Pick up your TERRITORY THRIFTY RENTAL CAR LANDCRUISER 4WD or similar vehicle either at Darwin Airport or Darwin Depot and begin your journey to Katherine. Depart on the Stuart Highway and travel via Adelaide River , Hayes Creek and Pine Creek to Katherine. This drive is approximately 315km. Overnight accommodation at the MERCURE INN KATHERINE .

ADELAIDE RIVER Township played an important role during World War II; after the bombing raid on Darwin in February 1942, Adelaide River became the centre of military activity as the Australian and American headquarters were relocated there, along with camps, hospitals, airfields and army supply depots. There are a number of World War II sites, including the War Cemetery and the large ammunition depot at Snake Gully.

PINE CREEK was the scene of extensive mining in the 1880's and is now experiencing a rene wal of interest with the reopening of mining activities. There are numerous historic buildings still standing, including the Old Playford Club Hotel, the Repeater Station, the Bakery and the Railway Siding Complex.
KATHERINE is the heart of the real Outback. Attractions in the area include places of historic interest, birds and wildlife in their natural surroundings, caves, gorges, Aboriginal lore and art, and for the adventurers, magnificent waterfalls, canyons and billabongs that are still unspoiled.
NITMILUK (KATHERINE GORGE) NATIONAL PARK - The highlight here is undoubtedly Katherine Gorge, located in the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. The main entrance to the National Park is 32 kilometers from Katherine. Over millions of years, torrential summer rains in Arnhem Land during the wet season have caused the waters of the Katherine River to cut thirteen spectacular serpentine gorges. Cut into Ancient rock, the canyon walls climb steeply above cool blue water, and there is abundant bird, fish and animal life, including the fresh water crocodile.

This morning you may wish to take a cruise on Katherine Gorge. Another highlight of the area, are the Cutta Cutta Caves , which are situated 28 km south of the town. They are weirdly shaped rock formations and underground caves. Guided tours of the caves are conducted every day and a short walking trail takes people through typical tropical woodland.

Depart Katherine today and join the Victoria Highway to travel towards Timber Creek via Tindal and Victoria River Crossing. This drive is approximately 285kms. Overnight accommodation at the TIMBER CREEK HOTEL.

Depart Timber Creek this morning and travel to Kununurra via the Victoria Highway . There are not a lot of towns along this section; however, you may be interested in visiting Keep River National Park and Hidden Valley National Park . The drive from Timber Creek to Kununurra is approximately 240km. Overnight accommodation MERCURE INN KUNUNURRA.

A suggestion for this morning is to rise early and take a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles.

PURNULULU (BUNGLE BUNGLE) NATIONAL PARK - are thousands of huge beehive shaped mounds striped in orange and black make an astounding sight from the ground or the air. The stripes are a thin layer of Silica and Cyanobacteria protecting the soft white sandstone formations of the domes. The Park is home to many species of plant and wildlife such as wallaby a green tree frog. There is plenty to explore in the Park including Cathedral Gorge, Piccaninny Gorge, Echidna Chasm and much more.
Depart Kununurra and travel to El Questro, which is situated in the East Kimberley 100km west of Kununurra by road (58km on the sealed Great Northern Highway towards Wyndham with the remainder on the graded gravel Gibb River Road ).
EL QUESTRO is now considered to be one of the world's most unique holiday destinations. El Questro is on the eastern perimeter of the Kimberley and runs for approximately 80 km into the heart of the region, most of which has never been explored and certainly never settled. Animal, bird and fish life congregates on the rivers and waterholes.

Your accommodation this evening is in the EL QUESTRO STATION & WILDERNESS PARK . Bungalows are at the heart of the operating cattle station on the banks of the ever flowing Pentecost River . The bungalows provide air-conditioned comfort and overlook the Pentecost River with a spacious verandah and communal kitchen for the exclusive use of guests in the bungalows, or station-style meals are available by joining the cowboys and rangers during their meal times.

Depart El Questro this morning and drive back out along the Gibb River Road to the Great Northern Highway and travel to Halls Creek via Turkey Creek. This drive is approximately 400km. Overnight at the COMFORT INN KIMBERLEY .

HALLS CREEK . Often referred to as the oasis of the Kimberley , Halls Creek sits on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert . In all directions the landscape is vast and harsh. Halls Creek is a service centre for pastoralists, mineral exploration, Aboriginal communities and booming tourism surrounding the Purnululu and Wolfe Creek Crater National Parks .

Depart Halls Creek and travel along the Great Northern Highway to Fitzroy Crossing. This drive is approximately 295km. Overnight accommodation at the FITZROY RIVER LODGE .

FITZROY CROSSING is not a big town, but it has a big past. It is surrounded by some of Australia 's biggest and best pastoral properties. No visit to Fitzroy Crossing is complete without a drive out to the original town site. There you will find the legendary Crossing Inn , built in 1897 as a shanty inn and trade store for long distance travelers about to ford the might Fitzroy River . Here you can hear yarns about the awesome power of the Fitzroy in flood. Fitzroy Crossing is an ideal base to explore the national parks and gorges.

GEIKE GORGE NATIONAL PARK Boat tours during the dry season only show off the sheer yellow, orange and grey gorge walls. This is one of the Kimberley 's most prominent and popular attractions. Crocodiles abound and you may even spot sharks, sawfish and stingrays far from the ocean they inhabited millions of years ago. There is also a fascinating tour run by local Aboriginal people whose connection to the land goes back to the Dreamtime.

Depart Fitzroy Crossing and begin your journey to Broome. There are a couple of options; you can stay on the Great Northern Highway and travel via Ellendale, Willare Bridge Roadhouse and Roebuck Roadhouse onto Broome. This drive is approximately 365km. An alternative route is approximately 40km out of Fitzroy Crossing, turn off the Great Northern Highway and travel towards Tunnel Creek National Park and Windjana Gorge National Park and then onto Derby and south back onto the Great Northern Highway at Willare Bridge Roadhouse. This route is approximately 485km. Overnight in Broome at QUALITY SUITES MOONLIGHT BAY .

TUNNEL CREEK - located 128 kms from Fitzroy Crossing, Tunnel Creek is a 800 meter long natural tunnel cutting through the Napier Range , 20kms east of Windjana Gorge. The walk through the tunnel is a wet one and pretty dark, so you need bathers and a good torch.

WINDJANA GORGE NATIONAL PARK - a spectacular area where you can see the full glory of the 350 million year old Devonian reef rising above the plains. A 3.5 km easy walk trail winds through the gorge displaying primeval life forms fossilized in the gorge walls and an array of local flora and fauns.

DERBY is located on King Sound, near the mouth of the Fitzroy River . While Aborigines inhabited this area well before the coming of the white man, it was Alexander Forrest who blazed his way through this region in 1879 and started a land rush that quickly saw Europeans take up land along the Fitzroy River in huge pastoral properties. There are a number of historic attractions to interest the visitor, such as the Pigeon Heritage Trail, the Boab Prison Tree (a giant, hollowed out boab tree with a girth of 14 meters) and the Old Derby Gaol and Police Yard built in the 1880s.

BROOME a unique, exotic town and the southern gateway to the raw wilderness area called the Kimberley . Established as a pearling port in the 1880's, Broome boasts a multi-cultural population made up of many nationalities that flocked to the shores of Roebuck Bay in the hope of making their fortune from the pearling industry. Broome's unique beauty needs time to explore. Pristine beaches and bays fringed with glistening white sands, red cliffs and the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean are some of the wonders of this coastal delight. The climate is also something to boast about with the warm sunny days, balmy nights and summer tropical storms during the monsoon season.