You can only get there by small ship

There’s plenty to see and do on a Kimberley road trip.

This huge section of the vast state of Western Australia has spectacular hikes with gorges, lakes, and rock formations to explore.

But for every amazing attraction on land, there is another that is only accessible by sea, or sometimes helicopter or seaplane.

Assuming you’re not Jeffrey Bezos, chartering a chopper to see all the bits you miss by road isn’t a practical option, which is why cruising the Kimberley is such an excellent way to visit this region.

So if you’re planning a Kimberley driving trip, turn away now, because these are all the places you won’t be seeing.

Horizontal Falls

Perhaps the Kimberley’s most famous attraction: David Attenborough called the Horizontal Falls “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world”.

The falls are caused by the ocean being forced through two narrow gorges of the McLarty Range with such power that water banks up on one side; the resulting white rapids can be navigated by Zodiac.

Montgomery Reef. Photo: Supplied

Montgomery Reef

Located 20 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, Australia’s largest inshore reef becomes visible when the mammoth 11-metre tide recedes. It appears to rise out of the water.

As water streams off the reef, opportunistic sea birds descend to eat the marine life left exposed in rock pools, while turtles, dolphins and dugongs also enjoy the banquet. A few hours later the reef disappears once more.

Crocodile Creek

Don’t let the name alarm you.

This is one of the Kimberley waterways where it is safe to swim, provided you climb the ladder next to the tidal pool to the freshwater billabong above. As you swim, surrounded by pandanus palms in diamond-clear water, you’ll be grateful that saltwater crocs can’t climb.

Kings Cascade. Photo: Supplied

Kings Cascades

These falls in Prince Regent National Park are found by going through a gap in the mangroves on the Prince Regent River.

What greets you will be a lacy, tiered wedding cake of a waterfall, stepping down terraces and surrounded by hanging gardens.

But don’t have a swim below the falls because you may find saltwater crocs.

Vansittart Bay

The remains of a US C53 warplane sit in the greenery on Vansittart Bay where it crashed in 1942 during a flight from Perth to Broome after the pilot got lost and had to land due to dwindling fuel.

Miraculously, all on board survived and were rescued by a Qantas seaplane several days later.

But while the plane is a bizarre and interesting sight, it is the Indigenous art of this area that takes the breath away.

The Gwion Gwion rock art galleries are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old, and depict stick-like figures in elaborate headdresses.

Buccaneer Archipelago. Photo: Supplied

Buccaneer Archipelago

This archipelago includes more than 1000 islands that cover about 50 square kilometres.

There are plenty of attractions: Whirlpool Passage is a rushing rapid separating Chambers and Hidden islands when the tide is high, and a still pool at other times; Silica Beach on Hidden Island, is a blindingly white crescent of squeaky, caster sugar sand, and there is Edeline Island, with its otherworldly, silt-stone sculptures.

Indigenous Art

Whether it is Raft Point, Bigge Island or Vansittart Bay, some of the most incredible examples of ancient Indigenous art can only be reached via water.

Located in rock shelters and overhangs, often high on escarpments, these images inspire awe and wonder.

Oomari Falls

WA’s tallest twin falls drain from the King George River and plunge 80 metres over an escarpment of the Gardner Plateau.

You’ll sail 12 kilometres from the river mouth, passing through steep-sided gorges to get to the falls.

If you visit early in the dry season the falls will be at their full power, but late in the dry, when they slow to a trickle, it is possible to get up close and even moor directly beneath them.

Coral Expeditions visits these sites and others on their Kimberley cruises.