Western Australia Tourism & Accommodation Guide

Fitzroy Crossing & Halls Creek - The Wild Heart of the Kimberley

FITZROY CROSSING
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 National Park, 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.

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.

The Backpackers Guide to WA says:-
Fitzroy Crossing enjoys a daily coach service from Derby and Kununurra. There is a hotel-motel, a motel and two caravan parks while Dargunaya Backpackers has been established in the original post office in the old part of town. Budget priced meals are available at the hotel and a takeaway shop. The “Crossing’s” major attraction is without doubt Geike Gorge, which offers visitors the opportunity to see at close hand not only bird and wildlife along with magnificent unprecedented scenery but fresh water crocodiles and marine life that has adapted to the inland waters over thousands of years.

The gorges are part of a coral reef cut by water over the years and have a strong Aboriginal link over a similar period. Many caves in the gorge have wonderful examples of ancient Aboriginal art for tourists to see. Darngku Heritage Cave has an intimate knowledge of the area and whether visitors have a car or not, this tour is fully commentated and gives visitors a far greater insight to the area than ten trips alone could impart.

The “Crossing’s” is aptly named for it is here that the mighty Fitzroy River crosses the highway. In the wet season it is not uncommon for the highway to be closed to traffic because of flooding. Testimony to the seasonal flooding is the fact that the original Crossing Inn was built to cater for the travellers unable to cross the swollen banks of the river. Remnants of the footbridge constructed in 1934 but washed away in the flood of 1971 can still be seen today.

Bookings can be made with for 4WD tours of Windjanna Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Visitors can see fantastic scenery while wildlife and birds abound and there is a chance of sighting crocodiles.
An air charter company operates scenic air flights through the rugged Kimberleys including the Bungle Bungle ranges.

Two hundred and eight kilometres to the north of Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek has the same coach service. Halls Creek boasts a hotel-motel, caravan park and cabins at one of the roadhouses, but no specific backpacker’s accommodation. Budget priced meals can be obtained at the roadhouses or the hotel.

The world’s second largest meteorite crater is located 152 kilometres to the south and regular safari tours are operated to not only the crater but to the Kimberley Goldfields, the Bungle Bungles and the famous Canning Stock Route. The crater, discovered in 1947, measures some 700 metres in diameter, rises 37 metres above its surrounds and is about 60 metres deep.

Carved through the Napier Range by the Fitzroy River, Geikie Gorge is a photographer’s dream: reflections of towering limestone cliffs in the water, freshwater crocodiles basking on rock ledges and a variety of birds in the vegetation along the banks make it well worth a visit.

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