Extend your shade and experience the adventure sooner 
Part 1: Cairns to Doon Doon Station
The journey from Cairns to El Questro Station, in the Kimberley, via the Savannah Way, was a quick two-week adventure through some of Australia’s most stunning and remote landscapes.
The Kimberley has been a bucket-list trip for us for many years – and sadly, we didn’t have a lot of time so we really had to make the most of it. We would highly recommend taking as long as you possibly can!
This trip offers a mix of lush rainforests, historic towns, and vast outback expanses. In this three-part blog series, we’ll share our itinerary, tips, and personal experiences to help you plan your own epic adventure.
Take a drive with us on the Savannah Way through three states to one of the most beautiful places that Australia has to offer.
Route overview: Savannah Way
We decided to take Savannah Way because it took us through northwest Queensland and to places we’d not travelled to before.
The Savannah Way stretches from Cairns in Queensland, to Broome in Western Australia (WA), covering about 3,700km. Our journey focuses on the segment from Cairns to El Questro Station, a highlight of the East Kimberley region.
Key stops include Burketown, Hells Gate Roadhouse, Borroloola,
Katherine, Kununurra, Doon Doon Station, and then finally, El Questro Station in the Kimberley. There are lots of iconic stops on this road, including Undara Volcanic National Park; however, we have already ticked this off our list and didn’t have time to stop there again.
Our goal was to drive as much as we could each day while taking in a few of the sites so we could get to WA quickly.
Day 1: Cairns to Burketown
The first day to the Kimberley was a big one – 10+ hours driving to a gorgeous little free camp outside of Burketown on the way to Doomadgee. It was around One Mile Creek on the Wills Developmental Road, and was cute, small and right on the creek!
Thankfully, we were the only car there as it had been a long day and all we wanted to do was set the chairs up by the creek for a well-earned beer, quick dinner, and an early night!
Day 2: Hells Gate and Borroloola
From there, we passed through Doomadgee – which had stunning scenery and sits on the beautiful Nicholson River – on the way to Borroloola, a remote town on the McArthur River.
The drive included a stop at the amazing Hell’s Gate Roadhouse, a crucial refuelling and rest point – with the best coffee and vanilla slice! Thanks for the hot tip Overland Travellers Matt and Holly!
This stretch of the Savannah Way is known for its rugged terrain and stunning landscapes.
The road was very corrugated when we drove it – it was so bad that we took a different way home. We stayed at a free camp about 1.5 hours past Borroloola on the way through the Northern Territory.
Day 3: On to Mataranka Hot Springs
We woke up early and left camp about 6am. The fog was so crazy that we couldn’t see metres in front of us.
It was another big day’s drive across to Daly Waters and just past Katherine on our way to camp on country with Ben and Sallie, from Kimberley Dreaming, at Doon Doon Station, in East Kimberley.
We didn’t stop at the Daly Waters pub going over, but we did stop there coming back, you’ll be able to read about that in part three!
We were particularly keen for a dip in the Mataranka Thermal Pool, even though it was getting hot, it was still refreshing. We did the trip in July and the temps during the day climbed to about 30 degrees.
One of the highlights on the way to Mataranka is the Pink Panther Pub, definitely worth the stop and the homemade sausage rolls.
Next stop, Katherine. We travelled along the Victoria Highway to Katherine (we stopped here on the way back). We are so close to the Kimberley now and just want to et there!
That night we stayed at a camp in Gregory National Park, just off the highway. It wasn’t far from the Victoria Roadhouse where you can stay with full and clean amenities. It was packed and small so we would recommend getting there early. It was fine for a one-nighter.
Day 4: Katherine to Kununurra
We are getting even more excited to be so close to Kununurra and the Kimberley now, and to the NT-WA border! Entering Western Australia, we were greeted by the breathtaking landscapes of the East Kimberley region.
We absolutely love WA and all its beauty. In Kununurra, we simply needed to refuel, grab some more groceries, snacks, and a few drinks.
We were on a mission to meet Ben and Sallie at the turn-off to the Great Northern Highway to get to Doon Doon Station to head on country.
Kununurra is a lovely town with everything you need. We would have liked to stay longer there and explore more but that will have to go on the list for another adventure.
That night we stayed on country with Ben and Sallie … finally, after long days of solid driving, we are in the Kimberley! And this was our first night of actual “holidays” after 3.5 days of driving across Queensland, Northern Territory, and into Western Australia.
There's more to come - stay tuned for part 2!
We will share more about the first leg of the Kimberley trip on country in the next blog! But so far, the trip has been amazing and we’ve already experienced so much, can it really get any better? Yes, it actually can!
In the next blog, we experience a Welcome to Country ceremony with the Traditional Owners of the land at Doon Doon Station.
We stayed on country for three nights, before going into the heart of El Questro and all the surprises that came with being in the most beautiful part of WA.
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