Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Australia - Perth - Kununurra - Bungle Bungle - El Questro - Mount Elizabeth - Bell Gorge - Broome
100% customisable for you
Today’s the day! You’re off on your outback adventure, so head to the airport with plenty of time to enjoy the lounge before your direct flight to Perth. After around 17 hours in the air, you’ll touch down in Oz the next day.
Touch down in Perth, collect your bags and take a private transfer into the city. Pinned between the Indian Ocean and the red interior of Western Australia, Perth is a laidback and atmospheric city – closer to Bali than it is to Sydney. With spectacular beaches and huge parks, amazing galleries and a thriving food scene, it really does feel like the best of everything in one place.
Check into your centrallylocated hotel and spend the afternoon exploring or relaxing. If you head out, Kings Park, set on a hill above the Swan River, is a good first stop – the views looking back across the city’s skyline are excellent. The waterfront district around Elizabeth Quay has good places to eat and drink as evening comes in, but you have a kitchenette back at your hotel if you feel like cooking.
After a good night’s sleep, it’s back to the airport for a short flight to Kununurra, a small frontier town on the edge of Kimberley, whose name is derived from the Aboriginal Goonoonorrang, meaning ‘great waters’. Pick up your hire car and head to your hotel for the night, a pretty spot surrounded by greenery with a swimming pool.
This afternoon you can explore Kununurra, which sits above one of the largest diamond mines in the world. The streets reflect this unlikely heritage: jewellery shops specialising in diamonds of every shade from white to pink and red line the main drag alongside galleries selling Aboriginal art typical of Western Australia.
Before dinner, it's worth the short drive to Mirima National Park, known locally as Hidden Valley or the Mini Bungle Bungle. The striated rock formations here, whose colours shift depending on the position of the sun, are a sneak peek of what’s to come at Purnululu. Three marked trails wind through the park and the whole thing is easily done in a couple of hours.
Today’s drive south to Purnululu National Park is where the adventure properly begins. When you reach the Spring Creek Track turnoff, it’s time for 4x4 mode – from here it’s 33 miles of corrugated red dirt, creek crossings and exhilarating bumps and rocky sections.
After about two hours, you’ll reach your camp for the next two nights, perched on the banks of the Picaninny River. Don’t worry, it’s not as simplistic as it sounds, the tents are complete with private bathrooms and comfy beds. The real luxury is being in the wilderness, however.
Today you have a full day in Purnululu National Park, which covers around 1,160 square miles and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The main event is of course the epic Bungle Bungle Range, with its 350-million-year-old striped sandstone domes.
Fans of hiking will be in heaven here. Cathedral Gorge, a short walk from your camp, is essentially a vast natural amphitheatre. Piccaninny Creek winds between towering domed walls, and Echidna Chasm – a slot gorge so narrow you can touch both walls at once – turns gold in the late afternoon light.
Tired legs are in for a treat today – there’s plenty of time to rest on the five-hour drive to El Questro. Get set for a beautiful road-trip, crisscrossing the red desert landscapes, dotted with trees and the low vegetation of the Outback, with the rocky plateaus as a backdrop.
You’ll settle in for two nights at the foot of Mount Cockburn in the El Questro region, in a camp at one with nature. With fancy tents, on-site food and drink, plus a swimming pool, it won’t take long to settle in.
Now it's off to El Questro Wilderness Park, which covers almost a million acres and is home to exceptional biodiversity. As an operational livestock breeding site, El Questro offers stunning scenery of the mountains and gorges, as well as emerald rainforest and hot springs.
Emma Gorge is the most dramatic – a 45-minute walk through a narrow rocky canyon leads to a waterfall and deep pool that you can swim in. Zebedee Springs, by contrast, is a series of warm, palm-fringed natural pools tucked into a tropical-feeling side gorge.
The highlight of the day is an almost two-mile cruise along the beautiful Chamberlain Gorge (which is accessible only by boat), complete with sparkling wine and fresh fruit to complement the magical views.
It’s time for one of the more remote drives of the trip today: you’re heading west along the Gibb River Road to Mount Elizabeth Station (around a five hour-drive). The Gibb, as locals call it, is the legendary red dirt track that crosses the heart of the Kimberley. There’s plenty to look at along this stretch, so keep your eyes peeled for Aboriginal rock art and the occasional waterfall.
When you reach Mount Elizabeth, you’re bedding down at a homestead on one of the oldest cattle stations in the Kimberley, dating back to 1945. There are still some 6,000 cattle here, with kangaroos and wallabies calling the massive property home too. There’s a BYOB policy, so crack open your favourite bottle and soak up the bliss of having no Wi-Fi or phone signal.
Set off for Bell Gorge this morning, located 93 miles away. In a remote national park such as this, you might find you’re the only visitors on a given day, making the drive well worth the effort.
Settle in for two nights in a comfortable lodge on the land of the Imintji Aboriginal community, along Saddlers Creek, with breathtaking views of the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges. Each tent has a private deck with panoramic views, but also perfect privacy for the sunrises and sunsets that set the surrounding landscapes ablaze.
Bell Gorge is nestled inland, in the heart of a sandstone landscape accessible only by road. Complete with canyons, waterfalls, wild vegetation, natural pools and stunning light: you could explore for days.
Bell Gorge, which the area is named after, is a picturesque spot bordered by a natural pool. Take a short walk along the charming Bell Creek, which you eventually cross, and once at the top, you can admire the view of the waterfall as it plunges 328ft into the middle of a pool. Fancy a swim? It’d be rude not to...
Hop back in your 4x4, today you’re off to Fitzroy Crossing, about a three-and-a-half hour drive away. Fitzroy Crossing sits on the banks of the Fitzroy River – one of Australia’s most powerful rivers during the wet season and a chilled waterway for the rest of the year – and makes a convenient overnight stop.
It’s also the base for exploring Tunnel Creek National Park, where a 2,460ft-long natural cave tunnels through a spur of the Napier Range. You can walk the full length of the cave, wading through bat-filled darkness, adjusting your eyes to the Aboriginal rock paintings and emerging at the far end into the light. It sounds slightly scary but it’s a must-do.
It’s the final leg of your self-drive today: follow the Great Northern Highway west to Broome, a three-hour drive on proper road through increasingly dramatic ochre landscapes. The highway is famously straight – one stretch runs for over eight miles without a bend – but the scenery is more than enough to keep you awake.
Broome is one of our favourite places. In a remote location tucked between the Great Sandy Desert and the Kimberley region, it’s an ancient pearl capital converted into a charming seaside town. Its intriguing past is reflected in the faces of its inhabitants, who are descendants of Japanese, Chinese, Aboriginal and European pearl fishermen.
Check into your hotel for the next three nights, a stylish spot in an enchanting setting, a short walk from Broome town centre. Overlooking turquoise waters and mangroves, surrounded by tropical gardens, we’d understand if you simply wanted to stay here for the rest of your trip.
After an action-packed few days, you’re probably more than ready for some lie-ins and some relaxation time – the next 48 hours are yours to discover the delights of Broome at your leisure.
Explore the art galleries and pearl shops in the town centre; stroll through the Japanese Cemetery to immerse yourself in the town's heritage; pick up some handcrafted goods or grab a bite to eat at the Saturday market; watch the sunset from the sands of Cable Beach, or make the short drive to see dinosaur footprints near Gantheaume Point (at low tide only).
After a fortnight in the outback, it’s now time to head back to the big city. Return your hire car to Broome Airport and hop on the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Perth. Upon arrival, a private transfer will take you to a hotel near Elizabeth Quay in the city centre for your last two nights. With a roof terrace and surrounded by lovely shopping streets, it’s the perfect place to end your epic Australian trip.
You can’t visit Perth twice without a trip to Cottesloe beach, so we recommend a trip this afternoon. Backed by pine trees, it has gentle waves and a promenade perfect for strolling with an iced coffee in hand. If you fancy something stronger, the former Indiana Tea House is an iconic spot dating back to 1910. Here, you can order a glass of white wine while watching surfers ride the waves.
Not a fan of tourist traps? Neither are we. Luckily, you’ll get to know the real Perth with a local today.
Your guide will put together an epic day based on your interests and what you’ve been eating and doing for the past two weeks: it might mean coffee and bao buns at the Fremantle Markets, a ferry out to Rottnest Island to find quokkas (small, smiling marsupials), a wander through the galleries of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, or a long lunch somewhere with a view. The perfect last day in Oz.
Sadly, your great big adventure comes to an end today. It’s time to pack your bags and head to Perth airport to catch your direct flight home. You’ll arrive back in the UK the following morning, full of red-dust-covered memories and already dreaming of your next adventure.
Everything in this itinerary is entirely customisable, down to the smallest details. Here are some more suggestions of what could be included
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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Our team of destination experts will get to know you and your unique requirements for your holiday
We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
All of our holidays include little extras designed to make a big difference to your trip, from fast-tracking you through airport check-in and security to our network of local Concierges
