THERE is no better time to visit the Kimberley with the release of a great new incentive that puts a few hundred dollars of savings in your pocket
With the Kimberley Wanderer Pass you can receive $300 towards participating tours and experiences in and around Kununurra (eastern gateway to the Kimberley) when you buy an airline ticket from Perth to Kununurra through Virgin Australia.
The offer applies to new bookings made from now until September 30, unless sold out. You will receive information about how you can access your pass within three days of making your booking.
The Kimberley Wanderer Pass is valid at more than 20 businesses across the region, providing discounted access to attractions such as the Bungle Bungle Range, El Questro, Lake Argyle, Ord River, Mitchell Falls and more, with a range of land, air and boat tour operators participating in the scheme.
With the region having recently experienced heavy rain, the landscape has been replenished, waterfalls are flowing and tourism operators are ready to welcome visitors.
The Kimberley Wanderer Pass will be redeemable through the Kununurra Visitor Centre online, by phone or in person until September 30. Conditions apply.
Here are some ideas to help you on your adventure:
Visit Waringarri Aboriginal Arts or discover the region through the eyes of an Aboriginal elder. Ted Hall's Luridgii Aboriginal Eco Cultural Tours visit the Argyle Diamond Mine, Bungle Bungle Range and surrounds, where Miriuwung man Ted shares the Jaliwang (barramundi) Dreaming story.
Take a sunset Kimberley-inspired barbecue dinner cruise on Lake Kununurra with Kununurra Cruises - and enjoy the changing colours of the lake and Elephant Rock.
See (or buy) rare Argyle pink diamonds at Kimberley Fine Diamonds. Established in 1991 by outback pioneer Frauke Bolten-Boshammer (her biography, A Diamond in the Dust, is essential pre-trip reading), it's Australia's most remote diamond house.
Stop by WA's oldest continuously operating still, the Hoochery Distillery, to sample the hand-made rums and famous rum cake. It also makes a range of gin, whiskey and liqueurs, including Argyle Pink gin, flavoured by botanicals sourced from the region, such as wild mango, native white currant, native lemon grass, boab leaves and coriander.
Explore the extraordinary Lake Argyle, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the southern hemisphere - so big it's classified as an inland sea. Lake Argyle Cruises, Lake Argyle Tours & Boat Cruises and Lake Argyle Adventures offer a range of tours. You can also hire dinghies, barbecue pontoons, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, and stay overnight at Lake Argyle Resort and Caravan Park, with its famed infinity pool.
Like fishing? Ultimate Adventures operate barramundi fishing safaris on the lower Ord River. Or take a cruise with Triple J Tours.
See the Kimberley by plane, helicopter or on a four-wheel-drive tour - or a combination of all three. HeliSpirit, AviAir, Bungle Bungle Guided Tours, Kingfisher Tours, Kimberley Air Tours and El Questro operate air and land tours around the region.
Kununurra is the perfect base to explore the Kimberley by road. The 660-kilometre Gibb River Road - which runs from Derby in the west Kimberley (near Broome) to Kununurra - is one of Australia's finest 4WD trails, running through and past ancient gorge and waterfall country, pockets of rainforest and cattle stations.
You can camp under the stars or stay at one of the region's glamping accommodations.
Not equipped to hit the road yourself? Book a guided tour with the likes of APT Kimberley Wilderness Adventures, Adventure Wild and InStyle Adventures. RedSands Campers has also opened a depot in Kununurra for those looking to self-drive.
- specials.virginaustralia.com/au
- Kununurra Visitor Centre, 1800-586-868, www.visitkununurra.com/wander