Planning your trip to the Dampier Peninsula is a matter of satisfying your own tastes within an allocated time frame. You can sample the highlights or take more time to soak up the ambience of the natural surroundings. Or you can delve further into the options and share in the lifestyle and culture of local people.
Reminders of the past
Life today on the Dampier Peninsula has strong links to the mission years. For the history enthusiast the historic churches at Beagle Bay and Lombadina are inspiring attractions. The spectacular pearl alter built by the Pallotine monks and local Aboriginal people in 1917 stands proudly at the Sacred Heart Church in Beagle Bay. A picnic lunch or a casual stroll around the superbly maintained Old Mission Area of Lombadina is a walk through time – the bush timbers of the Church a sign of local tradition and ingenuity.
Pristine Beaches
For an escape from the pressures of urban life the wide open stretches of Indian Ocean beaches offer the perfect getaway. Kooljaman at Cape Leveque offers a range of accommodation types from luxury safari tents to self contained camping, nestled alongside some of Australia’s best beaches. Enjoy the sunset over West Beach, a snorkel over colourful reefs, or shuffle your feet in clear white sand.
A stroll along the wide expanses of Lombadina Beach, Goombaragin or Middle Lagoon would both provide memorable exchanges with nature.
Action and Adventure
For the more energetic or for those wanting to learn about local hunting techniques and traditional bush survival, there are a range of activities on offer. Try a specialised bush walk at Kelk Creek. Look for local community members offering mud crabbing tours. Ask about the Dampier Peninsula’s own “Mud Crab Dundee”. Enjoy a coastal scenic tour with Goombaragin. Lombadina offers regular Kayaking tours and there are camel rides at Munget.Visit Lenny and Jacinta's website on www.mungetcameltreks.com for an experience of a lifetime.
Accommodation, Tour and Activity Packages
A packaged personalised encounter of the area is an opportunity to get to know the real Dampier Peninsula at a pace that it is meant to be experienced, in a way that permits emersion into local lifestyle and culture.
Some of the remote area settlements (Dampier Peninsula Outstations) package a range of experiences that permit a slower paced and personalised taste of lifestyle and culture.
Maddarr offers an insight to local traditions on the King Sound side of the Dampier Peninsula, with a range of packages sold through Best Of The Kimberley. Visit their web site at www.kimberleytravel.com.au
Goombaragin provides comfortable cliff top accommodation with spectacular Indian Ocean views, a variety of tours on site, and friendly local hosts who share their special relationship with the bush and the sea. Kelk Creek will package accommodation with a guided bush walk.
At Lombadina you can put your own package together. Using chalet style accommodation as your base, you can be taken on kayaking, mud crabbing, or fishing excursions, filling in the quiet time with walks on the beach, or exploration of the Old Mission area and the craft store. Nearby Chile Creek offers comfortable camping with crabbing, fishing and other excursions by arrangement.
Independent Travel
For the more independent traveller, there are many places to go and many different activities to engage in. Some outstations and community members offer tour and activity experiences - ask around.
Part of the intrigue of the Dampier Peninsula comes with discovery of new ventures and new places. A number of outstations have opened camping grounds that permit visitors to venture deep into the Dampier Peninsula. Scan our list of accommodation places for new ideas.
Kooljaman at Cape Leveque offers dinghy hire as well as tag-along-tours that offer the opportunity for independent travellers to extend their visit beyond the main roads and camping grounds.
Remember if you are visiting the Dampier Peninsula as an independent traveller you should first ask before venturing by yourself off the beaten tracks. There are cultural grounds and private living areas and there are a range of safety hazards for visitors who have not sought local advice.
These are some ideas for a person considering a visit to the Dampier Peninsula. Please look further by asking for brochures or other information on individual places. The Dampier Peninsula Travellers Guides available from the Broome Visitor Centre is a useful source of information.
