Getting to the Mitchell Falls
The Mitchell Plateau Track

The Mitchell Falls are the hardest to reach attraction in the Kimberley, at least among the big and well known attractions.

The Mitchell Plateau Track is not a gazetted road. You generally can not get insurance for hired cars for the drive to the Mitchell Falls.

But as the photos below show, that doesn't stop people from going...

Here are some images of that track to show you what to expect.

This is what the track itself typically looks like:

Most of the drive is not all that bad. That are very typical pictures of that track. The images don't really show how rough and uneven it is. You can't drive fast at all. The 85 km drive typically takes 2 - 3 hours.

If you would stand where my car is in that image, and would turn left, you'd see this:

The drive often brings you close to the edge of the plateau and the views are great. But the track also does a lot of climbing up and down.

This part of the road is good, and I'm kicking myself now for not taking photos of the holes and wash outs of other sections.

Whenever you come across a steeper section of the track take extra care. Often there will be holes big enough to swallow your whole car. You only see them at the very last moment, as you come over the top of the crest.

If you are ready for that you should be fine. There is always enough room to drive around those holes.

The only other obstacle on that track is the infamous King Edward River crossing.

That is a hired campervan. And so is this:

That, by the way, is the same vehicle that is on the cover of the Destination Kimberley book.

The people in those hire vehicles did not have insurance for that drive. I am too much of a chicken to risk that, but as you can see, a lot of people do.

All the photos above and the others below were taken very early in the season, within two weeks of the track being opened.

The Mitchell Plateau drains very slowly and this track is usually the last one in the Kimberley to open, long after the Gibb River Road opens. And after a big wet sesaon that may be as late as June!

Sorry about the image quality. The pictures are stills of a video someone took of me in the old ute going across.

And this picture was taken by reader Tina from Germany. Her account of her King Edward River crossing is here.

Next page: The hike to the Mitchell Falls

Mitchell Falls main page.

Return to top

Read about other attractions along the Gibb River Road

Return to Kimberley Australia Travel Guide home page