Retirees Enjoying Travel: Kununurra, Wyndham and Surrounds

The Kimberley, in Western Australia, is absolutely huge.  The list of possible things to do in the Kimberley is massive. Even in the East Kimberley region the tourist list is long. For ease of reading, this blog will focus on Kununurra, Wyndham and surrounds. El Questro and the Bungle Bungles will be featured in separate blog posts.

When planning our road trip around Australia, the Kimberley was always top of our list. No matter what, we were going to eventually travel to the Kimberley. It’s been a long way from our hometown in Goulburn, NSW. So, it is surreal that we have eventually made it.

As retirees enjoying travel we reluctantly left Lake Argyle. We were keen to see more of the rugged beauty the Kimberley is renowned for.  Kununurra, Wyndham and surrounds was the next area of the Kimberley to explore.

Where is Kununurra?

Kununarra is located in the far North of Western Australia. It is at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley region. To give you an idea how remote Kununurra is, here is a list of distances from Kununurra:

WA and NT border – approx 37 km

Wyndham – 100km

Broome – 1,043 km

Perth – 3,321 km

Things to do in Kununurra

When travelling the Top End of Australia you cannot but experience a sense of isolation while driving along the endless roads. Everything is basically remote. So we greatly appreciated arriving in this little piece of civilisation. Kununurra is the largest town between Katherine and Broome, with a population of over 8,000.

Kununurra is the starting point for many tours into the East Kimberley.

Kimberleyland Waterfront Caravan Park

As retirees enjoying travel in a caravan we chose to stay at the Kimberley Waterfront Caravan Park in Kununurra.  This park is within the town limits, quiet, with lots of grass and shady sites. The wonderful bonus is the park is on the waterfront of Lake Kununurra.

Boating on Lake Kununurra is very popular.

Each evening people wander down to the waterfront to watch the sunset over the water. Below is a pic of what people saw just before sunset. The feature image for this blog is an image taken just after sunset.

Around sunset people are likely to see freshwater crocodiles at the edge of the lake.

Kelly’s Knob Lookout

From Kelly’s Knob Lookout we gained a great view over Kununurra. This lookout is only a km out of town, on a sealed road. From the car park there is a short walk, steep in places, to the lookout.

This is a great spot to come and see the sun set over Kununurra.

Zebra Rock Gallery & Campground.

We visited the Zebra Rock Gallery. The distinctive red – brown and white banded sedimentary rock is mined nearby the Ord River. The gallery displays the Zebra Rock sculpted into ornamental carvings and jewellery.

At the gallery we were given bread to take down to the lake edge to feed the fish. A large number of fish swarmed in to eat the bread. Many were large catfish. It was crazy novel experience.

Drive through the Ord Valley

• See fruit, sandalwood and chia growing in the Ord River Irrigation Area.
• Visit Hoochery Distillery and sample nips of rum, or try the River Rum Cake.

• Check out sandalwood products at the Sandalwood Factory (retail outlet only)

• Visit the Ivanhoe Crossing. This is the original road across the Ord River (4WD). Check out how spectacular the crossing looks in flood.

And no doubt, after one look at the picture above you would realise the road was impassable. Just in case a fool hardy person attempted to drive over the flooded crossing there is a huge block of cement in the middle of the road.

Other things to do in Kununurra

• Cruise the Ord River, between Kununurra and Lake Argyle
• Tour the Argyle Diamond Mine
• Visit Warringam Aboriginal Arts
• Take a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles and Lake Argyle
• Take a tour of Lake Kununurra
• Boating
• Fish for Barramundi

Parry Creek Farm Tourist and Caravan Park

Parry’s Creek Farm Tourist and Caravan Park is between Kununurra and 20 minutes from Wyndham. It is 8km (good dirt road- when we travelled) off the great Northern Highway. Always check road conditions before driving on dirt roads.

Some people choose to stay at the Parry Creek Farm before beginning their Gibb River Road trip.

We stayed two nights. The first afternoon we walked along the tree top board walk overlooking the lovely billabong at the park.

Accommodation overlooks the billabong pictured above.

Mid afternoon we enjoyed a swim in the lovely shaded pool, along with other travellers.

Late afternoon we travelled out a dirt road to Marlgu Billabong, at the Parry Lagoon Nature Reserve. This was about a 20 minute drive from Paddy’s Creek Farm.

We travelled out to Telegraph Hill and past the historic ruins of the telegraph station built in 1914.

We were lucky to see all the Corellas sitting in the tree. This was just one of the many sights we enjoyed at Parry Creek Nature Reserve.

The Parry Floodplains are listed as wetlands of international importance. This area is an important breeding ground for water birds. Our hope was to watch the wide array of bird life, and perhaps a crocodile, coming into the billabong on sunset.  We settled into the bird hide to observe the magic unfold before us. We did not see a crocodile. Yet we were not disappointed. The bird life and the sunset were truly breathtaking.

Over 160 water birds have been recorded in the Parry Creek Nature Reserve.

A forest of Boab trees looked truly spectacular on dusk. These are located on Telegraph Hill.

Day trip – King River Road

The second day we did a day trip out from Parry Creek Farm. We travelled along the King River Road to visit the historic Prison Boab Tree, and Aboriginal Rock Art Paintings close by the Moochalabra Dam.

We found the King River Road very rough in spots and really is 4WD.

Prison Tree

This huge Kimberley Boab tree was used by the Police as an overnight lock-up. Hence, the name Prison Tree. Even today, this tree is in an extremely isolated area. It is disturbing to think of people being locked inside this tree. Some people suggest this story may be an urban myth?

Aboriginal Rock Art Paintings

The aboriginal rock art is painted in natural ochre on rock shelters located close by the Moochalabra Dam. We climb up onto the ledge to inspect the aboriginal cave paintings (pictured below)

We found a number of aboriginal rock paintings. However, there is evidence of rocks falling away from the rock shelters. We suspect some of the aboriginal art has disappeared with these rock falls.

King River

The scenery along the King River Road is so pretty.

As we travelled towards the Moochalabra Dam, we passed over the Moochalabra Creek Crossing. The creek was full of water lilies. Large paper bark trees created shade to the lush greenery in the creek. In this arid landscape such lush scenery was just jaw dropping.

Wyndham

Wyndham is situated on the Cambridge Gulf, some 100 km from Kununurra. It is the most northern Town in WA and the last port before Darwin. It is a small town with it’s roots in the cattle and mining industries.

Check out:

• The Wyndham Port and Jetty
• The 20 metre long concrete crocodile

Five Rivers Lookout, Wyndham

Five rivers flow into the Cambridge Gulf (King, Ord, Durack, Forrest, Pentecost). From the Five Rivers Lookout are spectacular views of the rivers, mudflats, mountain ranges, and Wyndham Port. It is an amazing and unusual sight. There is a wide expanse of water surrounding the lookout on three sides.

We found Kununurra, Wyndham and the surrounding area fantastic. We had not heard of many of the places mentioned in this blog post. What we learned is there is so much more to see in the East Kimberley outside the famous tourist attractions. The East Kimberley so far exceeded our expectations.

Have you travelled to Kununurra, Wyndham and the surrounding area? If so, have you any tips to share?

Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts about what is written in this blog post. We appreciate any comments.

Happy and safe travels

From Estelle and Greg – Retirees Enjoying Travel.