The land before time

By Alexis Buxton-Collins
Published: Thursday, July 20, 2023

Whether you’re driving or flying into Kununurra, you can feel the magic of the Kimberley long before you arrive.

Broad savannahs of golden grass stretch endlessly below imposing ridges of blood red rock. Hidden canyons beckon the dusty traveller with turquoise swimming holes fringed by gardens of ancient cycads.

While the ancient landscape of the Kimberley feels like it has remained unchanged since the age of the dinosaurs, several recent openings are breathing new life into this timeless region.

The Ord River in Western Australia's Kimberley region. Image: Getty

A taste of the Kimberley

You don’t even need to leave Kununurra to immerse yourself in the Kimberley’s otherworldly natural beauty. It’s a short walk (or an even quicker drive) from the centre of town to Kelly’s Knob – an island of red rock that shoots up from the sea of greenery enveloping the east Kimberley’s main hub. A steep final ascent leads to a peak that looks out over the broad curves of the glittering Ord River as it snakes between plantations of sandalwood, sugarcane and mangoes.

The mangoes are all picked long before tourists start arriving for the dry season, which lasts from April to October. Stalls like Nice N Natural at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market freeze enough to keep pumping out deliciously sweet smoothies all year. Spend a day wandering around town and you’ll find local businesses turning their harvest into everything from cheesecakes to chutney.

The prize for best use of fruit goes to The Pumphouse, which recently re-opened after a two-year hiatus. Follow the crowds to Lake Kununurra and you can toast the setting sun with a cocktail featuring ultra-smooth local rum or gin from The Hoochery Distillery as thousands of fruit bats emerge from the surrounding greenery. When it gets dark, the action moves inside for fresh, locally-inspired dishes. You’ll find bao (buns) packed with creamy red roo tail curry and crocodile kofta with gum-smoked yoghurt and bush dukkah.

Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park. Image: Getty

Get to know the locals

Lake Kununurra also caters to those who prefer to catch their own dinner. In the last decade, almost a million barramundi fingerlings have been released into the waterway, making it a prime location to reel in Australia’s most famous game fish.

If you’d prefer a souvenir that lasts a little longer, you can learn all about diamonds at Kimberley Fine Diamonds, where a collection of precious pink gems from the recently closed Argyle Mine is on display.

Or take home one of the eye-catching works from Western Australia’s first wholly Indigenous-owned arts centre. More than 100 painters, sculptors and textile artists use the studios at Waringarri Aboriginal Arts. You can see some of them at work on a visit to the centre, or learn from the local Miriwoong people on a guided tour of Mirima National Park. Lose yourself for a day in this maze of conical orange domes, festooned with greenery.

Venture Into the wilderness

The vast expanse of the Kimberley is twice the size of Victoria, and the spectacular landscapes within richly reward exploration. Take a scenic flight to Purnululu National Park and you’ll get a sense of this area’s size while flying over Lake Argyle, an immense man-made body of water some 20 times the size of Sydney Harbour.

Further on, you’ll be able to pinpoint the exact moment your jaw drops when you gaze out over the sprawling lost city of red and black banded beehive domes also known as the Bungle Bungles. This natural wonder is so far off the beaten track that it remained unknown outside the Gija and Jaru traditional ownership groups until the 1980s.

If you prefer four wheels, hit the Gibb River Road and you’ll find yourself driving between imposing escarpments and dramatic towers of rock in Australia’s answer to Monument Valley. Take a left turn when the tarmac ends, about an hour out of Kununurra, to get to El Questro Station – a 750,000 acre slice of wilderness that was recently handed back to the Wanjina Wunggurr Wilinggin traditional owners.

Visitors can stay at bush camping sites, comfortable riverside bungalows or a stunning clifftop homestead where an onsite chef prepares indulgent five-course meals each night. The real drawcard is the extensive network of walking trails allowing visitors to explore the property. At Zebedee Springs, beautiful pools are fed by heated underground springs are hidden in a pocket of lush monsoon rainforest. Emma Gorge provides an idyllic swimming hole fringed by a hanging garden of ferns and fed by a glittering waterfall.

More adventurous travellers can spend an entire day clambering over boulders and swimming across pools to reach a hidden waterfall at the head of El Questro Gorge.

Only one thing is for certain in this vast and magical region – adventure lies around every corner.

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