Head to Kununurra for its great outdoors, to camp under the stars and to engage in its rich Aboriginal culture, and you’ll see why it appears as no. 34 on your list of Top 50 Aussie Towns.
I didn’t want to holiday in Kununurra. I was only going to the East Kimberley town to get groceries on the way to El Questro , a 283,000-hectare slice of majestic Kimberley wilderness.
Then we had car problems. “How dreadful, we’re stuck," my partner said. But up popped the Saturday farmers’ markets with homemade mango ice cream, a fiery sunset atop Kelly’s Knob , and award-winning rums, whiskeys and gins at the Hoochery Distillery . I was hooked.
Visiting the Hoochery Distillery Cafe is a must. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
To think we could have missed this speck on the map, home to about 5300 folks and what feels like as many waterholes, local characters, and stars lighting up the night sky.
Since that first unplanned encounter, Kununurra’s serenity and rugged beauty has lured me back. And not just for a short stopover en route to the famous 660-kilometre Gibb River Road trip between Wyndham and Derby.
The Hoochery Distillery is the oldest operating legal still in WA. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
My Kununurra bucket list for first-time visitors is too long to detail here. But the top three experiences are: flying in a Cessna over the town’s agricultural plains, onto the (now closed) Argyle Diamond Mine and over the otherworldly Bungle Bungle Range; cruising along 55 kilometres of the Ord River with Triple J Tours to spot crocs, ospreys and white-bellied sea eagles; and experiencing Miriwoong Country with an Indigenous guide from Waringarri Aboriginal Arts .
Established in the late 1970s, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts was WA’s first wholly Indigenous-owned art centre. Today, its gallery supports more than 100 painters, boab nut engravers and wood carvers, and its tours take visitors through the stunning sandstone gorges of Mirima National Park.
Explore Mirima National Park with a local Indigenous guide. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
For art lovers, this experience alone could be reason enough to visit. For folks who can’t handle the heat, you’ll need to visit in the coldest month, July, which has an average daytime temperature of about 30° Celsius.
Over the dry season, tourists and farm workers push the population to about 10,000, so make sure to book ahead. Culture fiends should catch the Ord Valley Muster , featuring 30 music, foodie and arty events over nine days (from 19 May until 27 May in 2023).
But want to know a local secret? The best time of year to visit is the wet season (from around December to April) when waterfalls are raging, the skies are on fire and there are only a few hardy visitors in town.
Take in the beauty of the Ord River. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
Leah McLennan is a freelance writer based in Darwin. She was a journalist in Sydney for over a decade and counts her time as travel editor for Australian Associated Press as one of the highlights of her career. From exploring remote campsites in the Top End with her family, to seeking out new art galleries in faraway cities, she’ll grab an adventurous or arty travel experience within her reach.
Time your visit to Margaret River just right, and you can spend the ultimate weekend wining, dining and exploring the region with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.
Wine, world-class produce, surf, sun and beaches: it’s an alluring combination. And the reason so many pin the Margaret River region high on their travel hit-lists. There’s drawcard after drawcard to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and the Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover food and wine festival showcases the best of it over the course of one weekend in November. It’s never been easier to sip, see and savour the Margaret River region.
In partnership with Pair’d Margaret River Region, Range Rover invites you on a seven-day itinerary of refined adventure, where luxury and exploration go hand in hand. It’s the perfect WA road trip, and there’s no better way to do it than in a Range Rover.
Day 1
Check into Pullman Bunker Bay.
There’s no more popular West Australian road trip route than that between Perth and the Margaret River Region. It’s an easily digestible, three-hour drive, with worthy pit stops along the way.
Make the first of them one hour and 15 minutes in, at Lake Clifton. Here, find a 2000-year-old living thrombolite reef. Drive for a further 40 minutes and chance meeting some of Bunbury’s dolphin population at Koombana Bay.
Pullman Bunker Bay is the final stop, just over three hours south of Perth. This beachfront, five-star resort is the ultimate base for exploring the Margaret River Wine region.
Day 2
After a leisurely morning breakfast with an ocean view, start your Range Rover and head towards the Dunsborough town centre. Browsing the decidedly coastal-themed goods of the town’s many independent boutiques is a great way to while away the hours, breaking up the sartorial with an artisan gelato snack stop, or some good old-fashioned Australian bakery fare.
Leave room; you’ll need it for the Good Natured Gathering dinner at Wayfinder. Indulge in a four-course feast by chef Felipe Montiel, which uses produce from the winery’s market garden to enhance a selection of sustainably sourced seafood and meat. But food is just the support act. It’s organic wine that’s the star of the show, generously poured and expertly paired to each dish.
Day 3
Settle in for cabernet at Cape Mentelle Winery.
With a grand total of 20 wines from vintage 2022 to try, it’s a good thing Cape Mentelle’s International Cabernet Tasting kicks off early. Make your way to the estate for a 10:00 AM start, where a global selection of wines will be poured blind, before a long lunch by Tiller Dining is served.
Given that the Margaret River is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Australia’s fine wine production, it’s only right to delve into it while in the area.
Continue exploring the region via taste and terroir aboard Alison Maree, a whale-watching catamaran, as you cruise Geographe Bay . Admire the rolling green hills and crisp white beaches of Quindalup in sunset’s golden light, all the while sipping through the Clairault Streicker catalogue and dining on canapes.
For a more substantial dinner, venture into Busselton for a seven-course British x Australian mash-up , courtesy of Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion) and Oliver Kent (Updown Farmhouse, UK). They’ll be putting their rustic yet refined spin on the likes of local marron, wagyu and abalone – championing the simple beauty of the world-class ingredients.
Day 4
Elevate your dining experiences at Pair’d X Range Rover Beach Club.
Wrap your fingers around a wine glass and wiggle your toes into the sand at Pair’d Beach Club x Range Rover on Meelup Beach. Sit down to an intimate wine session with sommelier Cyndal Petty – or a four-course feast by Aaron Carr of Yarri – and revel in the open-air beach club, bar and restaurant’s laidback coastal vibe. It’s a whole new way to experience one of the region’s most renowned beaches.
Follow up a day in the sun with a casual Italian party at Mr Barvel Wines . Purchase wines –including the elusive, sold-out Nebbia – by the glass and enjoy canapes with the towering Karri forest as a backdrop.
If you’d prefer to keep it local, head to Skigh Wines for the New Wave Gathering , where the region’s independent wine makers and their boundary-pushing wines will be on show. Street-style eats, a DJ and complimentary wine masterclasses complete the experience.
Day 5
Taste your way through Howard Park Wines. (Image: C J Maddock)
Spend the morning at your leisure, driving the winding roads through the Boranup Karri forest in your Range Rover. Soak in the views at Contos Beach, and call into the small cheese, chocolate and preserve producers along the way.
Make your next stop Howard Park Wines for The Grand Tasting presented by Singapore Airlines . Numerous wine labels will be pouring their catalogues over four hours, accompanied by food from chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, with live opera providing the soundtrack.
Cap off a big weekend with one last hurrah at Busselton Pavilion. Six ‘local legends’ – chefs Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion), Mal Chow (Chow’s Table), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon Yallingup), Corey Rozario (Dahl Daddies) and Laura Koentjoro (Banksia Tavern) – will be preparing a dish each. Dance the night away as vinyl spins and the sun sets on another day.
Day 6
Head underground. (Image: Tourism WA)
After a busy few days of wining and dining, it’s wise to observe a rest day. There’s no easier task than unwinding in the Margaret River Region, also famous for its high concentration of world-class beaches.
Relax on the grassy knoll as you watch the region’s most experienced surfers braving the World Surf League break at Surfer’s Point, or don your own wetsuit and try out one of Gracetown’s more beginner-friendly waves. Swimmers will find their Eden at Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, or Point Piquet, where the sand is brilliantly white and the water as still as a backyard swimming pool.
Not into sun, sand, and surf? Head underground at Mammoth Cave, just one of the region’s many stalactite-filled caves.
Day 7
Farewell the Margaret River.
Pack up your Range Rover with new favourite wines and newfound memories, ready for the three-hour journey back to Perth.
