Choosing amongst your favorite spots during your travels is like choosing between your kids. Every spot moved or didn’t move you in a certain way and is, therefore, special in their own wonderful way.
Geikie Gorge in Western Australia was definitely one of those places and is unlike any of the other stops down the Great Northern Highway. Where can you find this gorge? It is located in the northern part of Australia. Right in the middle of the Kimberleys, where the Fitzroy river passes a little town called Fitzroy Crossing -go figure, right?-. Right in between two big northern cities of Western Australia, Kununurra and Broome.
This is also where you can find Australia’s longest highway, the Great Northern Highway. The paved connection between those two cities means that, unlike many of the national parks in northern Australia, you don’t need a four-wheel drive for this attraction. If you’re traveling around Australia in a van or a normal car, you can easily see this gorge as well! Of course is also reachable from the famous Great Gibb River Road, one of Australia’s most legendary four-wheel-drive roads.
Monochrome Limestone
Back to Geikie gorge. When I say that places leave a special spot in your heart, it’s usually because they have that certain something you can’t find anywhere else. In Geikie gorge that certain something is the color of the rocks. The 30 meter deep gorge has a monochrome color scheme unlike any other that I’ve seen. The color is created through the interaction of water and limestone and is absolutely magical. One can take group boat tours with the Bunuba Indigenous people. We, however, did it a little bit different.
Walking around in Western Australia during the month of September becomes truly one of the hottest places to be. When a bored national park ranger offered us a private tour on the river, we couldn’t refuse. All we wanted was to be close to the water and this tour sounded like a dream. Spotting little freshwater crocodiles with the wind in our hair and looking at the limestone cliffs close by was an experience we’ll never forget. I always love being in places during the low season! After our private tour, we ended up jumping in the water and decided which body parts we could miss if a freshie did decide to attack. Don’t worry they -almost- never do. Ah, conversations of the Northern part of Australia.




Practical
Geiki Gorge in Western Australia is located next to the little town of Fitzroy crossing off the Great Northern Highway. Staying in Fitzroy Crossing is a good option if you are arriving by night and want to do the gorge first thing in the morning. We stayed at the local paid camping as we could not find any free campings close by and were told the area was not super safe. Of course these campsites costs a bit of money but this campsite was actually quite lovely. With a hot meal in our bellies, a hot shower and a supermarket to stock up on ingredients, this place is quite a handy stop along the Great Northern Highway. An alternative option is to find the closest free camping you can in a radius of about 100 km around Fitzroy Crossing.