Day hikes and overnight hikes in the Kimberley

[Hallu]

Hey guys,
I have a trip planned for June in the Kimberley, it will be about 12 days, with 3 days in Dampier Peninsula, 6 along the Gibbs and to Mitchell River NP, and 3 to Purnululu.

Purnululu is pretty straight forward : a couple of day hikes (Cathedral Gorge, Echidna Chasm, Mini Palms) and maybe the overnight hike at Piccaninny (probably not all of them though). As for the rest, along the Gibbs it's pretty much gorges with defined day walks too, same in Mitchell River NP : the walk to the falls, some smaller walks and that's it.

But I'm looking for other worthwhile walks in the area : at Keep River NP for example, or in Parrys Lagoons. The hardest part is Dampier Peninsula and Cape Leveque : it's really hard to find any info at all about this region, I have the Hema Atlas and Guide for the Kimberley, which is very helpful as a road guide, but not much for a hiker. Any idea ?

And of course if you have any suggestion to any remote and great area to hike or just go through in the vicinity, don't hesitate, I love hidden gems.

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

[muddy99]

You could try part of the Lurujarri Dreaming trail that follows a song cycle north along the coast from Broome (Minyirr) to Coulomb Nature Reserve (Minarriny) via James Price Point. The Goolarbarloo people are the custodians of this walk, so it's best to touch base with them first (they can help with water drops and transport). http://www.goolarabooloo.org.au/minyirr.html
As far as other walks on the Dampier Peninsula, it's mostly all Aboriginal Land, so you would need to contact the individual communities. You could (possibly) follow the coast from the Middle Lagoon Campground http://www.middlelagoon.com.au to the Whale Song campground (08-9192 4000) at Munget on Pender Bay. Freshwater is your biggest problem on the DP.

Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm at Purnululu will only take an hour each. The drive between the two takes longer than either walk. If i had the time (and water) I'd do Picaninny.

Mornington Wilderness Park http://www.awc.org.au, 95km off the Gibb has plenty of walking opportunities along some of the larger gorges, i'm sure if you talked to them you could organise an overnighter. Most of the pastoral leases along the GRR have some sort of walking action, I'd check out Mt Hart, Mt Elizabeth, CHarnley River and Home Valley. If you want to go hard-core off track consider Drysdale River National Park. See the DEC site for all the relevant contact numbers http://www.dec.wa.gov.au and you can find the GRR station contacts here http://www.gibbriverroad.net

[Hallu]

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately we have to cancel this trip, the 4WD budget is too much : either they charge a bond of 7000 $ and they debit your card, or you have to pay an insurance which is too much for only 2 of us. So we're gonna do the South-West region instead, from Perth to Cape Arid =) I'll keep your advice for the next time I have the opportunity to go there, cheers.