Our Kimberley Tours are an Epic Adventure
The Kimberley is an extremely remote and challenging destination rich in history and ancient culture with stunning dramatic landscapes. As a family owned and operated business, through our local networks and knowledge we totally immerse you in this uniquely striking destination.
To fully connect with the many different aspects of the Kimberley, requires deep local knowledge; Charter North 4WD Safaris create immersive Kimberley Tour experiences through a long and ongoing relationship with country. All our Kimberley expeditions are led by our senior guide and company director GT, one of the most experienced Kimberley guides available. With twenty eight years of Kimberley touring experience and connection to country, GT reveals aspects of the Kimberley that seasonal/casual guides would never know. Our Kimberley tours include all the iconic features such as the Gibb River Road, Lake Argyle, the Bungles, Elquestro, Mitchell Falls, Bell Gorge, Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek, Mornington Wilderness and more. We showcase the diverse environments of the region while hiking, swimming, camping or glamping, and exploring this maze of ancient landscapes. GT will engage you in the Indigenous culture, rock art, billions of years of geology and spectacular waterfalls and gorges, while travelling in the comfort of a fully air conditioned luxury 4WD. After active days of exploring, you will be treated to a delicious million star campfire dining experience.
You will find our pricing is surprisingly comparable with larger bus tours that don’t compare in quality. We operate our entire business and personally guide all of our tours
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Our Kimberley Tours
9 Day Kimberley Tours
This touring option is perfect for active travellers and families; Explore the Gibb River Road gorges and waterfalls, Lake Argyle, Elquestro, the Bungles, Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek
Travelling between Darwin and Broome, our nine day programs incorporate plenty of hiking, swimming and exploring. Experience the highlights of the region led by a highly experienced guide and in the comfort of our purpose modified luxury 4WD vehicles. Available as mixed small group tour or private charter.
10 Day Kimberley Tours
This immersive experience includes all the iconic features of the region with a cultural expedition to Mitchell Falls
Available for private groups only, this active program incorporates all of the region’s favourite attractions: the Gibb River Road’s gorges & waterfalls, Elquestro Station, the Bungle Bungles, Windjana Gorge, Tunnel Creek plus our cultural journey to the Mitchell Plateau.
7 Day Kimberley Highlights Tour
This private adventure allows you to experience the popular features of the East Kimberley in only one week
Perfect for private groups with limited holiday time, experience the Bungle Bungles, Elquestro, Lake Argyle & more. Available as camping or fully accommodated program on request.
Custom Camping Tours
Perfect for families and small groups who would like a tour experience adjusted to their interests and preferences
Our customised private Kimberley Tours are designed to meet your travel party’s specific preferences. Flexible departure dates, pick up locations and tour lengths allow us to create the perfect personalised program for you.
Accommodated Private Tours
Our private fully accommodated Kimberley Tours are perfect for travellers wanting to enjoy the Kimberley Wilderness in comfort
Charter North 4WD Safaris specialise in accommodated programs tailored to your preferences. Our accommodated adventures capture all the iconic features and stunning landscapes of the region with the perfect balance of activities and comfortable pace.
Kimberley Tours Highlights include:
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is a major Kimberley attraction growing in popularity each year. Recognised as the largest engineered fresh water reserve on the Australian mainland, measuring several times larger than Sydney Harbour! Every wet season the Ord River tops up the Lake which was engineered in the 1970s as the key water supply for the Ord River Irrigation scheme. Charter North provides the best opportunity to appreciate Lake Argyle for its size, grandeur and history by embarking on a boat cruise with the lake’s most reputable and experienced cruise operator. This Lake Argyle cruise creates the ultimate experience in witnessing this spectacular landscape and spotting an abundance of local wildlife including freshwater crocodiles, birds, fish & rock wallabies. Culminating in a swim in the lakes temperate fresh waters while enjoying “a coldy” and snacks from the floating bar with a spectacular sunset is an absolute highlight! On our private camping tours we can arrange an exclusive overnight stay on one of the lake’s remote islands, therefore starting the day with a stunning private sunrise- it doesn’t get more private than this!
The Bungle Bungles
The now famous Bungle Bungles (Purnululu National Park) lays within the semi arid zone of the East Kimberley. This amazing world heritage listed landscape is bound by the Tanami Desert directly to the east, and the massive Kimberley Central Plataea to the north. The Bungle Bungle Range, being the main feature of this jointly managed cultural landscape, is regarded as the best example of this strikingly unique geology on our planet. The moment we arrive onsite we are immediately confronted with this incredibly striking and imposing feature. Exploring the stunning landscapes from ground level while hiking around the famous beehive formations, Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm as definitely another Kimberley highlight. We also absolutely recommend a helicopter flight for an incredible aerial perspective over this stunning landscape. An overnight stay in the park also allows us to enjoy another amazingly different Kimberley sunset and further helps you appreciate why this geological masterpiece has become one of the most acclaimed and popular Kimberley icons. As well as the grandeur of the Bungle Bungle Range and other features of Purnululu, the drive to the park is arguably the most scenic in The Kimberley. The Great Northern Highway that leads us to and from Purnululu National Park is an extremely picturesque corridor that is surrounded by classic Kimberley mountainous terrain.
The Gibb River Road and Mitchell Falls
After exploring the eastern semi arid zones of The Kimberley, a journey into the Central Plateau area via the Gibb River Road is a completely different experience. Mitchell Falls is in the far tropical North, while ElQuestro, Home Valley, Ellenbrea, Mt Barnett and other stations stretch the entire length of the Gibb River Road, the Central Plateau is renowned for displaying some of the most diverse natural and cultural features of The Kimberley. Swim, hike or canoe along ancient watercourses and encounter endless gorges and waterfalls that existed unexplored for millennia. Emma Gorge, Manning Gorge, Galvan’s Gorge and Bell Gorge are all fantastic gorge and waterfall attractions providing lots of opportunty for hiking, swimming and exploring. The Mitchell Falls and plateau area is managed by the local Wunambal Gaambera aboriginal corporation, and is renowned for its ancient indigenous culture and rock art.
Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek
The western side of the King Leopold Ranges is dominated by vast open plains; Aboriginal people call this “Pindan Country”. Not only is this environment dramatically different to the east and central Kimberley, it is a completely different geological and cultural landscape. Reefs from the Devonian period rise sharply from the vast surrounding plains giving testament to the changing sea levels over the last 375 million years. At Windjana Gorge the Leonard River has cut its path through the ancient reef system to form the gorge over millions of years. While at the gorge you can re-connect with our long geological journey, and view an abundance of freshwater crocodiles bathing in the shallow pools or sun baking on the sandbars. A little further south, but part of the same reef complex, we find the aptly named Tunnel Creek. We explore this 750 meter long tunnel that has been cut through the reef by the creek that once flowed over the top of the reef. This is an exhilarating experience that requires the use of lighting, and wading through sometimes waste deep water. As we pass through the dark tunnel our artificial lighting highlights the colours, stalagmites and stalactites that make up this ancient reef. The Devonian Reefs of the Western Kimberley are globally recognised as the best remaining examples of exposed reef of this type on our planet.
Broome
The pearling capital of Broome in the far West Kimberley is a coastal playground and the gateway to one of the world’s most rugged and isolated coastal marine environments. Broome is a mix of modern commerce and old world charm; with its tropical feel and laid back character, it is acknowledged for its world class pearls and affectionately referred to as the “Pearl of the North”. Broome’s culture and economy were born from pearling with its multi-cultural history dating back to the early nineteenth century when pearls were discovered in the surrounding shallow tropical waters. Of course indigenous groups have called the area home tens of thousands of years prior. Many Australian Aboriginals and immigrants of Malay origin worked in the pioneering industry, some found their fortune, many not. Today Broome is a well regarded holiday destination, perfect for just relaxing and taking in the tropical environs after your Kimberley tour, or preparing yourself for your approaching Kimberley adventure. Broome’s Cable Beach is rated as one of the best beaches in the world, while the Horizontal Falls in Talbot Bay to the north is now a well patronised “Wild Tidal Adventure” .
The Dampier Peninsula
Broome is the western stepping stone to the Kimberley, and directly north lays the Dampier Peninsula. Home to several aboriginal coastal communities, the Dampier Peninsula is a cultural hot spot with groups welcoming visitors to their homelands and sharing their culture and lifestyles. Located just north of Broome, along the peninsula on the magnificent Cygnet Bay, is the oldest surviving Australian owned pearl farm “Cygnet Bay Pearls”. Not only is this a brilliant opportunity to learn about the pioneering of this industry, but to be able to visit a working pearl farm and see the farming process is a very rare experience indeed. If you have a passion for pearls, this is your chance to purchase some of the world’s best, and directly from the Australian producer! The pearl farm also offers stylish safari tent accommodation on the beach, more upmarket cabins, stylish dining inline with their pearl product, and a fantastic marine expedition to the astounding Montgomery reef and Cygnet Bay environments.
Experiencing this vast Kimberley Wilderness
Charter North 4WD Safaris have an intimate understanding of this unique region of Western Australia through a long personal and professional relationship spanning more than two decades. This connection allows us to create and be part of your unforgettable expedition. The Kimberley truly is an astonishing region in so many regards, far greater than most realize until they have embarked on this unbelievable overland expedition! There is no need to travel abroad to see out of this world landscapes and environments, it is right here in Northern Australia. In fact, most say that experiencing The Kimberley is very much like being outside of Australia.
A deep sense of history
Unknown to most Australians until the nineteenth century, The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled regions of Australia with a long, rich history just waiting to be explored. It all began more than 60,000 years ago when the First People arrived from what is now Indonesia, seeking new land to explore and settle. The region has an absolute treasure trove of rock paintings, artistic drawings and carvings dating right back to that time. Now regarded as one of the most elaborate pictorial histories on our planet, there is literally a historic discovery on almost every escarpment, in rock shelters and along ancient gorge systems. These historical accounts of early human society, along with some of the oldest geological formations on our planet, are what makes the Kimberley so intriguing and magnetic. Come see for yourself.
