Five Reasons to Head to Kununurra
Gateway to the Kimberley, Kununurra is known as a stepping-stone to the region’s Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungle Range’s’ famous beehive domes. But this geographical staging post has other nearby attractions in store, which are well worth the detour.
1. Access the East Kimberley
This remote north-east WA town is the ideal base for exploring the eastern Kimberley. Some of the state’s most remarkable natural attractions are on your doorstep, including El Questro National Park. Kununurra is the youngest town in this part of WA, springing up in 1961 as a base for the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. The project’s success resulted in an abundance of water in the region and visitors today will come across endless fields of sunflowers, sandalwood plantations and even rice paddies. You might also spy sugar cane (which local distillers turn into rum) and cotton orbs dancing on the breeze.
2. Cruise the Ord River
From its source in the Wunaamin Milliwundi Ranges, the Ord River flows some 650 kilometres around Purnululu National Park and into the Cambridge Gulf. As part of the irrigation scheme, it was dammed in two places, creating Lake Argyle and Lake Kununurra, in the Ord River Valley. On a wildlife cruise along this 55 kilometre-long waterway, you’ll experience some of northern Australia’s most incredible wilderness areas. The waterway supports wildlife including white-bellied sea eagles and egrets, freshwater crocs, flying foxes and long-legged jacanas high-stepping across lily pads.
3. Look Across Lake Argyle
While here, the nation’s second-largest freshwater man-made reservoir deserves a mention. Found 75 kilometres south of Kununurra, this mirror-like expanse is framed by rocky landscapes that are billions of years old. The waterway snakes through deep blue creeks and lagoons criss-crossed with grasslands, ideal habitat for freshwater fish and almost a third of Australia’s birdlife including kingfishers, finches, ospreys and kites. It’s such a significant habitat that BirdLife International has designated it an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA).
4. Explore El Questro National Park
From Lake Argyle a drive along the Kimberley’s Gibb River Road brings you to El Questro Wilderness Park, a 400,000-hectare property that’s home to the unexpected serenity of Zebedee hot springs. A soak in thermally warmed pools under the shade of livistona palms restores the soul. Once revived, El Questro offers the chance to hike, bike, ride, fly, drive or boat across jaw-dropping Kimberley country, dominated by the towering umber backdrop of the region’s Cockburn Ranges. After the day’s adventures, dine under a canopy of stars at Emma Restaurant and rest your head in Emma Gorge Resort’s tented cabins with en-suite bathrooms.
5. Discover Danggu Geikie Gorge
Back on track along the Gibb River Road between Broome and Kununurra, the gorges and waterholes that mark this rugged route are welcome pit stops. Danggu Geikie Gorge is one such surprise, sculpted from limestone walls bleached white by Fitzroy River floodwaters over time. A cruise along the gorge’s still waterways takes you past sheer cliffs that rise some 30 metres from their watery depths. A significant cultural landmark, the gorge is home to Indigenous heritage and Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, as well as resident wildlife such as freshwater crocs, birdlife and fruit bats.