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An off-the-beaten-path journey into the ancient and dynamic Kimberley over nine extraordinary days, threaded together by air
A hand-stitched journey created with passion and attention to detail
Fashioned for travellers seeking immersion into one of the world’s most remote wildernesses, this is a nine-day journey showcasing the enormous Kimberley of North-Western Australia. Rich, ancient, complex, and spiritual with an abundance of nature, history, and culture, the vastness of the Kimberley covers nearly 423,000 square kilometres. Within this space, rich Aboriginal history is threaded throughout the region’s red sands, with over 100 different Aboriginal communities who continue to practice their deep traditions and celebrate their connections to the land today.
This itinerary offers sophisticated and slow travel with locals, including dedicated guides and pilots throughout your entire journey. Guests will walk through incredible gorges, plunge into hidden waterfalls, view remote rock art, sail the northern coast line, and chopper across the magnificent ranges that make up the Kimberley Plateau. Discover the beautiful, the exciting, and the extraordinary, accessible through this hand-stitched, comprehensive itinerary.
Your personalised Odyssey
+ With your own family or friends
Designed with intimacy in mind and perfect for families or groups of friends, you’ll tour exclusively with seven of your nearest and dearest. Choosing your own group and travelling with familiar faces enables you to enjoy your journey from the very first moment.
+ In your own space
There’s no cattle class here. All locations, experiences, and transfers* range from highly exclusive to completely private. Privileged access and intimate experiences ensure your absolute safety and privacy, while still remaining authentic.
+ In your own time
Each day is adapted to your needs—forget scheduled departure times and by-the-numbers sightseeing. Spontaneity is welcomed, and your personal whims, wishes, and desires are shaped by your guide into truly one-of-a-kind experiences wherever you are.
+ With genuine characters
Meet hand-picked locals whose very roots are intertwined with the region. You’ll take a seat at the table with born-and-bred residents who present tangible passion for their home, and a range of characters who will welcome you into their everyday lives with genuine enthusiasm.
+ With your own personal guide/s
Your personal guides are there to elevate your experience without intrusion from arrival to departure. Both in tune with the surrounding environment and your own needs, they’ll freely share their knowledge of and passion for each area to enhance your journey.
+ With The Tailor standard
As Australia’s premier luxury and five-star experiential travel company, we know the finest experiences. We’ve hand-picked the best available accommodation, and teamed it with the best local cuisine and beverages in each region to elevate every single moment.
A Passionate Range of Kimberley Locals
Throughout this exceptional journey, you will be hosted and guided by passionate eco-conservationists, born-and-bred Kimberley locals, and Custodians for Country whilst being navigated through the landscape by experienced local pilots via private plane and helicopter, 4WD, and ketch yacht.
In each region, you will be accompanied by a Custodian for Country Aboriginal guide who will share their country, ensuring your experience through the Kimberley is authentic and intimate. Your guides include but are not limited to: Head Guide Bec, a local Gija woman who tours through Bungle Bungle Range / Purnululu; Ted, a Miriuwung/Gija man and traditional owner of the Argyle Mine Site; Kolya, a local Balanggarra/Gija man who tours in Mitchell Plateau; and Les, a Balanggarra man born and raised in remote Kalumburu along the coast of Honeymoon Bay. Your guides are very happy to share their country as it should be experienced, and during off-season they continue working out on country developing micro-businesses with their families—including a range of ventures such as seed collection, creating bush medicine products, handmade soaps and sprays, and more.
Much of your aerial adventures stitching together the landscapes will be in a fixed-wing Kodiak plane, only one of two available in Australia. This exceptional aircraft boasts space for nine passengers in executive luxury, taking you soaring over the Kimberley Plateau in high-winged, turbo-propped style and class, with perfectly located panoramic windows, business class seats, and massive storage space. You’ll fly with safety as paramount, streamlining access across one of the world’s most remote wildernesses in luxury.
Your guides are eco-accredited and roc-accredited with Eco Tourism Australia, and share a commitment to not use any single-use plastics while touring and are consistently striving to reduce carbon emissions. Their knowledge, expertise, commitment to sustainability, and privileged access to some of the most remote areas in the world with luxury touches makes them the finest guides and hosts available throughout your Kimberley expedition
- 9 day/8 night tour
- Private scenic flight to Purnululu National Park on Day 1
- 2 full days private touring exploring Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm with personal Custodian of Country Gija guide, including lunch
- 2 nights at the Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge including breakfasts and dinners
- Private charter flight to Argyle Diamond Mine on Day 3 including touring with your personal Luridgii Custodian of Country guide, lunch and Lake Argyle Cruise
- Private Helicopter transfer to Kununurra
- 3 nights accommodation at Joowinyin Lodge in Kununurra including all meals and selected beverages
- Private helicopter tour to Mirima National Park with personal Custodian of Country guide including lunch
- Private scenic flight to Mitchell Falls
- 2 nights at the Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge including breakfasts and dinners
- 2 full days private touring exploring with personal Custodian of Country guide including lunches
- Private helicopter trip on Day 7 with visits to Rock Art Sites on both Days 6 and 7
- Private scenic flight to Honeymoon Bay on Day 8
- 1 night on Tropic Rover – a beautifully restored 60 foot wooden ketch
- Final farewell dinner on the beach, including a selection of wine and beer
- Private scenic flight back to Kununurra airport on Day 9
- Flights to and from Kununurra
- Telephone calls
- All items of a personal nature
- Travel insurance
- Gratuities
Price is based on a minimum of 8 paying passengers, based on twin share accommodation, and is valid for travel until 31 October 2021.
Minimum 8 passengers – $14,080.00 per person
The above cost is dependent on availability at the time of booking. Blackout dates and seasonal surcharges may apply and costs are subject to change.
Please consult your Travel Designer to check on full terms and conditions and availability. If you want to travel with less than 8 people, please ask us for a quote.
*Terms and conditions apply.
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Itinerary
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Day 1: Cathedral Gorge
After a scenic flight into Purnululu National Park, you will be welcomed to country by a local Custodian of the Gija people before boarding your private 4WD to the Cathedral Gorge walking and bush-tucker trail.
Discover the geological and cultural history of the Bungle Bungle Range as you delve deeper into Cathedral Gorge with the knowledge of your guide. Enjoy a scenic picnic lunch before exploring the park further, accessing remote areas that only your Gija guide can provide. Enjoy sunset from the lookout over stunning views of the ancient massif with a cold drink in hand, before heading to your accommodation to unwind in your luxury tented cabin, enjoy local foods and flavours prepared by the onsite chef, and relax under the brilliant Kimberley sky.
Day 2: Echidna Chasm
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the lodge while enjoying the sights and sounds of morning bush life, including myriad birdlife. After, you'll begin your trek into the spectacular Echidna Chasm and Mini Palms walking trail, showcasing breath-taking scenery of long, narrow chasms with remarkable colour variations, and the striking contrast of ancient Livistona palms growing in the sand on ridges above. As you walk through the landscape, you’ll be regaled with stories from your guide about the echidna and their home.
In the afternoon, you’ll board your helicopter for an afternoon exploring the park from the air. Enjoy aerial views of the landscape, and touch down at the Five Fingers for sunset drinks—a well-kept secret hidden away from most travellers, and accessible only through your guide. Upon arriving back at the Wilderness Lodge, your evening is free for you to relax at your leisure.
Accommodation
Joowinyin Lodge
Day 3: Lake Argyle Region
After a leisurely morning, depart the Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge to the nearby airstrip and board your private charter aircraft to fly to the Argyle Diamond Mine, world-famous for its abundance of natural coloured diamonds including the highly sought-after pink diamond. In the process of being decommissioned by late 2020, you’ll be taken around the site by the Luridgii Tours Custodian of Country guide to see the operation. After, you’ll depart the mine to Lake Argyle to enjoy a cruise along the lake with beverages. Relax onboard, dip into the pristine waters, and enjoy conversation with your skipper who has worked the lake for 30 years.
From here, you’ll helicopter north to Kununurra and arrive at your luxury accommodation upon the Ord River. Your host will welcome you with drinks, and you’ll settle into your evening with a meal prepared by your chef.
Day 4: Mirima National Park
Today you’ll take to the skies on a helicopter aerial adventure into Mirima National Park. Explore the range with your own Traditional Custodian guide, and enjoy a picnic lunch in one of the world’s last true wilderness areas, with opportunity to swim amongst waterfalls if they are flowing.
After, re-board your helicopter to follow the Keep River into the Northern Territory to enjoy barramundi fishing amongst the vegetation lining the banks of the river. With abundant aqualife all throughout the river, anglers will delight in this spot while others will enjoy the stunning scenery.
Enjoy a scenic flight back via helicopter over the rugged landscapes. In the evening, your chef will cook up the catches of the day, as you sit back and relax for a leisurely evening with incredible food and beverages.
Accommodation
Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge
Today’s schedule is at your discretion—either relax and recoup at your accommodation, or venture into Kununurra to explore local culture, discover local galleries, diamond shops, distilleries, and agricultural offerings. The local Waringarri Art Gallery and Studio in town is the first wholly Aboriginal owned Gallery in Australia, home to world-renowned artists such as Peggy Griffiths and Kitty Malarvi. Meet hese remarkable artists and see them at work before exploring the greater community, including local diamond shops to purchase souvenirs, local distillery Hoochery Rum for a tasting, and the many delicious organic produce suppliers located throughout the Ord Valley who grow cotton, chia, sunflowers, sorghum, mangoes, sandalwood, and much more.
Return in time for beautiful sunset drinks on our barge as we drift down the lower Ord, before venturing back to the lodge to enjoy dinner and a tranquil evening before tomorrow’s early morning departure.
Accommodation
Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge
Day 6: Rock Art
This morning you’ll depart the lodge after breakfast for a morning flight to Mitchell Falls. Take in the incomparable sight of the Kimberley Plateau and station country while soaring above it, until you arrive on Wunambal Gaambera country at the ancient, beautiful Mitchell Plateau. After enjoying morning tea at the Arrival and Departure Lounge, you’ll drive through ancient Livistona palms and seek out rock art down the King Edward River.
You'll be immersed in nature as you explore areas strewn with waterfalls and springs to swim in, enjoy freshly-cooked damper and billy tea under the shade of paperbark trees, and explore the secrets of the region. Your Custodian for Country guide will lead you to three discrete rock art sites, including seeing sacred Wandjina rock art specific to the Kimberley region. To finish, you’ll enjoy a sunset lookout over the coast with drinks and nibbles before returning to the lodge.
Day 7: Mitchell Falls
Today you’ll enjoy a leisurely al fresco breakfast and bask in the early morning light of the beautiful Mitchell Plateau before you embark on a day of adventure. Your trek to the Mitchell Falls will be led by a spectacular local Aboriginal guide who will guide you through a 4.1km trek across incredible gorges and stunning scenery. Along the way, you’ll view ancient rock art as your local guide explains the significance and meaning of the art.
In the afternoon, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous picnic lunch complete with beverages, and may cool off with a refreshing dip in the Mitchell River. You’ll cross in front of the mighty Mitchell Falls to meet your helicopter to enjoy a scenic flight back down to the carpark. You’ll then head to the top of the Plateau for stunning sunset drinks before returning back to your accommodation.
Accommodation
Tropic Rover
Day 8: Sail the Kimberley Coast
After breakfast, you’ll be picked up from the Mitchell Airstrip and will go flying over the Mitchell Plateau, straight onto the ocean and over the Kimberley Coastal Camp and Paspaley Pearl barges at work. You’ll follow the coastline over the Truscott airbase, until you arrive at the remote community of Kalumburu to be met by Les French, your Custodian for Country guide, who will take you to the coast where you’ll board Tropic Rover—a gorgeous 60ft wooden ketch with a big history.
Meet your crew and set sail along the extraordinary coastline; eat fresh oysters off the rocks, and eat and cook fresh damper from the coals for your morning tea. Relax on deck, or throw a line into the waters as you coast along to a remote bay out on the Timor Sea. That evening, you’ll enjoy a long table dinner on the beach with the spoils of the days catch, teamed with fresh homegrown salads and vegetables, accompanied with Margaret River wines.
Day 9: Departure
After a night being lulled by the ocean's waves, you'll awaken to Tropic Rover under sail returning into the coast. Enjoy the grazing table set out for breakfast, including freshly ground coffee. From there, you'll bid adieu to Tropic Rover, and Les will take you back into Kalumburu to the airstrip to board your plane for a beautiful two hours scenic flight back to Kununurra.
Following the coast at 500 feet, you'll soar across the iconic King George Falls and the Berkeley River, into the Cambridge Gulf, and into the familiar Lower Ord before touching down at Kununurra at 10:00am, ready to check in for your flight home.
