An untamed vast wilderness with a spectacular coastline.

It was only in 2017 that thousands of footprints were found on the coastline in the Kimberley – footprints made by around 21 different kinds of dinosaur. The Kimberley is a gloriously wild region packed with waterfalls tumbling over Jengalike sandstone cliffs and very few people.

Over by the Northern Territory border, the Bungle Bungles are another multi-million-year-old attraction that the rest of the world was late to hear about. Before the 1980s, only its Aboriginal custodians knew about its sandwiched layers of orange and black beehive-esque domes. Start in Broome – the gateway to the Kimberley region – on your way to see these staggering sites.

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Australia's North West Hotels

Our recommendations for the best places to stay in Australia's North West

Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa

Beautiful sprawling gardens

Home Valley Station, East Kimberley

Working cattle station and dramatic landscape

Get to know Australia's North West and those important practicalities when planning your perfect holiday.

Capital
TIME DIFFERENCE

GMT +7 hours

CURRENCY

Australian Dollar

FLYING TIME TO DESTINATION

Perth: 17 hours non-stop or 20 hours indirect; Perth to Broome 2½ hours and Exmouth 2 hours; Broome to Kununurra 1½ hours

RELIGION

Majority Christian

LANGUAGE

Australia has no official language but the majority of people speak English as their first language. Approximately 250 indigenous Australia languages are spoken.

Where is Australia’s North West?
Australia’s North West is a remote wilderness corner at the top of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Indian Ocean and to the west of the Northern Territory border. There are two airports serving the region, Broome and Kununurra in the East Kimberley. It’s a 2.5-hour flight from Perth to Broome and a 1-hour flight from Kununurra to Darwin.

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Broome
Originally founded as a pearling centre and attracting a wide range of nationalities, Broome is an isolated oasis with a relaxed cosmopolitan atmosphere, colourful characters and wide sandy beaches. Explore Chinatown with its restaurants, pearl shops and local art galleries, visit the night markets or catch a movie at Sun Pictures – an open-air cinema dating back to 1916. If you visit between March and October and it coincides with a full moon, it’s worth heading to Roebuck Bay to witness the natural phenomenon known as the staircase to the moon. The reflections of the moon on the tidal mud flats look like a series of steps rising into the night sky.

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Cable Beach
Just 10-minutes from Broome, head to the powder white sands of Cable Beach. It gets its name from the first telegraph cable that was laid here in the late 1800s, connecting Australia to the rest of the world. Now people visit here to enjoy the 22 kilometres expanse of beach where at sunset, camel rides carry tourists along the soft sands.

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The Kimberley
The vast Kimberley region is one of the least densely populated areas in the world. As you tour this spectacular landscape of colourful ranges, dramatic gorges and waterfalls, you’ll get the chance to stop at spots like the Bungle Bungle range – pre-historic beehive-shaped sandstone in Purnululu National Park. The coastline is equally as dramatic as the Kimberley’s rugged interior. Cape Leveque is a beautiful spot where aquamarine waters contrast with towering red cliffs. The Buccaneer Archipelago is a scattering of over a thousand islands, untouched beaches and Aboriginal rock art sites. Its biggest attraction is the Horizontal Falls where the powerful tidal surges force the water through a narrow cliff, giving the impression of a sideways waterfall.

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Getting around
If time is short, there are a number of fixed-wing and helicopter flights that can take you for an aerial perspective of the Bungle Bungles, Cape Leveque and the Horizontal Falls. Organised 4x4 tours will get you into the heart of the Kimberley, but for adventurous drivers who prefer the challenge of driving on dirt roads, the 4x4 Gibb River Road is one of the best road trips for a more hands-on way of getting from Broome/Derby to Kununurra/Wyndham through The Kimberley.

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Australia's North West Weather

May - Oct

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Australia's North West Weather by Month