Kimberley and Top End Adventure

Horizontal Falls by Seaplane

This is the day that sells the itinerary. A half-day tour (morning or afternoon departure, roughly 6 hours) that combines scenic flying, fast boats, and one of Australia’s most unusual natural phenomena.

Clients board a 14-seat turbo prop jet seaplane for low-level flying over the Buccaneer Archipelago and Cape Leveque. The colours from the air are extraordinary – rust-red islands scattered across impossibly blue water. The seaplane lands in the calm waters of Talbot Bay, where guests transfer to the fastest boat in the Kimberley for a thrilling ride through the Horizontal Falls themselves. The “falls” are created by massive tidal movements forcing water through two narrow gorge gaps in the McLarty Range. David Attenborough called them one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.

Afterwards, there’s time for swimming in the clear warm Indian Ocean waters with a marine viewing enclosure (snorkelling gear provided), plus a cooked breakfast or lunch of fresh barramundi on a luxury houseboat. The return flight passes low over Cape Leveque, Lombadina, Beagle Bay, Willie Creek Pearl Farm, Cable Beach, and Broome township.

Trade tip: The combination of seaplane, fast boat, and houseboat dining makes this one of the most varied half-day experiences in Australia. It photographs brilliantly. Courtesy bus pickup and return from accommodation is included.

Cape Leveque in Style

A fully escorted small group day trip departing at 7am and returning around 6pm. This is the Dampier Peninsula – the long finger of land pointing north from Broome into the Indian Ocean, home to remote Aboriginal communities and some of Western Australia’s most pristine coastline.

The day takes in Beagle Bay Aboriginal Community and its remarkable Pearl Shell Church, where the altar is inlaid with mother-of-pearl shells. Then on to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm for a guided tour of a working pearl operation, followed by lunch at the Cygnet Bay Restaurant. There’s a stop at the Ardyaloon Community Hatchery before arriving at Cape Leveque itself – dramatic red cliffs meeting white sand and turquoise water. Time for swimming and beachcombing before the drive back.

Morning tea and lunch are included.

Trade tip: This day provides genuine cultural depth. The Pearl Shell Church at Beagle Bay is unlike anything else in Australia and the Aboriginal community visits offer a respectful, guided introduction to local Indigenous culture. Cape Leveque’s beaches are spectacular. For clients who’ve seen Cable Beach and think they’ve seen everything Broome has to offer – this changes that.

Fly Broome to Kununurra

A free morning in Broome to explore at leisure. The Court House Markets run on weekends, and the pearl galleries in Chinatown are worth a look. Cable Beach is always there for a final swim.

The afternoon flight departs at 1:45pm, arriving Kununurra at 3:10pm after one hour and twenty-five minutes in the air. The flight itself offers glimpses of the Kimberley’s scale – red earth, winding rivers, and very few signs of human habitation.

Accommodation is at Hotel Kununurra or similar, located roughly 3 kilometres from the airport. It’s a comfortable base with an a la carte restaurant, the historic Zebra Bar, swimming pool, and spacious beer garden. Rooms include air conditioning, en-suite bathroom, and tea and coffee facilities.

Trade tip: Kununurra is small enough that clients can walk to the town centre for dinner. For those wanting something more upscale, Kimberley Grande Hotel Resort is available as an upgrade – a homestead-style riverfront property with a more resort feel. The free morning in Broome is a good opportunity for clients to squeeze in any experiences they missed on earlier days.

Scenic Flight & Ord River Cruise

Two of the East Kimberley’s signature experiences packed into a single day. It’s a big one.

The morning begins with a 2-hour scenic flight in an air-conditioned, high-wing aircraft over the Bungle Bungle Range – the extraordinary beehive-shaped sandstone domes of Purnululu National Park, striped in orange and black bands of silica and lichen. The flight also covers Lake Argyle, the Argyle Diamond Mine, Ord River Irrigation Area, Carr Boyd Ranges, Osmand Ranges, Ord River, and Bow River. It’s a staggering amount of landscape in two hours.

At 11:30am, clients are collected by coach for the drive through Durack country to Lake Argyle, 70 kilometres away. There’s a stop at the Durack Homestead Museum – a replica constructed with original stone from the Durack family’s historic homestead. Then on to Lake Argyle Resort for a scenic lookout over what is Australia’s largest man-made freshwater lake (roughly 21 times the volume of Sydney Harbour). Clients cross the Ord Top Dam wall, view the Ord Hydro-Power Station, then board for a scenic 55-kilometre cruise back to Kununurra with Triple J Tours. Afternoon tea at a riverside camp. Freshwater crocodiles, birdlife, and a colourful East Kimberley sunset. Coach return to accommodation.

Trade tip: This is the standout day of the Kimberley leg. The scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles alone justifies the Kununurra stop – and then the Ord River cruise at sunset is something else entirely. Make sure clients have their cameras charged.

Explore Kununurra & Fly to Darwin

The morning is free in Kununurra. The town sits at the edge of the Ord River irrigation scheme and there’s more to it than first meets the eye – walking trails, beautiful lookouts, a freshwater spring, and regional history worth exploring. The Kununurra Visitor Centre has maps and local recommendations.

The afternoon flight departs at 3:30pm, arriving in Darwin at 6:10pm after roughly one hour in the air. It’s a short hop but a significant shift – from the dry red landscapes of the Kimberley to the tropical humidity and laid-back energy of Australia’s northern capital.

Accommodation is at Mantra Pandanas or similar in Darwin’s CBD, with studio and apartment-style rooms, private balconies, and panoramic views across Darwin Harbour. The in-house restaurant Table Forty Three is on-site, and quality restaurants and bars are a short stroll away along the Esplanade.

Trade tip: The taxi from Darwin Airport to the CBD runs about $25-$35. Darwin’s waterfront precinct is lively in the evening – the Mindil Beach Sunset Market (seasonal, Thursday and Sunday evenings) is a highlight if the timing works. Worth mentioning to clients as a self-guided evening activity.

Litchfield National Park Waterfalls

A full-day escorted tour departing from the hotel. Litchfield was established in 1986 on the traditional country of the Wagait people, and it packs an extraordinary amount into a relatively compact area – thundering waterfalls, rainforest pockets, sacred sites, and hundreds of native bird species.

First stop is Florence Falls – a double waterfall viewed from a high vantage point, with the option to swim in the plunge pool below. Then an interpretive guided walk through scenic bush and monsoon vine forest. Tolmer Falls follows – a spectacular lookout and photo opportunity, and home to colonies of rare ghost and orange horseshoe bats. Lunch at the Litchfield Cafe.

The afternoon brings Wangi Falls – the park’s most accessible waterfall with a large, inviting plunge pool for swimming. Then Howard Springs Nature Park, where clients can feed barramundi and turtles. The day wraps up at the Magnetic Termite Mounds – towering structures built by local termites, standing upright like compass needles, all aligned north-south.

Trade tip: Litchfield is often described as Kakadu’s more accessible cousin, and there’s truth in that – but it has its own personality. The swimming at Florence and Wangi Falls is a genuine highlight, especially for clients coming from the dry Kimberley landscapes. The termite mounds are one of those oddly memorable things that clients mention long after.

Kakadu National Park Explorer

World Heritage-listed and the largest National Park in Australia. This is a full-day escorted tour that covers the park’s major highlights.

The drive in follows the Arnhem Highway with the Marrakai Plains as a backdrop. First stop is the Warradjan Cultural Centre, where clients learn about the Bininj people – the traditional owners of Kakadu – and the region’s deep cultural significance.

The Yellow Water Billabong Cruise is the centrepiece. A local guide leads the cruise through wetlands alive with saltwater crocodiles basking on sandy banks, sea eagles, brolgas, kingfishers, and the kind of birdlife that makes even non-birders pay attention. Lunch break at Cooinda Lodge.

The afternoon is spent at Nourlangie, where a driver guide walks clients through different forms of Aboriginal rock art at the site – paintings dating back an estimated 50,000 years. The scale of that timeframe is hard to grasp standing in front of it. An optional scenic flight over the Kakadu escarpment is available for those wanting the aerial perspective.

Trade tip: Kakadu is a name that resonates internationally, and the Yellow Water cruise delivers. The rock art at Nourlangie is genuinely powerful – not behind glass, not roped off, just there on the rock face where it’s been for tens of thousands of years. The optional scenic flight is worth flagging to clients at booking stage so they can budget for it.

Depart Darwin

The tour concludes after check-out. Clients are free to head to the airport or extend their stay. Darwin has enough to fill an extra day or two – Mindil Beach, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Crocosaurus Cove, and the Darwin Waterfront precinct.

Trade tip: We recommend at least one additional night in Darwin for clients with late or onward flights. This itinerary connects well with east coast extensions – the Tropical North Queensland corridor (Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Daintree) is a natural pairing, as is Sydney and the Blue Mountains. We build complete Australian itineraries for the travel trade, including domestic flights, accommodation, touring, and transfers. Talk to our team about packaging this with your clients’ broader Australian programme.