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Published: April 24th 2021
The Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia is rugged, beautiful, and stunningly remote. The population is sparse and the distances are vast, but there is an option to explore the East Kimberley region from a gorgeous little base, and that is the town of Kununurra. For most of my adult life I have been intrigued by this remote town close to the border of Northern Territory, and it's great to have the chance to revisit after a long absence of 20 years. Travellers in Katherine are able to reach the town of 5,000 residents by jumping on the greyhound west across the border on the Savannah Highway, a three thousand kilometrre adventure journey across the top of Australia from Cairns in North Queensland to Broome in Northwest WA. The bus trip is under 8 hours, and after passing through the (very strict) border police checkpoint, I was declared Covid safe and able to enjoy a visit to the great state of WA, the birthplace of my dear departed mother.
Kununurra hotel is lovely, and on the main strip just 100 metres from the roadhouse drop-off point for the bus passengers. I accessed my key from the drop
box, and was pleased to find I had been upgraded at no extra cost. After rising from the super comfy bed the next morning I headed to reception to introduce myself and extend my stay, then it was straight to the information centre. I booked a boat tour for Lake Argyle, and the plan was to also get a hire car for a serious explore of the region. All the rental companies were booked out, some for months in advance apparently, but one friendly fellow referred me on to a business in town, and before you know it I had an almost new Camry for 48 hours. There was a mark up, but I was pleased to snaffle a set of wheels as I headed north to explore. i stopped off at Emma Gorge, a stunningly beautiful waterhole to enjoy a cooling dip from the baking temperatures. Then it was back on the highway to Wyndham, the northernmost town in WA. I followed the signs to the Five Rivers Lookout for stunning views, and explored the town including the port. Visitors are greeted by an enormous croc sculpture on arrival, it's a uniquely aussie experience.
The next morning I
headed just out of town to revisit Mirima National Park, known as the mini Bungle Bungles. For visitors to the far north of WA who don't have the time (or money) to visit the spectacular and remote Bungle Bungle ranges, check out Mirima to see the same extraordinary rock formations on a miniaturised scale. The scenery is spectacular and it's well worth a visit. I then headed to Kununurra river in town, for spectacular views and some lovely photos. It was then time to drive out to Lake Argyle in the Camry to link up with the boat trip team, and what a wonderful tour we had. Lake Argyle can hold up to 42 times the volume of Sydney Harbour and stretches for over 50 kilometres. The colours on the water are stunning, and as sunset approaches the sheer beauty of the place is off the charts. We all jumped in on floating devices for sunset, as the boat crew tossed beers or poured bubblies for us to enjoy while on the water.
The next day I booked another boat trip, this time on the Ord river, downstream from the dam wall. It's the longest continuous boat trip in
Australia, and the scenery and wildlife are just spectacular, including freshwater crocodiles in abundance. The bus ride to the dam wall to kick off the tour included a stop at the museum of the pioneers who drove cattle from North Queensland all the way to the Ord river in an extraordinary years long journey. The boat trip finished back in Kununurra just in time for spectacular sunset views over the water. I loved my visit to Kununurra, it's a remarkable part of the world. The following afternoon it was time to head out to the airport to board a flight back to Darwin. I checked back in to the party hostel for a night, heading out for a meal and a beer before retiring in anticipation of an early morning flight.
It's two hours south as the crow flies from Darwin before arriving in the legendary red centre town of Alice Springs. What a thrill it is to be back in Alice! I grabbed a taxi to town and checked in to the wonderful and spacious Alice Lodge, noticing straight away they are affiliated with a tour company, who have only just recommenced tours as Australia slowly comes back
to life post Covid. There are an abundance of cheap fares to the NT currently on offer, plus the week long Aboriginal light festival of Parrtjima has commenced, which means the town is heaving and accommodation is at a premium. I got straight on to the dog and bone to lock in tours (which were close to sold out) and before you know it had an exciting itinerary to look forward to for the duration of my stay. The first afternoon I explored the centre of town around Todd Mall, and really enjoyed the feel of this outback town of 25,000 people.
The next day it was up early for a full day tour of the West MacDonnell Ranges. There are several famous attractions as we headed west out of Alice, all within 125km of the town. Highlights include Ormiston Gorge, Standley Chasm, Simpsons Gap, and the Ellery Creek Big Hole. Wow, these attractions and the walks in the surrounding countryside are truly out of this world, it's some of the most beautiful scenery I've had the privilege of visiting anywhere in the world. Our guide was a lovely lady who relocated from Sydney to find work, and as
usual the bus was chock full of Aussies from around the country. As my trip has continued I have noted an increasing sense of camaraderie from the Aussie tourists, it feels like we are all slowly coming back to life, and learning how to live our best lives again after the nightmare at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
The next day I was booked on an epic trip to Uluru, and had to be ready and on the bus at 6:00am. It' nearly 500ks to get out to the mighty Ayers Rock, so we didn't have time to muck around. I sat with a friendly Aussie guy from Brisie for the day, who had been on the previous day's tour. What an incredible experience we had! We visited the Uluru cultural centre to start our time in the national park, learning the history of the indigenous owners of the land. Then it was off to Uluru; to see this gigantic rock dominate the landscape as the bus draws closer is an unforgettable experience. We went on several short base walks, and of course did a lap in the bus of the mighty Uluru. Then we headed 50
kilometres out to Kata Tjuta, an equally gigantic and impressive rock formation. We charged off on a breathtaking walk, surrounded by sheer monoliths on both sides. The scenery is breathtaking, it's out of this world! The tour was action packed, and culminated in a sunset barbie as we watched and photographed the sun go down over mighty Uluru. We didn't get back to Alice until 1:00am the next morning, to conclude an incredible tour of the Red Centre.
I had a day off without tours, and was grateful to lounge around by the pool in the morning before heading in to town to get more of a feel for the city centre in the afternoon. My final tour the next day was to Palm Valley, the home of Finke Gorge National Park. This is remote country and 4wd only, and getting out there is quite the rock and rolling adventure. It's very much worth a visit, this is some of the oldest geology of the planet, in fact it's been determined the Finke river is the most ancient in the world. The scenery is rugged and beautiful, and renowned for several thousand palm trees along the river. The tour
is centred around the town of Hermannsburg, where the world renowned Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira lived and worked. His watercolours of the Australian outback are famous throughout the world.
My final day in Alice started with some downtime during the morning, followed by a visit to the beautiful Olive Pink Botanic Garden in the centre of town. The garden with it's extensive native vegetation is sublime, and I recommend to get away from the people in a quiet place, don't make any noise, and just marvel at the beautiful birds as they forage on the ground or chirp away in the trees nearby. The native Australian bush, the birdlife, and the rock wallabies all add up to a magical experience. As night fell, I took the free shuttle bus out to the desert park to enjoy Parrtjima, a week long festival of light. The nightly light and laser show set against the West MacDonnell ranges is phenomenal, and proved to be the perfect finale to this wonderful trip in the Land of Oz, where basically all of you should be here now!
"If today were to be the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?" Steve Jobs
It's home time, so until next time I'm signing off for now
Tom
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Ake Och Emma
Ake Dahllof and Emma Holmbro
I'd love to revisit
I just published three blogs myself from a trip I made in Australia in 1995. While writing those I felt that I really want to go back. Reading your blog entry enhanced that feeling. I had completely forgotten about the Mini Bungle Bungles. I now, when reading your, remember that I went there. Also fun to see that some of your pictures are so similar to mine. /Ake