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Lake Argyle
Kununurra: Whereas Broome is the southern gateway to the Kimberely region, Kununurra is the northern gateway and a logical base from which to explore the East Kimberely. The places to see here include the Argyle Diamond mine, Lake Argyle and the Ord River Valley, Mirima (Hidden Valley), Purnululu (Bungle Bungles), Drysdale River and Mitchell River National Parks, the coastal town of Wyndham, the Gibb River Road region and El Questro Wilderness Park (El Questro Gorge, Emma Gorge).
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Windjana Gorge
The walls of Windjana Gorge rise abruptly from the wide alluvial floodplain of the Lennard River, reaching about 100 metres high in some places. The 3.5-kilometre long gorge cuts through the limestone of the Napier Range; part of an ancient barrier reef, which can also be seen at Geikie Gorge and Tunnel Creek National Parks. This gorge offers excellent long walks; it is also great location to observe freshwater crocodiles.
Wandjina rock art: to the Aboriginal people who live in the Central, Northern and East Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Wandjina has a deep and meaningful relationship with their heritage and their culture. The Wandjina has for many years appeared on bark coolamons which were used for food gathering and for cradles for newborn babes, ceremonial boomerangs and shields and a myriad of symbolic artefacts.
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Gwion (Bradshaw) rock art: incredibly sophisticated examples of rock art found predominantly in the Mitchell Plateau and Gibb River sections of Kimberley region of Western Australia. Some paintings are extremely old; 60,000 years or probably much more according to anthropologists. Chronologically they predate the pyramids of Egypt and the Palaeolithic cave paintings of Europe, in fact they may well be the oldest art form of mankind in existence.
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Eighty-Mile Beach: situated between Broome and Port Hedland, marks the end of the Pilbara coast and the start of the Kimberley coast. Though situated in a remote part of the state, the endless, deeply patterned sand flats around the Eighty-Mile Beach Caravan Park are a magnet for tourists making the trek north from Perth to Broome. Quite often at sunset there can be people everywhere, some collecting shells, others strolling, children playing or couples just simply standing looking out at the ocean and soaking up the magic of the moment.
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Mount Trafalgar: Prince Regent Nature Reserve is one of Australia's most remote places, with the only access by air or boat. No roads penetrate its rugged sandstone ranges, and a tide-race with formidable whirlpools restricts access from seaward. The top of the massive bluff known as Mount Trafalgar can only be reached by boat or helicopter.
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Cape Leveque: A beautiful hidden pocket of the Kimberley, Cape Leveque is quite unlike anything see elsewhere in Australia, bordering on desolate yet with an undeniable rugged charm. It is one of the only places in Australia where the desert meets the sea. You have to endure the 200 odd kilometres along an unsealed, corrugated, bumpy old track to get there, but it is worth every bump and jolt. Red-brick coloured, jagged rock formations dot the coastline, orange sand dunes, pure white beaches and more shades of blue water than you ever imagined possible. Cape Leveque is a true visual feast.
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Boab Prison Tree: with its hollow centre and door cut into its side, the Boab Prison Tree at Derby was once used by early police patrols as a staging point for prisoners being walked into Derby. Today, the tree is a registered Aborignal Site and is of cultural significance to local tribes. Believed to be around 1,500 years old, the tree is an incredible 14 metres in diameter.
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Langgi Inlet: a rocky inlet on the eastern side of Collier Bay, Langgi is a very special place of beauty and significance cultural significance. On arriving ashore, the scene that unfolds is nothing short of amazing. One side of the inlet is a maze of three metre-high remarkably life-like, naturally sculptured sandstone pillars standing alongside a freshwater creek.
Bigge Island: a must-see destination when cruising the Kimberley coastline in the far north of Western Australia, Bigge Island is famous for its amazing galleries of Aboriginal rock art. It is the largest of the islands that comprise the Bonaparte Archipelago.
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Derby: A small but significant town that is the Administrative centre of the southern Kimberley region. It has for many years served the beef cattle industry of the hinterland and was the mainland port for the Koolan Island and Cockatoo Island iron ore mines when operational. It is a setting-off point for seeing the attractions of the region, either by air or road.
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Silica Beach: as you travel by boat around the shoreline of Hidden Island in Buccaneer Archipelago near Derby, the beautiful beaches are yellow, yellow, white, yellow. Just one beach has pure white sand and that is Silica Beach. The sand has an amazing sound to match the beach's amazing look.
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Waterfalls of the Kimberley: the Kimberley experiences heavy monsoonal rains, which turn its rivers into raging torrents that thunder off the escarpments in Australia's most spectacular waterfalls.
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Manning Falls
Gibb River Road: A back road from Derby to Wyndham and Kununurra, Gibb River Road gives access to some of the Kimberley region's most spectacular scenery and geographical features. These include Manning Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Windjana Gorge, Adcock Gorge, Manning Falls, Lewnnard River Gorge and Lennard River Gorge. If you are driving through the Kimberley Region, a trek down Gibb River Road is an absolute must.
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King Edward Falls
Kalumburu Road: this road links the Kalumburu Mission and community to the outside world. It spans some 267 kilometres of rough terrain north from the Gibb River Road past The Mitchell Plateau to the northern coast of the Kimberley region at Kalumburu. The region through which it travels is home to numerous Aboriginal rock art sites featuring Wandjina and Bradshaw figures.
China Wall: Not far from Old Halls Creek there is a miniature "Great Wall Of China". Unlike China's Great Wall, this one is a natural phenomena, a subverticle quartz vein which projects above the surrounding landscape to form a natural stone wall that covers 15 kilometres. The quartz, being hard, resilient and resistant to weathering remained as the surrounds eroded away. This natural wall is on what is believed to be the largest single fault line of its kind in the world. Situated in a tranquil river valley amongst the hills, the formation can been seen at several locations.
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Tunnel Creek: takes its name from the 750 metre long tunnel carved by flowing water out of the limestone of the Napier Range, and is part of the 375 to 350 million-year-old Devonian Reef system. To pass through it to the other side of Napier Range, you have to wade through long waterholes up your waist and at times up to your chest. In sections, it is pitch black so you need to carry a torch in one hand and your camera in your other.
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Montgomery Reef: one of Australia's natural wonders, the reef is subject of one of the most significant and unusual tidal movements in the world. It is an extraordinary panorama of vast lagoons, tiny sandstone islets and a central mangrove island - but only when the tide is out. When the tides is in, all you see is the vast expanse of the ocean.
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