Dampier Peninsula

Lonely Planet review

Red soil, turquoise waters, living Aboriginal culture, crocodiles, flooding monsoons: the Dampier Peninsula has everything people come to the Top End to see. It's not the most easily accessible place on earth, however, and you'll need to plan your trip well.

A centre for the pearling industry in the late 19th century, the Dampier Peninsula is nonetheless largely unspoilt, a glorious wedge of Australia's virgin tropical north. Approximately half of the peninsula is still Aboriginal land - the home of the Nimanburru, Jawi, Nyulnyul, Bardi, Ngumbarl and Jabirrjabirr language groups. Many Aboriginal communities offer cultural, fishing and mud-crabbing tours, as well as accommodation. Alternatively, there are 'resorts' at Kooljaman and Middle Lagoon. Book accommodation and tours and check road conditions at the Broome visitors centre before you leave. During the wet season (December to March) the often-rudimentary Cape Leveque Road can become impassable.