Location and climate
The Kimberley is a remote location of Western Australia that makes up the northern section of this State and in area the Kimberley Region is larger than the island of Ireland.
It is located in the tropics with a monsoonal climate that results in hot wet conditions during the summer and cooler dry winters between April and September. The north and northwest Kimberley are bordered with a coastline on the Timor Sea for the north and the Indian Ocean to the west. The south borders arid regions close to the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert, and to the east it shares a border with the Northern Territory.
Roads and Access
That much of the Kimberley is not intensively developed means limited road development and so travel by land is greatly limited to the ‘black top’ (sealed road) during the wet season. The major Kimberley road is the Great Northern Highway linking Western Australia to the Northern Territory and even it may be closed to traffic as a result of flooding as it was in 2021.
It is only possible during the wet season to access by road the large townships of Kununurra, Derby and Broome and a few other smaller places like Wyndham, Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.
These road and track limits are recognised during all times of the year especially by those wishing to visit the Kimberley coast. Further, it also means that there is a visitor influx during the dry season from mid-May to September and even then there are limited road vehicle routes servicing large swathes of the coast. While the highway between Kununurra and Derby skirts around the central Kimberley and it’s inland features, the unsealed Gibb River Road, the Kalumburu Road, the track out to Mitchell Plateau and property access roads offer, particularly during the ‘dry’, the main accesses to the see inland landscape features.
Traditional Owners and Pastoralist
While pastoralist landholders have been in the Kimberley since pioneers like Nat Buchannan, the MacDonald’s at Fossil Downs and the Durack’s droved cattle there in the 1830s, Aboriginal clans have known these lands for many tens of thousands of year. The first inhabitants became widely distributed and local groups developed their own language. Today, following linguistic studies we know there were thirty Kimberley languages. Significantly, language distinguished these groups of the First People and their traditional lands. Around the coastline between Cambridge Gulf and Yampi Peninsula there were at least six separate languages, several of which fall within the Worroran group. While several of these languages are still spoken some have just a few speakers and one, the Miwa language from the northeast Kimberley, is extinct.
In recent times there has been several generally protracted legal proceedings resulting in the rightful granting and restoration of traditional land ownership. In some cases, such as the Balanggarra Corporation, the lands restored to traditional ownership incorporate several language groups and their country from the Cambridge Gulf west to Carson River as well as Sir Graham Moore Islands. In detail, as outlined in the Balanggarra Corporation and published on their website the claimed area includes –
‘…….the Kalumburu, Oombulgurri and Forrest River Aboriginal reserves, Carson River pastoral lease, parts of the Drysdale River National Park and unallocated crown land at Cape Londonderry, Carson River and the Cambridge Gulf coast. The northern boundary runs through sea country and encompasses a number of islands near the coast, including the Sir Graham Moore Islands, Adolphus Island and Reveley Island.’
It is interesting to note that ‘custodianship’ rather than ownership of traditional land more accurately reflects the Australian Aboriginal view of their relationship with their Country.
Geology and Landforms
In geological terms the Kimberley originated as a small continental land mass that became ‘welded’ to the northwest of what were the foundation blocks of Western Australia -the Pilbara and the Yilgarn plates. This joining occurred over 1,830 million years ago. At this time physical land forming processes like rock weathering, erosion and deposition of sediments were ongoing on this newly joined segment. Weathered sediments from high country were being eroded by rivers and deposited in water in a shallow but extensive basin thus covering what we recognise today as the Kimberley Block. This block developed with multiple formations of several sedimentary rocks (sandstones and siltstone) being deposited on the river deltas within the basin. After the first formation had built up there was an episode with the outpouring of extruded volcanic rock that cooled to form thick layers of basalt over most of the basin. A further four distinctive sedimentary rock formations were later deposited above the basalt. Cumulatively these events occurred over a +40 million year period around 1,800 years ago and the six main formations that formed the Kimberley Block/Plateau are referred to by geologists as the Kimberley Group.
In the following diagram, the name of King Leopold Sandstone has been changed and is now referred to as Wunaamin Milliwundi Sandstone.
Whereas these particular formations dominate the majority of the Kimberley land area, there are later formed sections such as that in the south west where marine coral reef flourished over time producing the fascinating limestone landforms we see in Bandilngan National Park at Windjana Gorge. At another location to the east of the block, sediment deposits have developed as seen in Purnululu National Park and formed the Bungle Bungle Ranges with their outstanding beehive-shaped landforms.
Since its formation the Kimberley Block has been uplifted as a plateau on a few occasions and its uplands have undergone millions of years of weathering and erosion to develop the landscapes we typically see in the Kimberley. These land forming processes have left a few higher mountain points, produced many ranges and a network of mostly seasonal rivers that have carried sediments out to sea where they were deposited. The result is 1000s of wonderful landscapes for discerning travellers.
In addition to road travel many travellers elect to visit the many bays, basins, islands and river estuaries during a cruise around the coastline to capture a completely different perspective of Kimberley landscapes. Not only does this form of transport offer an easier mode of travel than some of the bush tracks but it exposes an abundance of landforms and landscapes. Many of these owe their magnificence to the diverse rock colouring, sculpturing through weathering or fascinating architecture which has arisen from the jointing and folding of the Kimberley Group rocks. The rise of sea levels after the last Ice Age has led to the formation of the multitude of Kimberley islands, the flooding of coastal valleys to form estuaries and the endless array of cliff structures.
In addition to road travel many travellers elect to visit the many bays, basins, islands and river estuaries during a cruise around the coastline to capture a completely different perspective of Kimberley landscapes. Not only does this form of transport offer an easier mode of travel than some of the bush tracks but it exposes an abundance of landforms and landscapes. Many of these owe their magnificence to the diverse rock colouring, sculpturing through weathering or fascinating architecture which has arisen from the jointing and folding of the Kimberley Group rocks. The rise of sea levels after the last Ice Age has led to the formation of the multitude of Kimberley islands, the flooding of coastal valleys to form estuaries and the endless array of cliff structures.
Cruising the Kimberley
The majority of my Kimberley travel has involved cruising on Coral Expedition vessels. Beside providing a high quality of accommodation and dining, this small ship company offers a unique form of travel for sightseeing off their main vessels using their Xplorer tenders.
These offer comfortable seated travel during ventures offering shade, protection from wind and rain if required, toilet facilities and amplified commentary from an experienced Expedition team. Xplorer’s also provide quick travel when visiting more distant sites and may travel in shallow waters. The have easy boarding operations when visiting beaches or transferring into Zodiacs to venture into mangroves, to bird watch or to view waterfalls from close quarters.
Follow up
The Background Briefing articles on the Kimberley that follow this introductory overview are based on my multiple annual visits during each of the 22 years I have been enjoying these sea ventures and interacting with passengers in the role as a Guest Lecturer.
