Pilot’s Guide - Self-fly scenic flights in the Kimberley
- sportsmanaust
- Jul 21, 2023
- 5 min read
Each year we have visited the Kimberley, we have flown over spectacular landscapes. These are some of our favourites. The list is organised into West, East and North Kimberley. Each area has its own CTAF which can be found on the ERC LOW charts. Tourism operators broadcast on these frequently.
WEST KIMBERLEY
Horizontal Waterfalls
We first flew over the Horizontal Falls in 2019 and again in 2023. The biggest tip is to check the tide times carefully for the best view! The falls are not always flowing and the best time to see them is during spring tides at the full and new moon. Spring tides occur twice per month and last for a week. This is when there is the greatest difference between high and low tide due to the position of the sun, Earth and moon.
Broome local Greg Quicke aka Space Gandalf offers an explanation of the tides here (unfortunately could only find this clip on FB): https://fb.watch/lVIEoAqBuM/
Download the relevant Yampi Sound tide chart from the Bureau of Meteorology BOM website. http://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/projects/ntc/wa_tide_tables.shtml
Look for the day you plan to fly and look for a tide change that falls in daylight hours e.g. low tide around 0600 and high tide at 1200. The best time to fly over would be around halfway between the high and low tide, in this example 0900. The water flow can pick up significantly within the space of 15 minutes. In 2023, we arrived over the falls at 1015. Our planned arrival time was 1030, we were early. Initially there was minimal flow but by 1030, the water was flowing fast through the falls and continuing to increase, so be patient if you can!
Please check the ERSA special procedures and plan your flight accordingly. A briefing from local operators is recommended. The airspace can be very busy with seaplanes, helicopters and other traffic. Recommend being diligent with radio calls and maintaining altitude.
Nearest fuel to the Horizontal Waterfalls is at Derby. Check for active restrictions around Curtin Airspace. A quick radio call to Brisbane Centre can tell you this as well.
Cape Leveque Coast
North of Broome lies the red cliffs of the Dampier Peninsula. A short 30 minute scenic flight from Broome to the North and you arrive at the tip of Cape Leveque.
A late afternoon flight with the sun in the west lights up the cliffs beautifully. Monitor your radio, this is busy airspace with lots of rotary and fixed wing tour operators.
There are many places to visit along the Peninsula, perhaps another blog post would be in order.
Landing at Cable Beach
Landing on runway 10 in Broome is a wonderful experience. Coming in over the 22km stretch of Cable Beach with camel trains below feels iconic.
Can be a very busy airspace with regular RPT flights. If unfamiliar, call Broome Tower (phone number is in the ERSA). They are very helpful and will provide guidance.
EAST KIMBERLEY
Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater
In the East Kimberley, to the south of Halls Creek lies Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater. Being on the edge of the Tanami Desert, there is very little erosion and the crater is well preserved and easy to spot, even from 9000 feet! We have flown over twice. The first time in 2021 and again in July, 2023. There were unusually heavy rains in mid 2023 in the Kimberley. Wolfe Creek crater still had water in it from these rains which was a surprise!
According to various sources on the internet, the crater was formed around 120,000 years ago and is known as Kandimalal to the Jaru people. The crater is approximately 0.88km across and 15m deep. The meteorite that formed it is estimated to have been 17,000 tonnes and made impact at 15km/s! The energy released being equivalent to 30-40x that of the Hiroshima bomb.
There is no airstrip nearby and nearest fuel is at Halls Creek.
Another fascinating point to consider, Indigenous presence in Australia is often estimated to be 60,000 years. The Jaru people have a story linked to Kandimalal about a star falling from the sky to form the crater. A reasonable assumption would be that to have a story like this, the event was quite possibly observed. Perhaps there has been Indigenous presence in this continent for closer to 120,000 years than 60,000? A side note, Western scientists only figured out how meteorite craters are formed around 300 years ago.
2023 above.
2021 below.
Bungle Bungles - Purnululu National Park
The iconic striped beehive domes of the East Kimberley are well worth a visit from the air and on the ground! We did a ground tour in 2019 and did the scenic flight route (which we flew ourselves) in both 2021 and 2023. It makes for a nice day trip to pair the flights with Wolfe Creek Meteorite crater above.
If doing the ground day tour and flying yourself in to Bellburn Airstrip YBEB, flight plan carefully with daylight hours and fuel. Nearest fuel is Halls Creek or Kununurra to the north. There is accommodation on the ground at the Bungles though we have not stayed there. We flew in from El Questro in 2019 for the day tour with https://www.bunglebungleguidedtours.com.au
For the scenic flight, check the ERSA special procedures and obtain a briefing from local operators before conducting a scenic. Again, this can be a very busy airspace with lots of fixed wing and rotary traffic. We avoided peak times and enjoyed the flight much more.
Below: Bungles from the air in 2023. Very green landscape after the recent rains!
Below: Bungles from the ground in 2019. Including Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm.
NORTH KIMBERLEY
King George Falls
The King George Falls are near Kalumburu on the North Kimberley coast. Around one hours flying from Kununurra. We visited in July 2023. The falls were just still flowing after a lot of rain the past Wet season and recent mid year rains that were heavy enough to close the Gibb River Road for close to two weeks! Normally, the falls are not flowing in the Dry season.
The flight along the coast itself was stunning. There can be traffic in the area conducting scenics. Be sure to make regular radio calls. The falls are only accessible by aircraft or boat.
Mitchell Falls
Mitchell Plateau airstrip (YMIP) is the closest airfield to the Mitchell Falls. We flew over them in 2021 and organised to join a ground tour with Shoal Air in 2023. The falls are on the land of the Wunambal Gaambera people and there is running Aboriginal rock art that varies in age along the route to the Mitchell Falls.
We contacted Shoal Air a couple weeks prior to our trip and organised to fly ourselves in and meet up with their tour group who were flying in from Kununurra. We flew in from Mount Hart station which has AVGAS available. Drysdale Station would be another viable option (there is accommodation at Drysdale, fuel would have to be negotiated. Call ahead to ask).
The day tour was very enjoyable! The views of the Mitchell Falls were spectacular. Well worth visiting the falls on the ground as well as from the air.
Happy flying!
Comments