The Kimberley, the most rugged, remote and remarkable area in the State where a flying safari will take you through gorges, across the vastness of Lake Argyle - a body of water which could swallow Sydney Harbour a dozen times - and the magnificence of the sandstone domes and towers of the Bungle Bungle Range.

Broome

Broome, a unique, exotic town and the southern gateway to the raw wilderness area of the Kimberley region.

Nowadays, Broome is also a major holiday resort with fine resort hotels, a busy airport and top class restaurants.
There are safari tours, hovercraft tours, a crocodile park, pearl farms - and of course great fishing and water sports.
When you tire of the tropical torpor encouraged by simmering sands, ochre rocks and deep blue waters, take a camel ride along the 22 kms of talc powder sand of the famous Cable Beach or visit Sun Pictures, believed to be the oldest picture gardens in the world, where movies are shown under the stars every night.
For those people who enjoy catching fish, Broome is the place for you with an abundance of different varieties of fish including sailfish.
Game fishing charters are readily available and tournements are held regularly.

Other attractions worth seeing include the Willie Creek Pearl Farm, The Japanese Cemetary - a tribute the 900 pearl divers who lost their lives in the early perilous days of the pearl industry, Malcolm Douglas' Broome Crocodile Park, the Bird Observatory, the Historical Society Museum and the Staircase to the Moon.

Broome is 2200km north of Perth and 221km from Derby.

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Derby

Situated on the edge of King Sound, only a short cruise away from the magnificent islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago, Derby is ideally located for exploration of the West Kimberley.

No visit to Derby is complete without driving out to the jetty on the edge of King Sound - go twice to see low and high tide contrasts, and to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the Sound.

Fishing is a popular past time at the jetty, where shark, north west salmon, golden grunter, silver cobbler and the occasional barramundi are caught. The large brown mud crab is a particular delicacy. Charter boats and tours are available to take the keen fishermen up the local creeks and further into King Sound on mud crabbing and fishing tours.

Derby is only a short cruise away from the magnificent Buccaneer Archipelago where you'll see the amazing tidal feature - the Horizontal Waterfall - and find a paradise of deserted islands just waiting for discovery.
Scenic flights with a choice of short stop overs at Cape Leveque, Mt Hart Station, Bell Gorge or Windjana Gorge give an aerial view of the captivating scenery of the Buccaneer Archipelago, Walcott Inlet the Prince Regent River,
Mt Trafalgar and as far as Mitchell Falls.

The Gorges of the Gibb River are special features of most tours. Early in the season April/May the waterfalls are usually at their best.

Hire a fully equipped 4WD in the town and trek up the legendary Gibb River Road to some of the Kimberley's best scenic and camping destinations.

Travel via the unsealed Windjana Way past the Devonian Reef National parks of Windjana Gorge.

Derby offers a selection of meals from a la carte to takeaway from a variety of outlets. Dine in airconditioned comfort or al fresco and enjoy local seafood delicacies or a more traditional menu.

Derby is only two hours from Broome (221km) and 2.5 hours from Fitzroy Crossing (256km).

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Fitzroy Crossing & Geikie Gorge National Park

Over 500 kilometres inland from Broome is Geikie Gorge, a short hop from Fitzroy Crossing.
Boat tours during the dry season along the Fitzroy River show off the sheer yellow, ochre and grey gorge walls. The gorge is 14 kilometres long and the limestone cliffs tower 30 metres high. You may well see sharks, stingrays and sawfish far from the ocean they inhabited millions of years ago, as well as crocodiles and a wealth of birdlife - and of course the magnificent gorge itself.
There is a fascinating boat tour though the Gorge which provides an insight into the formation and wildlife of this ancient Devonian Reef (approx. 350 million years old) , it's wildlife and the regions wealth of Aboriginal culture.
Also intriguing are the sawfish, sharks and stingrays which have adapted to the inland water system over the centuries.There is also a great tour run by the local Aboriginal people whose connection with the land goes back to the Dreamtime.

Fitzrroy Crossing makes a wonderful base form which to explore Geikie Gorge, Windjana Gorge or the fantastic Tunnel Creek. Though it is not a big town, it has a big past and you can hear many tales of the awesome power of the Fitzroy in flood and about the local Aboriginal outlaw, Pigeon and his gang at the end of last century.

Fitzroy Crossing is 256km from Derby and 288km from Halls Creek.

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Halls Creek

Often referred to as the oasis of Kimberley, Halls Creek sits on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. In all directions the landscape is vast and harsh.
A gold find at the Elvire River in 1885 resulted in 2,000 miners living in makeshift sheds and calico tents around old Halls Creek. The rush lasted only four years, but Halls Creek never quite died.

At Old Halls Creek you can see the ruins of the old post office and a small cemetery. There's a picnic spot nearby at Black Elvire River and local prospectors still find gold there today.
The natural phenomenon known as 'China Wall' can been seen on the way to Old Halls Creek about 6km north of the new town. It is a subvertical quartz vein which projects above the surrounding rocks and is believed to be part of the largest single fault of its type in the world.

Two popular swimming and picnic spots, both situated on the Black Elvire River, are Sawpit Gorge and Palm Springs.
Halls Creek is the closest town to the Purnululu National Park with its astounding Bungle Bungle rock formations. The ecology of the parks is very delicately balanced and vegetation includes many contrasts from the unique Fan Palm to the eucalypts and spinifex of the plains. Purnululu is also rich in Aboriginal heritage.

The Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, the second largest on earth, is about 100km south.

Halls Creek is 288km from Fitzroy Crossing and 365km from Kununurra.

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Kununurra

Nine hundred and seventy seven kilometres north-east of Broome and 3,300 kilometres from Perth via the North West Coastal and the Great Northern Highways, lies the town of Kununurra.
The town is on the main jet route between Darwin and Perth and both Ansett and National Jet Systems have regular daily services to Darwin and Perth via Broome. Kununurra's central position in Kimberley affairs makes it an ideal base for exploring the Kimberley, and several hotels, motels and caravan parks have arisen to service that need.

From here one can take a conventional plane, float plane, or helicopter to fly over the sensational scenery of the Diamond Coast, this includes the magnificient King George Falls which is close to the exclusive wilderness retreat at Faraway Bay or take a 4WD trip down to the Bungle Bungle Range and visit Lake Argyle.

Take a look from the top of Kelly's Knob, the highest point in Kununurra and view the town, Lake Kununurra, The Ord Valley and some truly extraordinary sunsets. Visit Bandicoot Beach, Hidden Valley National Park, picnic at Ivanhoe Crossing, visit the City of Ruins, Lake Argyle, the Argyle Diamond Mine, Mt Elisabeth Station, Chamberlain Gorge, Mitchell's Falls, Prince Frederick Harbour, Kalumburu and the strange and beautiful Bungle Bungles.

The Argyle Diamond Mine produces over one third of the world's diamonds and includes the rare and beautiful Argyle pink diamonds, tours are available but booking is essential.

Kununurra is 825km from Darwin, 365km from Halls Creek and 100km from Wyndham.

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Wyndham

Wyndham is the most northerly town and port in Western Australia, on tidal waters in Cambridge Gulf.

Originally established in 1886 as a result of the goldrush to Hall's Creek, Wyndham could boast six thriving hotels in its heyday. Now its population stands at around 850 and the town remains a small frontier style centre.

Overhanging the town is the towering 1,200 foot summit of the Bastion Range. From the Five Rivers Lookout you have a magnificent view of the port, and the five rivers - King, Pentecost, Durack, Forrest and Ord, which all flow into the Cambridge Gulf.

The Grotto is a lovely natural waterhole and ideal swimming spot. Set at the bottom of 140 steps and said to be more than 400 feet at its deepest point, this natural amphitheatre is hauntingly still, the silence broken only by the sounds of bird calls and human voices. During the summer season, water cascades over a two stage waterfall some 15m high, into a deep pool.

Marlgu Billabong, the feature of Parry Lagoons Reserve, is a protected bird sanctuary sheltering such species as magpie geese, swamp hens, cranes, dab-chicks, pelicans, brolga, 17 varieties of duck and the beautiful and elusive jabiru.

Other attractions include Singh's Garden, the Afghan, Gully and pioneer Cemeteries, Cockburn Range, Crocodile Hole, Three Mile Valley, Moochalabra Dam and Lagoons, King River and the largest tree in captivity.

Wyndham is 365km from Halls Creek and 100km from Kununurra.

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King George Falls

At King George Falls, the King George River plunges 100 metres over a sandstone cliff into tidal waters. These falls are in full force from late December through to early May each year and gradually recede to a small flow in September.
The falls are situated 8kms from the coast and if entering the river from the sea the route up the river from the gorge to the falls is one of the worlds most spectacular sights.
The surounding coastline is also spectacular, with coastal cliffs, gorges, mangrove lined bays, enormous sand dunes and rugged sandstone country. This remote coastline is known as the Diamond Coast. Access is by boat or you can take a scenic flight to Faraway Bay airstrip and stay at the wilderness retreat called the Bush Camp.

Lake Argyle

Man-Made Beauty

Created by the Ord River Dam in 1971, 72 kilometres south of Kununurra, Lake Argyle in all its splendid beauty contains nine times the water of Sydney Harbour. The islands dotted about the lake are the original valley peaks.

Argyle Downs Homestead - the centre from which to see Lake Argyle - has its own colourful history. In the late 1880's Patsy Durack and his two brothers built it after a two year trek from Queensland bringing with them wagons, carts and 2,000 head of cattle - the beginning of the giant Kimberley beef industry.
They built a natural stone homestead of great interest. As the waters of the lake rose it was in danger of being flooded. In 1971 it was dismantled and reconstructed stone by stone on its present site at the head of the dam.

It is one of the best known and historic of early station homesteads and is the focal point of the Lake Argyle Tourist village which has all the conveniences a modem tourist could wish for. Bush walks, fishing trips and bus trips can all be organised from the village as well as boat cruises across this great expanse of water from which steep red rocky cliffs soar up to 150 metres above you.

Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater

The Second Biggest In The World, See a Photo

A Blast from the Past

On the edge of the Great Sandy Desert lies one of the world's largest meteorite craters. A massive 850 metres across and 50 metres deep, Wolfe Creek Crater is believed to have been created when a meteorite weighing thousands of tonnes plunged to Earth more than a million years ago.

Although it has long been known to Aboriginal people, who call it Kandimalal, the Wolfe Creek meteorite crater was only discovered by Europeans in 1947, during an aerial survey. The Djaru Aboriginal peoples Dreaming tells of two rainbow snakes that formed the nearby Sturt and Wolfe Creeks as they crossed the desert. The crater is believed to be the place where one snake emerged from the ground. This striking formation is now protected by a national park.

Whichever version you prefer to believe, the crater is spectacular viewing from either the air or ground and the surrounding desert has its own special beauty.