Explore the Kimberly – One of the Last Wilderness Frontiers in the World!

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Very few places on earth are like the Kimberley. This is a dream destination like no other tucked away in northwestern Australia. It’s a pristine, wild, and untouched region of remarkable beauty, filled with a variety of plants and animals, unique physical features, and breathtaking landscapes. The big question is this, what new adventures can you experience when you explore the Kimberley? Read to the end, and you will agree the right answer is, “a lot.”

A Place of Timeless Magnificence

Its beauty is unspoiled – the main reason it continues to attract adventure-seekers looking for extraordinary experiences. Imagine a  remote area of over 162,000 square miles with a 7500 miles long coast filled with nothing but timeless magnificence. In the entire world, this ranks as one of the last wilderness frontiers.  Yet gorgeous scenery and precious natural features abound.

Mitchell Waterfall, Western Australia

Hemmed in by the Timor Sea on the northern side, the Great Sandy desert on the southern stretch, the Northern Territory to the east, and on the west, the Indian Ocean, this expansive wilderness almost the size of California, is characterized by contrasting, but stunning natural features such as the Horizontal Waterfall that forms when huge tidal currents rush through narrow, parallel gorges or the incredibly gorgeous Mitchell waterfall, splashing down 4 steps in pink, yellow and blue hues.

The Spellbinding Scene at Montgomery Reef

You will also find the Montgomery reef that turns into a spellbinding scene when it transforms at the tide-fall.  Because of the size of the tidal change, the ocean appears to rear up with large torrents of water, containing a multitude of reef sharks, dolphins, and octopuses, cascades toward shore. Rare animals like giant saltwater crocodiles, hundreds of bird species, and more abound here.

Home to a Very Busy Delivery Room

The entire coast of the Kimberly provides the largest nursery in the world for the over 40,000 humpback whales that travel to the area from Antarctica to enjoy the warmer waters from June to October.  While summering off Australia’s coast, the whales give birth to calves before making their way back to the cooler waters.  Often pods of three to four whales up to 15 meters in length along with their calves drop by to say hello to those on whale-watching excursions, often slapping their tales on the water or breaching to garner some attention.

But that’s not all, Kimberley is rich in awe-inspiring vistas of sparkling, powder-soft, silica sand beaches, azure blue waters, and vast open skies through which showers of shooting stars streak at night. And for one more surprise, dinosaur footprints, some as large as 1.7 meters in size and over 130 million years old can be seen when the tides recede outside of Broome!

Camel caravan at sunset, Broome, Australia

Spectacular Camel Trains and Golden Sunsets

Other scenes guaranteed to snatch your breath away include the more than 2600 islands along the coast whose marvelous attractions can be seen only from the luxurious comforts of a cruise. At the prestigious Cable Beach at Broome resort town, you will enjoy the spectacular sight of a camel train that daily trails along the beach on the backdrop of golden sunsets.  You can also go snorkeling, scuba-diving, or pearl hunting at Roebuck Bay.

Bungle Bungle Range, Western Australia

An Interior with Spectacular Sights to Explore As Well

The interior of the Kimberly provides sights equally as beautiful as the coast.  One of the most visited being the Bungle Bungle Range.  Located in the southern end of the Purnululu National Park, these domes of sandstone only became known in the 1980s.  Walk among the black and orange striped domes formed millions of years ago when sand and gravel that flowed thru the area compacted.  Later, when the area uplifted the domes were formed.  Continue on your walk and you come to the Cathedral Gorge.  200 ft red rock cliffs tower around you as you pass thru the area helping visitors feel the awe of nature at its best.

Not to be outdone, the Windjana Gorge, boasts 300 meter high walls and historical significance for the armed rebellion against European settlers in the late 1800s.  During a walk thru the gorge, you will find fossilized marine life and freshwater crocodiles.   The Tunnel Creek Cave system is one of the country’s oldest.  Visitors can walk 750 meters inside surrounded by beautiful rock formations while wading thru freshwater pools.

Karijini National Park brims with gorges all unique in their own way. Then for for a different kind of view, Mount Bruce, Australia’s second highest mountain resides in the park.  At just over 4000 feet and with a number of short walks, expansive views await providing numerous different perspectives of the surrounding landscape.

This is just a snapshot of the fantastic Kimberley where startlingly picturesque, tranquil beauty is in abundance; and there is so much more.  Want to talk about other possible sights or options for a trip to the Kimberly?  Give me a call to talk more!

Cliffs of Cathedral Gorge, Western Australia

Pat Ogle-CollinsExplore the Kimberly – One of the Last Wilderness Frontiers in the World!

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