We ease into our adventure as we travel east towards Fitzroy Crossing. Join the Darlgunya Cultural Walk where our local Indigenous guide greets us with a smoking ceremony and billy tea, then leads a stroll through the remnants of the old postal settlement. Learn about the wild Fitzroy River: its plants, wildlife and significance to local culture.
Visit the gold rush town of Halls Creek and see the remarkable China Wall enroute to Purnululu National Park, home of the magnificent Bungle Bungles. On arrival in Purnululu, there is time to orient ourselves and settle into our Safari Camp before a delightful bush sunset. Relax with a delicious meal and evening under the stars.
Spend the next day exploring the highlights of Purnululu National Park, the most famous of which are the Bungle Bungle domes. Rivers created this landscape of unique orange and black striped ‘beehive’ geological formations over a period of 20 million years. Unbelievably, only the locals knew it existed until the early 1980s. To protect its unique landscape, the area was made a national park in 1987 and now enjoys World Heritage status. We explore the 2 km-long Echidna Chasm, known for its towering
Livistonia Palm trees, and take a short walk (2-3km) into stunning Cathedral Gorge, where towering rocks create a natural amphitheatre.
We bid farewell to Purnululu and travel to the ancient realm of Mimbi Caves, one of Western Australia's largest cave systems, in the heart of Gooniyandi Country. Spiritually significant, these limestone caves are one of the oldest identified sites of human occupation in Australia. Delve into Dreamtime with our local Gooniyandi guide who shares traditional stories and reveals the secrets of Mimbi Caves, a sanctuary of crystal clear pools, rare fossils and ancient rock art. Share fresh damper and billy tea with the Gooniyandi traditional owners before we head for Fitzroy Crossing.
Following another night by the Fitzroy River, we head for Bunuba country - once a Devonian reef, this terrain is over 350 million years old and home to a diverse array of animals and plants. In the morning we seek the adventure of Tunnel Creek, a 750-metre cave system in which we discover secret caves and a large variety of wildlife. It is here we also learn the legend of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal freedom fighter who used the tunnel as a hide-out in the late 1800’s. Travel to the geological wonder of Windjana Gorge, a delightful oasis in the outback; beneath gorge walls rising 90m, we enjoy a picnic lunch and search for freshwater crocodiles, local birdlife and indigenous bushtucker. The Gibb River Road then leads us from the picturesque Napier Ranges as we begin the return to Broome via the Derby ‘Boab Prison Tree’.
