A time for every visitor to come to the Kimberley
Coral Expeditions runs cruises to the Kimberley from April to September. Photo: Supplied
The Kimberley’s changing landscape makes it a spectacular place to visit at any time of year.
But don’t expect the same sights with each visit.
The diverse wildlife and ever-changing colours of the Kimberley make it a unique experience every time you travel there.
Here, we look at the best time to visit the Kimberley for different travellers.
Love wildflowers
JULY-DECEMBER
Incredible flora is a feature of the Kimberley year-round, but there’s a veritable explosion between June and December.
Expect to see fields of pink bachelor’s button, purple mulla mulla, the Kimberley rose or sticky kurrajong, wild hibiscus and red-flowered kurrajong trees.
The Kimberley is hardly “crowded” but there are more or less popular times to visit the region. Photo: Supplied
Hate crowds
MARCH-APRIL, AUGUST-OCTOBER
The Kimberley is a vast region twice the size of Victoria, so “crowd” is probably the wrong word, but if you like the idea of having a waterfall to yourself, these are the times to visit.
There is a reason they are less popular periods, though.
Between March and April, it is extremely hot and the wet season with its frequent cooling showers is tailing off, meaning there’s little relief.
Between August and October, dirt roads can be dusty and corrugated after a busy winter, and some waterfalls can disappear after months of no rain.
Humpback whales reach the Kimberley in late July. Photo: Supplied
Love whales
JUNE-OCTOBER
This is when pods of humpback whales ditch their winter Antarctic feeding grounds to mate and calve in the warm waters off the Kimberley.
It is said to be the world’s largest humpback whale migration with an estimated 40,000 whales in the waters off the Kimberley each year.
You’ll see birds year-round in the Kimberley. Photo: Supplied
Love birds
YEAR-ROUND
You will always see birds when you visit the Kimberley.
If you’re a real twitcher, make tracks for Roebuck Bay in Broome, one of the world’s most important sites for migratory shorebirds.
Their young spend a year in the area before their first migration to the northern hemisphere, so you’ll always be able to see some.
There are also plenty of year-round residents to see.
If you are lucky enough to be out on the water, you might glimpse an eastern osprey, which reaches up to 180 centimetres across the wings; a white-bellied sea eagle, a brahminy kite or an eastern reef egret.
Time your visit for March to early June to the waterfalls at their fullest. Photo: Supplied
Like chasing waterfalls
MARCH-EARLY JUNE
As the wet season comes to an end you may enjoy the Kimberley’s many waterfalls when they are at their fullest, minus the driving rain and humidity.
Although many waterfalls flow year-round, others slow to a trickle or disappear entirely by the end of the dry season, so if you like thunderous and dramatic waterfall action then time your visit for March to early June.
Coral Expeditions runs cruises to the Kimberley from April to September.
