The Kimberley

In 2020 my overseas trip was cancelled due to Covid, so I booked an APT “Wilderness Adventure” tour of The Kimberley instead. Then the W.A. border was closed, so that was cancelled too. I finally did it in August this year.

Published 1st October 2024 By Tony Barnett
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My trip didn’t start well. I’d booked a direct flight from Sydney to Broome, ( which Qantas provides only twice a week), in order to enjoy a sunset whale-watching cruise before the start of my tour. Two hours out from Sydney, an electrical problem caused us to return to Sydney, where I waited for five hours for a delayed flight to Perth, where I spent the night (missing my cruise) before flying to Broome.

After a welcome dinner, the tour started the following morning. I travelled in a 4WD “truck”, with our driver/guide Simon – a Tasmanian who, despite it being his first season in The Kimberley, had evidently done extensive research and whose memory was remarkable – and 17 fellow travellers, all Australians, whose ages ranged from early 60s to 88.

Our first stop was to visit a huge, hollow boab tree which had allegedly been used as an overnight prison. We were next due to visit an Aboriginal art gallery, but it was closed following the death of an elder. At short notice, APT arranged for an Aboriginal woman, involved in the tourist industry, to talk to us. We sat in a semi-circle around her in the bush, while she gave us a fascinating talk about the history of her family, tribe and the local region.

Our first walk was through Windjana Gorge, where I foolishly ignored Simon’s advice to carry water (the temperature most days on the tour was 38º or 39º), and paid the penalty by slipping, hitting my head on a rock, and needing help all the way back, apparently suffering from heatstroke. So, in Dimalurru National Park, I sensibly joined some others in refraining from climbing over rocks to enter the watery Tunnel Creek.

From Fitzroy Crossing we drove to Halls Creek, where we visited an Aboriginal art gallery, and only the lack of wall space at home saved me from the temptation to buy a sizeable painting. Next were the Bungle Bungles – for me the highlight of the tour. Both walking through them and flying over them in a helicopter, they are truly spectacular, and more than met my high expectations.

Our next walk was into Echidna Chasm – a natural cleft in the rock up to 200m high – on our way to Kununurra, where we spent a day cruising first on the Ord River and then on Lake Kununurra. From there we visited Parry’s Lagoon, a haven for birdlife (and crocodiles) en route, via Wyndham, to Emma Gorge, in El Questro Station – an area of 700,000 acres. I wondered why our itinerary described the morning walk into the gorge as a “hike”, until Simon told us it was the hardest walk of the tour. With several others, I decided not to risk it, so missed the swim at the end, beneath a waterfall. Compensation came that afternoon in the form of a relaxing bathe in the warm water of Zebedee Springs, a natural thermal spring in a pocket of rainforest.

We ascended the Mitchell Plateau, a vast area covered in palm trees – a surprise in the dry climate until I leant that a few metres underground lies a huge reservoir of water. Even more of us decided to avoid the 5 km uphill walk over rocks to the Mitchell Falls, instead flying to them by helicopter. We could see them from the ground as well as from the air, and while waiting for the walkers to join us for a picnic lunch I had time to slide over slippery rocks for a refreshing dip.

The next day we visited two”galleries” of Aboriginal rock art – one by ourselves, wth the knowledgeable Simon as our guide, and the other with two national park rangers, an Aboriginal sister and brother, to explain the paintings. Crocodile-free swimming opportunities continued in King Edward River, Galvan’s Gorge and Bell Gorge. I’d never heard of Bell Falls, but I found them at least equal to the better known Mitchell Falls.

Our last day on the road took us to Derby, where we visited another Aboriginal art gallery, before returning to the Cable Beach Resort for our farewell dinner. Apart from that luxury, our accommodation consisted mostly of very upmarket tents, which gave rise to the term “glamping”. The best of these tented resorts were three owned by APT and run by staff who were, without exception, young, hard-working, efficient and very friendly, from which I concluded that APT must screen, train and pay them very well. Each included a chef who produced dinners worthy of a one-hat restaurant.

In two weeks we covered over 5,000km, mostly on rough dirt roads, on which only 4WD vehicles were allowed. Ours was a Chinese-made, comfortable “coach”, with 22 seats and a toilet, attached to a Mercedes cab. There were 18 in our group, and a few of us took advantage of the opportunity to sit in the cab beside Sim, and only the lack of wall space at home saved me from the temptation to buy a sizeable painting. Next were the Bungle Bungles – for me the highlight of the tour. Both walking through them and flying over them in a helicopter, they are truly spectacular, and more than met my high expectations.

 

Our next walk was into Echidna Chasm – a natural cleft in the rock up to 200m high – on our way to Kununurra, where we spent a day cruising first on the Ord River and then on Lake Kununurra. From there we visited Parry’s Lagoon, a haven for birdlife (and crocodiles) en route, via Wyndham, to Emma Gorge, in El Questro Station – an area of 700,000 acres. I wondered why our itinerary described the morning walk into the gorge as a “hike”, until Simon told us it was the hardest walk of the tour. With several others, I decided not to risk it, so missed the swim at the end, beneath a waterfall. Compensation came that afternoon in the form of a relaxing bathe in the warm water of Zebedee Springs, a natural thermal spring ion, where the elevated seat had better suspension than those behind.

A few of our group went on to do a coastal cruise from Broome to Darwin, which included the possibility of boating through Horizontal Falls. I would like to have joined them, especially as that opportunity will end next year, but I thought 17 days was long enough to have imposed Snoopy on his breeder.

My flight to Perth was delayed –  apparently a daily occurrence in Broome – causing me to miss my connection with my flight to Sydney. Fortunately the next Sydney flight was also delayed, as a result of which I was just able to catch it, thereby avoiding the dreaded Red Eye Special. 

Given the average age of people on these tours, I felt that APT had understated the difficulty of some walks. However I, at 80, the fourth oldest in our group, managed to complete five of the seven walks on offer – more than several others. Subject to that reservation, I can certainly recommend the tour but, as you may have gathered, my recommendation of APT does not extend to Qantas!

Tony Barnett

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