Derby sits on a flat peninsula of mud and mangroves at the edge of King Sound, in the far north-west of Western Australia, and it is where the Gibb River Road starts. The tides here are among the biggest in the country, rising and falling about eleven metres, so the shoreline retreats for hundreds of metres twice a day and the water runs fast and brown. The town is small, with around four thousand people, and it has the dusty, relaxed air of a place that does a bit of everything: cattle, mining services, Aboriginal art and tourism.
A few kilometres out of town stands a very old boab tree known as the Prison Tree, a hollow trunk where, according to local stories, prisoners were held overnight on the way to Derby in the late nineteenth century. Historians debate details, but the tree remains a striking sight. The Mowanjum Aboriginal community nearby has an art centre that is well worth a visit, with work by Wanjina artists whose images of spirit figures stand out in the Kimberley's rock art tradition.
The Gibb River Road was built in the 1960s as a way to move cattle from the stations of the Kimberley to the port at Derby. It runs about 660 kilometres east to Wyndham and Kununurra, and for most of its length it is unsealed gravel with corrugations, creek crossings and long distances between supplies. The dry season, from about May to September, is the only sensible time to ride. In the wet, the road floods and is closed. A rider should carry plenty of water, a spare tube, tools and enough fuel for the long gaps, and tell someone the plan.
Derby has fuel, a supermarket and basic services, and it is the last chance for supplies before the ranges. Roadhouses along the way, such as the one at Mount Barnett, sell fuel and food at remote prices, so budget accordingly. Heat is intense, so start at dawn and rest in the shade at midday.
The gorges are the reward. Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Bell Gorge and Manning Gorge are all within reach, with cool water, red rock and the occasional freshwater crocodile, so swim only where signs say it is safe.