Travel Updates

Kimberley 2023 Touring Season Update

10 July 2023

The APT Travel Group’s Operations team in Broome continues to monitor the Flood Watch issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for parts of the Kimberley as the waters recede. The Fitzroy River Crossing opened allowing our vehicles to pass on 9 July 2023 and the Gibb River Road is scheduled to reopen 12 July 2023.  Contingency plans are in place should things change again.

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26 June 2023

APT is aware of the Flood Watch issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for parts of the Kimberley and provides our guests in the Kimberley region and their families the following update. 

APT's Broome Operations teams are monitoring the situation closely and will advise affected guests of any necessary changes to their tour. 

Gibb River Road will be closed from this evening, 26 June, likely for several days, due to the incoming unseasonal weather. 

Guests travelling independently staying at our APT Kimberley Wilderness Lodges should contact APT for advice on the number below. 

The safety of our guests and staff is our top priority. APT thanks guests for their understanding and will provide further updates as necessary. 

For more information, please contact: 

APT Customer Service 1800 154 059

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22 March 2023

We wish to assure you that we have been working very hard to ensure the success of the upcoming tourist season throughout the Kimberley after the recent damage caused by flooding events in December 2022 and January 2023.

We are pleased to advise that great progress has been made and our team on the ground in Broome is working with the Western Australian and Federal governments, as well as Tourism Western Australia and our valued suppliers, who all have full confidence in the commencement of our season by late April 2023.

We are aware of the recently announced closures of Bandilngan Windjana Gorge National Park and Danggu Geikie Gorge National Park for the 2023 season. We are working closely with our partners in the area and have already secured some alternate experiences for these small portions of our itineraries. Impacted guests will be contacted and kept up to date with all developments.   

It is good to see that many roads in the region have already reopened including major routes between Perth and Broome, and Kununurra and Fitzroy Crossing. In other areas, work continues, including reinstating a river crossing at Fitzroy Crossing, after it was damaged. Pleasingly, barges have been deployed to ferry people and vehicles across the river. Plans are also in place to reinstate low level river crossings near the town once the river allows. The Willare Crossing on the Great Northern Highway has reopened during daylight hours.

While large rain events are common in the Kimberley during the wet season, they are not usually as significant as we have seen this year. However, due to the extensive efforts from the department of Main Roads in the area, we are confident that the roads will be repaired, open and accessible to all traffic before the start of our season, late April 2023. APT’s three wilderness lodges located in Mitchell Falls, Bell Gorge and the Bungle Bungle remain unaffected.

With over 45 years’ experience touring the Kimberley area, we have solid relationships with our valued suppliers, partners and staff and know that tourism is one of the main economic drivers for the region, and we are committed to doing our bit to help rebuild.

For any further information, please visit Main Roads WA website.