already.
I hate telling people if they should or shouldn't do this or other stuff regarding the roads as Murphy's law says my recommendation will prove to be wrong !
cheers, Anne

Hi Austravel,

Gibb River is not on our place so it isn't up to us to allow or not allow camping.

We were asked to tell travelers it was not an overnight area.
I fully understand the reasons the rule was made.

The reason so many places have ceased the practice is the hell of a mess that gets left behind.
Toilet stuff not buried, rubbish left behind, camp fires left burning and as each person wants a tad of privacy then each forces a bit further and further along the river banks. All this on land someone else is paying to lease.
All the vehicles turning around close to the banks disturbs the soil and all the tents, and vehicles kill the grass, then along comes the first flood and washes the disturbed banks away.

Was ok in the old days when the use was light, we all used to allow free camping most anywhere. Now days as 50 to 80 odd people were camping on the Gibb on one night alone in peak season ( with no toilet at all) you can quickly comprehend the mess that was being created.

Frankly it stunk and most folks wouldn't have wanted to camp there anymore anyway while it was like that.
So sorry but as far as I know it's still day use only. I think eventually it may well become a proper cared for camping area.
cheers, Anne

Hi Anne

Thanks for the reply, I was wrong in who owned and closed it down. I know what you mean about the stress of over use in areas. I was there in 2006 and actually found it pretty clean even though there was a lot of concentrated use from mid afternoon to early morning. I can imagine it's more like the Cape now were rubbish is becoming more of an issue. How hard is it to take out your own rubbish and bury your own waste. Obviously very difficult for many. Some think the problem is from a small percentage. I doubt that and think the small percentage are those that actually do the right thing as a whole. There is no way the amount of rubbish and toilet paper you see around is from a small minority. Sadly it's just the way of the future. Just as an example- the other day at Bunnings I noticed the amount of rubbish in the car park. Drink containers, receipts, used paper towel from the sausage sizzle. People are becoming worse and I really don't understand the reasons why. No wonder places get closed and there's more to come.

Would be good if it gets re-opened with toilets and bins. However like most places with amenities I bet they never get cleaned and bins emptied once a month. If a rest stop is budgeted for the state should budget for on going maintenance. You notice that's not the case and some initially nice rest stops in CQ are now disgusting.

Regards