BROOME – THE AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER GUIDE

The quiet retreat that’s big on awards Eco Beach resort, Broome, WA This outstanding wilderness retreat has endless beaches and natural wonders to explore. Scott, who scored it a 9, reckons it’s especially good for its “clothing-optional approach which apparently appealed to Elle Macpherson.” Interesting...

Fleur Bainger was on a regular holiday in Broome when she heard about the ocean tides that flood the landscape on a six-hour circuit. So she signed up for a fly-in visit. But watching them from the air is one thing – getting sucked into a whirlpool is quite another   Looking intently through my camera lens, I try desperately to harness the scene before me. Millions of litres of seawater scream past at breakneck speed, gliding effortlessly over 1.8 billion-year-old rock formations as only liquid can, then bubbling up as though boiling from the earth’s core. My happy snapping...

Where is it? North-east of Broome, off Dampier Peninsula How to see it for yourself? To get an aerial view of the “falls”, take a scenic flight over the Buccaneer Archipelago with Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures. Or take a cruise with Kimberley Extreme. Why I love it “An aerial view of the Horizontal Waterfalls is unforgettable. Huge tides in this area create a phenomenon where the massive tidal water movement rushes through two small gaps in these high cliffs to form a horizontal waterfall.” – Jo Durbridge, Australia’s North West Image by Tourism Western Australia...

Ever wonder if that must-do experience your mates tell you about will actually measure up? Fleur Bainger sets out to see whether a Broome camel ride is all it’s cracked up to be. We’ve all heard it. The insistent tones, the urging enthusiasm. “You’re going to Broome? Oh! You’ve GOT to do a camel ride on Cable Beach at sunset – it’s the BEST!” The best, eh? But is it? Is the most raved-about experience on one of Australia’s most famous beaches also going to be the biggest tourist trap this side of the Nullarbor? Will it, just maybe, be...

Pamela Wright heads into the heart of the Kimberley to learn more about our indigenous cultural heritage, take a camel trek, spot a giant emu and brave a swinging tea billy.  Leaning against his 4WD, waiting patiently for his early morning passengers to arrive, tour guide Rob Bamkin is keen to get this Purely Unreal Kimberley adventure on the road. There’s a fair drive ahead – about three hours to the Aboriginal community of Jarlmadangah.  As we head out of Broome towards Derby, past mango plantations and pearl farms, Rob explains that we’ll be travelling through cattle country before crossing...

Where is it? 260km offshore, west of Broome, WA. We have some magnificent snorkelling sites and reef dives, but this little-known Marine Park is one of the best. Overlooked in favour of the more accessible Great Barrier Reef, Rowley Shoals’ beauty is enhanced by the fact you will often be among the only people swimming here. “Anything involving North Star Cruises is going to be good.” Bob Ansett Three coral atolls comprise Rowley Shoals: Clerke Reef, Imperieuse Reef and Mermaid Reef, with drops up to 400m to the ocean floor. Marine life abounds. Big beasties such as sharks, dolphins, marlin,...

Where is it? 2200km north of Perth, on the Kimberley coast, WA. Pearls might bring to mind the glamour of old Hollywood rather than the oceanic equivalent of the Australian gold rush, but the pearl is something of an Aussie icon, as Broome’s annual Shinju Matsuri (Japanese for ‘Festival of the Pearl’) demonstrates. The history of pearl diving here is as dark as the pearl is iridescent: even skilled divers often got the bends or died in their perilous pursuit. These days, it’s easier to find a pearl in Broome: just walk the streets of Chinatown. But it’s more rewarding...

Where is it? Broome, the Kimberley, WA We don’t know what it is about Cable Beach and sunsets, but it tends to bring out tourists on camel back. Strung out in single-file silhouette, they are a distinctive early evening feature of this stretch of Kimberley coast. No matter how clichéd you think the experience is as you sit here reading your mag, we defy you not to get swept up in the romance of the region and join a train when you next find yourself on Cable Beach....

We're about to let you in on a little secret: you don't have to be wealthy to stay on this superb Kimberley cattle station. Words by Elisabeth Knowles. You've probably heard of El Questro, the million-acre cattle station with a made-up, Spanish-sounding name that offers one of the most expensive laid-back luxury experiences in The Outback. At about $1800 per room per night, El Questro’s Homestead is certainly the most covetable getaway in the Kimberley. But it’s not the only wonderful experience you can have on this property. Just 8km away by dirt road, and still well within El Questro...

Words by David McGonigal The distances in the Kimberley are vast and the population sparse, so air travel is a logical option. Some sights are also best seen from an aerial perspective. That certainly applies to Wolfe Creek meteorite crater and the Bungle Bungles, and the whole coast and islands.  This is a region where cattle-station owners jump in an aircraft as readily as a 4WD. To give visitors similar flexibility, the WA government set up the Ibis Aerial Highway several years ago, creating airstrips at major attractions and setting up a system of charter flights linked to ground operator...

Words by David McGonigal. If the Kimberley were anywhere else in the world it’d be crowded, thanks to the dramatic scenery of islands, beaches, cliffs and harbours. The main challenges to development are the navigational problem of 13-metre tides, the swimming dangers posed by saltwater crocodiles and the fact it’s the fringe of an area larger than Japan or the UK with a population of less than 50,000 residents.  Indigenous Australians arrived on the Kimberley coast more than 50,000 years ago. Today’s cruise passengers can discover everything from strange rock paintings, dramatic waterfalls, swimming holes, birdlife, crocodiles and boab trees,...

 By air, land & sea. Words by David McGonigal I hadn’t been in the Kimberley for a few years when I picked up a rental 4WD in Broome for a trip up to Cape Leveque. Ten minutes later I was lost in Broome’s suburbs: few Australian towns have developed more in the past decade. But 10 minutes outside town, little has altered in 50,000 years. The new infrastructure means there are more ways to experience the Kimberley. You’ll be dealing with more vehicles on the Gibb River Road and on Mitchell Plateau, but less likely to be stranded after a...

 For an outback holiday your way, you can’t beat El Questro in the Kimberley, writes Elisabeth Knowles In an upcoming issue of Australian Traveller, we’ll be featuring an Ultimate Guide to the Kimberly. So for pure research purposes, we headed up to one of WA’s most awe-inspiring outback areas before this year’s wet season took full hold. Whether you are comfortable enough to spend over $1000 per night for an elite, stylish retreat that boasts a balcony bathtub looking out over a gorge, or if $17 per night for a campsite is more your speed, this wonderful wilderness retreat has...