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Gibb River Road about to open, Broome accommodation deals, and some unusual Kimberley trips. April 26, 2008 |
***What's Happening In The Kimberley?*** ================================================= In this issue: ** Have you booked your Broome accommodation yet? ================================================= Good news for all those readers who are packed up and ready to go: we have clear blue skies and cool(ish) nights here! April is nearly over and it has remained reasonably dry, especially the eastern side of the Kimberley. (The western edge had some thunderstorms and rains.) We even had a little cold snap. It was the first time I ever had to wear a jumper in April! Luckily it only lastet for two nights. It has since warmed up again, but the extreme humidity that many people find so unpleasant is mostly gone. The Bungles access track has been open for several weeks. The reports for the different sections of the Gibb River Road are conflicting, but overall it looks like we are getting close. Main Roads is expected to open the Gibb River Road this Monday (the 28th). The Durack River is still about 700 mm deep, the Pentecost about 600 mm (but that varies with the tides). That's still a lot of water! And it is definitely still too early to think about the Kalumburu Road or the Mitchell Plateau. Anybody travelling within the next few weeks, keep an eye on this page: http://www.exploroz.com/WA/Kimberley/Roads.aspx
I hope you have, because getting accommodation in Broome during the tourist season is not easy. I you DON'T have a booking yet and would like to know what is available and at what cost, then I have just the tool for you. If you go to my Broome accommodation page... https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/broome-accommodation.html ...and scroll down, you find a little unassuming search box. (You can also read the whole page but it will only tell you, again, that you best book early.) Just enter the date of your visit and click search. This is NOT a link to a booking site. It is a search tool. It searches the 30 biggest booking sites on the web and brings back all the prices for you, so you can make sure you get the best deal available. To test it I did some searches myself (for late July) and compared the results with the prices on the hotel websites, for the same room and the same dates. So far I always found at least the same deal and in most cases I found a cheaper one. (Up to 20% cheaper!) I also checked it against what Flight Centre had to offer for May, and Flight Centre was either more expensive or sold out. Needless to say, I was impressed. You will find that more of those little search boxes will appear across my site in the future, but for now it's only on the Broome page. It will of course also work for Kununurra or anywhere else. Just start a new search from the results page. You won't find everything listed. Many of the stations and some other accommodation providers in this part of the world still don't use any booking sites or aren't even online. But for those who are you can find the best deal here: https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/broome-accommodation.html
Ok, so you don't care about accommodation. You have a caravan... One reader asked if I know of a place in Broome to leave their caravan while they explore the surrounds. Good question. I did mention caravan storage in several places throughout the book--mainly for people who want to see the Bungles or some of the Gibb River Road--but nothing in Broome itself. Here are your options: Caravan Storage in Broome: Caravan Storage in Derby: Caravan Storage in Kununurra: To visit the Bungles: I also made another little addition to the caravan park listings for Kununurra: None of the caravan parks in Kununurra allow dogs, but the Kununurra Agricultural Society offers short term and some long term sites for travellers with pets. Contact them through their website: http://www.kas.org.au/the-park.html And for something totally different: if you are visiting Wyndham and want to have lunch in town, your choice is the pub or the pub. The Port Take Away doesn't exist any more.
There have been a few new pages, mostly in response to reader questions. You find them in the questions area, the Gibb River Road section and in the itinerary feedback area: https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/kimberley-trip-itineraries.html#INV Still uneasy about taking your 4WD down the Gibb River Road? Check out what some other people are planning: https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/urals-sidecars-units.html https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/2wd-for-road-to-drysdale-river-station.html (You can see the bus here: http://www.cuppa500.com/Around_Oz.html) Compared to that the trip in your hired 4WD camper should be a piece of cake!
To all those readers who are about to hit the road: have a great trip! And for everyone else: more from the Kimberley soon! B. (Birgit) Feedback? Go to https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/contact.html ================================================= (c) 2005-2008, Birgit Bradtke. All rights reserved. The Kimberley Guide is published by Birgit Bradtke in Kununurra, WA 6743, Australia. Reproduction of any material from this newsletter without written permission is prohibited. |
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