7 Day Kimberley Explorer – Bungles, Lake Argyle & Beyond

(Variations to the order we stay at the accommodation)

Day 1: Kununurra – Amalia Gorge walk & El Questro Gorge walk

This morning meet your guides at Kununurra Country Club Resort, Kununurra at 7:30am to drive out to the Eastern Kimberley where we’ll walk the El Questro Gorge and Amalia Gorge. The drive will take around 1h20mins.  Amalia Gorge walk is a 3.4 km return trek to the waterfall and plunge pool takes over an hour and passes by several small flowing waterfalls and crystal clear pools, including a lovely half-way pool. The beginning of the walk is over a rocky dry river bed, with some tough narrow areas of the trail, but the scenery is worth it.  After lunch we’ll enjoy El Questro Gorge (walk 3 km – 2 hours) which takes you through a butterfly-filled rainforest and a boulder-strewn valley before arriving at the most beautiful waterfall. Enjoy a swim in the crystal-clear bathing hole and take in the rainforest’s splendour! After both of these fabulous walks, we’ll head to the campground at El Questro where we’ll be staying the night. Enjoy all the fun of a camping adventure, but with the little extras. In the campground you’ll find your walk-in touring tent set up for your arrival including an off the ground bed with a deluxe camping mattress and pillow. There are toilet and shower facilities provided in the campground. Tonight enjoy dinner in the Steakhouse Verandah Restaurant enjoying fine dining featuring local produce such as barramundi and succulent beef.

Day  2: Moonshine Walk 

This morning after breakfast we’ll enjoy Moonshine Gorge Circuit trail which follows Moonshine creek. The circuit is 5km. Along the way, we’ll see tall Livistona Palms and cliff faces on both sides of the gorge providing shade and plenty of areas to rest and swim. Afterwards, we return to El Questro for a delicious lunch.  We will then enjoy a cruise along the Chamberlain River, taking in the beauty of this region’s flora and fauna and one of the longest gorge systems in the Kimberley. Tonight enjoy dinner in the Steakhouse Verandah Restaurant served with Australian wine.

Day 3: Zebedee Springs & Emma Gorge – Lake Argyle

This morning enjoy an early breakfast before we travel 45-minutes to Zebedee Springs, a natural oasis found after a short, easy walk. The trail leads us through dense Livistona Palms to a series of rocky thermal pools. The thermal springs are the perfect place to relax and take in the beauty that surrounds us. Next we’ll head to Emma Gorge for the last of our walking trails. Emma Gorge forms part of the Cockburn Ranges. This scenic trail takes us through a gorge characterised by cliff face escarpments reaching up to 120 metres high on both sides of the trail. See the ever-changing vegetation as you make your way along the gorge until you reach the crystal clear pools and a 65-metre waterfall. Enjoy a refreshing swim in the pools to cool off before enjoying lunch. After lunch we’ll transfer to Lake Argyle – the jewel of the Kimberley.  The drive will take around 2-hours 15-minutes. Lake Argyle is located in the remote Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia. The vast freshwater lake nestled amongst a rugged billion year old landscape is brimming with an abundance of wildlife and breath-taking colourful vistas. Our accommodation for the next two nights is at Lake Argyle Resort which has been designed and constructed specifically for the stunning Kimberley landscape overlooking the lake. Enjoy the delights of this property including the stunning infinity pool! 35 metres of infinity wet edge, spa, and some of the most breath-taking scenery of the Kimberley’s! Once we’ve checked in and freshened up we’ll head out to Pannikin Bay Sunset Lookout (1.3km). Tonight we’ll enjoy a hearty dinner in the restaurant, served with wine.

Day 4: Pint Pot Bay Exploration Walk

This morning enjoy a hearty breakfast before we cruise across the lake to start our walk for the day. The boat will take us passed many bays and inlets that make this vast body of water so incredibly unique. We may see wallabies, wallaroos, fish, birdlife and freshwater crocs along the way. We will be dropped off to enjoy the Pint Pot Bay Exploration Walk, a 6-8km walk depending on which option you choose. This walk is part of the Southern Carr Boyd Ranges which, from afar, seem arid and barren. But once up close reveal their hidden delights with cool gorges, waterfalls, and lovely, fern-lined pools just begging for someone to swim in them! Some of the best bushwalking tracks in the Kimberley can be found here. This walk is trackless and a unique opportunity to walk in the Kimberly Wilderness. The walk is medium to hard in grade and ranges in terrain with some fairly steep parts onto the plateau, but once on top walking becomes easier and the amazing views on top of the Carr Boyd Ranges make it worthwhile. Optional: An additional 2 km diversion into Little Revolver Creek to a secluded waterpools is available to those who want to venture further. After our walk we’ll head back to Lake Argyle Resort for lunch and an afternoon dip in the stunning infinity pool taking in the beauty that surrounds us. Late this afternoon we’ll enjoy a private sunset cruise before enjoying dinner in the restaurant, served with wine.

Day 5: Bluff Lookout Walk – Ord River Cruise to Kununurra

This morning after breakfast we’ll transfer to the historic Durack Homestead, originally built in 1895 by the Durack family on Argyle Downs Station (now mostly submerged by the lake). The homestead was dismantled stone by stone in the 1970s before the lake was filled and relocated to preserve this piece of local history to where it stands now. From here we will enjoy a walk from Bluff Lookout, a 5.3 kilometre easy trail to Lake Argyle Resort.  Look out for the interesting wildlife you may see along the way. Birds, marsupials, reptiles, insects and maybe even an Echidna! After lunch, we will head to the impressive Ord Top Dam which was completed in 1971, before Lake Argyle was filled in 1974.  Later we join our Ord River Cruise to Kununurra where we can marvel at the spectacular scenery, wildlife, flora and fauna we’ll see along the way. We will stop at a Riverside Camp’s for an afternoon tea before continuing on to Kununurra where we will head to our accommodation for the next two nights at either Discovery Park, Kununurra Country Club or Freshwater Apartments (dependant on availability). Once we’ve checked in enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the pool or explore the local area. Tonight we’ll enjoy dinner in the restaurant, served with wine.

Day 6: Bungle Bungle Heli-Hike Experience

This morning enjoy a hearty breakfast before we set off to explore the Bungle Bungles. We will depart Kununurra for a stunning flight taking in views on Argyle, the Carr Boyd Ranges and the Bungles on a small plane to Purnululu National Park. The luxury of us flying saves us around 9-hours of rugged road travel and allows us to enjoy a smooth, scenic flight to one of Australia’s World Heritage Sites. We will witness the beauty of the Bungles from above before landing at a nearyby airstrip to meet our helicopter that will fly us near the mouth of Piccaninny Gorge, the largest of all the gorges in the National Park. Our guide will lead the hike into the gorge and share stories of the area’s significance to the Aboriginal people and its unique history, which led to the World Heritage listing of Purnululu National Park. This 10 km return hike is classed as a level 5 walk and requires a high level of fitness and mobility. We will enjoy a morning tea and picnic lunch here. To experience this area, would normally take 3 days hiking with overnight camping supplies in a heavy pack. (Including one day to reach the mouth of the gorge, then another day to explore the gorge and then another day to retrace your steps and hike back to the start). With OUR journey we will access this area in a day with our helicopter dropping us at the mouth of the gorge, allowing us the day to explore the best areas of this enormous gorge, that cuts through the Bungle Range. The helicopter will then pick us up for a unique return back to the local airstrip for us to meet our plane which will take us back to Kununurra for our final dinner on this incredible journey.

Day 7: Kununurra

This morning enjoy breakfast at the Pumphouse at 8.00am. After breakfast our tour concludes. We hope you enjoyed your fabulous journey.

5 DAY OPTION:
Note: If you do not wish to travel to The Bungles there is an option to finish this walking tour on Day 5 finishing back in Kununurra at approximately 3pm. See pricing panel for details. Please note as airlines can change departure times, we will adjust the start time on day 5 to ensure guests can meet flights departing at later in the day.

Due to warmer weather in the Territory our guides will determine the best walking experiences for the day. Early morning starts will mean we will walk in the cooler part of the day. Some days include several short walks. Most walks include a swim to cool off during the walks.  All walks outlined above are subject to them being open. Note we start our walks in June to try and avoid this, however due to weather some walks may not be opened until later in the season. When walks are not opened alternative walks or activities will be substitute.

This is an all-inclusive tour with no hidden extras:

• This is an all-inclusive tour with no hidden extras:
  • Ord River cruise
  • Private boat charter to your Lake Argyle walk
  • Sunset Cruise Lake Argyle
  • Scenic return flights to The Bungles in Purnululu National Park (saving 9 hours driving)
  • Bungles Heli-Hiking experience to walk in the remote Picaninny Gorge
  • Fabulous Kimberley walking experiences
  • 2 nights Lake Argyle Resort in a Grandview Villa or Kimberley Cabin
  • 2 nights El Questro camping in walk-in tents with off the ground beds with a deluxe camping mattress and pillow
  • 2 nights in Kununurra
  • 6 x fabulous dinners
  • 6 x buffet breakfasts
  • 6 x lunches including:
  • Restaurant lunch at El Questro Station
  • Restaurant lunch at Emma Gorge
  • Restaurant lunch at Home Valley Station
  • Transfer to all walk
  • National Park Fees
  • Fresh fruit and trail mix to enjoy during your walk
  • Professionally guided – Our CEO’s – Chief Experience Officers who are passionate, well trained and enthusiastic with the ability to bring to life a depth of information