Kimberley Tours

9 Day Kimberley Tours

10 Day Kimberley Tours

7 Day Kimberley Highlights Tour

Custom Camping Tours

Accommodated Private Tours

Lake Argyle

Lake Argyle is a major Kimberley attraction growing in popularity each year. Recognised as the largest engineered fresh water reserve on the Australian mainland, measuring several times larger than Sydney Harbour! Every wet season the Ord River tops up the Lake which was engineered in the 1970s as the key water supply for the Ord River Irrigation scheme. Charter North provides the best opportunity to appreciate Lake Argyle for its size, grandeur and history by embarking on a boat cruise with the lake’s most reputable and experienced cruise operator.

This Lake Argyle cruise creates the ultimate experience in witnessing this spectacular landscape and spotting an abundance of local wildlife including freshwater crocodiles, birds, fish & rock wallabies. Culminating in a swim in the lakes temperate fresh waters while enjoying “a coldy” and snacks from the floating bar with a spectacular sunset is an absolute highlight!

The Bungle Bungles

The now famous Bungle Bungles (Purnululu National Park) lays within the semi arid zone of the East Kimberley. This amazing world heritage listed landscape is bound by the Tanami Desert directly to the east, and the massive Kimberley Plataea to the north. The Bungle Bungle Range is the main feature of this cultural landscape and is regarded as the best example of this strikingly unique geology on our planet. The moment we arrive onsite we are immediately confronted with this incredibly striking and imposing feature. Exploring the stunning landscapes from ground level while hiking around the famous beehive formations, Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm is another Kimberley highlight.

We totally recommend a helicopter flight for an incredible aerial perspective over this stunning landscape. An overnight stay in the Bungles also allows us to enjoy another amazing Kimberley sunset while appreciating this geological masterpiece, one of the most acclaimed and popular Kimberley icons. As well as the grandeur of the Bungle Bungle Range and other features of Purnululu, the drive to the park is arguably the most scenic in The Kimberley. Traveling The Great Northern Highway to and from Purnululu National Park is an extremely scenic corridor that is surrounded by classic rugged Kimberley terrain.

The Gibb River Road and Mitchell Falls

After exploring the eastern semi arid zones of The Kimberley, a journey into the Central Plateau area via the Gibb River Road is a completely different experience. Mitchell Falls is in the far tropical North, while ElQuestro, Home Valley and other stations stretch the entire length of the Gibb River Road. The Kimberley Plateau is renowned for displaying some of the most diverse natural and cultural features of The Kimberley. Swim, hike or canoe along ancient watercourses and encounter endless gorges and waterfalls that existed unexplored for millennia.

Emma Gorge, Manning Gorge, Galvan’s Gorge and Bell Gorge are all fantastic waterfall attractions, providing lots of opportunity for hiking, swimming and exploring. The Mitchell Falls area is managed by the local Wunambal Gaambera aboriginal corporation and is renowned for its ancient aboriginal culture and rock art.

Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

The western side of the King Leopold Ranges is dominated by vast open plains, aboriginal people call this “Pindan Country”. Not only is this environment dramatically different to the east and central Kimberley, it is a completely different geological and cultural landscape. Ancient Devonian reefs rise abruptly from the vast surrounding plains, giving testament to the changing sea levels over millennia. The Leonard River has carved through the ancient reef system to form Windjana gorge over millions of years. While visiting the gorge we re-connect with our long geological history and view an abundance of freshwater crocodiles bathing and basking in the shallow pools at sunset.

As we follow the reef further south we arrive at the aptly named Tunnel Creek. We explore this 750 meter long tunnel that has been cut through the reef by the creek that once flowed over the top of the range. This is an exhilarating experience that requires the use of lighting and wading through sometimes waste deep water. As we pass through the dark tunnel our artificial lighting highlights the colours, stalagmites and stalactites that make up this ancient reef. The Devonian Reefs of the Western Kimberley are globally renowned as the best remaining examples of exposed reef of this type on our planet.

Broome

The pearling capital of Broome in the far West Kimberley is a coastal playground and the gateway to one of the world’s most beautiful coastal marine environments. Broome is a mix of modern commerce and old world charm, with its tropical feel and laid back character. Broome is known for its world class pearls and affectionately referred to as the pearl of the north. Broome’s culture and economy were born from pearling, with its multi-cultural history dating back to the early nineteenth century when pearls were discovered in Roebuck Bay. Of course local aboriginal groups have called the area home for tens of thousands of years prior.

Many Australian Aboriginals and migrants of Malay origin worked in the pearling industry, some found their fortune, others not so. Today Broome is a well regarded holiday destination, perfect for just relaxing and taking in the tropical splendour as part of your Kimberley tour. Broome’s Cable Beach is rated as one of the best beaches in the world. The Horizontal Falls in Talbot Bay to the north of Broome is also now a very popular experience.

The Dampier Peninsula

Broome is the western stepping stone to the Kimberley and the Dampier Peninsula. Home to several aboriginal coastal communities, the Dampier Peninsula is a cultural hot spot with groups welcoming visitors to their homelands and sharing their culture and lifestyles. Located just north of Broome, on the magnificent Cygnet Bay, is the oldest surviving Australian pearl farm Cygnet Bay Pearls. A visit to this enterprise is a brilliant opportunity to learn about the pioneering of the pearl industry. To be able to visit a working pearl farm and see the farming process is a very rare experience indeed.

If you have a passion for pearls, this is your chance to purchase some of the world’s finest directly from the Australian producer! The pearl farm also offers stylish accommodation right on Cygnet Bay, and dining to compliment your entire pearl experience. While at the pearl farm you can embark on a fantastic marine expedition to the astounding Montgomery reef and Cygnet Bay environments.

Experiencing this vast Kimberley Wilderness

Charter North 4WD Safaris have an intimate understanding and connection to this unique West Australian wilderness. This connection has grown through a long personal and professional relationship spanning more than two decades. Our love of the Kimberley and its extraordinary history allows us to create and be part of your unforgettable expedition. The Kimberley truly is an astonishing region in so many regards, far greater than most realize before embarked on this epic overland expedition! There is no need to travel abroad to see out of this world landscapes and environments, it is right here in the Kimberley. Most agree that experiencing The Kimberley is like nothing else.

A deep sense of history

Unknown to most Australians until the nineteenth century, The Kimberley was quietly building a deep rich history just waiting to be explored. It all began more than 65,000 years ago when the first people arrived from what we now know as Indonesia. Seeking new land to explore and settle, the Kimberley now hosts an absolute treasure trove of rock paintings and carvings testament to their arrival. Regarded as one of the most elaborate pictorial histories on our planet, there is literally thousands of rock art sites throughout the escarpments, natural shelters, and along ancient gorge systems. These historical accounts document early human society in some of the oldest geological formations in our world. All of this is what makes the Kimberley so intriguing and magnetic. Come and see it for yourself.