Description
The
Kalumburu township is located in the far northern
Kimberley and is a modern aboriginal community. This community was originally established at Pago and known as the Drysdale River Mission but was relocated to the present
Kalumburu township site in 1927.
The
Kalumburu community is run by the
Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation themselves. Visitors are welcomed by the community and a number of services operate to enable you to enjoy your stay for an extended period if you wish. When visiting
Kalumburu, make sure you go see Father Anscar's museum. People continually report that the tour guided by Father Anscar is the best part of their visit to the area. The
Kalumburu Mission also offers
camping for those preferring to stay in town, otherwise there are campsites available at one of the private beach camps such as
Honeymoon Bay or
McGowan Island.
Interactive Route Map

Loading
Base Map

Zoom & Scale 
Customise 
Upload
Currently only GPX files are supported
Cancel
Kalumburu 
From: Gibb River Rd & Kalumburu Rd
To: Honeymoon Bay
Distance: 297.67 km
Direction: 4 °
Average Speed: 57.6 km/hr
Travel Time: 5 hours 10 mins
Using the Map
Our treks have a moving map facility, to take a virtual tour click on the Play button in the Moving map control (see Moving Map help)
Mouse Position:
Moving Map 
Speed (5 secs)
Live Tracking
Auto Refresh (1 min, next 60 secs)
Permits
Permits are necessary to visit
Kalumburu because you are entering Aboriginal Land. Although you can arrange your permit in advance, there are no problems obtaining one on arrival.
Permits are $25 valid for one vehicle for a maximum of 21 days. A permit consists of a windscreen sticker, received after completing some forms, and a handout on the region, including regulations and touring information. You can purchase your permit from the
Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation Office, Honeymoon Beach or
McGowan Island.
If you wish to arrange your permit in advance, you can contact the community direct on: (08) 9161 4300 or (08) 9332 7044
Fax: (08) 9161 4331
If you wish to write to
Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation, address the letter to:
Kalumburu Community, PMB 10 Via,
WYNDHAM WA 6740
Important
Your permit states that you are only allowed to camp within designated areas, which are the
Kalumburu caravan park or the Mission
Camping Ground - both in town, or head out to the coast to either
Honeymoon Bay or
McGowan Island which are run by Aboriginal families. No bush
camping elsewhere is allowed. Fines and evictions are enforced.
Things to See & Do
Preparation
If you're planning a trip to
Kalumburu, you've already planned to take in at least some of the
Gibb River Road and probably another few thousand kilometres from home just to get there so hopefully your vehicle is already well setup and you've got spares and parts sorted out.
When you reach your final destination, you're really ready to do something other than driving, so make sure you have some rods and lures and have enough time in your itinerary to take a rest. It's quite an effort to get to
Kalumburu, so plan to stay at least 3 nights at either
Honeymoon Bay or
McGowan Island. However, the ideal way to visit
Kalumburu is to take your own boat.
We have seen people setup for over a month - a few advance arrangements and you can get yourself really setup, as you will see for yourself on your first trip. Our advice is to do some research and go prepared - who knows when you'll ever get the chance to go back again. Make your first trip as best as you can. Try to talk to other people who have been there a few times with their boat and learn from their experiences.
If you can't/don't want to take a boat, then the next best option is to spend a few nights at each
McGowan Island and
Honeymoon Bay and pay to be taken
fishing. Costs vary from $50 - $70 pp for a half day but you must supply your own
fishing gear and baits (although you will be shown how to catch live bait). A word of advice - take HEAVY
fishing gear, and lots of it - as a gauge, the locals use 200lb line!
As most barra fishermen will already know, the best
fishing time is usually at the most difficult times for vehicle access - either side of the wet season. However,
Kalumburu offers excellent coastal
fishing, with reef fish and pelagics being caught year-round.
Spanish Mackeral, Queenfish, Golden Trevally, Threadfin Salmon,
Coral Trout and Cod are all the usual catches from the sea, with barra and bream from the river (the mouth of the King Edward River is just 5km from
Kalumburu).
Fuel Supplies & Usage
 | Drysdale River Station, Kalumburu |
Diesel | 4cyl 42 litres |
ULP | 4cyl 48 litres |
LPG | 4cyl 60 litres |
| 6cyl 46 litres | 6cyl 54 litres | 6cyl 52 litres |
| 8cyl 47 litres | 8cyl 49 litres | |
Usage is averaged from
TrekFuel (* specific to trek) submissions and calculated based on trek distance.
Drysdale River Homestead and
Kalumburu depot. Both no gas.
Best Time To Visit
May to November would be the best time to visit
Kalumburu since very heavy rains occur during the summer months.
Closest Climatic Station
Doongan
Distance from Trek Mid Point 43.06km SW
| | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Mean Max. °C |
33.4 | 32.7 | 33.1 | 33.2 |
31.1 | 29.1 | 29.6 | 31.5 |
35.3 | 37.1 | 36.7 | 34.5 |
| Mean Min. °C |
22.8 | 22.6 | 21.8 | 19.0 |
14.5 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 12.3 |
18.0 | 21.4 | 22.9 | 23.0 |
| Mean Rain mm |
280.6 | 221.9 | 194.1 | 44.3 |
10.7 | 6.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
4.3 | 33.0 | 119.3 | 202.0 |
Best time to travel Ok time to travel Travel NOT recommended
Services & Supplies
The following locations have various services and supplies:
Drysdale River Station,
KalumburuVery good supermarket in
Kalumburu - no supplies at coastal
camping areas. Fuel and basic supplies at Drysdale Station plus takeaway and counter meals.
Camp Sites & Accommodation
Environment
Kalumburu Road
A considerable traffic load uses this track and the local cattle stations require that the track be in the best possible condition for the season to ensure that supplies and cattle trucks are not delayed. Grading is done on a regular basis during the dry season although conditions quickly deteriorate. Please read our
road conditions for more information.
Due to the increased popularity of 4WD vehicles and the allure of self-sufficient camp/drive holidays, visitors numbers have boomed in even the most remote areas of
Australia's outback.
Kalumburu is certainly less visited than the
Mitchell Falls, however it is well known that the waters off the
Kalumburu coast hold great bounties for fishermen and so visitors of the
fishing-type are prolific.
The extensive river crossings on the
Kalumburu Road make travel impassable for much of the wet season, yet from around April the first tourists will start attempting to push through to the north. Drysdale River Homestead, can offer
accommodation to those that cannot get through and find bush
camping too wet at this time. Generally most travellers come once conditions have begun to dry - usually towards the of end May.
Distance is GPS recorded driving distance (not straight line), Direction is straight line from start to end, Time is calculated from actual GPS driving data.