The Kimberley decides your vehicle, whether you asked or not
Two roads connect Broome and Kununurra, with very different surfaces, stops and preparation.
Most people get the Kimberley wrong in the same way, and they get it wrong before they leave home. They book a campervan in Broome, because a campervan is the sensible thing to hire for a long Australian drive. Then they read about the Gibb River Road and discover the hire does not cover it. By then the vehicle is paid for and the road is out of reach.
None of that is stupid. The Gibb looks like the shorter way across on a map, and Broome looks like the place to start. Both are true, and they do not add up to what people think they add up to.
Two roads, one destination, two different trips
The Great Northern Highway runs from Broome to Kununurra in 1,129 km and about 13 hours of driving, sealed the whole way. Derby is the first 224 km of it, and Derby is where the decision gets made, because that is where the Gibb River Road turns off and heads east across the same country.
The Gibb River Road is approximately 647 km and mostly unsealed, with sealed sections. Conditions, crossings and side trips determine how long the journey takes.
Why the shorter road can take longer
The Gibb does not save you a day. It costs you five to seven of them, which is the usual allowance for driving it properly, against 13 hours on the highway. That is not a road that happens to be slow. It is a road where the driving is the smaller half of the day.
You do not take the Gibb to reach Kununurra. You take it because the gorge country sits along it and the gorge country is why this part of Australia is worth the flight. The highway goes around all of it, quickly and comfortably, and delivers you to the same town having seen none of it.
So the trade is not kilometres against kilometres. It is a way of arriving against a trip in its own right, and the only question is which of those you have the days for.
What the Gibb asks for, and what it does not
High clearance is the minimum and 2WD is not recommended. That is the whole technical requirement, and it is looser than people fear in one direction and stricter than they assume in another. You do not need an expedition vehicle. You need something that sits high enough for the road, and you need a hire company that permits the road at all.
The second part is a contract question, not an engineering one, and it is the part that actually decides the trip. Plenty of vehicles that would handle the Gibb are not allowed on it by the people who own them.
Much of the road is unsealed, with corrugations, dust and crossings that can change after rain. The road often closes during the wet season; opening dates vary. Check Main Roads WA and the relevant local authorities before departure.
Where the sealed road earns its 13 hours
If the Kimberley is one section of a longer trip, the highway is not a compromise. Derby to Kununurra on bitumen is 905 km, through country that changes slowly and towns that are small and far apart. It is a long drive and a good one, and it leaves the Gibb for the trip where you have the days for it.
What it does not give you is the gorge country. No version of the highway puts you inside it. That is the honest summary: comfort and time on one side, the thing you came for on the other.
The order to decide in
Road first, then vehicle, then hire. It sounds obvious written down and almost nobody does it, because the vehicle is the part you can book and the road is the part you have to think about. In Broome both roads leave the same place and end in the same town, and only one of them narrows your hire to a single class. Get that order backwards and you have made the decision by accident, which is how most people end up on the highway wishing they were not.
If the Gibb is the road you want
A suitable high-clearance 4WD may be needed. Before booking, confirm current road conditions and whether the hire agreement permits the Gibb and any side roads.
To compare options for the Kimberley, explore Wicked Campers’ 4WD and campervan hire in Broome and confirm that your hire agreement permits every road you plan to take.
Questions people ask
Can I drive the Gibb in a campervan?
A standard campervan is not the vehicle. High clearance is the minimum and 2WD is not recommended, so the class you need is a 4WD. Plenty of hire agreements prohibit the road outright, which settles it before the road does.
How long does the sealed route take?
Broome to Kununurra is 1,129 km and about 13 hours of driving. That is two long days or three comfortable ones, and the towns are far enough apart that you should pick which before you leave.
When can I drive it at all?
The Gibb is often closed during the wet season, but dates and restrictions vary. Check Main Roads WA and local road reports before committing to the route.