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In April, Adventure Out took a group up to the Kimberleys. Instead of us just telling you about it, we got one of the participants to share his experience with us and with you.

My Trip to in the Kimberley Region with ‘Adventure Out Australia’

The heat and humidity hit us as our party of three disembarked the aeroplane at Kununurra to meet the smiling face of Terry from Adventure Out Australia. We weren’t sure exactly what was in store for us except that we would be bushwalking and camping during the wet season in the remote Kimberly wilderness. While the wet season may seem like an odd time to travel, we had all been lucky enough to be sponsored by a work program so this timing seemed fine to us.

Having not been previously in the Kimberly region, I marveled at the deep red ground, crumbling escarpments and the tall green grasses as we drove 100km south to Doon Doon station. Terry had arranged for the local Indigenous community to officially welcome us into their land by way of a smoking ceremony. This was to ensure that we travelled their land with the good spirits. It was very special to meet the local community and it gave us a sense of the land we were about to travel through. Judging by the record amount of rain that had fallen that season, we could also use some luck to negotiate the flooded ground.

The bushwalking was across easy terrain, although, the hot and steamy weather (35 degrees) makes progress slow. I liked the fact that our guide, Terry, let us set our own pace and we got into an easy rhythm of walking for about 30 minutes and then taking a well earned drink break. I found myself with the map navigating most of the way but thankfully Terry provided the odd subtle hint to keep us pointed in the right direction.The overall environment of the Kimberly area is truly spectacular. We encountered beautiful red rock escarpments, fast flowing rivers, spiky Pandanas trees and sharp Spinifex grasses. At times we also found ourselves in very tall spear grass which towered well over our heads. At our first camp site at Cabbage tree creek, one of our party got the fright of his life as he came upon a large freshwater crocodile which promptly jumped from the river bank into the water with a large splash!

Although I have done a lot of bushwalking and camping, when you are in the Kimberly wilderness you certainly feel very isolated. The environment is quite extreme with high temperatures, huge rainstorms, hard rocky hills and boggy marshes. Camping was very easy but very basis as we slept under a plastic tarp with the all important mozzie net to stop the nighttime invaders. Although this is not for everyone, it certainly allowed you to really feel part of the bush.

In terms of extremes, one rainy evening, the creek next to our campsite doubled in size and turned into a raging torrent – luckily we hadn’t camped too close! I remember getting up in the middle the night to check on the creek’s water levels only to see a large set of big crocodile eyes looking back at me just opposite my hootchie (ie tent). I went back to bed wondering what would get me first ie the rising torrent of water or the hungry crocodile!

One of the key highlights was arriving at Deal’s Gorge. This was a beautiful area with a large swimming hole and huge waterfall thundering down the cliffs. The cliffs were a deep red colour and it was flanked in stark contrast with the greenery of the scrubby grasses after the recent rains. Given the warm day, we spent a couple of hours swimming and we all enjoyed jumping and diving off the rocks into the deep churning water below the waterfall. That afternoon, I especially enjoyed wandering along the river by myself fishing for black bream and just being in this special environment. A truly magical place.

Overall, it was a fantastic and very special trip into our Australian wilderness. I hope to return in the near future. Thanks to Terry and the Adventure Out Australia crew.

- Tom Griffiths