Exploration of The Kimberley, Kakadu & Katherine

DAY 1 Departure/Broome
Group members to depart home cities and make their own way to Broome. On arrival, we will be met by our private coach and transferred to the hotel for check in. This evening we enjoy an included Welcome Dinner.

DAY 2 Broome Today
we will have an escorted tour of the principal sights in Broome. We will see Chinatown, the Pearl Luggers Museum, the modern town and the old courthouse. We will also visit Gantheaume Point, at the southern end of Cable Beach, where you will discover authentic dinosaur footprints preserved in rock and take in commanding views of the coastline. We will visit the picturesque Broome Cemetery. The Chinese, Japanese, Muslim and Jewish sections are testament to Broome’s rich and diverse cultural history. This afternoon we will visit a local pearl farm. On the tour you will discover the many intriguing facets of Western Australia’s pearling industry and gain a glimpse into the challenges of the early hard-hat pearl divers.

DAY 3 Broome/ Horizontal Falls
A highlight of the tour! We will fly to the famous Horizontal Falls and then take an amazing fast boat cruise to the falls. Be amazed by the incredible forces of one of the world’s largest tidal movements. Your highly experienced skipper navigates your boat back and forth through the Horizontal Falls. Have your camera ready as your one-hour return flight takes off from Cockatoo Island, flying low across the Horizontal Falls for an aerial perspective of the Kimberley.

DAY 4 Kununurra
Late morning we transfer to the airport for our flight to Kununurra. On arrival we are transferred to our hotel for the next four nights.

DAY 5 Kununurra
This morning we have a sightseeing tour of Kununurra and surrounding agricultural region, with a local guide. We return to town for free time and lunch. In the afternoon we travel to Wyndham, the oldest and northernmost town in the Kimberley region. Take in spectacular views of the Cambridge Gulf, from Five Rivers Lookout. After returning to Kununurra have dinner (own expense) at the Pumphouse Restaurant. This excellent restaurant, beautifully located on the banks of Lake Kununurra, is housed in a converted Pump House, and the large pumps have become a central part of the restaurant’s decor.

DAY 6 Kununurra/ Bungle Bungles
A highlight of the tour! Our visit to the World Hesitage List Bungle Bungles. We take a flight over the Bungle Bungles and experience spectacular aerial views of the them in the Purnululu National Park. We then land at a remote unsealed airfield in the Purnululu National Park and transfer to an airconditioned 4WD bus to the Bungle Bungles. We then enjoy a moderate 3km guided walk amongst the famous eroded towers and black and orange banded beehive structures on the Domes Walk. Your guide will take you into Cathedral Gorge, where towering cliffs open up to form a space with awe inspiring natural acoustics, here you will rest and enjoy your lunch. We walk along the bed of Piccaninny Creek, which flows only in the monsoon waterfall season. Learn about the Kimberley climate, the six seasons and unique flora and fauna so important to the traditional custodians of the land. We then return to the airfield and return via a scenic flight to Kununurra, on the way viewing the Argyle Diamond Mine where rare pink diamonds were once mined.

DAY 7 Kununurra
A glorious way to spend the day. This morning we travel by coach through Durack country to Lake Argyle. Nearing Lake Argyle, we will take a short break at the historic Argyle Downs Homestead Museum. This Museum was constructed as a replica of the original family Homestead and used the original Homestead stone. After a short drive, we view enormous Lake Argyle from a scenic location. Crossing the Ord Top Dam wall, guests will see the Ord Hydro-Power Station before boarding the Triple J Tours boat for a scenic 55km cruise back to Kununurra. Marvel at the spectacular scenery, wildlife, flora and fauna found along the way and maybe even spot a crocodile! Enjoy afternoon tea at our riverside camp before heading back to Kununurra. Take in a colourful East Kimberley sunset before docking back at the Marina

DAY 8 Darwin
This morning we are transferred to the airport for our flight to Darwin. On arrival we will have an orientation tour of the city before we transfer to our hotel for check in.

DAY 9 Kakadu
Depart Darwin and cross the Marrakai Plains to Kakadu National Park, one of Australia’s most impressive environmental wonderlands and a World Heritage site. It encompasses a variety of superb landscapes, swarms with wildlife, and has some of Australia’s best Aboriginal rock art.

DAY 10 Katherine
Today we travel to Nourlangie Rock to view Aboriginal art followed by a visit to the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre for an insight into the cultural and historical significance of the park for its traditional owners. We will then enjoy a guided cruise on Kakadu’s Yellow Water billabong giving us a unique opportunity to experience this diverse and sublimely beautiful area and its associated wildlife. We then continue on to Katherine.

DAY 11 Katherine
This morning we enjoy a sightseeing tour of spectacular Katherine Gorge. Travel by boat along part of the gorge. The Gorge is located in Nitmiluk National Park and is one of the most spectacular sights in Australia’s outback, winding 12km with walls more than 70m high. The 13 wonderful gorges of Nitmiluk National Park began 23 million years ago, with torrents of water pouring along tiny cracks in the earth. We then visit the Katherine Outback Heritage Museum, containing an interesting collection of artefacts, photographs, maps and pioneer memorabilia, including the first ‘flying doctor’ Dr. Clyde Fenton’s De Havilland Gypsy Moth plane, used in his pioneering aero-medical work in the 1930s. This evening we have an included farewell dinner to celebrate the conclusion of the tour.

DAY 12 Departure
This morning we depart Katherine and travel to Darwin to connect with afternoon flights back to your home cities or other travel arrangements. The tour concludes.