How to get from Darwin to Broome!

Whether you got to Darwin by plane, train (the Ghan), or my 7 day Road-trip from Adelaide, once you’ve seen the sights – like my TOP TEN things to do in Darwin – you’ll eventually have to leave.

But if you’ve got another 7 days (or more!) to kill, the alternative to returning the way you came is to take a road trip. Hire a car if you didn’t drive, and drive across the Top End through the Kimberley from Darwin to Broome via the Great Northern Highway!

But be warned! Even though the Darwin to Broome road trip CAN be done in a week, you must carefully pick and choose the sights you want to see or you’ll run out of time. That’s why my 7 day road trip itinerary has optional extras so you can add extra time and extra attractions!

So choose what you’d REALLY like to do from the itinerary and enjoy!

Day 1: Darwin to Victoria River Roadhouse

Distance: 510 km

Driving Time: 6-7 hours. Leave as early as possible – there’s a lot to see and do when you reach the Victoria River Roadhouse!

Route & Scenery: Head south from Darwin along the Stuart Highway, passing through tropical bushland and savannah and over low rocky ranges. At Katherine, leave the tropics behind and enter the RED Outback, heading south-west along the Victoria Highway. Near the Roadhouse, the road passes through Judburra/Gregory National Park and Stokes Range.

Points of Interest:

• This itinerary assumes you travelled to Darwin via Katherine and have already seen those attractions. For attractions between Darwin and Katherine, see Days 6 and 7 of my Adelaide to Darwin road trip itinerary.
• Outback scenery and pastoral properties, low ranges and Buntine Highway (alternative route to Halls Creek) turn off
• From the Victoria River Roadhouse, climb up to the Escarpment Lookout, hike the 1.7 km Joe Creek Loop Walk. Take a look at Australia’s WILDEST river (watch for crocodiles!), watch spectacular sunsets over the Victoria River Escarpment and have a meal at the roadhouse.

Options:

• Take an extra day to explore attractions en route to Katherine. Stay overnight in Katherine on Day 1 and travel to Victoria River Roadhouse on Day 2.
• Alternatively, stay at Katherine, then combine Days 2 and 3, seeing the Victoria River Roadhouse sights en route to Timber Creek

Read MORE: Things to do at Victoria River Roadhouse

Day 2: Victoria River Roadhouse to Timber Creek

Distance: 91 km (yes, you read that right!)

Driving Time: 1 hour (yes, you read that right!)

Route & Scenery: Head west from Victoria River Roadhouse, climb the Victoria River Escarpment and pass through the Stokes Range. Spectacular outback scenery complete with Boab trees all the way!

Points of Interest:

• Today’s short trip means there’s time to see any attractions around Victoria River you didn’t have time for yesterday.
• In Timber Creek, book a sunset Victoria River Cruise to see more of Timber Creek, discover Australia’s wildest river, see more crocodiles than you’ve probably ever seen before. AND enjoy drinks and snacks while watching the sunset.

Options:

• Save Timber Creek for another visit and continue to Keep River National Park campground (150 km), Lake Argyle (190 km) or Kununurra (225 km)
• Stay an extra night and explore Timber Creek. There’s the historic museum, Escarpment Lookout, crocodile feeding in the creek behind the caravan parks and more of Gregory National Park.

Read MORE: Cruising with Crocodiles on Australia’s Wildest River

SEE MORE:  Victoria River Region Photos on Flickr

Day 3: Timber Creek to Kununurra

Distance: 225 km

Driving Time: 3 hours (including extra for a WA/NT Border vehicle check – don’t carry fruit, vegetables, plants or flowers). Gain bonus extra time at the border by turning clocks back to WA time!

Route & Scenery: Drive west along the Victoria Highway passing through spectacular ranges and land formations. After the border checkpoint, approx 150 km from Timber Creek, continue to Kununurra.

Points of Interest:

• Keep River National Park, sometimes referred to as the Mini Bungle-Bungles, is just 3 km from the WA border.
• Lake Argyle, Australia’s largest body of fresh water, is 34 km off the highway just across the border.

Options:

• Stay overnight at the Keep River National Park campground for amazing scenery and the 7 km Jarnem Loop Trail
• Stay an extra night at Lake Argyle for a sunset or morning cruise and a dip in the infinity pool
• Extend your stay in Kununurra and use it as a base to explore the region thoroughly (including Lake Argyle and Keep River National Park)
• Stay an extra night at Wyndham to see the amazing Five Rivers Lookout at sunset, and a number of other attractions

Read MORE:

• Top TEN Things to do in Kununurra;
• 5 Reasons why Wyndham is a TOP Aussie Town;
• Marlgu Billabong

SEE MORE:  Kununurra Photos on Flickr

Day 4: Kununurra to Halls Creek

Distance: 360 km

Driving Time: 4 ½ – 5 hours

Route & Scenery: 46 km west of Kununurra, turn east onto the Great Northern Highway. Spectacular scenery with multi-coloured rock formations through the Carr-Boyd and O’Connell Ranges. Outback scenery with red rock and spinifex closer to Halls Creek.

Points of Interest:

• Doon Doon Roadhouse
• Warmun (Turkey Creek) Roadhouse, Indigenous Arts Centre and Bungle-Bungle Scenic Flights
• Punululu National Park (Bungle-Bungles)
• At Halls Creek, visit the China Wall quartz formation, Caroline Pool and Old Halls Creek.

Options:

• Stay an extra night at Warmun or one of the Bungle-Bungles campgrounds and explore Purnululu National Park
• Stay an extra night at Halls Creek and visit Wolfe Creek Crater National Park (260 km round trip) on the Tanami Road

Day 5: Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing

Distance: 290 km

Driving Time: 3 ½ – 4 hours

Route & Scenery: Travel south-west from Halls Creek passing through oddly shaped rocky mountains, cliffs and canyons then lightly wooded pastoral country.

Points of Interest:

• When in flood, the Fitzroy River has the largest water volume of any river in Australia.  In the world only the Amazon is larger!  Take a look – even if it’s NOT in flood!
• Take a cruise through Geikie Gorge, a Devonian reef system about 20 km from Fitzroy Crossing.

Options:

• Stay an extra day and explore Geikie Gorge via several walks, or take a tour to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge.

Read MORE: The Incredible ‘Icebergs’ of Geikie Gorge

Day 6: Fitzroy Crossing to Derby

Distance: 260 km

Driving Time: 3 – 3 ½ hours

Route & Scenery: Head west along the Great Northern Highway and head north at the junction with the Broome-Derby road. It’s then only 40 km to Derby on King Sound.

Points of Interest:

• Watch the ebb and flow of the highest tides in Australia from the Derby Jetty. It’s 12 metres above the low tide line.
• Other Derby attractions include the Jandamarra Heritage Trail, old prison, Boab Prison Tree, Frosty’s Pool, the Long Trough and the Joonjoo Botanic Walk.

Options:

Stay an extra night in Derby and experience the Gibb River Road on the Windjana Gorge/Tunnel Creek Day Tour.  Alternatively, visit the Buccaneer Archipelago and Horizontal Waterfall

Read MORE: The Highest Tide in OZ!

Day 7: Derby to Broome

Distance: 220 km

Driving Time: 2 ½ -3 hours

Route & Scenery: Follow the Great Northern Highway south-west to Broome.

Points of Interest:

• Willare Bridge Roadhouse
• Roebuck Plains Roadhouse

Read MORE about Broome’s attractions:

• 5 Reasons to Visit Broome in July
• Good Times at Gantheaume Point
• Sun Pictures and the Scenic Public Loo!
• Broome Bird Observatory

SEE MORE:  Broome Photos on Flickr

Broome’s many attractions probably mean you’ll want to stay for a LOT longer than just one night! And why not? You deserve a break after an epic road trip like this!

And anyway, you may as well kick back and enjoy yourself while you work out where to go next!

Want even MORE?

• MORE about the Kimberley
• MORE Red Nomad OZ Roadtrips
• MORE Kimberley Photos on Flickr

PS  For the record, it took me 28 nights to do the Darwin to Broome Road Trip.  I spent 15 more nights exploring Broome and surrounds!

And I STILL didn’t see everything!

So yes, it CAN be done in 7 days – but if you’ve got the time, you’ll see a LOT more!

The post 7 Days from Darwin to Broome via the Great Northern Highway appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

By Northern Hemisphere standards, winter in many areas of Australia isn’t particularly cold. But that doesn’t stop a mass exodus from the ‘cold’ south during the Aussie winter (officially June/July/August), to the north where it’s actually hot!

But it’s not just the average daily maximum of around 30 °C that makes the Kimberley region stretching across the north of Western Australia attractive in winter.

There’s also the spectacular scenery. Unique land formations and oddities. An intriguing indigenous and colonial history. And a chance to experience the remote outback. It’s crocodile country – and wild Australia at its best!

But there’s a LOT of it. So where do you start?

With this sampler of 7 Random Kimberley Adventures, right here on RedzAustralia, of course!

1 Lake Argyle Morning Cruise

“Freakin’ HUGE” is the best technical term for Australia’s largest artificial lake formed when the Ord River was dammed. At nearly 11 million megalitres (18 times bigger than Sydney Harbour) of water spread over 1000 km², Lake Argyle is recognised as one of the world’s great engineering feats.

But the staggering Kimberley scenery was too distracting for statistics on our early morning cruise as we sped over the tranquil surface of this inland sea, for kilometre after punishing kilometre until the horizon was a world of water interrupted only by the islands we passed. Actually, they’re mountain tops from the ranges submerged by the waters of the lake.

But the lake’s 35,000 crocodiles are by far the most impressive mega-statistics in this larger-than-life landscape. And although they’re reportedly the less dangerous freshwater crocs, they breed unabated as natural predators are no longer a part of this artificial environment. BUT! Over the years, a few small saltwater crocodiles have been found. I guess 1.5 metres is small when you’re a saltie …

Given the relatively small sector of the lake we travelled, it’s hardly surprising that of the lake’s estimated 35,000 crocodiles – ie one to every 314 megalitres – we only saw two.

And while I could find no reports of whether or not their presence distracts swimmers in Lake Argyle’s annual 10 and 20 km swimming races, I KNOW they’ll never get the chance to distract me! Not when there’s a knockout infinity pool to swim in way above the crocs’ stamping ground!

MORE about Lake Argyle and Lake Argyle Cruises

2 Willie Creek Helicopter Flight

In retrospect, taking a helicopter flight above a crocodile infested creek probably wasn’t the best choice of tour for an Aviophobic. But as the chopper swung out above Willie Creek Pearl Farm and over the work of art along the coastline created as the almost-highest tides in the Southern Hemisphere shifted sandbanks against the greens and blues of the water, I forgot my fears. Maybe snapping about 300 photos was a successful distraction as well.

As was the thought of buying a souvenir from the pearl farm shop on our return. If we made it.

I didn’t want to be rude to the enthusiastic young pilot, but I didn’t care that we were flying over the exact spot where Miranda Kerr once modelled something or other. Couldn’t he see I wasn’t a Miranda-wannabee, even if her ex and I shared a star sign? Besides, the chances of the sandbanks being exactly as they were when Miranda languished upon them were fairly remote – with tonnes of sand and metres of water swirling about twice a day, finding the ‘same’ sandbank two days in a row had about the same probability as Miranda and I being mistaken for twins.

‘Is that big crocodile still down there on the sandbank?’ he asked as we circled back across the creek towards the Pearl Farm, as my white knuckles turned numb with the strain of keeping the helicopter in the air*.

It wasn’t. Sadly. Because that meant when the helicopter plunged into the creek, the croc was already there waiting for us. But I knew that at least in one thing I was WAAAAAY ahead of Miranda. And as I’d provide him with several more meals than Miranda would, I knew who he’d choose first. Who says supermodels have all the fun?

Strangely enough, despite my death wish, we landed without misadventure. And the $9 black seed pearl ring I selected from the childrens gift section suited me just fine.

What a shame it didn’t come in RED!

MORE about Willie Creek Helicopter Tours

3 Marlgu Billabong Croc-Spotting

The 15 km trek south from Wyndham to Marlgu Billabong passes through a dry-season Kimberley landscape with boab tree silhouettes against a low-lying mountain range against a bright blue sky – clear but for the dust haze – and a red, red road winding through grassy plains.

Yes, this classic Kimberley scenery is dry. VERY dry.

So you really can’t miss the unexpectedly long green and blue scar of Marlgu Billabong that slashes through the golden grass and dusty rocks of this arid landscape, sucking all the bird and animal life into its vortex!. It’s the go-to place for all sorts of wildlife viewing. Think bird watching. Crocodile hunting. And the most exciting activity of them all – people observation!

Although that tends to take a back seat when the crocodiles are smiling!

MORE about Marlgu Billabong

4 Gibb River Road Dynamic Duo

If your constitution, holiday time-frame or rig isn’t up for several days of the 600+ km of rough, rugged, rocky tyre-shredding ‘road’ that is Australia’s most iconic road trip, don’t panic. There’s still an opportunity to see more corrugations, bull dust and 4WD fanatics than you ever dreamed of on a one-day ~360 km round trip tour along the notorious road to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek with a random selection of other passengers driven by a fearless Israeli on a RED 4WD bus.

It even doubles as a school bus in its spare time!

Before the Gibb River Road became a Boys Own Adventureland, Indigenous warrior and activist Tjandamarra conducted a campaign for the rights of his people against colonial settlers. With staggering scenery, crocodiles and other wildlife, and a strong cultural history, this tour from Derby guarantees the thrills of the Gibb River Road without damaging your own rig. Win-win, right?

But make no mistake. The road’s so rough I should’ve invested in a sports bra!

MORE about the Gibb River Road and Windjana Gorge/Tunnel Creek Day Tour

5 Australia’s Highest Tides

I’m a sucker for a World exclusive! But an Aussie one will do the trick – especially when it’s served up with a killer sunset so magnificent you forget that Australia’s highest tidal range is also served up with some killer hazards!

At low tide, signs on the Derby jetty warn of the 12 metre drop to the oozing mud below. And at high tide, it’s only a short drop into what have magically become crocodile infested waters. In between, the treacherous racing currents formed by the monster tides racing up and down King Sound form their own hazards.

But as the sun sinks into oblivion over the Sound, and the council worker with the unenviable task of clearing the fisherfolk, tourists and photographers from the jetty before dark starts his rounds, the hazards seem a long, long way away!

MORE about Australia’s Highest Tides

6 Geikie Gorge

I’ve never seen a real, live iceberg anywhere ever, but I certainly didn’t expect to see them in the middle of the Aussie Outback!

Just as well, because I didn’t!!

But the fantastically water-worn white surfaces of the ancient limestone reef as our boat drifted down Geikie Gorge are as close as I’ve ever been – so far! It’s also one of Australia’s largest rivers with a catchment area of 90,000 km² – and a flow rate of 30,000 m³ per second when it’s in flood, up to 26 metres above the old crossing. (Note to self: stay away during the wet season)

That’s WAY more than enough water to carve the limestone into the bizarre shapes and patterns towering high above us as the boat chugged its way up the gorge, although it’s hard to imagine the impact of 26 metres of water flowing above us.

I don’t know where the freshwater crocodiles go when the river’s in full flood, but they don’t go anywhere when it’s not. Seeing a crocodile – or several – is almost a sure thing on both the cruise AND the gorge walks that follow the river.

So I’m betting it’s the only place in the world that serves up crocodiles with its ‘icebergs’!

MORE about Geikie Gorge

7 Kununurra Campsite

There ARE some advantages to having a low-tech rig. Despite the crowds of grey nomads seeking caravan park sites, we scored a spacious, shaded campsite in a prime lakefront position at the Kununurra Lakeside Resort because, unlike many of the bigger rigs, we could live without power and mains pressure water.

It was worth it.

During the heat of the day we rested in the shade and watched the bird life on Lily Creek Lagoon, a few metres from our camper trailer. In the evening, we watched the killer Kimberley sunsets sinking behind the lake. And at night, the red glow from the eyes of the crocodiles in the lagoon reflected from the beams of our torch.

What’s NOT to love?

A few days into our stay, we noticed a commotion a few metres out from shore. A bird had mistaken the lily pads for firm ground while taking a bath and had fallen in. Now its feathers were soaking wet and it was unable to haul itself onto the relative safety of the lily pad.

Would YOU enter a croc-infested lagoon to save a bird from almost certain death by drowning? If you’re thinking ‘NO WAY’, then I’m with you. But luckily the freshies weren’t hungry that day because Pilchard and two nearby campers waded in to the shallows with a fishing rod and rescued the bird – and all survived unscathed without losing any limbs!

Perhaps they were just unappetising??

Want MORE?

• These random adventures (mostly) have crocodiles! For some of my (mostly) croc-free Kimberley adventures, try (in no particular order) these:
  • Black Rock Falls
  • Gantheaume Point
  • Sun Pictures
  • Broome Bird Observatory
  • Mirima National Park
  • Kununurra Cane Toad Racing
  • Five Rivers Lookout
  • The Grotto

• Visit the official Kimberley website HERE for help planning YOUR Kimberley adventure
• Check out more of my Kimberley photos on Flickr

* It’s a little known fact that those afflicted with fear of flying can keep a flying object (like a plane or helicopter) airborne through a combination of sheer willpower AND gripping the armrests tightly enough to stop them vibrating. Try it sometime!

The post 7 Random Kimberley Adventures appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

‘Look out for the cat snakes on the rock ledges,’ our guide warned. ‘We saw one stalking a bird the other evening’.

CAT Snakes?

‘But don’t take my word for it – I failed the snake identification exam!’ she laughed. Pilchard and I exchanged glances. The previous day a gaggle of grey nomads had shown us a photo of the ‘Python’* they’d seen – they’d virtually stood over it to get their photos – on the gorge track.

Probably just as well they hadn’t realised it was a King Brown** …

‘Oh look! There’s a crocodile,’ the guide continued, turning the boat and steering straight for the magnificent limestone walls of Geikie*** Gorge.

Crocodiles?

White, weathered rock towered high above us as the cruise boat floated under massive ledges, pocked with holes and opening into amazing caverns dripping with jagged edges carved into glittering icicles.

The water rippled and flung the harsh Kimberley sunshine against the glistening limestone crystals. And with the dry season and water level dropping, the water-worn striations of the massive rocky walls appeared to melt into the river.

Replace the penguins and seals with snakes and crocodiles – and Geikie Gorge is the closest thing to an iceberg I’ll probably ever see in Australia!

On the mainland, anyway.

C’mon … you didn’t think the Outback had any REAL icebergs, did you??

The red rock’s a bit of a giveaway too …

When in flood – which it is every few years – the Fitzroy River rises to 26+ metres above the original crossing, and flows at up to 300,000 metres³ per second, making it one of Australia’s largest.

The effects of this volume of water on the variously coloured soft-ish limestone of the gorge walls could be clearly seen as the cruise boat floated close to the cliffs – all that’s left of the Devonian reef system that once surrounded the vast inland sea that is now the Kimberley region.

Passing the end point of the snake-free walk we’d completed the previous day, we approached the Western Wall, glowing in the early morning sun. According to our guide, the Kimberley summer (Nov-March) is fierce and intense, with the temperature regularly topping 38°C (~110°+ F) by 9am, also the time of the year when flooding is most likely.

But happily these extremes weren’t apparent during our July 2012 visit, with the morning temperature so chilly for our 8am cruise that our guide was all rugged up. And poking fun at the Grey Nomads – most of the tour group – for doing the same.

‘Aren’t you all from Melbourne?’ she asked to quite a few nods.

‘And isn’t it cold AS down there?’ More nods.

‘So why are you all wearing jackets HERE?’

Watching the group embarking onto the barge-like watercraft that cruise the gorge during the winter months had almost been worth the ticket price – exceptionally good value as it was.

Call me weird, but did I really need water, extra sunscreen and snacks for a cruise lasting an hour in single-digit early morning temperatures? And if I really thought I DID need them, would I have left them in the car?? AND … even if we’d been travelling with 2 or 3 other couples, I’d probably have survived the hour without sitting next to them …

But finally, the fidgeting, frowning and fussing were over and we swung out into the river, immediately banishing any thoughts we might have entertained that experiencing the gorge from yesterday’s walk along the western edge was as good as being on the cruise.

While the river cuts a swathe between the excellent Fitzroy Crossing River Lodge campground and township, there’s no real clue from the surrounding countryside that the gorge exists. But at the end of an easy 20 km (12 miles) drive from Fitzroy Crossing, between Halls Creek and Derby on the Great Northern Highway and closest town to the gorge, the pastoral country opens into the rocky reef remnants signalling the start of the gorge system.

The 1½ hour return walk along the western edge was a good introduction to its splendours, especially in the late afternoon when the setting sun lights up the eastern wall.

Crocodile spotting on the riverbanks, admiring wildflowers in the scrub and birdwatching around the sharp rocky formations above the track aside, the scenic walk was uneventful …

… unless you count the three dudes (possibly part of a backpacker plague that freeloaded campground amenities at night****) so busy with their 3-way ‘F%#!ing F*#%er conversation and trying to out-cool each other they failed to see the crocodile sunning itself below …

Theirs was the loss!!

But quite apart from the entertainment to be had from other gorge visitors, taking a morning boat cruise up the gorge meant a birds-eye view of the Eastern wall’s overhangs then beyond to the Western Wall’s magnificent colours, contours and crags aglow in the morning sun.

The unearthly shapes and swirls weathered into the rock by ongoing inundation sometimes coalesced into familiar lines – Aussies aboard immediately likened the ‘Nixon’s Head’ rocky profile to that of a well known Australian red headed female politician …

Could even this remote spot be an experimental site for subliminal political advertising?

A bump interrupted our smooth return ride down the river. If only our guide hadn’t just told us that while less dangerous than the saltwater variety, freshwater crocodiles actually HAVE been known to attack!

‘I hit that stump EVERY time,’ our delightful guide muttered. Another contribution – part of a community system of forfeits and fines – to the local football team’s annual excursion fund!

‘At the rate we’re going with the swear jar, we’ll be sending them to Disneyland,’ she chuckled. ‘And then we’ll start raising money to bring them home again.’

As we disembarked – not nearly as diverting OR time consuming as boarding an hour before had been – our experience of Geikie Gorge over for this year, we vowed to one day return and take the sunset cruise.

After all, it’s not often you get to cruise a Devonian reef system.

Or see an Aussie-style iceberg!

* Python= non-venemous

** King Brown = Deadly!

*** Geikie pronounced ‘Geeky’

**** According to the campground caretaker!

Want MORE?

• Geikie Gorge National Park
• Fitzroy Crossing
• Western Australia’s Kimberley Region

The post The Incredible “Icebergs” of Geikie Gorge! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.