Berkley River – take two

Yes, that’s right. As soon as the tides and weather forecast looked good, we headed back to Wyndham to give it another go.

We do not usually venture that far on a normal break, but next year we might be even further away and anyway, we just had to conquer it.

My partner landed in the morning, and we were on the road the same day after lunch. We made it to Fitzroy Crossing where we stayed at the caravan park.

The following day we got up at crack of dawn but soon learned that Wyndham’s boat ramp was under maintenance. It will be closed on the day we’d be back in Wyndham after our trip. We turned around, heading back to Broome, no point doing the trip if we can’t get back on land in time.

We both felt so miserable not making it AGAIN, that we swung around, heading to Wyndham anyway – surely there would be another option to get the boat out. We lost a good two hours with our back and forth but made it to Wyndham just as the sun was setting.

Wyndham’s bottle shop is different! – we got breathalysed by the police before entering the shop! That was a first. After stocking up – as far as allowed (the alcohol restrictions in the Kimberley are exactly that: ‘strict’!) – we checked in at the caravan park and cooked a steak for dinner.

Here we go again – our second attempt to get to the Berkley River. Everything was positively different this time: top of the tide for launching, then heading out of the gulf with the outgoing tide. There was almost no wind, some sections were proper glass off with the clouds reflecting on the water.

Closer to the cape we had to navigate some whirlpools and the tideline with sticks. All in all it was a nice ride around and we were extremely excited – we made it around Cape Dussejour! From here it was a long stretch of unknown coastline – there could be submerged rocks, currents etc. to deal with.

The coastline is stunning with its cliffs and folded rock layers. The water was a bit choppier than in the Cambridge Gulf, but not bad at all.

There are several bigger bays along that stretch, we just refrained from exploring them in fear the weather could change again. We did duck into Thurburn Bluff inlet for a rest though.

We made it! We found the river mouth and cruised into Berkley River as the tide was high enough – there is a sandbank out the entrance you need at least three metres of water to get across.

As the day came to an end we found a good spot to park for the night, a bit away from all the boats in the river mouth.

In the morning we relaxed with a coffee, took in the incredible scenery, and observed a blue kingfisher hunting from a tree in the cliffs.

We found a swim hole, tied the boat up and went for a walk.

After our morning ‘shower’ we headed off upstream. The Berkley River is stunning with its cliffs and waterfalls – a lot of them dry by now.

We had the privilege, knowing our mate Robbo will soon be on his way with a tour group from the Berkley Lodge. We explored on our own until he overtook us at some stage. We followed with a fair distance so they could enjoy the scenery and photos without us in it and vice versa. It was handy to see where they duck into to look at something.  

The canyon we passed through was indescribable! The cliffs are very high in this section and the river a bit narrower, the feeling of cruising through there is hard to describe. All the wind stops, even the noises from other boats and birds are on a lower volume, as if you get sucked into a vacuum, leaving one part of the river, and emerging at another.

Robbo’s tour stopped somewhere we couldn’t quite make out what for, but we spotted a window in a rock at the entrance to where they went. I couldn’t resist and climbed up.

The next stop was a flowing water fall in the amphitheatre. Cannot even imagine how fantastic this would look just after the wet season, it was stunning enough as it was. We had lunch there and then enjoyed a shower under the fall. Surprisingly the water was freezing cold.

From there it wasn’t that far to the end of the river. Well, I should say, the end of the navigable river. There are too many big rocks in the way and the water to shallow after that to continue on a boat. A canoe would work 😉

Then it was time to find a spot for the night.

We had breakfast in the amphitheatre! It’s like in paradise with these surroundings. We spotted Rock Wallabies, but they were too quick for the camera.

After breakfast we headed to the river mouth to explore the water fall Robbo told us about. We clean missed it the day before. There was not really a good spot to tie the boat up, so I just had a shower while sitting at the bow of the boat.

The afternoon we spent feeding the fish – means our bait got taken but we didn’t hook a fish. We caught a crab though!

Later we met Robbo back at the beach for sunset drinks.

The next day we had to make tracks to make it back to Broome in time for work. To be on the safe side we left with a day to spare, in case the forecast was wrong, and we wouldn’t make it around the cape.

The weather was with us, and we made it back unscathed. We explored the Forrest River, which is close to Wyndham.

The workers at the boatramp were very cooperative and let us take the boat out no worries. And we were on our way home to Broome in no time.

Explored June 2026, written July 2026