8 Day Broome & The Bungle Bungles 4wd
Experience a superior level of comfort. Our Small Group tours have been crafted for Inspiring Vacations travellers exclusively, with personal and unique experiences in mind. Travel with no more than 26 people, allowing for a more personalised and immersive experience. Please see the Important Information on your selected tour for the exact group size.
This tour is fully escorted by a dedicated tour leader who will accompany you throughout the tour. If your tour includes multiple countries, you will be met by a new tour leader in each country and any internal flights included will be unescorted.
This tour is categorised as 3 out of 5
Balanced exploration with walking tours: Our most popular style, this tour offers a good mix of planned activities and free time. Expect moderate daily walking tours, so pack comfortable shoes.
As a general requirement across all of our trips, you may be required to walk up and down stairs, get on and off transportation, handle your own luggage, and participate in all scheduled sightseeing that may be conducted on uneven ground and terrain. Any physical ailments you may have must be disclosed at the time of booking to determine your suitability and where required, supporting documentation may be requested to ensure that we are comfortable that you will enjoy your trip.
✓ Incredible sightseeing, including Purnululu National Park, the Bungle Bungle Range, Mimbi Caves, Willie Creek Pearl Farm and more
✓ Comfortable hotel stays in Broome and incredible, premium camping experiences in Purnululu National Park and Fitzroy Crossing
✓ 5-day, small-group 4WD tour from Broome to the Bungle Bungle Range
✓ 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 4 dinners
✓ Full-day guided tour of Willie Creek Pearl Farm, including return transfers from Broome, pearling masterclass, Willie Creek boat cruise and refreshments
✓ Purpose-built, modern 4WD trucks in the Kimberley
✓ 7 Day cooling off period. See under Fine Print for more information
✈ Needing international airfares to accompany your Inspiring Vacation? You will be able to access our flight portal after securing your package to add international airfares to your booking.
Travel with the experts for a carefully curated, value-packed discovery of the world's most iconic destinations. Our tours are bursting with must-see sights, rich experiences and quality inclusions, all at an unbeatable price. Bucket list dreams are ticked off on these all-encompassing journeys.
Welcome to Broome! On arrival please make your own way to your accommodation. The rest of the day is at leisure. You may like to visit Sunset Bar & Grill famous for their cocktails overlooking the waterfront at Cable Beach.
Airport transfers are not included. Our transfer portal offers the option to book your airport transfers for an easier arrival experience (additional charges apply). Access to this portal will be available through your Traveller Hub once your booking is confirmed.
Check in & arrival information.
A taxi from Broome airport to your accommodation costs approximately $20-23 per car. Hotel check in is at 2pm. Should you arrive earlier than this, hotel staff will do all possible to check you in as soon as possible. If your room is not available before check-in time, you are welcome to leave your luggage in storage and explore the surrounding area.
We ease into our adventure as we travel east towards Fitzroy Crossing. Join the Darlgunya Cultural Walk where our local Indigenous guide greets us with a smoking ceremony and billy tea, then leads a stroll through the remnants of the old postal settlement. Learn about the wild Fitzroy River: its plants, wildlife and significance to local culture.
Camping Accommodation
Camping in National Parks and in the grounds of the Fitzroy River Lodge involves dome tents (single/twin share), with twin stretcher beds with mattresses. On site ablutions have hot showers and flush toilets.
Camping Plus Accommodation
The Safari Cabins at the Fitzroy River Lodge offer a traditional Kimberley-style accommodation upgrade option for travellers looking for a little extra comfort. Similar to a regular motel room, they feature beds with pillows and linen, fans, power and private ensuite. Relax on the porch and enjoy the bush ambiance.
Visit the gold rush town of Halls Creek and see the remarkable China Wall enroute to Purnululu National Park, home of the magnificent Bungle Bungles. On arrival in Purnululu, there is time to orient ourselves and settle into our Safari Camp. After a delightful bush sunset, relax with a delicious meal and evening under the stars.
Camping & Camping Plus:
In the heart of Purnululu National Park, our eco safari tents at the Bungle Bungles Safari Camp boast views of the Bungles Massif from your door. The camp features modern facilities, a covered dining deck with panoramic views and an open air campfire around which you can relax beneath a sparkling Kimberley night sky: chatting, star-gazing and sharing the adventure with like-minded travellers.
Spend the day exploring the highlights of this extraordinary National Park, the most famous of which are the Bungle Bungle domes. Rivers created this landscape of unique orange and black striped ‘beehive’ geological formations over a period of 20 million years. Unbelievably, only the locals knew it existed until the early 1980’s. To protect its unique landscape, the area was made a national park in 1987 and now enjoys World Heritage status. We explore the 2km long Echidna Chasm, known for its towering Livistonia Palm trees, and take a short walk (2-3km) into stunning Cathedral Gorge, where towering rocks create a natural amphitheatre.
There is time today to take an optional scenic helicopter flight and enjoy a birds-eye view of the beehive domes (approx $500 pp, own expense paid locally) to put it all into perspective. Your guide will assist you with booking this option.
We bid farewell to Purnululu and travel to the ancient realm of Mimbi Caves, one of Western Australia’s largest cave systems, in the heart of Gooniyandi Country. Spiritually significant, these limestone caves are one of the oldest identified sites of human occupation in Australia. Delve into Dreamtime with our local Gooniyandi guide who shares traditional stories and reveals the secrets of Mimbi Caves, a sanctuary of crystal clear pools, rare fossils and ancient rock art. Share fresh damper and billy tea with the Gooniyandi traditional owners before we head for Fitzroy Crossing
Camping Accommodation
Camping in National Parks and in the grounds of the Fitzroy River Lodge involves dome tents (single/twin share), with twin stretcher beds with mattresses. On site ablutions have hot showers and flush toilets.
Camping Plus Accommodation
The Safari Cabins at the Fitzroy River Lodge offer a traditional Kimberley-style accommodation upgrade option for travellers looking for a little extra comfort. Similar to a regular motel room, they feature beds with pillows and linen, fans, power and private ensuite. Relax on the porch and enjoy the bush ambiance.
Following another night by the Fitzroy River, we head for Bunuba country – once a Devonian reef, this terrain is over 350 million years old and home to a diverse array of animals and plants. In the morning we seek the adventure of Tunnel Creek, a 750-metre cave system in which we discover secret caves and a large variety of wildlife. It is here we also learn the legend of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal freedom fighter who used the tunnel as a hide-out in the late 1800’s. Freshen up with a swim in the idyllic waterhole at the end of the tunnel before we travel to the geological wonder of Windjana Gorge, a delightful oasis in the outback. Beneath gorge walls rising 90m, we enjoy a picnic lunch and search for freshwater crocodiles, local birdlife and Indigenous bushtucker. The Gibb River Road then leads us from the picturesque Napier Ranges as we begin the return to Broome via the Derby ‘Boab Prison Tree’.
This morning you will be collected from your hotel for a Willie Creek Pearl Farm Tour. You will follow the progress of the huge Pinctada Maxima shells as they are placed in panels and suspended to feed in the fast flowing tidal waters of Willie Creek. The world’s largest and most precious pearls grow on the Pearl Coast. After your tour including damper and tea, the Willie Creek Showroom reveals more insights into pearls and pearling, as well as offering affordable loose pearls, unique pearl farm jewellery and pearl shell products. Visiting the farm by air-conditioned coach is an excellent way to see some of the countryside with an experienced guide. Your coach captain will take the time to acquaint you with some of the more unusual native plants and wildlife on the 38km trip.
Hotel pick up details: Pick up for today's tour starts at approximately 7:45AM. Please reconfirm your tour 24 hours prior using the contact details provided to be advised the correct pick up time for your hotel. You'll need to be waiting in the lobby 15 minutes before your scheduled pick up time.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this extraordinary journey.
A taxi to Broome airport to your accommodation costs approximately $20-23 per car.
Airport transfers are not included. Our transfer portal offers the option to book your airport transfers for an easier arrival experience (additional charges apply). Access to this portal will be available through your Traveller Hub once your booking is confirmed.
Vehicles
These tours are operated in custom-built, 21-24 seat 4WD trucks with a PA system, wide viewing windows and built-in storage (no risky trailers!). These vehicles allow our small groups extra space (including standing room), are fully air-conditioned and, for your comfort are fitted with adjustable air-vents, reclinable seats, map pockets and footrests. Note that some Broome Day Tours may operate in larger 24-seat 4WD trucks.
Camping Plus upgrade - twin: $331 per person - single: $687 per person
Refer to day by day itinerary for a comparison between Standard Camping vs Camping Plus inclusions.
Nights 2 & 5:
Camping in National Parks involves dome tents (single/twin share), swags with fitted sheets & pillows with pillow cases. Some on site ablutions have hot showers and flush toilets however on those nights in which we are camping in National Parks, the ablution facilities can be relatively basic.
Nights 3 & 4:
In the heart of Purnululu National Park, our eco safari tents at the Bungle Bungles Safari Camp boast views of the Bungles Massif from your door. The camp features modern facilities, a covered dining deck with panoramic views and an open air campfire around which you can relax beneath a sparkling Kimberley night sky: chatting, star-gazing and sharing the adventure with like-minded travellers.
Single Travellers:
Single travellers will share a tent with another single traveller of the same gender. If capacity allows, single travellers will be offered a single tent.
Luggage Restrictions:
Please note, a limit of 15kgs per person is permitted on tour and luggage must be in a soft bag or backpack, no suitcases permitted.
This tour is for reasonably fit and mobile travellers - age is irrelevant - this tour often involves some very early starts and long days. You may be exploring a range of remote wilderness environments and activities involve some clambering over rocks, wading in water by torchlight, walking on rocky beds and ascending/descending into gorges. A reasonable level of fitness and being sure on your feet is necessary to participate.
Overnight on some nights, you will be sleeping in traditional Aussie 'swags', which are comfortable foam mattresses with linen.
Due to the remote location and challenging nature of this tour, you will be required to complete and sign a medical form to ensure you can participate fully in this tour. This medical form will be sent to you once a booking has been made. Such questions that will be asked include:
There will also be a section requesting you disclose any pre-existing medical conditions.
If you have not ticked most of the sections above, then you should reassess your decision to participate on this tour. Inspiring Vacations' local operator has the right to assess your fitness capability on or before the first day of travel. Our local operator requires each traveller to have valid travel insurance in order to participate on this tour.
The fitness level rating for this tour is moderate:
There will be a few longer walks on flat or uneven terrain. The walks could involve rough patches where you are required to clamber over rocks or up and down wilderness tracks.
This product requires full payment upfront to secure your booking.
Once you have created your booking you will be directed to your invoice to choose your preferred payment method.
This is a land only package.
This package does not include international airfares. If you would like to add airfares to your booking our flight portal will be available via your Traveller Hub. The flight portal will allow you to search for all available airfares to your destination. The function works like most general flight search engines allowing you to select your preferred airline, book different cabin classes (eg. Business class) and view flight durations and transit times to your destination.
The flight portal will be available via your Traveller Hub once the following criteria has been met:
Visit our Flight Hub for more information on terms and conditions, amending your flights and information on luggage allowances.
Some of our packages will include airport transfers in either one or both directions when arriving or departing from your destination. To know if transfers are included please view the ‘inclusions’ section of your selected package. If airport transfers are stated, transfers will be included as advised.
If transfers are not included, we also offer the option to book your airport transfers using our online portal. Access to this portal is available through your Traveller Hub once your booking is confirmed. Transfers are readily available and do not need to be booked until your final hotel list has been confirmed. Once you have made a transfer booking, please refer to your confirmation email for all transfer details including a local contact number for the transfer company.
If you book pre and/or post-tour accommodation on your own arrangement, and the tour includes transfers, note that these will be forfeited. The transfers are only provided in line with the tour dates and pre and/or post-tour accommodation purchased through Inspiring Vacations when available.
It is the traveller's responsibility to ensure they have a valid passport. The passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from the intended date of return. Visas may be required for your destination. For further visa information, click here.
Alternative Itinerary, 2023
Please Note: Due to the effects of ex Tropical Cyclone Ellie in January 2023, some traditional attractions are closed for the season to give Country time to rest and recover. There is so much more to see in the Kimberley though, and we have been easily able to adapt our itineraries to include additional and extended activities, that we are normally not able to do! Plus, the landscape will be looking spectacular this year after such a great wet season: waterfalls will be thundering, swimming holes will be clean and fresh and our native wildlife will be thriving. So, while there are two destinations that we are unable to visit in the short term due to flood damage, those same big rains will mean the Kimberley has never been fresher. The season of 2023 promises to be a special opportunity to experience the Australian outback at its best.
*It may be that Tunnel Creek opens a little late for our early May tours – in this event, we will spend more time in Purnululu National Park exploring Mini Palms Gorge.
Fitness Requirements
While the tour itinerary should give you some guidance and overview to the expected requirements, to determine if this tour is right for you we categorise each of our tours in terms of their intensity. These guidelines are to ensure that each tour group is conducted as expected and to ensure the overall satisfaction of all Inspiring Vacations customers.
As a general rule, porterage is not included, therefore at all times you are expected to handle your own luggage where help may not be available.
This particular tour is categorised as a “3”.
3 – Moderate Tour: A good level of fitness and mobility is required, as this tour includes a moderate level of physical activity and is considered a medium-fast paced tour. You should be able to walk up and down stairs, get on and off the coach and able to walk reasonable distances of approximately 2 kilometres per day or more with ease. Any physical ailments you may have must be disclosed at the time of booking to determine your suitability. If you have any form of walking aids, other than a walking stick or hiking poles, then this tour is not suitable.
This itinerary involves some clambering over rocks, wading in water by torchlight, walking on rocky creek beds and ascending/descending into gorges. A reasonable level of fitness and being sure on your feet is necessary to participate.
Accommodation
The accommodation listed is subject to change. Any changes will be of an equal or higher standard. Bedding configurations (double or twin) are requests only. All efforts will be made to meet your preferences, but we can’t guarantee your request will be available at all properties.
Single travellers
When booking this tour, solo travellers will be presented with two options:
1 - Single Supplement
By paying an additional $693.00 per person, in addition to the twin-share price, you guarantee the privacy of your own room throughout the entire trip.
2- Shared Room with a known friend
If travelling together with a friend, you can opt to share your room with him/her and avoid paying a single supplement.
You and your friend can create a unique booking each. Creating a unique booking, gives each of you the flexibility of making different travel arrangements (such adding extra accommodation, flights, etc), make separate payments and have individual access to our Traveller’s Hub
During the purchase path, you will need to provide your friend’s booking ID (if known) or at a minimum, your friend’s full name
Single travelers will share a tent with another single traveler of the same gender. If capacity allows, single travelers will be offered a single tent.
Triple Share
Not available.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is recommended to protect yourself against the unexpected. In addition to the support that a policy may provide, you may be asked to present a copy of your travel insurance documentation while traveling.
Visa & Passport information
It is the traveller's responsibility to ensure they have a valid passport. The passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from the intended date of return.
Visas may be required.
Please note that these details are subject to change without notice. We recommend visiting https://www.safetravel.govt.nz for up to date information in terms of entry requirements.
Children
Children must be 5 years old or above and share a room with parents at all times. Children are charged the same price as adults.
Group Size
12-20 people
Bedding requests
We do our best to meet your bedding preference, however, bedding configurations (double or twin) are requests only and cannot be guaranteed. All efforts will be made to meet your preference, however, any changes are beyond our control and limited by the hotel facilities and availability.
What to Bring
It is essential that you bring a torch, shoes you don’t mind getting wet – and we mean fully immersed in water: ideally, wet shoes, sandals or old runners, broad-brimmed hat with sun visor for all round protection, sunscreen, swimming costume and towel, good walking/trekking shoes and a personal water bottle.
Sleeping bag:
If you have chosen the Camping option, you will also need to bring a sleeping bag – 10ºC sleeping bags are available for sale. These can be kept following your trip or donated to local indigenous communities.
Other recommendations include: warm clothes for the evening (particularly if travelling May-Aug), personal toiletries and first aid, with any personal medication required.
Tour Styles - Fully Escorted
The Kimberley 4WD expedition (days 2 to 6) is escorted by an expert local guide. On day 7 you will be escorted by a local guide during the Willie Creek day trip.
Who operates this package
We have partnered with a wide range of third-party operators who assist in fulfilling your booking and delivering an enjoyable on-tour experience. Each package will consist of multiple operators meaning both guides and fellow travelers may change day to day. But don't worry, regardless of the operator, you'll be in good hands to experience the most out of each destination.
All participants must be in good physical condition to fully engage in this journey. For the safety and welfare of yourself and fellow travellers, if you are feeling unwell prior to departure, we advise staying home and contacting us to arrange alternate plans.
Prior to selecting your trip, carefully review the itinerary to assess your ability to comfortably manage our travel style. Please be aware that if, based on evaluation by our leader or local representative, a participant is deemed unable to safely complete the itinerary, we retain the right to exclude them from all or part of the trip without reimbursement.
It is advisable to consult your physician for current medical travel advisories and any required vaccinations before embarking. We recommend carrying a first aid kit and any necessary medications in their original packaging, as they may not be readily available during travel. For those carrying medication, it's essential to check your government's foreign travel guidelines for local restrictions or regulations.