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Kimberley and North West WA
Girl beside sandstone domes of Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park, Kimberley © Tourism Western Australia
Scroll down for details of Kimberley + NW Intro, Broome + nearby, Western Kimberley, Eastern Kimberley

Kimberley and the North West - Introduction
Rock art near Wyndham, Kimberley region © Tourism Western Australia Broome is the gateway to the Kimberley, a vast, wild and largely unspoiled area which stretches across the top of Australia to Wyndham and Kununurra near the border with Northern Territory.
The region is home to some superb examples of Aboriginal rock art. The famous Gibb River Road begins roughly 60 km east of Derby and runs across the northern part of the Kimberley until it joins the sealed road about 50 km from Kununurra. The Gibb River Road forms part of many of the safari-style small group tours and because it is often impassable in the wet season the majority of the Kimberley tours only run during the winter ‘Dry’. Looping around the south of the Kimberley from Broome to Kununurra is the sealed Great Northern Highway which is an all year round route. Having said this, the summer ‘Wet’ often sees extreme weather with cyclones and torrential rain making driving hazardous and even this road may become impassable.
Numerous operators run tours to the Kimberley, many of them camping. Accommodation is obviously limited and in the more remote areas, camping is the only choice. However as in other parts of Australia, very well appointed permanent safari style camp sites complete with beds, sheets and sometimes en suite facilities are springing up.
An increasing number of cruises are available off the Kimberley Coast using small ships which are able to approach the coast, usually with tenders used for daily land exploration. The cruises are normally confined to the dry winter months. When there are so few roads, this is a particularly good way to see wilderness areas and the wild coastline. Many of the cruises are at the luxury end of the market and are often booked out months before departure - see Kimberley Cruises.

Broome and nearby

Broome is still relatively small, with a growing population around 18,000 and an international airport. It is a surprisingly sophisticated town and grew up as a result of the Pearl Rush in the 1880s when pearl shells (mother of pearl) were collected as well as the much rarer pearls themselves. This resulted in an influx of workers of various nationalities from Asia, giving the town an exotic reputation. The prosperity faltered during the two World Wars and after World War II the Japanese started pearl farming in the area. English businessman Alistair McAlpine helped to set Broome on its current course when he encouraged its refurbishment in keeping with its exotic past. It has a reputation for being a very relaxing place to live, with its wonderful beaches and warm climate (albeit prone to cyclones in the summer season) and it is growing as an international tourist destination.
Staircase to the moon © Tourism Western Australia Broome has a good selection of hotels and accommodation, including international standard hotels. Roebuck Bay is the favoured viewing spot for the Staircase to the Moon in Broome. This phenomenon occurs at full moon between March and October when the moonlight reflects on the mudflats at low tide to give the appearance of a narrow staircase leading up to the moon.
A number of the major vehicle hire companies operate from Broome. Bear in mind that they insist on hiring 4WD vehicles for driving on unmade roads and also that many roads become impassable in the summer wet season.
Pearling tours and sightseeing tours around Broome are on offer. Numerous local tour operators offer day and longer tours, including aerial trips to the surrounding area which include the Buccaneer Archipelago and the Dampier Peninsula: (including Cape Leveque and the Aboriginal communities of Lombadina and Beagle Bay).

Western Kimberley

Windjana Gorge, Kimberley © Tourism Western AustraliaWindjana Gorge National Park www.naturebase.net(Windjana)
The park is 146 km east of Derby, accessed via the Gibb River Road over unsealed roads. The best time is during the winter dry season between May and September. The town of Fitzroy Crossing is 150 km east of the park. 
The park has a spectacular gorge (oictured) and is popular for canoeing and bird watching and has a number of walking trails. There is a national park campsite near the gorge and the river.

Tunnel Creek National Park  www.naturebase.net(Tunnel Creek)

Located 20 km east of Windjana Gorge and is accessed from Derby (165 km) or Fitzroy Crossing (130 km) by dirt road. Here you can walk through the 800 metre long tunnel which Tunnel Creek has cut through the Napier Range. There is no camping in the park but there are toilets.

Geikie Gorge, Kimberley © Tourism Western AustraliaGeikie Gorge National Park www.naturebase.net(Geikie)
Geikie Gorge is 14 km long, formed by the Fitzroy River. The park is closed in the wet summer season December to March, when the river may be 10 to 12 metres above its winter level. Geike Gorge is only 22 km drive from Fitzroy Crossing on the (sealed) Great Northern Highway.
Camping is not allowed in the park but there are good day facilities including barbecues, toilets and water and most visitors go to take the excellent boat cruise along the gorge which runs three times a day.

King Leopold Range Conservation Park www.naturebase.net(King Leopold)

Bell Gorge, King Leopold Conservation Park, Kimberley © Tourism Western AustraliaAccessed via the Gibb River Road and the turn off is 204 km north east of Derby. The park takes in a big sweep of the Leopold Ranges and stretches from near the coast to 200 km inland with lots of opportunities for exploring gorges and enjoying idyllic pools. Beautiful Bell Gorge (pictured) is here.
Camping is allowed within the park in two camping areas, Silent Grove and Bell Creek, and these are respectively 20 km and 30 km off the main road. Mt Hart Homestead, which takes visitors, is in the northern part of the park but quite a long way from Bell Gorge.

DERBY is a small administrative centre for local aboriginal communities 223 km north east of Broome, 36 km north of the Great Northern Highway on King Sound.

Eastern Kimberley

Lake Argyle near Kununurra, Kimberley © Tourism Western AustraliaKUNUNURA is a modern town on the Ord River and it was built in the 1960s to service the Ord River Irrigation Project, which began with the creation of Lake Kununurra. In 1971 another dam was built 50 km up river, creating the huge Lake Argyle (pictured).
Nearby to the town is Mirama National Park (Hidden Valley) with good walking trails, reminiscent of a scaled down version of the Bungle Bungles. There are pleasant river trips available and Kununurra is the centre for a variety of day and longer trips in the Kimberley, including aerial safaris.
The El Questro Wilderness Park, a million acre privately owned area, is 100 km west of Kununurra, on unsealed roads. El Questro has a range of accommodation from top of the range full board through to camping and the property does have a small touring programme of its own. El Questro has two airstrips. A number of the Kimberley operators include a stay at El Questro in their tours.
WYNDHAM is a small port, originally built as a result of the discovery of gold at Halls Creek. The town now has a residential area with shops on the Great Northern Highway. The port still functions and among other exports is unfortunately used to export live cattle to Asia.
HALLS CREEK is located to the south of the region on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Nearby is Wolfe Creek Crater, the second largest meteorite crater in the world.
Mitchell Falls, Mitchell Plateau, Kimberley © Tourism Western AustraliaMitchell Plateau
The Mitchell River National Park www.naturebase.net(Mitchell River) is a relatively new national park (not to be confused with the Mitchell River National Park in Victoria), and it is best known for the wonderful Mitchell Falls (pictured), exceptional wildlife and the palm Livistona Eastonii.
There is camping within the park and at the main camping area at Mitchell River Falls a helicopter offers flights over the falls. It takes an hour each way to walk to the falls from the campsite and you can scramble to the top of the falls where there are amazing waterholes.

Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park www.naturebase.net(Punululu)
Amazingly this park was only ‘discovered’ in the 1980s and has since become a favourite national park with its huge, stripey beehive shaped domes of sandstone (pictured at top of page). 
Echidna Chasm, Purnululu National Park, Kimberley © Tourism Western Australia The park is accessed from a rough track off the main highway about 110 km north of Halls Creek. Fifty one km up the track you reach a junction called Three Ways where there is a ranger station. From here it is 5 km north to Kurrajong Camp or 16 km south to Walardi Camp. Not far from Walardi Camp is Bellburn Camp, a privately run safari camp with permanent tented accommodation, full board and good facilities.
Places to visit in Purnululu National Park include:

Echidna Chasm (pictured) Cathedral Gorge Froghole Piccaninny Gorge
Drysdale River National Park www.naturebase.net(Drysdale River)
580 km west of Wyndham off the Gibb River Kalumburu Road. 4WD access only A beautiful and remote park if you have the time and opportunity.
Parry Lagoons Nature Reserve www.naturebase.net(Parry Lagoons)
This park is 20 km south of Wyndham in the NE Kimberley and in the dry season you can big flocks of birds. In the wet season the whole area becomes an inland sea. There is no camping but there are bird hides and information panels.
Ord River Scheme
The Ord River dam has created Lake Argyle, 72 km south of Kununurra. This is the largest man made lake in Australia and capable of irrigating 72000 hectares of land. What would previously have been hill tops are now islands in the lake and as the area naturalises, it is becoming increasingly attractive and is now a draw for visitors.
 
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Truly Australia have attempted to give an honest and objective description of the topics covered on this page and have deliberately avoided regurgitating tourist office media releases. The information shown has been compiled from a variety of reputable sources and our own experiences. We check and review this information from time to time, but we assume no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the details given.