THE KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The 647km Gibb River Road in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia is one of the country's iconic road trips. With sections gradually being upgraded, it's no longer the challenge it once was and Grey Nomads now ply this remote road.
There is spectacular scenery wherever you look, whether it's one of the many gorges along the Gibb, the impressive Mitchell Falls, Montgomery Reef off the coast, or the Boab trees which dot the landscape.
The Kimberley has its mysteries. Where did the Boab tree come from? Its closest relative is the African Baobab and while there are other theories, the most plausible is that it was introduced by human migration predating even that of Australia's Indigenous people. Experts also cannot agree whether the abundant rock art here (estimated at between 17,000 - 40,000 years old) was created by the ancestors of current Aboriginal tribes, or by some earlier human migration. Whatever the answers, it's humbling to walk around a rock art site like the one at Edward River, just off the Kalumburu Road, and see paintings thousands of years old which seem to have been created only recently.
When the Kalumburu Road from the Gibb towards Mitchell Falls hasn't seen a grader for a while, it's possibly the roughest road in Australia. The surface can be badly corrugated and sweeping bends treacherous with small stones like ball bearings. Mitchell Falls is stunning - but getting there with a commercial tour operator is a better option than ruining your own vehicle.
Much of the
