The Kimberley is the most rugged, remote and remarkable area in the State, where a flying safari will take you through gorges and across the vastness of Lake Argyle - a body of water which could contain Sydney Harbour a dozen times - and over the magnificence of the sandstone domes and towers of the Bungle Bungle Range.
Tours of the region include four wheel drive safari treks, luxury cruises, charters, helicopter flights and canoeing, plus a broad range of other activities.
Click the links on the right to view information about towns, locations, tours and activities in the region.
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.
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.
K20 at King Cascade Photograph courtesy of K2O Kinberley Cruise
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 mountain 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
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 provides spectacular viewing either from the air or on the ground, plus the surrounding desert has its own special beauty.
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Faraway Bay overlooking Bay Hero.
Photograph © Faraway Bay.
