Kununurra to Perth Overland

Kununurra – Ord River Cruise – Kununurra – Bungle Bungle – Fitzroy Crossing – Broome City Tour – Eighty Mile Beach – Port Hedland – Karijini National Park – Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef) – Coral Bay – Carnarvon – Monkey Mia (Shark Bay) – Kalbarri – Perth

In the northwest, the coast lures with corals and camels, pearls and prehistoric dinosaur tracks. Discover former coral reefs that form stunning gorges today. Where beehive domes stretch into the sky and waterfalls fall into the depths, where rock pools invite you to swim, there you’ll discover billions of years of Australian history. See freshwater crocodiles up close, bearing thousands of years of history on their scaly humpback. A journey of superlatives with 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Purnululu National Park, Ningaloo Coast and Shark Bay!

HIGHLIGHTS

• 4X4 TOUR
• 3 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE AREAS
• PINNACLES (NAMBUNG NATIONAL PARK)
• KALBARRI NATIONAL PARK
• SHARK BAY WORLD HERITAGE AREA WITH SHELL BEACH AND STROMATOLITES
• MONKEY MIA DOLPHINS
• OLD RIVER CRUISE
• GLASS-BOTTOM-BOAT TOUR IN EXMOUTH / NINGALOO REEF
• KARIJINI NATIONAL PARK
• OVERNIGHT STAY IN BROOME’S FAMOUS CABLE BEACH CLUB RESORT
• HORIZONTAL FALLS TOUR (OPTIONAL)
• BUNGLE BUNGLE AERIAL SCENIC FLIGHT/4X4 TOUR/WALKING DAY TOUR
• WILLIE CREEK PEARL FARM

SERVICES INCLUDED

TRANSPORT & ACCOMMODATION

• Transfers from airport to hotel in Kununurra on Day 1
• Transport in an air-conditioned 4WD bus with a maximum of 12 passengers per vehicle
• Accommodation during the tour 15x in Hotels/Motels/Tented Safari cabins (wooden floor, real beds, ensuite)
  

ENTRY FEES

• Entry fees National Parks, World Heritage Areas, Catamaran Cruise Monkey Mia, Shark Bay Interpretive Centre, Glass-Bottom-Boat cruise (incl. snorkelling gear), Willie Creek Pearl Farm Broome, Geikie Gorge cruise, Day Tour Flight/4WD Bungle Bungle, Ord River Cruise

MEALS

• Meals (15x B – Breakfast / 2x L – Lunch)
• Free drinking water
  

EXTRAS

• Comprehensive information kit in vehicles

LANGUAGE

• English speaking guiding
• German speaking guiding
• 24/7 English/German emergency assistance

ITINERARY

Day 1 Kununurra

You will be welcomed by your driver-guide at Kununurra airport. In the afternoon local sightseeing, including Ivanhoe Crossing. In the late afternoon you will be transferred to your accommodation.

Day 2 Kununurra (Ord River Cruise)

We will be collected from our accommodation at 11.30am and taken to the Marina.  Cruising the 55km to Lake Argyle, you will marvel at the spectacular scenery, wildlife, flora and fauna found along the way, including the elusive freshwater crocodile! Remaining on the boat at the base of the Ord Top Dam, you will cruise back towards Kununurra, stopping for afternoon tea at our riverside camp. Scenic photographers will appreciate the contrast in colours as the light changes the way the gorges and ranges look on the return journey. We will return you to our Kununurra accommodation after enjoying an East Kimberley sunset on board the boat.

Day 3 Kununurra – Bungle Bungle – Kununurra

Today’s trip into the Bungle Bungle National Park is a highlight at its best. It gives you the great opportunity to experience a breath-taking view on unique rock formations from the air and on foot. From a small airplane you enjoy gorgeous bird’s eye views on Lake Argyle, the Carr Boyd Range and enormous cattle farms. While approaching the airstrip amidst the Bungle Bungle National Park the wonder world of these amazing limestone rocks opens up. By 4WD and on foot you reach Cathedral Gorge. Enjoy a picnic surrounded by fantastic rock sculptures reminding of bee-hives and let this unique atmosphere sink in. On the flight back to Kununurra you get great views of the Argyle Diamante Mine and the rough embankments of the Osmand Range. This day will provide you with unforgettable memories that you will keep all your life.

Day 4 Kununurra – Fitrzroy Crossing

Along the Great Northern Highway, between the Durack Range and the Carr Boyd Range, we continue southward. In Halls Creek we take a short detour to the so-called China Wall. The vertical, up to 5 m high wall of bright quartz is the result of erosion and looks like being built by humans. In the evening we arrive in Fitzroy Crossing, our destination for the day.

Day 5 Fitzroy Crossing – Broome

On its way to the Indian Ocean the mighty Fitzroy River crosses Geikie Range, a ragged limestone ground. On a length of 14 km the river exposed the walls of the prehistoric Devonian Great Barrier Reef. The so incurred canyon, Geikie Gorge, is the heart of the National Park. Whilst on a cruise through the canyon we will have the possibility to observe freshwater crocodiles and to gaze and wonder at the remaining dry coral reef now present by the coloured limestone walls of the canyon. We have a very special surprise for you waiting in Tunnel Creek National Park: We will not walk across the park but we will wade through it. The track follows the streambed of Tunnel Creek along a 750 m long cave system – the oldest in Western Australia – below Napier Range. The approach to Windjana Gorge National Park is very impressive. The vertical rock faces of the Napier Range look like an insuperable wall. Dating back approximately 350 million years ago a shallow tropical sea covered a large proportion of this area and formed a coral reef over 1,000 km in length. Fossils can still be found embedded in the walls of Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. In the evening we will arrive in tropical paradise Broome.

Day 6 City Tour Broome

Having a population of about 15,000 people, Broome is the commercial and touristic centre of the Kimberley. Chinatown, the rather small downtown area with its Asian touch is the focus of all urban activities. Sun Picture, the world’s oldest picture garden is surrounded by lots of cafés, restaurants, galleries, souvenir shops, jewellery shops and pearl jewellery shops. Ultimately Broome was and still is a world known pearling centre. Whereas in the past, mother of pearl was the main reason and big business, it is cultured pearl in modern days. Pearl diving has always been considered one of the most dangerous occupations, and one that has cost many lives. Evidence of this fact can be seen at the historic gravesites of the Chinese Cemetery and Japanese Cemetery. At Gantheaume Point, where red coloured sandstone rocks meet the deep blue ocean, a 130-million-year-old dinosaur’s footprint can be seen at a very low tide. The tour ends at about 11 o’clock back at the hotel, the rest of the day is leisure time.

Day 7 Broome – Eighty Mile Beach

In the pristine and warm water of the Indian Ocean around Broome you’ll find pearls which are among the most sought worldwide. Up until 1930 this small fishing town has met three quarters of the world’s pearling supplies and has become Australia’s pearling metropolis. By visiting the only pearl farm open to tourists in the Kimberley, you are given an insight into the pearling industry and its history. On our journey towards Port Hedland we travel along the edge of The Great Sandy Desert with its small and meagre vegetation Most of Australia’s northern coastline is bordered by extensive mangrove forest. One important exemption is Eighty Mile Beach. Enjoy the beauty of this white sandy beach and turquoise water of the Indian Ocean, renowned for fishing and shell collecting. Stingrays, stonefish and sharks are in abundance and good reasons to stay ashore.

Day 8 Eighty Mile Beach – Karijini National Park

We reach Port Hedland, Australia’s busiest iron-ore shipping port, at about lunch time. We might – if lucky – sight an endless iron-ore train wheeling into or out of the port. Driving in a southerly direction across the Pilbara region. The traditional owners called their land „bilypara“, which could be translated with “dry”. No wonder: This area, which is twice as large as Germany, half of it consisting of desert and red coloured crests. Today’s accommodation is to be found in the heart of Karijini National Park. What a fantastic atmosphere and a guaranteed good night sleep!

Day 9 Karijini National Park

The rock formations of Western Australia’s second biggest National Park belong to the oldest ones in the world, the landscape most impressive and colourful. The plateau which is rich in iron ore and therefore colored intensively red brown, offers spectacular lookouts and many gorges with permanent water pools. We walk down through the changing vegetation of the iron-rich gorge walls to the park’s only permanent waterfall. Just a short distance from Fortescue Falls, you can swim in the refreshing, spring fed Fern Pool. Finally, we visit the spectacular vantage point of the Oxer Lookout with its fantastic view on four gorges joining each other.

Day 10 Karijini National Park – Exmouth

Today we leave the irone ore area of Tom Price towards the coast. Its gorges cut deep into the rock layers as well as colorful rock formations make up the magic of this rugged landscape. In the evening we arrive in Exmouth, the northern end of the Ningaloo Reef. Experts claim that the marine lifeof this ref is more abundant than that found at the Great Barrier Reef.

Day 11 Exmouth – Coral Bay

Breathtaking views from Vlaming Head Lighthouse across North West Cape, beautiful Ningaloo Reef and gigantic antennas of the Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt. Today, we will encounter the 260 km long natural wonder of the Ningaloo Reef. As the reef is not far from shore it can be readily available to discover with the aid of snorkel and flippers on an outing in a glass-bottom- boat. During our short stroll in Mandu Mandu Gorge we are looking out for some rare inhabitants, Black Footed Rock Wallabies. Turquoise Bay creates the perfect scenes for some relaxation, contemplation on the many impressions of the past days, and the temptation of the effervescent Indian Ocean for a refreshing swim. Late afternoon we head south for our accommodation in Coral Bay.

Day 12 Coral Bay

A day to relax with the opportunity to explore the bay, beach and corals on your own. The shallow water of the reef is the homeland to various sea creatures, such as corals, unusual sea stars, crustaceans and over 500 species of different fishes. This time of the year, it is also home to the mighty but gentle whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. Ningaloo Reef is considered one of the best if not the best region in the world to encounter whale sharks. We are happy to organise a tour for you.

Day 13 Coral Bay – Carnarvon

After a leisurely morning in Coral Bay, we drive across grazing country interspersed with imposing termite mounds to the fertile Gascoyne River region, known among other things as the banana growing region of Western Australia. Today’s destination is the regional center of Carnarvon.

Day 14 Carnarvon – Monkey Mia ( Shark Bay)

Typical “Outback Australian impressions” will accompany you on the drive to Monkey Mia today. First Stop at Hamelin Pool where the world best known colony of stromatolites can be admired. After our next stop at Shell Beach we pay homage to this World Natural Heritage area with visit to the Shark Bay Interpretive Centre in Denham. In the afternoon we arrive in Monkey Mia, home of the well-known dolphins. Nearly every day of the year they come to the shore to give you a unique experience that will never be forgotten. Before dinner we will take a cruise on a catamaran to experience the silent sensation of sailing and capture the five-star view of the coastline.

Day 15 Monkey Mia (Shark Bay) – Kalbarri

In the morning you have the opportunity to come face to face with these famous dolphins. Depending upon the season, our drive from the World Heritage area of Shark Bay to Kalbarri National Park will be escorted by the famous wildflowers. We will visit Kalbarri National Park where we enjoy the breathtaking view into the Murchison Gorge.  In the evening we will arrive in the “laid back village” of Kalbarri.

Day 16 Kalbarri – Perth

After breakfast we drive again to the Kalbarri National Park. The rugged coastal formations here are of impressive beauty. Via coastal road we travel via Port Gregory to Geraldton and experience some of the most picturesque grazing land. We are passing Geraldton, the sunniest town in W.A., south along the coast via Leeman and Jurien Bay towards Cervantes, the entrance to Nambung National Park. The Pinnacles are among the most visited natural wonders of the state. Thousands of limestone pillars rise out of a stark landscape of yellow sand. There is ample time to explore the area and to take some colourful photos from these amazing formations. These impressions of lights and colours will stay with you for many years to come. The journey continues south via Lancelin to Perth, where this extraordinary journey ends at your hotel.