The Kimberley

Introducing The Kimberley

With just two opposing seasons, the Wet and the Dry, the Kimberley is a land of extremes – semi-arid plains dotted with spinifex and outback roads that flow like rivers, spectacular ranges cut by steep stony gorges and tiny pockets of tropical rainforest and tranquil waterholes. It’s these dramatic contrasts that make a trip here so compelling.

But despite the region’s many attractions – from the pristine Dampier Peninsula and splendid Cape Leveque to the magnificent gorges of Geike and Windjana and Tunnel Creek, and the rough and tumble of Gibb River Rd – there’s still no place as engaging or as full of contradictions as Broome, with its rich, ancient indigenous history and exotic 19th-century pearling past. And then there’s its present as a big outback town that plays host to amateur rodeos the same week it holds its annual cultural festival, the Shinju Matsuri, with Japanese food and dragon boat races. Then rumble along the Gibb River Rd to Derby and Kununurra where the languid pace goes best with a sweet juicy mango, or a nice cold beer.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009