It’s one of the last true wilderness frontiers. Across the Kimberley’s 163,521 square miles of savannah woodlands and 2,600 tropical islands are countless rivers, hundreds of tributaries, and just as many gorges, reefs, and lagoons. Waterfalls leap from the tops of sandstone escarpments, and fat-bodied boab trees extend spiky arms to the skies.
If it sounds prehistoric, it is. More than 1.8 billion years ago, the Kimberley landmass collided with Western Australia’s Pilbara outback, forming the Australian continent. Today, not much has changed. Ancient cliffs rise above deep gorges carved by fast-moving tides. Beneath the waters, you can find dugongs, rare snubfin dolphins, manta rays, turtles, and migrating humpback whales.
Few people (with a population of 40,000 in an area nearly as big as California) and even fewer roads await in the Kimberley. It’s so vast and untouched, one of the best ways to truly experience it is by expedition ship. Broome (Rubibi) is your gateway to the Kimberley, an outback beach town with a pearling past and natural wonders all its own. Discover its charms and all the Kimberley has to offer on this unforgettable 12-day trip—including 10 days cruising at sea.
Itinerary / 12 Days
PLAN YOUR TRIP
Staircase to the Moon, Roebuck Bay
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Day 1:Experience the Natural Wonders of Broome and Horizontal Fall
Touch down in Broome before your cruise and check into Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, an art-filled, colonial-inspired hotel with two sun-splashed pools and a L’Occitane Spa. Footsteps from Cable Beach’s (Walmanyjun’s) postcard-worthy white sands, turquoise waters, and gorgeous mango-hued sunsets, the expansive resort offers single studios, apartments, private plunge pool villas, art-decorated suites, and family-friendly bungalows, all striking distance from Broome’s many adventures.
Begin your adventures at the Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim) on a half-day tour with Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures. Take to the skies in a luxury seaplane, landing in the far-flung Buccaneer Archipelago in Talbot Bay. Then, head to the lookout to view Horizontal Falls, a natural phenomenon that appears on the vast ebb and flow of the sea as millions of gallons of seawater push through two narrow gaps in the McLarty Range.
Pull up a deckchair this evening at the Mangrove Hotel. Its light-festooned lawn terrace offers front-row seats to Roebuck Bay and the full moon phenomenon known as Staircase to the Moon. On three days a month from March to October, moonbeams brightly light the mudflat, creating the illusion of a golden staircase to the silvery orb. Wander the night market or sit back with a cocktail as the light show unfolds and let the plaintive warble of a didgeridoo transport you to the ancient skies.
Begin your adventures at the Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim) on a half-day tour with Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures. Take to the skies in a luxury seaplane, landing in the far-flung Buccaneer Archipelago in Talbot Bay. Then, head to the lookout to view Horizontal Falls, a natural phenomenon that appears on the vast ebb and flow of the sea as millions of gallons of seawater push through two narrow gaps in the McLarty Range.
Pull up a deckchair this evening at the Mangrove Hotel. Its light-festooned lawn terrace offers front-row seats to Roebuck Bay and the full moon phenomenon known as Staircase to the Moon. On three days a month from March to October, moonbeams brightly light the mudflat, creating the illusion of a golden staircase to the silvery orb. Wander the night market or sit back with a cocktail as the light show unfolds and let the plaintive warble of a didgeridoo transport you to the ancient skies.
Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours, Dampier Peninsula
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Day 2:Visit the Dampier Peninsula
Rise early this morning for the drive north to the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, a dramatic coastline stitched with pearl farms, red pindan cliffs, golden sands, and clear turquoise waters.
Stop by Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, a fourth-generation pearling family renowned for its beautiful South Sea pearls. Take a tour of the pearl farm and learn about Broome’s pearling history, founded on the mother of pearl once widely used for buttons. Discover how pearls are cultivated, then browse the store (or their other boutique back in Broome) for a pearl of your own.
Join Rosanna Angus for a journey back in time, tracing the watery paths of her Aboriginal Jawi ancestors who fished these huge tides on hand-hewn mangrove rafts. Her Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tour explores serene waters and islands of great cultural significance and outstanding natural beauty.
Stop by Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, a fourth-generation pearling family renowned for its beautiful South Sea pearls. Take a tour of the pearl farm and learn about Broome’s pearling history, founded on the mother of pearl once widely used for buttons. Discover how pearls are cultivated, then browse the store (or their other boutique back in Broome) for a pearl of your own.
Join Rosanna Angus for a journey back in time, tracing the watery paths of her Aboriginal Jawi ancestors who fished these huge tides on hand-hewn mangrove rafts. Her Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tour explores serene waters and islands of great cultural significance and outstanding natural beauty.
Camels at sunset on Cable Beach
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Day 3:Tour Cable Beach
Cable Beach is best known for its camel rides at sunset. But this morning, you’ll experience it through Aboriginal eyes on a cultural tour with Mabu Buru Tours. Connect to the country over shared storytelling and engage in conversation known as muwarrt. At low tide, head out along the coast to see the dinosaur footprints imprinted on the Earth more than 130 million years ago.
Grab some lunch at Matso’s, which is among Australia’s most remote breweries.. Try their zingy alcoholic ginger beer and savor pan-Asian share plates eaten al fresco in the sunny beer garden. Another craft beer brewery you could try is the family-friendly Spinifex, which makes brews infused with native bush flavors, served with pizza from its copper oven and other dishes.
Drive to Roebuck Bay this afternoon for a tour with Yawuru man Bart Pigram. His Narlijia Experiences Broome tour offers an intimate glimpse into Aboriginal life in the Kimberley. Hike the mangroves for a 1.2-mile walk, spotting middens (piles of ancient shells) and hunting for mud crabs. Out on the mudflats, mudskippers fish for pipis and whelks—bush tucker you’ll get to eat cooked in the flames of a campfire.
Come evening, embark on your 10-day expedition cruise in the Kimberley. Take your pick of itineraries and ultra-luxury cruise lines: Seabourn, Scenic, or the exceptionally French Ponant.
Grab some lunch at Matso’s, which is among Australia’s most remote breweries.. Try their zingy alcoholic ginger beer and savor pan-Asian share plates eaten al fresco in the sunny beer garden. Another craft beer brewery you could try is the family-friendly Spinifex, which makes brews infused with native bush flavors, served with pizza from its copper oven and other dishes.
Drive to Roebuck Bay this afternoon for a tour with Yawuru man Bart Pigram. His Narlijia Experiences Broome tour offers an intimate glimpse into Aboriginal life in the Kimberley. Hike the mangroves for a 1.2-mile walk, spotting middens (piles of ancient shells) and hunting for mud crabs. Out on the mudflats, mudskippers fish for pipis and whelks—bush tucker you’ll get to eat cooked in the flames of a campfire.
Come evening, embark on your 10-day expedition cruise in the Kimberley. Take your pick of itineraries and ultra-luxury cruise lines: Seabourn, Scenic, or the exceptionally French Ponant.
Horizontal Falls
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Days 4–5:View Wildlife in the Buccaneer Archipelago
For the next two days, you’ll explore the otherworldly Buccaneer Archipelago, a pristine 1,000-island wilderness filled with natural wonders and the big tides and fast-moving currents that are hallmarks of the Kimberley.
Grab binoculars and hop on a Zodiac boat ride to tour the Lacepedes, a bird-watcher’s paradise. Spot resident nesting brown boobies and roseate terns, along with Australian pelicans, eastern reef egrets and silver gulls. It’s not the only eye candy. The largest colony of green turtles in Western Australia nest in the lagoons.
Drop anchor this afternoon in Talbot Bay to explore the Horizontal Falls, described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.” See the surging waters and whirlpools that ebb and flow with the tide as it rushes through narrow cliff passages creating the unique horizontal waterfall effect.
Further south in Collier Bay, zip out on the low tide to see Montgomery Reef emerge from the sea, waterfalls cascading from it, and teeming with marine life, including dugongs, turtles, manta rays, and sawfish, and the birds who feast on them.
Grab binoculars and hop on a Zodiac boat ride to tour the Lacepedes, a bird-watcher’s paradise. Spot resident nesting brown boobies and roseate terns, along with Australian pelicans, eastern reef egrets and silver gulls. It’s not the only eye candy. The largest colony of green turtles in Western Australia nest in the lagoons.
Drop anchor this afternoon in Talbot Bay to explore the Horizontal Falls, described by David Attenborough as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.” See the surging waters and whirlpools that ebb and flow with the tide as it rushes through narrow cliff passages creating the unique horizontal waterfall effect.
Further south in Collier Bay, zip out on the low tide to see Montgomery Reef emerge from the sea, waterfalls cascading from it, and teeming with marine life, including dugongs, turtles, manta rays, and sawfish, and the birds who feast on them.
Hunter River
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Days 6-7:Explore the Hunter River, Mitchell Falls, and Bigge Island
Today, you’ll go on a Zodiac ride in the Hunter River. With waterways, mangrove forests, and verdant floodplains, this marine estuary brims with wildlife. Take note of Kampamantiya, a sandstone edifice that towers 656 feet above the mouth of the river.
Get a bird’s-eye view as you take to the skies by helicopter, up and over Mitchell River National Park to the top of Mitchell Falls (Punamii-unpuu). Touch down at the top for panoramic views of the falls, which cascade over four tiers, eventually spilling into the green water below.
This afternoon, weave through reef-filled waters to Bigge Island, the largest landmass in the Bonaparte Archipelago. Hidden in this landscape of dolerite and weathered sandstone are some of the best examples of Wandjina art, the oldest rock art in the world. Walk this real-life outdoor gallery that tells the story of the Kimberley’s Aboriginal communities over millennia.
Get a bird’s-eye view as you take to the skies by helicopter, up and over Mitchell River National Park to the top of Mitchell Falls (Punamii-unpuu). Touch down at the top for panoramic views of the falls, which cascade over four tiers, eventually spilling into the green water below.
This afternoon, weave through reef-filled waters to Bigge Island, the largest landmass in the Bonaparte Archipelago. Hidden in this landscape of dolerite and weathered sandstone are some of the best examples of Wandjina art, the oldest rock art in the world. Walk this real-life outdoor gallery that tells the story of the Kimberley’s Aboriginal communities over millennia.
Vansittart Bay
Courtesy of Tourism Western Australia
Days 8–10:Snorkel Ashmore Reef and See the Cave Art in Jar Island
This morning, you’ll stop at Careening Bay, a popular stop for the boab tree inscribed with the words HMS Mermaid 1820—carved into the trunk by the ship’s carpenter on a hiatus to repair the rotting hull. A boardwalk makes for a leisurely stroll to the tree, where the words are as visible today as when they were first engraved more than 200 years ago.
Enjoy a wildly different expedition this afternoon snorkeling at Ashmore Reef. This vision of aqua in the Indian Ocean is one of Australia’s more remote marine parks. It’s a dazzling underwater wonderland with blue-lipped clams, iridescent starfish, staghorn coral, autumn-hued bommies, and a kaleidoscope of fish in every size, shape, and color.
Round out the day with an art tour of Jar Island, on the edge of Vansittart Bay. A short walk from the beach are myriad caves with Gwion Gwion rock paintings, tasseled figures unlike anything else, which have baffled historians for nearly a century.
Enjoy a wildly different expedition this afternoon snorkeling at Ashmore Reef. This vision of aqua in the Indian Ocean is one of Australia’s more remote marine parks. It’s a dazzling underwater wonderland with blue-lipped clams, iridescent starfish, staghorn coral, autumn-hued bommies, and a kaleidoscope of fish in every size, shape, and color.
Round out the day with an art tour of Jar Island, on the edge of Vansittart Bay. A short walk from the beach are myriad caves with Gwion Gwion rock paintings, tasseled figures unlike anything else, which have baffled historians for nearly a century.
King George Falls
Courtesy of Australia’s Northwest
Days 11–12:Cruise to King George Falls
King George Falls is the highlight of any expedition in the Kimberley and only accessible by boat. Wind through a primordial landscape lost to time, its deep gorges banked by craggy cliffs lit orange in the bright sunshine. Out here, far from any civilization, snubfin dolphins leap above the water. The twin falls (the tallest in Australia) tumble 250 feet into the dark emerald waters.
Return to Broome, where your epic adventure began, for your return flight home.
Return to Broome, where your epic adventure began, for your return flight home.
