I am staring into the vast heart of the Kimberley region – a never-ending canvas of fiery red rock, secret waterfalls, and boab trees twisting skywards like something out of a children’s storybook. It’s a place so cinematic, so untamed, that travel writers habitually reach for words like “otherworldly” and then complain that nothing quite does it justice.
There’s a unique truth about the Kimberley, though, only realised when you travel here: you need company. Not just for safety – although “remote” here means multiple self-reliant days between fuel stops and anything that could pass as a coffee shop – but for the sheer joy of experiencing this ancient wilderness together. If you’re compiling your ultimate bucket list (as legions of lists and travel surveys insist you should), the Kimberley belongs right alongside Machu Picchu, the Grand Canyon and safari in the Serengeti.
Solo travel, I grant you, has its charms – a sense of freedom, quiet reflection, the chance to wear the same sun-dried shirt for weeks, guilt-free. But in the Kimberley, group touring is not just a logistical advantage. It’s the key to unlocking the best experiences, sharing awe, and, frankly, making sense of the region’s wild scale.
First, there’s comfort. Imagine traversing the legendary Gibb River Road – Australia’s answer to Route 66 spliced with Jurassic Park – with someone who knows exactly when to brake for the legendary dust bowl potholes and also where the next waterfall hides. For seniors, small-group operators cater brilliantly, skipping the heavy lifting and packing the day with exploration, meals, and stories, so you get the thrill without the hassle.
Group travel means access. Local guides – essential in a land where the wrong turn can mean 500km of corrugated regret – bring you the legends of this place: the deep Indigenous culture, the ancient rock art, and the secret gorges you’d need an insider’s whisper to find. Group camaraderie flourishes quickly out here. After the third day of waterfall swims and campfire yarns, your fellow travellers start to feel like old mates, all swept up in the drama of the landscape.
But most of all, it’s about shared wonder. The Kimberley’s moments are big: the explosive Horizontal Falls, the prehistoric majesty of the Bungle Bungles, the sun lowering itself slowly behind a thousand islands in the Buccaneer Archipelago, and the unmistakable “wow” when you first walk out onto Cable Beach at Broome, rated among the world’s best. There’s nothing like seeing a 150-metre gorge open beneath you – and hearing the collective intake of breath from new friends.
World travel surveys – and just about every travel editor with an ounce of romance – repeatedly rank the Kimberley as one of the planet’s most life-changing destinations. The recent Great Escape Travel Survey found it near the top for Australians’ bucket lists, especially cruising through the archipelagos or tackling the classic Outback by road. The region’s wildness, raw Aboriginal history, dazzling wildlife, and elegant remoteness mean you’ll find luxury cruise passengers mingling with dusty 4WD adventurers, each equally moved by the scenes outside their windows.
It’s tempting to romanticise solo travel in the Kimberley: just you and the wild. But while solitude often tempts, solo adventurers face the rigours of planning, costs, and isolation that outback veterans know all too well. The best landscapes are many, varied, and sometimes hard to reach; unexpected delays, flat tyres, and giant river crossings can stall the toughest enthusiast. Group tours circumvent most of these headaches.
Group tours also bring structure and safety without diluting adventure. Guided expeditions mean everything’s handled, from permits to park fees, with a local’s knowledge ensuring all tastes and abilities are catered to. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard stories around a campfire in El Questro from a guide who grew up chasing goannas nearby.
The Kimberley is, simply, a feast for sensory zealots. Big and small group tours deliver bucket-list moments:
Cruise through the Buccaneer Archipelago among 1,000 islands, salt spray in your hair, sunsets cracking the clouds open in Technicolor.
Peer into the wilderness at Purnululu National Park, home of the Bungle Bungle Range’s beehive domes.
Cross the iconic Gibb River Road, exploring hidden gorges, emerald pools, and thundering falls like Bell Gorge and Mitchell Falls.
Watch dinosaur prints emerge from Gantheaume Point’s pink rocks at low tide and sink your toes into Cable Beach’s creamy sand.
Swap travel tales with new friends at Kununurra, Wyndham, or Derby, or over a crocodile-spotting cruise along the Ord River.
If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that the big adventures don’t wait. The Kimberley’s dry season (May to September) makes for perfect conditions: cool, clear, and just right for hiking, boating and star-gazing at endless indigo skies. And with group tours running the gamut from rugged camping to luxury cruising – even options for seniors that skip the relentless camp setup in favour of the region’s best lodges – now is the time.
The Kimberley is not just an outback marvel; it’s the sum of snatched conversations, shared discoveries, and the humbling recognition that some things are simply bigger than ourselves. Go as a group, let the adventures spark stories, and add the Kimberley to your own bucket list with plenty of room for memories made in good company.
Because, out here, the wild is daunting. But together, it’s extraordinary.
Explore the Kimberley with Travel at 60. Click here to see our amazing 2026 once-in-a-lifetime small group tour deal.