The Kimberley - the jewel in the crown

The Kimberley is Australia’s largest and most spectacular untouched wilderness destination. The Kimberley region is made up of ancient gorge country and cattle stations the size of some small countries.

This expedition followed the iconic Gibb River Road into the wild heart of the Kimberley which is considered one of Australia’s greatest 4WD adventurers.

The Kimberley covers an area twice the size of Victoria or three times the size of England and has a long held mystique that adventurous travellers find irresistible. It is simply another world and very different to any thing else in Australia. If you take the time to really engage in the moment you will discover the very soul of this ancient landscape. It has adventure and raw excitement in store that you will reflect on and talk about for the rest of your life.

Our purpose with this post is to give you just enough overview to spark your curiosity and enable you to plan your own expedition of discovery. Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.

This post tells the story of our adventure, Operation Kimberley Moon, in 2019, which was made up of 7 vehicles with 13 fully pumped travellers. Our expedition started & finished in Kununurra. Our group made their own way to and from Kununurra who had come from various locations in NSW. One couple flew to Darwin, picked up a fully equipped Britz 4WD and dropped it off in Darwin at the end of the trip. In our case we travelled with our caravan on a very leisurely trip from Sydney to Kununurra and back.

This expedition was planned & led by David Allan of Australia Through & Through on a non commercial basis.

Some of the group had travelled together before on Operation Desert Sky (Simpson Desert) and some had joined multiple previous expeditions.

Kununurra is the gateway to the Kimberley. There is much to see around Kununurra including a visit to Lake Argyle. Options also include scenic flights over the Bungle Bungle Range giving stunning views of this World Heritage Area.

We stayed at the Kimberleyland Caravan Park in Kununurra which was an absolute delight in a stunning setting.

View form one of Kimberleyland cabins.

While in Kununurra we were treated to a major Rodeo being event the start of The Ord Valley Muster which is a 10 day multi award winning festival where we saw the best riders in the Kimberley. There were plenty of spills and plenty of ambulances.

By the time everyone was assembled & ready to go in Kununurra, they were in quite an overstimulated state. Our group was David & Rosemary (Papa Smurf & Desert Rose), Joe & Fiona (Enterprise), Rajeev (Gunner), Prem & Poornima (Razor), Robert & Sue (Double Trouble) and Indris & Carolyn (Wombat).

Deployment day finally arrives with everyone in their trip T shirts with our trip branding.

Map background courtesy of Qld. Govt.

Our visit to Kununnura was during the annual Ord Valley Muster. Our favourite event was the 'Corroboree under the stars' by the Miriwoong Gajerrong people.

Our route followed the Gibb River Road to Derby then onto Broome and returned on the sealed Great Northern Hwy.

On our first leg, our convoy of seven 4WD's headed straight to El Questro for a day & two nights.

El Questro is a one million acre working cattle station with a station township that has a range of services including fuel, bistro & bar. The bistro also includes night time entertainment. El Questro is one of the most unique holiday destinations in the world with a range of accommodation.

From El Questro we explored Chamberlain Gorge, El Questro Gorge and Zebedee Springs.

Chamberlain Gorge

Zebedee Springs are lovely hot springs in amongst a tropical gorge and fantastic to place to relax.

One of Rajeev's drone shots of our convoy moving out from El Questro to the next leg of our expedition - Home Valley Station.

Our next leg took us to Home Valley Station which is located close to the mighty Pentecost River, at the foot of the majestic Cockburn Range. This is also a working cattle station with a range of services including fuel, bistro & bar.

The Cockburn Range

On the journey to Home Hill Station we crossed the Pentecost River which was an absolutely magnificent setting with the Cockburn Range in the background. From our campsite we experienced an awesome sunset from the station's private lookout over the Cockburn Range, taking in sweeping views of the Durack and Pentecost Rivers.

The bistro dinner was hard to pass up for our group as this was the last opportunity before heading into lots of wilderness camping.

Some of Fiona's favourite footwear is thongs and Fiona brought 10 pair on this trip including one formal pair with bling.

Joe had some minor electrical problems at Home Hill Station which the resident mechanic was happy to sort out straight away. Great service.

On our next leg there we called into a very welcome green oasis rest stop at Elenbrae Station which among other things are famous for their scones.

The Gibb River Road is notorious for its harsh conditions with corrugations, sharp rocks and holes. Despite taking all the precautions, including reduced tyre pressure, we were not immune from problems. Yet we only had one incident when Joe cracked an alloy rim and destroyed a tyre. Amazingly, we were not far from "Over the Range Mechanical Repairs" who soon had the problem sorted with an alternate rim & new tyre.

Our destination the next night was Mt Barnett Roadhouse where we made camp for the night.

The campsite at Mt Barnett Roadhouse sits next to the tranquil pools of the Lower Manning Gorge.

On our way out the next day we also dropped into Galvan's Gorge 14km from the roadhouse. Our journey the following day included a 19km side trip to the magical Bell Gorge which is the Gibb River Road's most famous gorge.

To reach it from the car park, we took a short walk alongside, and then crossed, pretty Bell Creek. This gorge has waterfalls cascading 100 metres down perfect U-shaped cliffs, into a deep pool, which is very popular for swimming.

Any mechanical hiccups always get plenty of attention and suggestions. Fortunately our only minor issue was easily resolved.

We made camp for the next night at Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge) National Park, in the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges (formerly King Leopold Ranges), which is one of the Kimberley's most stunning gorges, with water streaked walls rising majestically to heights of 100m.

The 3.5km long gorge cuts through the Napier Range which is part of the ancient Devonian limestone reef. One of our group, Indris, was an ex geology teacher and was able to give us much appreciated expert commentary on the geological formations in this ancient landscape.

We travel as light as possible with small tents while some had roof top tents. Our kitchen was in the back of the car which is easy as there is no rain in northern Australia at this time of year.

Of course, every night included a campfire which was awash with rich story telling some of which I suspect was embellished. Yet, we have embellished some more.

Windjana Gorge is one of the best places in Australia to see freshwater crocodiles in the wild in absolute abundance.

Our next leg took us to Tunnel Creek which flows through a water worn limestone tunnel being part of the 350 million year old Balili (Devonian Reef) system.

Tunnel Creek is Western Australia's oldest cave system and was a famous hideout used late last century by the Aboriginal leader Jandamarra who was killed outside its entrance in 1897.

We walked through the tunnel to the other side being around 750m long. This required us to wade through several permanent pools and return the same way. You need to take a torch, wear sturdy footwear and be prepared to get a little wet.

Our arrival in Broome marked the conclusion to the remote travelling on our trip and completion of the Gibb River Road. Arriving in Broome was a very welcome oasis after our wilderness adventure.

Broome is a beautiful exotic beach resort town in Western Australia’s Kimberley region which overlooks glorious Roebuck Bay. Broome is a highly sought after destination in its own right with many visitors flying in & out of Broome. This was our third visit to Broome which seems to keep drawing us back. Photo above shows a group during dinner out at Cable Beach Club Resort which is a stunning venue overlooking Cable Beach.

This is a really fascinating Australian town with a strong asian influence and a history as a wild frontier pearling town. Along its Indian Ocean coastline, the white sands of 22km-long Cable Beach offer a dramatic backdrop for sunset camel rides and at Gantheaume Point nearby, dinosaur tracks are revealed in the beach’s red rocks during low tide.

We relaxed in Broome for three nights however there is a lot to see here and one could easily spend a week or more.

Cable Beach seemed the obvious place for our sunset happy hour.

Town Beach Broome. A great spot to relax with a coffee

Our campsite at Broome

One of the most epic tours out of Broome is the Horizontal Falls where the worlds highest difference between tides is experienced @ 10m. This causes a huge rush of water through a narrow gap in the McLarty Range.

This tour also gives a stunning view of the wider Buccaneer Archipelago.

The return journey to Kununurra, via the sealed highway, still included some significant destinations. The first of these was Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park which is the most easily accessible national park in the Kimberley. It's only 20 km outside Fitzroy Crossing, and you don't even have to leave the bitumen to get to the gorge.

Geikie Gorge is situated at the junction of the Oscar and the Geikie Ranges where the Fitzroy River has carved out this 30 metre deep gorge.

Just outside Halls Creek, China Wall is a prominent natural vertical vein of white quartz rising up 6m above the surrounding terrain and well worth a visit.

The last part of our adventure, but by no means the least, was the famous World Heritage Listed Area of Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park. Here we explored this mysterious wonderland with its long narrow chasms, hidden gorges and the unique bee hive shaped rock formations. The Bungle Bungles are 300 times bigger than Uluru. We made camp in the NP Kurrajong camping area.

Purnululu, meaning ‘sandstone’, has long been inhabited by local Aboriginal people, but did not become widely known to the rest of the world until the mid 1980's.

The must do walks, which are very different from each other, include Cathedral Gorge, the Domes Track, Echidna Chasm & Mini Palms Track.

One couple in our group took a scenic flight, from Kununurra, over the Bungle Bungle range with this amazing ariel view.

The Boab Tree is the botanical symbol of the Kimberley.

The Boab prison tree has historical significance, is 1500 years old and can be found 5km south-east of Derby.

Kings in Grass Castles is a recommended video which portrays the life of Patrick Durack who founded a cattle dynasty across great stretches of Australia including the Kimberley. The video recreated the saga of the Durack's in Mary Durack's seller Kings in Grass Castles. This video gives great insight into the European history of the Kimberley.

David & Rosemary Allan - the faces behind:

May adventure & discovery be your constant companions.

Reflection:

For me, a trip is memorable when I am enriched by a deeper sense of connection to a place which triggers an emotional or spiritual response. This comes from feelings of awe when I feel part of something bigger. Such as, seeing dramatic landscapes, being caught up in the history and sensing the passion of the human spirit.

A memorable experience will cause me to day dream about the next trip even more than the last trip.

Remember: Your adventure begins the moment you decide to go.